So
often, when we think of life during the time of the Old Testament patriarchs
and prophets, Jesus and his disciples, or even the Apostle Paul in the early
church, we think that life back then bares very little (if any) resemblance to
life today. Well, that’s not exactly the
case in our text for today. Sure, there
are cultural and technological differences that can’t be disputed, but many
factors that existed in Athens at this time were similar to some things we find
today in our own country and community. But
first, let’s recap what we’ve missed and where we are in Paul’s journey. We saw last Sunday the first part of his 2nd
missionary journey. We paid particular
attention to the conversion of the Philippian jailer. At the end of our text, we read that Paul
departed and went on his way. He went to
Thessalonica, only to have Jews form a mob and run him and Silas out of town (a
theme for Paul). Then, Paul and Silas went
to Berea. Now, there isn’t much
mentioned here about this town or its inhabitants, but they are quite well
known in Christian circles. The
description of this community in Acts 17:11 (Now these Jews were more noble
than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.) has
gained much praise over the years.
Various groups throughout history have adopted the name Bereans as a
reflection of their desire to emulate this group here in Acts 17. The most notable of which has been the
followers of Scottish Presbyterian minister John Barclay in the late
1700’s. Today, many Bible study groups
in churches go by the title of the Berean class (or something to that effect),
which reflects the devotion and seriousness with which they have devoted
themselves to studying and learning Scripture.
Alas, despite the committed group that Paul found in Berea, his fate
there was no different than anywhere else it seemed. He was driven out from there after folks from
Thessalonica showed up and started causing trouble.
Eventually,
Paul wound up in Athens. Now, Athens was
a sight to behold in those days. Not
that it’s not today, but this was much closer to what is known as Athens’
golden age. This was only a few centuries
removed from things like the great military conquests of Athens, the age of
classic Greek literature, Socrates and Plato, and art that would later inspire
folks like Michelangelo. Even though
those days had already passed, it wasn’t as if Athens was completely destitute
of their influences when Paul arrived there.
However, we are told that Paul’s “spirt was provoked within him as he saw that
the city was full of idols.” Now, we’ll look at this notion of idols in
just a moment, but I want to give a little more background here before moving
on. We’re told of the folks that Paul
spoke with. We’re told of two different
groups: the Epicureans and the
Stoics. Now, without going into too much
detail, I want to give you the basics of these two belief systems. The Epicureans got there name from Epicurus,
who believed that the primary point in life was to maximize pleasure and
minimize pain. They weren’t complete
hedonists in the sense that they always did what they wanted without
thought. No, they were a little more
calculated than the hedonists of today.
However, their outlook or motto could be summed up by saying that if it
felt good then you should try and repeat it, but if it didn’t then it should be
avoided. That sounds good until you
really start to think about it. The
other group of people were the Stoics.
They were founded by a man named Zeno, and he viewed life as being
filled with unavoidable good and bad.
The only approach to life was to just deal with it and worry about
yourself. They believed that the only
thing worth trying to change was yourself; in essence, promoting the human mind
above everything else. They very much
denied or downplayed God’s activeness and intervention in the world. Now, I realize that I have probably
drastically underrepresented these two groups, but I don’t want to turn this
into nothing but a history lesson.
So
we’ve got this group that values only pleasure and this other group who thinks
that all that matters is yourself and doesn’t really view any greater figure to
be present (or at least active).
However, these groups only seem to be the tip of the iceberg for Paul as
he begins his famous speech at Mars Hill in verse 22. I want you to notice something about this
speech though; Paul doesn’t just go in and start berating them for their
ignorance, but instead he gently and loving corrects their thinking. He told them that he could see that they were
full of religious devotion. He noticed
the altars and the relics that were present all over the city, but they were
missing something. He pointed out the
inscription “To the unknown god” that was upon some of the altars. And after pointing this out, Paul says to
them, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” It was as if Paul was saying to them, “Guys,
I’ve got great news for you today. I can
tell how much y’all love to worship, but unfortunately you just haven’t known
who to worship this whole time. Well, I
know who to worship, and the even better news is that I’m going to tell you
about him too so that you can start worshipping him as well.”
Paul
then went on to point out four things about God to the Areopagus. He pointed out that God created all
things. He told them how God sustains
all things. He told them how God ordains
all things. And finally, he told then
how we should be constantly seeking God.
Now, we’re going to look at these four points really quickly, but I want
to back up for a second and connect the dots on something that I’ve already
said this morning. I opened today by
telling y’all that things in Athens weren’t very different from our world
today. There’s something that correlates
between that inscription that read “to the unknown god” and the view that many
folks in our world (and unfortunately many folks who call themselves
Christians) take of God today. You see,
we live in an interesting time. We live
in a world full of information, and what a blessing it is. We are learning new things each and every
day. I’m fearful y’all; I’m fearful that
by the time my kids get in high school there going to pass my comprehension
level and I’m just going to be left in the dust. Things that I took in college, my little girl
is starting to be exposed to in Kindergarten.
It’s really quite remarkable when you think about it. However, it is also coming at a price, and the
Christian faith is seemingly bearing the brunt of the damage.
