1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 1 says, Wherefore, when we could no longer
forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone. Now, in studying this chapter,
the Lord willing, we're going to look at this entire chapter.
We've been going through 1 Thessalonians. And in studying this chapter,
trying to see what the message was in the entire chapter, every
time I read verse 1, I couldn't help but dwell on what happened
at Athens. He said it's good that we be
left at Athens. But it's good, right? And every time I saw that, I
thought about everything that happened at Athens, how Paul
got to Athens, what happened after he got there. And after dwelling on it long
enough, I finally realized that's our message for this morning.
What happened at Athens? That is the message of today.
What happened at Athens is what needs to happen in Kingsport
today. In this, we are going to see
how God truly does work all things together for good to his people. In the end, he truly does. The reason Paul was in Athens
was because he preached the gospel in Thessalonica. That's the earthly
reason why he was in Athens. After he preached the gospel
in Thessalonica, the good, fine, church-going people hated it. They hated it. They hated it. Now, the sinners loved it. The sinners soaked it up. They
rejoiced in it so much. It was such good news. Never
heard good news like this. But the good religious Jews were
moved with envy. They were moved with envy. They
did not like hearing that Christ did all of the good deeds that
needed to be done by Himself. They didn't like that. And all
of their good deeds didn't amount to a hill of beans before God.
They did not like that. They did not like hearing that
all of that good morality they thought they were, all of that
good religion that they thought they were, was putrefying sin
before God. Didn't care for that. They did not like hearing that
no matter what they did, no matter what they did, they were never
going to be able to stand in the presence of God. Never. They
did not like hearing that they were completely at the mercy of the will and the purpose of
Christ. They hated hearing salvation
is of the Lord. They hated hearing that. So they
set the city in an uproar, a violent uproar. Paul, Silas, and Timothy
had to flee for their life to Berea. Now what happened when
they got to Berea? They started preaching the gospel.
And the Bereans started believing the gospel. The Bereans opened
up the scripture and realized these things are so. This shocking
information you're giving us is in here. This is all so. Well, word got out that Paul
was preaching the gospel in Berea. So all of the good fine church
going people brought the riot to Berea. They came and tormented
the city of Berea. Paul had to flee for his life
again. Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea,
but they had to hurry Paul over to Athens. That's how he got
to Athens. Now turn with me, if you would,
to Acts chapter 17. Acts chapter 17 verse 16 says,
now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred
in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. He saw that that city was wholly
given to idolatry. Now, what Paul saw in Athens
is what I see in Kingsport. This city is wholly given to
idolatry. Now, it's very important that
I say this. It is very, very important that I say this. I
am not pointing the finger. I do not say this in arrogance. I do not. I do not. As though I have it right and
everybody else has it wrong. I do not. I am no better and
I am no different from anybody outside of the grace of God. If there is any difference What
maketh me to differ? The grace of God. That's it. The grace of God. Outside of
God's grace, I would be wholly given to idolatry. No doubt in
my mind. With that being said, my calling
is to tell this city the truth. And this is the truth. This city
is wholly given to idolatry. Now, what is idolatry? What is
idolatry? It is religion. That's what it is. It is the
worship of something. That's what idolatry is, the
worship of something. It is looking to something for
salvation, bowing down to something for salvation. More specifically,
it is looking to anything for salvation. That is not the will
and the work and the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ
alone. Anything other than that. Looking to anything for salvation
other than the work that Christ... Key word here is finished. Finished. Looking to anything
other than the work that Christ finished on the cross of Calvary
is idolatry also known as religion. This city is wholly given to
religion. This city looks to everything
this city looks to anything and everything but the work of Christ. Now as I say that If anyone hears
this, somebody will say, that's not true. What you're saying
is not true. We worship the Bible. We worship the Bible. We don't
worship idols. We worship this Bible. If that's
all we worship, that's idolatry. If that's all we worship, that's
idolatry. Now let me explain why. God never
gave us this Bible for it to be worshipped. He never gave us. Now do we love? I protect this book. I don't
even like to set another book on top of it. I love this book. I thank God for this is Take
anything in my house but don't take this. But God never gave
us this book for it to be worshipped. He never gave us the laws and
the commandments in this book for them to be worshipped. Everything in this book was given
to expose our sin to us and to point us to Christ. That's the
whole reason the book was given. Now, when we look to the laws
and the commandments of this book, instead of looking to Christ
for salvation, when we look to the laws and the commandments
of this book, instead of looking to Christ, that's idolatry. That's idolatry, looking to anything
other than the will. and the finished work, the blood
and the righteousness of Christ is idolatry. Anything. Anything. This is something that would
be commonly heard. If you want to be saved, you
better get in the Bible. That's idolatry. If you ever
hear somebody say that, that's idolatry. If you want to be saved,
you better get back in church. That's idolatry. If you want to be saved, you
must be in Christ. That's true worship. That's true
worship. If you want to be saved, you
better obey those ten commandments. Idolatry. That's idolatry. If you want to be saved, you
better start doing what the Bible tells you to do, and you better
stop doing what the Bible tells you to stop doing. That's idolatry. Christ fulfilled all the law
and the commandments. And you have already fulfilled
them in Him. You are complete. in Him. If you want God to be satisfied
with you, look to Christ, run to Christ, plead Christ. That's true worship. That is
true worship. Now why is that true worship? That difference. Why is that
true worship? It's because that's what the
Scripture says. That's what God wrote in His
Word. I would love to give you a hundred verses to prove that. Let me give us just a few. Alright? Go with me over to Romans 3. Romans 3 verse 19 says, Now we know that what things
so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. The reason the law was given
was to expose our sin to us and stop our mouth. We would have
all been just like those Pharisees standing before the Lord in Matthew
7 saying, but Lord, we've preached in your name. We've put your name in big letters
on our buildings. Lord, we've cast out devils in
your name. We've taken people who were crazy
and straightened them up and made them fly right. We worked
with them. We've done many wonderful works. We brought clean water
to villages. We built houses. We've done all
these wonderful works. And we did them in your name.
