World Outside These Walls
Acts 17:16-34
There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls
Our towns are full of ideas
Our towns are full of idols
Our towns are full of ideas
-Polytheism (Gentiles/Athenians)
-Pantheism (Stoics)
-Atheism (Epicurean)
-Monotheism (Jews)
There is an unknown God they need to know
A God who isn’t man-made
A God who made-man
A God who deals with the issue
A God who proved His authority
There is a life-changing decision for all to make
People can either sneer or hear
Paul practiced effective evangelism
-Paul was in the world
-Paul had a heart for the world
-Paul reasoned with them
-Paul preached the plain truth
-Paul connected with their culture
-Paul let God take care of the results
If you’d like you can turn with me in your Bible’s to the 17th chapter of Acts we’ll get right into God’s Word for us today. From time to time the text will hopefully be behind me on the screen as well. Today we’ll be focusing on Paul’s visit to Athens in verses 16-33, but before we get into that I just want to remind you of the general context of this 17th chapter.
This chapter took place near the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. The first nine verses of the chapter describe Paul and his ministry companions in Thessalonica. While they were there they preached Christ and the resurrection. Some Jews and many God-fearing Greeks joined them at this time, but other Jews were jealous and started a riot so Paul and Silas fled to Berea. They didn’t forget about Thessalonica though. Paul would later send Timothy there to help the church. He also sent them to letters of encouragement to them. We refer to those letters as 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.
Now even though a mob had threatened them in Thessalonica forcing them to flee, guess what Paul and Silas did once they got to Berea? They went right back to preaching and teaching about Jesus. The Bereans searched out to Scripture to see if Paul’s words were true and they must have thought so because verse 12 says many of the Jews and Greeks became believers.
But the jealous Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul was now in Berea they sent the mob to stir everyone up and once again Paul was forced to escape for his life, this time alone. He was taken to Athens where he was to wait for his ministry partners to join him again.
And so here is Paul waiting in Athens for 19 verses. Paul didn’t know how long he’d be waiting in Athens, but he wasn’t one to sit around. After having your life threatened at two consecutive stops of this missionary journey he probably could have used a vacation. And what better place for a vacation than Athens? Athens was home to many magnificent buildings including the Parthenon. It had a great marketplace. It was the center for Greek culture, philosophy, and education.
But even though Athens was a happening place, and even though this account describes Athens almost 2,000 years ago, the similarities between what Paul found in Athens and what we, as a church, find outside these walls, are staggering. Athens at that time is not much different than Appleton today. The buildings are different. The technology is different. A lot of things are different. But people tend to remain the same. We see the same types of individuals and the same ideas emanating from them anywhere we go outside these walls.
The first thing we see in this Scripture about Athens, and also in our world today is that there is a marketplace of ideas. Athens was full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Our world is full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Let me read for you verses 16-21:
[16] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. [18] A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. [19] Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? [20] You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." [21] (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Verse 16 says that Paul was distressed because the city was full of idols. Athens was infested with idolatry. When writer of that time remarked that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man! The KJV says the city was “wholly given to idolatry.” The NIV says it was “full of idols.” The very literal rendering of the text could read that Athens was covered with idols.
Now the idols of those days were very different from the idols of our day, but not by much. They worshipped stone gods and carved images that they had made with their hands. Outside these walls people probably aren’t worshipping little figurines or big stone sculptures. They may, however, be worshipping television, sports, celebrity, or money. One of my favorite authors Keith Drury wrote an interesting article on how sports have become a god in our culture. Just like we have holy seasons at Christmas and Easter, sports have the World Series and the Super Bowl. Dedicated sports fans memorize stats and rosters of the star players. Those saints of the sport are now canonized in their respective halls of fame. The god of sports has its icons like trading cards and uniforms. The god of sports has mysterious rituals like face painting and the wave. The god of sports has its heroic stories of determination, pain, and sacrifice. And sports have their cathedrals, multi-million dollar cathedrals at that as a center for worship.
