May God be with us this morning
as we turn together for a while to consider his word. And we
will turn back to the chapter that we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, chapter 17, Acts chapter 17, and I want to this morning
consider this sermon by Paul on Mars Hill. so we will read
by way of a text verse 23 but we will consider his words in
the following verses as well so Acts 17 and verse 23 where
Paul says for as I passed by and beheld your devotions I found
an altar with this inscription to the unknown God whom therefore
ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you we sometimes sing a well-known
hymn God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform and
that was a truth which is very evident and very real in this
chapter in the life of the apostle particularly but also particularly
in this chapter where we see how God moved and led the apostle
to perform his ways. You'll have noticed as we read
through the chapter that it records Paul going to a number of different
places. He starts off in Thessalonica,
the beginning of chapter 17, and there he has a measure of
success, to put it that way. There is those who receive the
gospel, We read that some believed, consorted with Paul and Silas,
of devout Greeks, a great multitude, and of the chief women, not a
few. The apostle had a time of blessing at Thessalonica. And
these people came to believe on Christ through the preaching
of the gospel. But it wasn't long before these
people rise up, some people rise up against him. There are these
those who believe not, they move with envy, they raise up this
company, they assault the house of Jason, and Paul has to leave
Thessalonica. And so a time of blessing is
followed by a time of opposition. And so Paul is moved on by circumstances
to Berea. And when he comes to Berea, he
knows again a time of blessing. We know the Bereans were more
noble than those of Thessalonica. They received the word in all
readiness of mind, and they searched the scriptures daily whether
these things were so. Therefore, many of them believed. And so the apostle here has again
a time of blessing. Many believe through the searching
of the scriptures, through the preaching of Jesus. But then
these people from Thessalonica, they come to Berea. they stir
up trouble again and so Paul has to again depart and so Paul
moves on to Athens he is sent by Athens and his friends Silas
and Timothy they stay behind and the intention is that they
will move on as soon as possible to join Paul in Athens and then
ultimately he will then move on to Corinth and we know what
he did in Corinth and of course we have the letters of the Corinthians
and the church that was planted in Corinth And so Athens really
is a holding place. It is a place for him to wait. He's been moved on from Berea
for his safety. He is waiting for his friends
Silas and Timothy to join him. And then we're moving on to Corinth. And so Paul really is there waiting
in Athens. And now I wonder if we could
put ourselves in the Apostle's shoes, what might we do in Athens? Maybe we could argue that this
is our opportunity for a rest. It's our opportunity for that
well-earned break. We have been busy in the ministry
in Berea and Thessalonica. We have had a time of blessing
and we're thankful for that, but we've also known opposition
and difficulty. We've known these riots and uproars. And now God has put us in a quiet
place all alone in the city of Athens and we can take a rest
from these labors. It's not to say there isn't sometimes
a place for a rest, sometimes a place to take a break from
our laboring. But Paul didn't see it like that
in Athens. Because as he went about through
the city, he observed. He observed the idolatry. He
observed the many altars to many gods. He observed their philosophy,
and their thinkings, and their reasonings, and their discussions.
And he listened to them. And his heart was grieved. He was grieved. We're told his
spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given
to idolatry. And seeing this, as the apostle
does, he cannot keep silent. He takes every opportunity he
can possibly see to preach the gospel to these people. And so God moves in a mysterious
way. And God brings the apostle to
Athens, and he preaches this wonderful sermon to these people
of this God. And so God moves in a mysterious
way. It's wonderful when we can see
this in our life, when we can see God leading us directing
us, showing us where we should be, directing us, opening doors
and shutting doors, and taking us perhaps to unexpected places
that we didn't think we would be. And yet, may we be helped
to see that the Lord has put us there. Then we're to serve
him, we're to honour him, we're to do his bidding, though it
may be unexpected. In a sense, we have this this
morning, don't we? I never expected to be preaching
to you. You didn't expect to be listening
to me. But God has moved in these ways. These circumstances have come
to pass. We pray that it will be for our good, for our blessing. And so the apostle has come to
Athens. Here he is struck with the many
gods. He is struck with the idolatry.