Saul of Tarsus said, that's what I thought too. That's what I thought too. But
when the law came to me, it stopped me. I died. I died. I was so alive in the law. Man, I was a good Christian.
But when the law pierced me, I died. It stopped me. It revealed to me the truth in
what my motive was in all that. It revealed to me the truth of
what I thought of myself. It revealed all of my pride in
it. It revealed that all of my righteousnesses,
all of my good deeds, are really filthy rags before God, and it
slew me. Verse 20 right here says, Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. That's
the reason God sent the law, to give a true knowledge of our
own sin. Verse 21, But now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets. All of this book witnesses the
righteousness of God, and it all points to the righteousness
of God. It exposes the unrighteousness
of man, and it points man to Christ, the righteousness of
God. Verse 22 says, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe, for there's no difference. For all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God hath set forth to be a bloody victim, a propitiation. through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness, that He might be just, and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Where's boasting then?
It's excluded. By what law? Of works? No, by
the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. That's a powerful verse of scripture.
Without the deeds of the law. Now go with me over to Galatians
chapter 2. Galatians 2 verse 16, Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not
by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. Look with me at verse 21. I do
not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If we can be saved,
if it is possible for a man or a woman to be saved through our
own obedience to the law, Then why on this earth did Christ
die? If it is possible, if that was
a way. Well, then man should have just
straightened up and flown right or. But that was not a way. If it were possible, Christ would
have died in vain. Chapter three, verse 10 says,
for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. If we want to stand before God
and be judged based on how we have obeyed the law, the commandments
of the law, we're going to be cursed. For it is written, Cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. There's nothing wrong with
God's law. It's just we can't do them. And if we Disobey one,
we might as well disobey all of them because we're going to
be cursed. Verse 13 says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree. That is the only hope that a
sinner has. That is the only hope a sinner
has. There is no hope in trying to right our wrongs. There is
no hope in trying to straighten up and fly right. If one sin
has been committed, we're cursed. If we've broken the speed limit,
we're cursed. We are cursed. And the only hope
that a sinner has is that Christ was made a curse for him. That's the only hope. That is
the only hope. What we've done cannot be undone. This is the thought of idolatry. This is the predominant thought
of idolatry. I used to be terrible, but I
stopped doing that, and now I'm nothing like that, so I should
be okay. What we've done cannot be undone.
If it's on the record, it's on the record. It can only be punished. And
our only hope is that Christ was punished for us. Traded places with us. Substitution. That's the only hope. He gets
everything we deserve. We get everything He deserves.
That's the only hope. Galatians 3 verse 24 says, Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we
might be justified by faith. That's the reason, and that's
the hope. Every way of salvation, every
way of coming before God, other than through Christ trading places
with us, is idolatry. every other way, also known as
religion. If religion is all that we have,
we will die in our sins. We will die in our sins. If we
don't have substitution with Christ, we will die in our sins.
Now go with me back to Acts 17 and let's see the result that
came from Paul telling them that truth. Here's the result. 17. In verse 16, it says, While Paul
waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when
he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed
he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons
and in the market daily with them that met with him. He told
everybody he preached this gospel to all the world. Then certain
philosophers of the Epicureans and the Stoics, and I'm not going
to tell you what they believed, but it covers about every belief
in the world. They encountered him and some
said, what will this babbler say? And that's what God's messengers
sound like to people. Babblers, you're about you say
things that you're crazy. You repeat yourself and you repeat
yourself and you repeat yourself. Others, some said, he seemeth
to be a setter forth of strange gods. Never heard this before.
Because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. He
preached to them salvation through the Lord taking our sin upon
himself, dying with it, God being satisfied and raising him up. And they said, we've never heard
anything like that. That's strange. Verse 19, and they took him and
brought him to Areopagus. And if you have a center margin,
it says Mars Hill. It was the highest court in Athens. Now remember this, and it'll
be a blessing to you in just a second. They took him to Mars
Hill. It's in Athens, and it's the
highest court. That court was called Areopagus.