Verses 17 and 18 describe how Athens was full of unique individuals. In these two verses alone Paul reasoned with the Jews, Greeks, Epicureans, Stoics, and anyone else he ran into at the marketplace. There were all sorts of people in Athens and there are all sorts of people in our world today.
And each one of those unique individuals outside these walls this morning has a head full of unique ideas. Some have ideas that are more unique than others. Verses 19-21 tell us that the Athenians loved having and hearing all sorts of ideas.
Now the interesting thing about the kinds of people that Paul talked to in Athens is that they represent the four major ideas about the world. Those four ideas are still the four major ideas about the world today.
The first idea about the world is that it’s controlled by many different gods. This is the polytheistic worldview. They believed there were gods of love and gods of hate. There were gods of peace and gods of war. There aren’t as many polytheists in our world today, but they’re still out there.
The second idea about the world is called pantheism. That’s not a word we hear a lot, but it’s actually a pretty popular view, even for those who don’t know the word. This is the belief that everything is a part of god and that god is part of everything. The physical world is just something we put up with. The real purpose of life is to escape the laws of nature and be at one with the spirit world. This is your basic Star Wars theology. Hinduism, Buddhism, and a lot of new age religions fit into this group. The stoics that we mentioned in verse 18 were pantheists. They attempted to be unmoved by the circumstances of this world. They attempted to remove themselves from the suffering that is all to real in the real world.
The third idea about the world is called naturalism. These guys were pretty much the opposite of the pantheists. They believed the physical world was all there was. There was no spirit world. What you see is what you’ve got. They believed everything could be explained by natural laws. Evolutionists, Secular Humanists, and agnostics usually live out the principles of naturalism. The Epicureans that were mentioned in verse 18 were naturalists. Since this world was all there was, they tried to live for the moment. They lived for pleasure. They did whatever made them feel good. Sound familiar?
The fourth major idea about the world is monotheism. This is the belief that there is one God. Monotheists believe in the physical and spiritual world. They believe that our lives should be based on the standard given by that one God. The Jews mentioned in verse 17 would have been staunch monotheists. And monotheism is still the major view in the world today. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three major monotheistic faiths in the world. Obedience to the one God is the key.
So the city of Athens and the world outside these walls are much alike. They are full of idols, full of individuals, and full of ideas. There is a marketplace of ideas out there and Paul must have heard some doozies as he talked to people at the marketplace in Athens. I’ve heard some doozies myself as I talk to people about the world. I’ll never forget talking to a Mormon one night and having him tell me that “facts change all the time, but opinions are always true.” There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls.
The second thing we see in Athens that is also true in our world today is that there is an unknown God. For all the ideas floating around our society today there are an unbelievable amount of people that haven’t heard about the true God. They have never really been presented with the Gospel. In Athens they had so many gods they couldn’t count them, but they didn’t know the one God that mattered! They did, however, recognize the possibility that they were forgetting some deity in their worship. This made them very afraid, so they made an altar with an inscription on it that read “To an unknown God.” Let me read verses 22 and 23 for you:
[22] Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
After talking with people about the Gospel, the Athenians took Paul up to the Areopagus, which was a hill they used for their most important trials. They were putting Paul’s idea about Christ on trial. Paul then went on to tell them about the true God in verses 24-31.
[24] "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. [26] From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. [28] 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' [29] "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. [30] In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. [31] For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
With this short sermon Paul gets right to the point. He expresses three key truths about this unknown God that the people of Athens needed desperately to hear. These are the same truths that the people outside these walls need to know about this unknown God.
The first truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He is the ONE Creator. Paul told the people of Athens, in the gentlest way possible, that the whole idea of building a god with your human hands is utterly absurd! A real God wouldn’t need to be made! God can’t be created with human hands. He created humans. He created everything and He’s in control of everything. He took one man and made all the nations of men. He determined when they’d live, how long, and where. He sets the rules and He sets them in such a way so that men would seek Him and find Him because He loves people.
We can tell that the world outside these walls doesn’t know or believe that there is ONE Creator. If they did believe there was ONE Creator they’d understand that they owe Him their lives instead of living for their own selfish desires. They’d understand that He sets the rules instead of making up the rules as they go along. They’d understand that everything they have is from Him instead of fooling themselves with pride. Our world doesn’t know the ONE God who created it all. And they desperately need to know Him.