He's struck with the many idols, the many different altars. But
one altar strikes him particularly, to the unknown God. He's passed many altars to these
different Greek and Roman deities, and they've all got their inscriptions
on them. This idol is for Zeus. This idol
is for Mercury. This idol is for Jupiter, and
so forth. But this one, this inscription
is to the unknown God. What a strange thing. This is
to no one in particular, but to a God who we don't know. And so the apostle sees this,
here is a people so taken up in idol worship, so taken up
in man-made, man-filled ideas and philosophies, so taken up
with this many gods, that they have decided that in case there's
a God that's there that they've missed out, in case there's a
God that they don't know yet, they better worship this idol
at this altar just in case. And so they create an altar to
the unknown God. And he is so saddened by what
he sees. And so here is the people of
Athens, you're worshipping the unknown God. Now, I want to pose
this question. Are we, are you, am I, worshipping
the unknown God? Are we worshipping the unknown
God? Now your immediate reaction to
that question might be, well don't be so ridiculous. Of course
we're not worshipping the unknown God. Of course we don't worship
an empty idol. Of course we don't worship the
unknown God. But if we help to look a bit
deeper into our hearts, is it possible that we are worshipping
or that we are serving but we do not really know him? That is, we are religious. We are active in a religion. We do things in a Christian world,
in a Christian way. We do things in a way a church
or other Christians expect us to. We observe a religion, but
we do not know God. Are we worshipping an unknown
God? A God that we do not personally know? Or are we worshipping a
God of our own creation? A God that we have made? And
you say, well, I don't make idols. I don't raise these little altars
around the city. I don't make these little figures
to bow down before. I don't create my own god. Well,
no, I'm sure you don't. But are we, in our minds, worshiping
a god of our own making? That is, a god that fits with
us. A God that fits with one that
we would like, that fits with our thinking, that fits with
our life, that fits with our desires, but is not the God of
Scripture, but is not the true God, a God of our own creation. And so you could say, well, I
worship a God, but I don't believe this God is very worried about
sin. I worship a God who there is
no real emphasis on holiness or on righteousness. And so the
God of my creation is a God who allows me to carry on in my sin
and doesn't really affect my conscience at all. That's a God
of your own creation. That's not the God of the Bible.
God of the Bible is holy. God of the Bible hates sin. The
God of the Bible judges sin. He doesn't pass it off lightly. That's the God of your creation.
It's the unknown God. I say, well, I believe in a God,
but this God doesn't really judge. I believe that it will all be
all right in the end. I believe that God is so full
of love that all will be saved and it doesn't really matter
what I do in my life because on the great judgment day he'll
receive me just as I am. That's a God of your own creation. Because God clearly tells us
that there are consequences to sin. He clearly tells us that
there is a day of judgment when those who are saved will be separated
from those who are not. It clearly tells us that those
who die in their sin will be cast into hell. He is clearly
a God of judgment. And so if you are swallowing
a God who has no judgment, and therefore doesn't touch your
life in any way, then it's a God of your own creation. Perhaps
you think, well, I believe that there is a God. I have to believe
there is a God. The creation around me clearly
shows that there is a God. But I believe this God is so
remote and so distant and so far from me that he doesn't even
know what I do in my little life. He just lets me carry on. He
just lets me do what I want to do. I'm in charge of my life. That's a God of your own creation.
He knows exactly what you're doing. He knows exactly where
you are. He's intimately involved. He knows fully your thoughts
and intents and actions and words. But you've made a God of your
own creation to fit with what you want him to be. You say,
well I don't really believe in a God who is just. I don't really
believe in a God who worries about sin. therefore I don't
think it's really important that I need to confess, that I need
to repent, that I need to turn around for my sin. That's not
a god of scripture. That's the unknown god. There's
a god of your own creation. And so you may immediately start
away from the question, do you worship the unknown god? But
when you think about it, do you know god? Do you worship him
as he is revealed to us in his word? And so Paul, having said
and shown to them that you are worshipping the unknown God,
he then goes on to speak of God. This is who God is, he says. This is our God. You're worshipping
the unknown God. But this is our God, whom therefore
you ignorantly worship. Him declare I unto you." He takes
this God-given opportunity to preach God to the people. This is Him, not these many idols,
not these many altars, not this unknown God. Here is God. This is who God is, says Paul.