Our
“enlightened” world, much like that of Athens and Greek-thought, is surely a
time in which some areas of human achievement are at an all-time high. However, in our growth of knowledge, we have
become vastly more ignorant in some regards, particularly our faith. Now, I’m not one of those who is under the
illusion that everyone around him is a true Christian. I know that throughout my life, I’ve been
exposed to numerous folks who don’t profess Jesus Christ as their Savior. I’ve been around lots of folks who can’t and
won’t agree that John 14:6 is a truthful statement. And make no mistake about it, many of these
folks have been and are good people. However, I find that more and more Christians
are denying the words that no one can come to God except through Jesus. Now, they’re not outright saying that they
deny them, but what they are saying is a denial in itself. Phrases like, “We’re all worshiping the same
God but just in different ways” or “all religions are pretty much the same” are
denials of the truths of John 14:6. You
see, there are many religions out there that are of the mindset that Jesus was
only a good person; at most he was just another prophet. And the scary part about it is that more and
more folks who call themselves Christians are becoming tolerant of and adopting
such a line of thinking. It’s as if
we’re worshiping some “unknown god” that exists out there similar to that which
the altars in Athens were built to.
However,
as Christians, we shouldn’t and can’t be so ignorant or inclined as to treat
God as some unknown or completely open deity.
Now I’ll fully acknowledge that there are things about God that we quite
honestly just can’t understand, his incommunicable attributes, but there are plenty
of things that we can understand that we must use in shaping our worship of
Him. As I’ve mentioned already, Jesus,
God’s Son, the Word Incarnate, very pointedly said during his earthly ministry
that he was and is the only way to the Father.
We can’t deny that or open that up to then include those who deny
Christ, or else we are diluting the entirety of Scripture and of God as
well. Instead, what we must do is that
we must hold to the truths that Paul spoke at Mars Hills and proclaim their
validity and truth today just as he did some 19+ centuries ago. God made the world and everything in it, God
sustains everything in this world, He ordains all things, and that we should be
constantly seeking Him.
God
created the world and everything in it.
Of this, James Boice says, “The doctrine of creation…means that God has
not left himself without a witness. It
is true that not all peoples have had the Scriptures…But all people at all
times have nevertheless had a witness to God in creation, in the heavens, and
on earth. No one can claim utter ignorance
of the true God.” In theological terms,
we refer to creation and the natural things of this world as God general
revelation. Even if God has not given
the special revelation contained in His Word to someone yet, they still have
had the ability to come to Him through his general revelation in the works of
creations. Paul’s second point (that God
sustains all things) teaches us about the work of God after creation. You see, God isn’t a holy watchmaker. He didn’t create the universe and just sit back
and watch it run as some type of perpetual motion machine. Now, I don’t want to go into this discussion,
and I would invite anyone who wants to talk someone on this subject to come and
see me any time. Let me just sum up what
our view of God ought to be by saying this:
God sustains all things, maybe not an active moment-by-moment involvement, but He does continue stability
by enforcing His created order.
Verse
26 speaks of God the ordainer. God is
unfolding a plan. He’s unfolding
something that was planned before the foundations of the earth. This is a direct disagreement with some of
those folks in Athens at this time and our world today that think that
everything is some string of random events.
This goes against the notion that we are in control in the grand scheme
of things. This notion flows naturally
out of the first two of God as creator and sustainer, but still is much needed
in terms of remembering. The final point
is that we should seek God. I like to
think of it this way: everything in this
world is pointing to God. The question
becomes if we want to see it or not. When
we don’t want to see something, when we refuse to believe that something is
true even when the evidence is right in front of our eyes, then we just don’t
see it. I see God in almost everything
around me, mainly because I’m looking for Him.
For the person who is trying not to see Him, it’s as if He isn’t
anywhere to be found.
I
think that Paul’s argument or speech here is a progressive one; not in terms of
radical thinking, but in terms of each idea building upon the last. God created the world, and since creating it
He has continued to sustain it. He’s
sustained it while unfolding a plan that has always been and that we should
constantly be looking for. As Paul says
in verse 28, “In him we live and move and have our being.” This phrase was taken from a common thought
about this unknown god and Paul tells them that they’re right, but the one that
they are seeking is God the Father Almighty.
He went on to tell them of their need for repentance and the coming
judgment. He spoke to them of the
resurrection of Christ and we see that this was all met with mixed reaction;
some laughed, some ignored, and some believed.
Friends,
we live in a world not too dissimilar from Athens in terms of thought. When we speak of the One True God and Christ
and the resurrection, we too are met with some laughter, some avoidance, some
hostility, and also some belief and conversion.
However, we must not allow our message, the message of the Gospel, the
good news, to become watered-down or diluted.
We must not allow anyone, especially those within our churches, to deny
John 14:6. We must continue to remind
ourselves and others how much God has done for us in His creating us and the
world, His sustaining all things, His ordaining all things, and we must respond
by seeking Him and His will day and night until such time as we are called to
stand before Him and give account. We
must not let our thoughts be shaped by this world, but seek to shape this world
with our beliefs. Glory be to God; in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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