The second truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He knows the ONE problem. The one problem in the world is sin. In a way, sin is the opposite of worship. We’re supposed to worship God with our whole lives. Anytime we are not worshipping God with our lives we are not doing what we were created to do. Sin is the One problem. Everything was good before the fall. God called it very good after day six. But the fall brought sin into the world.
The world outside is trying very hard to make the problem anything but sin. They blame what goes on in this world on our genetic makeup. They blame it on a lack of education. Some even blame it on religion. When someone sins today, they can come up with a hundred reasons why they did it, but none of those reasons expresses the reality that they are a sinner. The ONE true God knows the ONE true problem: sin.
The third truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He provides the ONE solution. Sin is the problem and the wages of sin is death. Sin is going to be judged. There is only one remedy to this disease. There is only one solution to this problem. Jesus Christ is that solution. No amount of education will fix the sin problem. Denying it’s a problem won’t erase the sin problem. Trying to escape reality won’t erase the sin problem. You know Buddha is worshipped and his ways are imitated by millions. He claimed to be enlightened and able to escape the reality of sin in this world. Theologian John Stott commented on his experiences at Buddhist temples:
“I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian Countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost like smile on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from the thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me!”
You see, the solution is not escapism. The solution is that exact opposite. The only solution to the sin problem is for a sinless one to enter into our sinful world. The only solution was for God to become a man. Job knew this was the only solution long ago. Some scholars say Job is the oldest book in the Bible, listen to his words in Job 9:32-35 describing the problem.
For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, and do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, but it is not so with me.
Job recognized that sin was the problem. It created a barrier between Him and God. And the only solution to that problem was if God were a man. The only solution is if God somehow provided a mediator. The only way to boldly approach the throne of God is if God is also walking with you towards that throne!
Jesus Christ IS God in the flesh. He DID become a man. He IS our mediator. And in Him we CAN boldly approach the throne of grace. Jesus Christ IS the one solution. And the world outside these walls needs to know Him.
The third thing we note about Athens that we also see in our world today is that there is a choice to make outside these walls. For the unsaved there is a choice to either sneer or hear the Gospel. Let me read for you verses 32-34:
[32] When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." [33] At that, Paul left the Council. [34] A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
There’s a world outside these walls that has that choice to make. It’s a life and death decision. It’s a choice they need to be confronted with. But they are not the only one’s with a choice. Today as you leave this sanctuary and head home, you’ll have a choice to make as well. You can either sneak or speak. You can make the choice to sneak around the world. You can try to make sure you don’t get noticed. You can try to cover up that you are different from the world. You can try to not mention Jesus and your beliefs about Him. Or you can speak to this world. Now that doesn’t have to be in words all the times. It can be through words or through actions, but it should be through both. The last thing I want to do today is give you some practical principles from Paul regarding this idea of evangelism. We know that there’s a marketplace of ideas outside these walls. We know that there is an unknown God outside these walls. We know that there is a choice to make outside these walls. But what are some practical principles for presenting the Gospel outside these walls?
First of all, Paul was in the world. He was in the world, but not of the world. It’s important for us, even though we are saved, to continue to live in this world. When you were saved Jesus didn’t zap you into heaven. He keeps you here and He keeps you here for a reason. We are to be in the world. We shouldn’t live our lives in monestaries. We should live in the world.
Secondly, Paul observed the world. When you go to Wal-Mart do you just go to Wal-Mart? When you’re walking down the street is that all you’re doing? We should be observing the world. We should be seeing what the world is up to. Paul made sure to know what people were up to in Athens.
Thirdly, Paul had a heart for the world. Many of us feel bad because we don’t have a passion to reach lost people. Well, maybe that’s because we never see them! It’s easy for Christians to hang out only with Christian people. It’s hard to have a heart for someone you never see. Paul was greatly distressed to see the city was full of idols.