Firstly, He speaks to them of the Creator God. The Creator
God, God that made the world and all things therein, seeing
that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands, neither is worship with men's hands, as though he
needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all
things. verse 28 he says for in him we
live and move and have our being he is the creator God interesting isn't it the Apostle
here is speaking largely if not exclusively to a Gentile congregation
it's not people with the Jewish background Often when he's speaking
to the Jews in the synagogues, he will go back to Abraham. He'll
speak of the heritage of the Jewish people and of the promises
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all leading up to Christ. But
this is a different group of people. And so he goes back to
creation, the common ground, if you like. We can all see creation,
all the world. And he says this creation. is
pointing us to God. God that made the world and all
things therein. God who spoke the world into
being. Not these little, dumb, ineffectual
idols, but God who spoke the world into being. He said, let there be light and
there was. He spoke and it was done. He has this amazing creative
power. And therefore, every single person,
the apostles speaking, all the people listening, and everyone
in this world owes their life, their everything to this God.
We would not be if it wasn't for Him. We would not be made
if it wasn't for Him. We would not be living, we would
not be breathing. This morning, if it were not
for him, it is through him that we live and move and have our
being. You cannot move a muscle without
him. There is not a smallest atom
that moves without him. It's not the tiniest blood cell
in your body that moves without Him. You live in Him. He has
made you and formed you. He is the creator of the heavens
and of the earth. And as we look at the tiny molecules,
we marvel at the creative power of God. And if we look at the
immense universe, we marvel at the creative power of God. As
we look up into the night sky, see the stars and we read he
made the stars also just a few simple words and yet what profound
power there is there that he just made them spoke and they
came into being this is God says Paul not your look at your many
little idols this is God He made us all. And as the Creator, He
doesn't need anything from you. He doesn't need anything from you.
He doesn't require anything from you. He's not made bigger or
greater or any more glorious through anything you do in your
creating of your little idols and of your little altars. As
God, it's not as if He needed anything, seeing as He giveth
to all life and breath and all things. How often we can think that we're
giving something to God, as if He needs something from us, as
if we're doing Him a favor, as if we're adding something to
His glory. Our works do not add anything
to the glory of God. Our works do not add anything
to His greatness. we move and live in him and so
he sustains us and provides for us you know every day we're sustained
and provided for by the power of God for in him we live and
move and have our being and so we should remember that
as the created beings, as those who were formed by God, made
in the image of God, we are formed for his praise. We're formed
for his glory. We're formed that we might honor
him. And Adam and Eve did. They glorified
him before they fell. There's still that sense that
we are still mankind is still the highest of God's creation.
We are made in his image We have more worth naturally than anything
else in all of God's creation. We're in his image We will live
eternally in heaven or in hell But of course we are falling
and when he fell that image was tainted They no longer glorify
Him as they should. They no longer honor Him as they
should. No, we do not glorify Him as we should. We fall so
far short of that. And yet, that is what we are
created to do. See, it highlights our sin, doesn't
it? If this God made us and formed us and sustains us, and if this
God is so glorious and so amazing, this created God, surely we owe
him the glory due to his name and yet we do not give it to
him so the Apostle says this is this God he is the creator
secondly he shows to them that he is the sovereign God he is
the sovereign God verse 26 he is made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and if determined,
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. All nations of one blood unto
God, sovereignly ruling over them all, appointing their times
and the bounds of their habitation, he is sovereign in control. If
yes, the Greeks here but also of the Jews, and also of the
Romans, and today of every nation, and of every tribe, and of every
tongue, all one blood, excuse me, under God, which is why there
is no place for racial segregation or racism in the scripture, or
under this sovereign God. But you see how it says he is
appointed, is appointed times and the bounds of their habitations.
Yes, for the nations. The nations will rise and will
fall. The empires will come and will go. The Babylonians will
rule the world and then will fade away. The Assyrians will
ride across a great power and authority and yet they have now
disappeared. And the Greeks and the Romans
and and the russian empire and the french empire and the british
empire and they will come and they will go because the lord
is sovereignly reigning and he's determined their times and their
appointments and kings will rise and monarchs will fall because
they were not really in control they were not really ruling they
were under the hand of god one blood under god you see And so
he's the sovereign Lord. This is the God, he said, not
your little gods, or your many gods in Athens. You've got one
God for war, and you've got one God for love, and you've got
another God for cooking, and another God for this, and another
God for that. No, no, no, he says, listen to
this God. He is the sovereign Lord. He
is over and above all of this. And he's reigning. supremely
today. This morning he's reigning supremely
over every single one of us. His wisdom and his ways are beyond
our searching, beyond our understanding. I know how he even uses the sin
and wickedness of men for his own purposes that doesn't mean
he is the originator of sin it doesn't mean he commands sin
but how he even uses the wickedness of men for his own purposes example
of that is joseph in the old testament it didn't mean it was
right for the brothers to sell him into slavery to mean it was
right for him to be thrown innocent into prison but god uses even
the wickedness of men, the evil designs of his brothers, for
good. Joseph's good for the good of
the family as well. Oh this sovereign Lord ruling
supremely, controlling, permitting for his own glory, for his own
purposes. Because we're thinking even this
week, we're on a crowded beach this week, there's many Many
people, many children around. And he's thinking of how easy
it is to get lost, particularly a child. How easy it is for a
child to get lost in a crowded place, on a beach. People have
got their different tents up. Some tents look very similar
to each other. And you can easily lose your bearings as to where
you are. But you know how easy it is for
a child to get lost. And yet, the parent, that much
taller, more aware of your surroundings, looks out and sees where they
are. Can see them looking around, can see them trying to find where
their family is, can see them searching. You can see them,
but they haven't yet realized where you are. They haven't yet
turned around to see you. Until that time comes where the
panic starts to set in and they turn around and then the parent
starts to go out and bring them back. because they've realized
they were lost. You see, God is like that. How often we go through life
as if we feel like we're all alone. We're turning this way
and that way, and we can't find our bearings, and we don't know
what we're doing. And we think we're all alone, and we think
that it's all up to us. And yet God knows where we are.
He knows where we're going. can see our every move, can see
our every action and will only permit us to go so far before
he reaches out and he says come back. You see this is a sovereign
ruling of Almighty God and so he says he has determined the
times and the bounds of the habitation so we have to create a God we
have the sovereign God but the Apostle also says we have a knowable
God knowable God you have been worshiping the unknown God him
declare I unto you as 27 that they should seek the Lord if
happily they might feel after him and find him though he be
not far from every one of us some people have this idea that
God is just far off being far off into the heavens somewhere,
he has no knowledge, he has no awareness, has no interest in
the events in this world. But Paul says no, he's not far
off, he's not far from every one of us, he is knowable. To the Greeks they had many gods
who were unknowable, it's as if they lived in this parallel
universe. There's a place called Mount Olympus where all the Greek
gods lived, This is parallel universe. They all live up there.
They have no real interest in the in the events in this world
And Paul says God isn't like that He's knowable He is one
who is not very far from us. He can be sought and he can be
found. He is not the unknown God I'm declaring to you that
the knowable God But the point is that natural man does not
know him Natural fallen sinful man does not know does not want
to know him Paul says here seeing that the Sorry that they they
should feel after him and find him and here this this feel after
him has this connotation of groping around in the dark You know when
you're in a dark room and you can't see and you're trying to
feel things So if you're trying to find something and you're
feeling yourself feeling your way around desperately trying
to find something but you can't because it's dark and And he
says, this is what natural man is like. They're groping around
for something in the dark. They're trying to find something.