Fourth, Paul made contact with the world. He didn’t just live in the world. He didn’t just observe the world. He didn’t just have a heart for the world. He took the next step. He engaged the world. He made contact. He reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace. He accepted their invitation to speak at the Areopagus.
Fifth, Paul connected with the world. That is a little different from contacting the world. Paul connected with them by expressing where he agreed with them and by using their culture illustratively. He found some common ground in verse 22 by admitting that they were very religious. He used their altar to the unknown God as a segue to his sermon. He quoted one of their poets in verse 28. Did the Holy Spirit just put that quote in his head without him ever reading it? Probably not! Paul had, at some point, taken the time to become familiar with their culture. He met them where they were. He connected.
Sixth, Paul was courteous to the world. He reasoned with them. He didn’t yell at them. He told them about God and His plan of salvation. He didn’t tell them about how they were on the fast track to hell.
Seventh, Paul got to the point with the world. It’s easy for us to be Christ like everyday at work and never mention Jesus or the Gospel. In fact, sometimes they’ll bring up the subject and it’s easy to shy away from getting to the point about their need for forgiveness. Indeed, it is important to be patient sometimes, but eventually we must get to the point because it really is a matter of life and death for them.
Eight, and finally, Paul let God be God. He let God work in the people. Once Paul did his part preaching the Gospel, he let God work out the results. In fact, Paul left the council as soon as his sermon was over. He didn’t stick around and press each person for a decision. He let God be God. It’s God who saves.
In conclusion, I want to stress that these are just principles. I didn’t give you specific steps on “how to reach people for Christ.” I didn’t give you specific methods. I pointed out principles from Paul. In the end, it doesn’t matter so much HOW we reach people. What matters is WHY we reach them. If we really believe that people need God, if we really believe that it’s a matter of life and death, if we really believe each person outside these walls will be alive somewhere a thousand years from now, then that’ll be motivation enough. That will be the WHY. And as a wise professor at College told me, once we have the WHY in place, any old HOW will do. The world outside these walls needs God. And we have the unbelievable privilege of being used by God to reach them!
There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls
Our towns are full of ideas
Our towns are full of idols
Our towns are full of ideas
-Polytheism (Gentiles/Athenians)
-Pantheism (Stoics)
-Atheism (Epicurean)
-Monotheism (Jews)
There is an unknown God they need to know
A God who isn’t man-made
A God who made-man
A God who deals with the issue
A God who proved His authority
There is a life-changing decision for all to make
People can either sneer or hear
Paul practiced effective evangelism
-Paul was in the world
-Paul had a heart for the world
-Paul reasoned with them
-Paul preached the plain truth
-Paul connected with their culture
-Paul let God take care of the results
If you’d like you can turn with me in your Bible’s to the 17th chapter of Acts we’ll get right into God’s Word for us today. From time to time the text will hopefully be behind me on the screen as well. Today we’ll be focusing on Paul’s visit to Athens in verses 16-33, but before we get into that I just want to remind you of the general context of this 17th chapter.
This chapter took place near the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. The first nine verses of the chapter describe Paul and his ministry companions in Thessalonica. While they were there they preached Christ and the resurrection. Some Jews and many God-fearing Greeks joined them at this time, but other Jews were jealous and started a riot so Paul and Silas fled to Berea. They didn’t forget about Thessalonica though. Paul would later send Timothy there to help the church. He also sent them to letters of encouragement to them. We refer to those letters as 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.
Now even though a mob had threatened them in Thessalonica forcing them to flee, guess what Paul and Silas did once they got to Berea? They went right back to preaching and teaching about Jesus. The Bereans searched out to Scripture to see if Paul’s words were true and they must have thought so because verse 12 says many of the Jews and Greeks became believers.
But the jealous Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul was now in Berea they sent the mob to stir everyone up and once again Paul was forced to escape for his life, this time alone. He was taken to Athens where he was to wait for his ministry partners to join him again.
And so here is Paul waiting in Athens for 19 verses. Paul didn’t know how long he’d be waiting in Athens, but he wasn’t one to sit around. After having your life threatened at two consecutive stops of this missionary journey he probably could have used a vacation. And what better place for a vacation than Athens? Athens was home to many magnificent buildings including the Parthenon. It had a great marketplace. It was the center for Greek culture, philosophy, and education.
But even though Athens was a happening place, and even though this account describes Athens almost 2,000 years ago, the similarities between what Paul found in Athens and what we, as a church, find outside these walls, are staggering. Athens at that time is not much different than Appleton today. The buildings are different. The technology is different. A lot of things are different. But people tend to remain the same. We see the same types of individuals and the same ideas emanating from them anywhere we go outside these walls.
The first thing we see in this Scripture about Athens, and also in our world today is that there is a marketplace of ideas. Athens was full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Our world is full of idols, individuals, and ideas. Let me read for you verses 16-21:
[16] While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. [17] So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. [18] A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. [19] Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? [20] You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." [21] (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Verse 16 says that Paul was distressed because the city was full of idols. Athens was infested with idolatry. When writer of that time remarked that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man! The KJV says the city was “wholly given to idolatry.” The NIV says it was “full of idols.” The very literal rendering of the text could read that Athens was covered with idols.
Now the idols of those days were very different from the idols of our day, but not by much. They worshipped stone gods and carved images that they had made with their hands. Outside these walls people probably aren’t worshipping little figurines or big stone sculptures. They may, however, be worshipping television, sports, celebrity, or money. One of my favorite authors Keith Drury wrote an interesting article on how sports have become a god in our culture. Just like we have holy seasons at Christmas and Easter, sports have the World Series and the Super Bowl. Dedicated sports fans memorize stats and rosters of the star players. Those saints of the sport are now canonized in their respective halls of fame. The god of sports has its icons like trading cards and uniforms. The god of sports has mysterious rituals like face painting and the wave. The god of sports has its heroic stories of determination, pain, and sacrifice. And sports have their cathedrals, multi-million dollar cathedrals at that as a center for worship.
Verses 17 and 18 describe how Athens was full of unique individuals. In these two verses alone Paul reasoned with the Jews, Greeks, Epicureans, Stoics, and anyone else he ran into at the marketplace. There were all sorts of people in Athens and there are all sorts of people in our world today.
And each one of those unique individuals outside these walls this morning has a head full of unique ideas. Some have ideas that are more unique than others. Verses 19-21 tell us that the Athenians loved having and hearing all sorts of ideas.
Now the interesting thing about the kinds of people that Paul talked to in Athens is that they represent the four major ideas about the world. Those four ideas are still the four major ideas about the world today.
The first idea about the world is that it’s controlled by many different gods. This is the polytheistic worldview. They believed there were gods of love and gods of hate. There were gods of peace and gods of war. There aren’t as many polytheists in our world today, but they’re still out there.
The second idea about the world is called pantheism. That’s not a word we hear a lot, but it’s actually a pretty popular view, even for those who don’t know the word. This is the belief that everything is a part of god and that god is part of everything. The physical world is just something we put up with. The real purpose of life is to escape the laws of nature and be at one with the spirit world. This is your basic Star Wars theology. Hinduism, Buddhism, and a lot of new age religions fit into this group. The stoics that we mentioned in verse 18 were pantheists. They attempted to be unmoved by the circumstances of this world. They attempted to remove themselves from the suffering that is all to real in the real world.
The third idea about the world is called naturalism. These guys were pretty much the opposite of the pantheists. They believed the physical world was all there was. There was no spirit world. What you see is what you’ve got. They believed everything could be explained by natural laws. Evolutionists, Secular Humanists, and agnostics usually live out the principles of naturalism. The Epicureans that were mentioned in verse 18 were naturalists. Since this world was all there was, they tried to live for the moment. They lived for pleasure. They did whatever made them feel good. Sound familiar?
The fourth major idea about the world is monotheism. This is the belief that there is one God. Monotheists believe in the physical and spiritual world. They believe that our lives should be based on the standard given by that one God. The Jews mentioned in verse 17 would have been staunch monotheists. And monotheism is still the major view in the world today. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three major monotheistic faiths in the world. Obedience to the one God is the key.