They see evidence that there is a God. They can see creation. They can see the evidence of
some power outside of ourselves. But natural man, you've got a
dead heart. groping around in the dark you're not finding him
he can be known but but you can't find him and so you're worshipping
idols and you're worshipping these little gods and you're
worshipping at these many altars because you're you're groping
around this is what fallen man does
this is what you and i do by nature you cannot find him and
in fact we are satisfied with the little gods satisfied with
the sins of this world. We're satisfied with our unknown
God, with our worship of idols, because even though he is close
and even though there's evidence all around us of this real, this
living, this creator God, but natural man is happy to worship
the unknown God. The unknown God that doesn't
touch our sins. The unknown God that doesn't
touch our consciences. The unknown God that doesn't say of any judgment. The unknown God who doesn't speak
of heaven and of hell. We want to worship something,
but we will not worship this God. He is a knowable God, but
fallen man does not know him. Fourthly, he is a just God. He is a just God. He is appointed
a day, verse 31. in which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men that he hath raised him
from the dead. A day is appointed. He will judge the world. And he will judge it righteously,
perfectly. He will judge it in accordance
with his own holy standard. God who created the world perfectly,
with no sin, will judge the world by His holy standard. And anything
that falls short of the glory of that holy standard will be
deemed to be sin and will be dealt with. And He is appointed
that day. And the man that he's speaking
of here is Jesus. Jesus has been appointed to be
the judge of the living and of the dead. Jesus has been appointed
to sit on that great judgment throne. And those who stand before
him as sinners, not watched, not cleansed, not forgiven, just
as they are in their fallen nature with their dead heart, having
worshiped this unknown God, those people, Cannot enter into the
glory of heaven. They cannot enter into the perfection
of heaven. They will defile it They will
destroy it They cannot set one foot into that glorious place. They must Be cast out because
he will judge the world in righteousness. That's what we want of god, isn't
it? Really? Do we want a god who judges unrighteously Do we
want a God who judges unfairly? Do we want a God who is arbitrary
and changes his standards for different people? We all demand
fairness. We all want fairness out of people,
don't we? And God is fair. God is just. And if they do not meet that
righteous standard, then they must be cast out as sinners. This God is a just God. And the apostle says, he has
proved this to be the case through the resurrection of Jesus. He
hath raised him from the dead, risen, that one day he might
judge the nations. That day is coming. Be sure of it. However long it
lingers, however long we feel it goes on, that day is coming.
He's appointed. day it is an appointment we have
an appointments in our life which are often cancelled any appointments
at the moment which keep being delayed because of lockdown and
restrictions but this appointment will be kept it's a day that
is set it will be kept he has appointed a day in which he will
judge the world this creator God this sovereign king This
God who you do not know, this God has appointed a day of judgment. This is the unknown God, says
Paul. It's not a God that you've been
ignorant, you've been ignorantly worshipping, a nothing. Here
is, I declare unto you the living God, says the Apostle. And this
morning, this is our God. This is our God. And so the question is, do we
know him? Was he to us the unknown God?
Do we realize our fallen condition in his sight? Do we realize how
far short we have fallen of his glory? Do we realize how we stand
before him? Have we been seeking him through
other means? Have we been seeking him? Have we been found worshiping
idols of gold and silver and man's devices? You say, of course
not. Course not. I don't worship an idol of gold,
but have we been worshipping someone else? Have we been worshipped
through our works, through our religion, trying to earn our
way into his presence, and trying to be good, and trying to do
things, and trying to convince ourselves that we know this God
when all we have is outward performance? We do not know him. Then the Apostle says, how are
we to know this God? How are we to know him? A time of this ignorance God
winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. God had been merciful to these
people. He could have destroyed them, could have cut them off
for their idol worship, but he had been merciful to them. He
had brought this day to pass through the workings of Thessalonica
and Berea in his mysterious ways for the apostle Paul. He had
brought this day to pass that these people would stand in front
of the apostle and hear the gospel. In his mercy, in his goodness,
he had brought this day to pass. And now they had heard the gospel. And the Lord has shown the same
mercy to us this morning. For our sin, he could have cut
us off last night. sin he could have destroyed us years ago and
yet in his mercy has brought us to a day to hear the gospel
to hear the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ this morning
in his goodness we have been brought to hear of the way of
salvation when many many as yet have not but he says but now
but now this day commandeth all men everywhere to repent. There is a call to repentance,
a call to turn to the Lord, a call to turn away from these idols,
to turn away from themselves, to turn away from their own righteousness,
their own works, and to turn to the living God, the God whom
he has declared unto them. That is repentance. Repentance
is to turn around, to turn away from our sin and to turn unto
this God. You might say, but we have just
heard, this God is the judge. He is the judge of the world
and he will judge in righteousness. If I turn to him, surely that
will only highlight my sin. If I turn to him, then I would
face his righteous indignation. If I turn to him, then he will
condemn me. Surely, you know, some people,
if they're summoned to go to a court because they have done
wrong and they need to stand before a judge, they won't turn
up. They'll run away. They'll hide
somewhere. I hope no one can find them.