So the city of Athens and the world outside these walls are much alike. They are full of idols, full of individuals, and full of ideas. There is a marketplace of ideas out there and Paul must have heard some doozies as he talked to people at the marketplace in Athens. I’ve heard some doozies myself as I talk to people about the world. I’ll never forget talking to a Mormon one night and having him tell me that “facts change all the time, but opinions are always true.” There is a marketplace of ideas outside these walls.
The second thing we see in Athens that is also true in our world today is that there is an unknown God. For all the ideas floating around our society today there are an unbelievable amount of people that haven’t heard about the true God. They have never really been presented with the Gospel. In Athens they had so many gods they couldn’t count them, but they didn’t know the one God that mattered! They did, however, recognize the possibility that they were forgetting some deity in their worship. This made them very afraid, so they made an altar with an inscription on it that read “To an unknown God.” Let me read verses 22 and 23 for you:
[22] Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
After talking with people about the Gospel, the Athenians took Paul up to the Areopagus, which was a hill they used for their most important trials. They were putting Paul’s idea about Christ on trial. Paul then went on to tell them about the true God in verses 24-31.
[24] "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. [25] And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. [26] From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. [27] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. [28] 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' [29] "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill. [30] In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. [31] For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
With this short sermon Paul gets right to the point. He expresses three key truths about this unknown God that the people of Athens needed desperately to hear. These are the same truths that the people outside these walls need to know about this unknown God.
The first truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He is the ONE Creator. Paul told the people of Athens, in the gentlest way possible, that the whole idea of building a god with your human hands is utterly absurd! A real God wouldn’t need to be made! God can’t be created with human hands. He created humans. He created everything and He’s in control of everything. He took one man and made all the nations of men. He determined when they’d live, how long, and where. He sets the rules and He sets them in such a way so that men would seek Him and find Him because He loves people.
We can tell that the world outside these walls doesn’t know or believe that there is ONE Creator. If they did believe there was ONE Creator they’d understand that they owe Him their lives instead of living for their own selfish desires. They’d understand that He sets the rules instead of making up the rules as they go along. They’d understand that everything they have is from Him instead of fooling themselves with pride. Our world doesn’t know the ONE God who created it all. And they desperately need to know Him.
The second truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He knows the ONE problem. The one problem in the world is sin. In a way, sin is the opposite of worship. We’re supposed to worship God with our whole lives. Anytime we are not worshipping God with our lives we are not doing what we were created to do. Sin is the One problem. Everything was good before the fall. God called it very good after day six. But the fall brought sin into the world.
The world outside is trying very hard to make the problem anything but sin. They blame what goes on in this world on our genetic makeup. They blame it on a lack of education. Some even blame it on religion. When someone sins today, they can come up with a hundred reasons why they did it, but none of those reasons expresses the reality that they are a sinner. The ONE true God knows the ONE true problem: sin.
The third truth the world needs to know about the unknown God is that He provides the ONE solution. Sin is the problem and the wages of sin is death. Sin is going to be judged. There is only one remedy to this disease. There is only one solution to this problem. Jesus Christ is that solution. No amount of education will fix the sin problem. Denying it’s a problem won’t erase the sin problem. Trying to escape reality won’t erase the sin problem. You know Buddha is worshipped and his ways are imitated by millions. He claimed to be enlightened and able to escape the reality of sin in this world. Theologian John Stott commented on his experiences at Buddhist temples:
“I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian Countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost like smile on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from the thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me!”
You see, the solution is not escapism. The solution is that exact opposite. The only solution to the sin problem is for a sinless one to enter into our sinful world. The only solution was for God to become a man. Job knew this was the only solution long ago. Some scholars say Job is the oldest book in the Bible, listen to his words in Job 9:32-35 describing the problem.
For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, and do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, but it is not so with me.
Job recognized that sin was the problem. It created a barrier between Him and God. And the only solution to that problem was if God were a man. The only solution is if God somehow provided a mediator. The only way to boldly approach the throne of God is if God is also walking with you towards that throne!
Jesus Christ IS God in the flesh. He DID become a man. He IS our mediator. And in Him we CAN boldly approach the throne of grace. Jesus Christ IS the one solution. And the world outside these walls needs to know Him.
The third thing we note about Athens that we also see in our world today is that there is a choice to make outside these walls. For the unsaved there is a choice to either sneer or hear the Gospel. Let me read for you verses 32-34:
[32] When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." [33] At that, Paul left the Council. [34] A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
There’s a world outside these walls that has that choice to make. It’s a life and death decision. It’s a choice they need to be confronted with. But they are not the only one’s with a choice. Today as you leave this sanctuary and head home, you’ll have a choice to make as well. You can either sneak or speak. You can make the choice to sneak around the world. You can try to make sure you don’t get noticed. You can try to cover up that you are different from the world. You can try to not mention Jesus and your beliefs about Him. Or you can speak to this world. Now that doesn’t have to be in words all the times. It can be through words or through actions, but it should be through both. The last thing I want to do today is give you some practical principles from Paul regarding this idea of evangelism. We know that there’s a marketplace of ideas outside these walls. We know that there is an unknown God outside these walls. We know that there is a choice to make outside these walls. But what are some practical principles for presenting the Gospel outside these walls?
First of all, Paul was in the world. He was in the world, but not of the world. It’s important for us, even though we are saved, to continue to live in this world. When you were saved Jesus didn’t zap you into heaven. He keeps you here and He keeps you here for a reason. We are to be in the world. We shouldn’t live our lives in monestaries. We should live in the world.
Secondly, Paul observed the world. When you go to Wal-Mart do you just go to Wal-Mart? When you’re walking down the street is that all you’re doing? We should be observing the world. We should be seeing what the world is up to. Paul made sure to know what people were up to in Athens.
Thirdly, Paul had a heart for the world. Many of us feel bad because we don’t have a passion to reach lost people. Well, maybe that’s because we never see them! It’s easy for Christians to hang out only with Christian people. It’s hard to have a heart for someone you never see. Paul was greatly distressed to see the city was full of idols.
Fourth, Paul made contact with the world. He didn’t just live in the world. He didn’t just observe the world. He didn’t just have a heart for the world. He took the next step. He engaged the world. He made contact. He reasoned in the synagogue and in the marketplace. He accepted their invitation to speak at the Areopagus.
Fifth, Paul connected with the world. That is a little different from contacting the world. Paul connected with them by expressing where he agreed with them and by using their culture illustratively. He found some common ground in verse 22 by admitting that they were very religious. He used their altar to the unknown God as a segue to his sermon. He quoted one of their poets in verse 28. Did the Holy Spirit just put that quote in his head without him ever reading it? Probably not! Paul had, at some point, taken the time to become familiar with their culture. He met them where they were. He connected.
Sixth, Paul was courteous to the world. He reasoned with them. He didn’t yell at them. He told them about God and His plan of salvation. He didn’t tell them about how they were on the fast track to hell.
Seventh, Paul got to the point with the world. It’s easy for us to be Christ like everyday at work and never mention Jesus or the Gospel. In fact, sometimes they’ll bring up the subject and it’s easy to shy away from getting to the point about their need for forgiveness. Indeed, it is important to be patient sometimes, but eventually we must get to the point because it really is a matter of life and death for them.
Eight, and finally, Paul let God be God. He let God work in the people. Once Paul did his part preaching the Gospel, he let God work out the results. In fact, Paul left the council as soon as his sermon was over. He didn’t stick around and press each person for a decision. He let God be God. It’s God who saves.
In conclusion, I want to stress that these are just principles. I didn’t give you specific steps on “how to reach people for Christ.” I didn’t give you specific methods. I pointed out principles from Paul. In the end, it doesn’t matter so much HOW we reach people. What matters is WHY we reach them. If we really believe that people need God, if we really believe that it’s a matter of life and death, if we really believe each person outside these walls will be alive somewhere a thousand years from now, then that’ll be motivation enough. That will be the WHY. And as a wise professor at College told me, once we have the WHY in place, any old HOW will do. The world outside these walls needs God. And we have the unbelievable privilege of being used by God to reach them!
posted by matthew at 10:34 AM
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