I don't want to stand before the judge. I don't want to face
the justice that I deserve. You might say, well, repentance
means turning to the Lord, and I don't want to stand before
the judge. Look how he will deal with me. Look what I deserve
for my sin. You see, the wonderful thing
is this day of judgment has not yet come. The day appointed has
not yet come. Where are we today? Today is
the day of grace. Day of mercy, because this Jesus,
yes, who is the judge of the world, this Jesus is the savior
of sinners, is the judge who paid the price for his people.
It's the judge who died so these people might live. is the judge
who shed his blood and paid that enormous price for sinners that
they might not face that righteous judgment of God. He faced himself
the righteous indignation of the holiness of God as he carried
the sins of all his people. This is the one that we turn
to. Jesus who said, come unto me. all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus who said, I am the way,
the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Jesus who said, if any man thirsts,
let him come unto me and drink. Jesus who was preached by the
Apostle on the day of Pentecost, repent and be baptized, believing
on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jesus who was preached,
Acts 16 to the Philippian jailer. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and now shall be saved. This same
Jesus still receives sinners and blesses them. He now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent. This, of course, is not to deny
the fact that repentance is a gift of God. Repentance is an act
of faith. And no, we will not repent until
we are given that gift of God to do so. But it is also a command,
it is a call, something that must be done if we are to be
saved. We are to turn unto the Lord, he commandeth all men,
everyone, to repent. You see, this Jesus who speaks
here of this one who is risen from the dead, who one day will
be the judge, this Jesus is risen from the dead, a conqueror over
sin, who has defeated the grave, who has defeated death, and all
those who truly come to this living Lord Jesus Christ, Find
him. Find him to be their God. Find
him to be the receiver and lover of sinners. Find him to be the
God whom the apostle declares unto us. You know the dying thief? Let
me just close with the dying thief. You know the account, of course,
of the dying thief on the side of Jesus on his cross. And he
knew he was a sinner. He knew he had been judged and
under the laws of the land at the time was guilty and was deserving
of his death. And he turns to Jesus and he
acknowledges that Jesus is perfect. He has done nothing amiss. And
he looks on the Lord and you might say, surely the holiness
of Christ, the perfection of Christ, all it does is but highlights
the sin of the thief. What a contrast between these
two men. It highlights how awful he is. He is suffering justly, but Jesus
has done nothing amiss. And so you might think, why does
the thief not turn away, ashamed in the presence of Christ? But
what does he do? He turns to him. He turns to him. He knew he was holy, sinless,
and perfect, but he turns to him. And why does he turn to
him? because he had nowhere else to
go. Because there was no other way. There was no other Lord. No other Savior. No other God. Only this one. This one who receives
sinners and eats with them. This one who was, at that very
moment, dying for sinners. Lord, remember me when I come
into thy kingdom. He comes to him because he has
nowhere else to go. And he receives the blessing
of mercy. and of forgiveness. While this morning, in a time
of our ignorance, God winked at us. God has brought us to
this morning. But now, commandeth all men everywhere
to repent. Do not worship the unknown God.
Do not worship a God that you do not know. For may we be helped
by God's grace to turn. Turn unto him. Repent of our
sins. calling on the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and find him. We do not ignorantly worship,
but we worship in spirit and in truth this God, whom the apostle
declares unto you.