Saying, may we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest
is. For thou bringest certain strange
things to our ears. We would know therefore what
these things mean. We've never heard this. This
is so strange. For all the Athenians and strangers
which were there spent their time in nothing else but either
to tell or to hear some new thing. And that's always the problem.
That's why the ancient Word of God is so strange to people.
This has not changed in thousands of years, but it's so foreign
and so strange. Verse 22, Then Paul stood in
the midst of Mars Hill. And if you have the center margin,
it says the court of the Areopagites. There was a board of Areopagites. He had to stand before. and said,
You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too
religious. And I hope Kingsport learns that
one day. That's the problem with Kingsport. It's too religious. That's the problem. It is too
religious. That's what superstitious means.
Religious. I honestly fear that many people
are going to go stand before God in their religion, happy
with what they see in themselves, and it will not go well. It never
does. It never does. When we stand
in our own religion, When a person is too religious, here's the
problem. They don't see their need for Christ. I don't need
Him to be my substitute. I'm happy with what I see. And
I'm curious how I'll stack up. Everybody wants to know, how
did I do on the test? So they go stand before God.
And it never goes well. It never goes well. Verse 22. At the end of it, he said, I
perceive that in all things you're too religious, too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld
your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, to the
unknown God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship. Him declare
I unto you. Him. The truth is a him. The gospel is a him. The message
is a hymn. This book is all about hymn.
It's a hymn book. We have a hymn message with a
hymn gospel and a hymn savior. Verse 24, 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. This God is
sovereign. And He created all things. And He rules over all
things. And we cannot make Him Lord because
God has already made Him Lord. And He does not dwell in temples
made with hands. People believe He is confined
like a genie to a church building. So they walk into the church
building thinking, well, we're in a church building now. You
have to take your hat off, shrug your shoulders, bend your head,
cock it to the side and whisper. That's idolatry. That's all that
is. That's just idolatry. Verse 25,
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything,
seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things. He's
not worshipped with men's hands. All of the hand raising, you
know, let's lift it up, and that's not good enough, let's press
it higher. He's not worshipped with men's hands. All that is,
is worship me. People love to raise their hands
and go, What they're saying is, worship me, worship me, look
at me, look at how I'm filled with the Spirit. That's idolatry. Verse 25, He does not need anything. What are you going to do for
Jesus? Well, don't you think we ought to have a yard sale
for Jesus? He doesn't need anything. If you don't need it, He doesn't
need it. He gives to all life. and breath
and all things. Verse 26, And hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth.
Everybody is cut from the same lump. And hath determined the
times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation. The
number of our days are set. We cannot pass. It's appointed
unto man once to die. He does all the appointing. Verse
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. That does not say happily, that
says happily. If He causes their hap to start
seeking Him and find Him, though He be not far from every one
of them. God is omnipresent. But man can't see Him. Man cannot
see Him, blind to Him. Verse 28, for in Him we live
and move and have our being, as certain also of your own poets
have said, for we are also His offspring. For as much then as
we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is likened to gold or silver or stone, graven by art
and man's device. There was a man who came in here
years ago, and the first thing he asked was, where are all the
pictures of Jesus? That's strange. This is a new
thing. I've never seen this. Paul said,
don't think of the Godhead like gold and silver and artwork and
statues and temples. How should we think of the Godhead?
When we think of the Godhead, what should we think? One word,
Christ. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Verse 30, the times of this ignorance
God has winked at. He's been patient. He's winked
at it. But now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent. God does not ask anybody to do
anything. He does not ask anybody to do
anything. He commands. And He has now commanded
all men everywhere to repent. Verse 31, because he hath appointed
a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. It's
all going to hinge on that man. It's all going to hinge on that
man, in that man or out of that man. It all hinges on Christ. He that hath the Son hath life. And we have that assurance. We
can be assured of that because God raised Him from the dead.
And if God raised Him from the dead, God will raise every soul
in Him from the dead. That's the promise of His Word.
And Paul told them. We all needed to hear that. We
all needed to hear about the sovereign God. who he is and
what he's done. Verse 32 says, and when they
heard of the resurrection of the dead, this salvation by substitution,
some mocked and others said, we will hear thee again of this
matter. I don't know which one's worse.
This is important. This one right here is important.
Some mocked. They immediately said, I don't
believe that. That's ridiculous. We have all these laws. I'm sticking
with that. Some said, I see where you're
going with this. I'll get back to you on that.
Just like Felix, that Governor Felix, he said, yeah, I kind
of see what you're saying, but it's not a convenient time for
me. I'm gonna put this off. We'll table this and come back
to it. Felix never did. Today is the
day. Today is the day. Verse 33. So Paul departed from
among them. He told them the truth and then
he left it in God's hands to do with it as he saw fit. And
this is just loving. Verse 34, how be it certain
men clave unto Him. They clave unto Him and believed. They didn't just believe, they
latched hold of it. I mean they saw life in it. They saw eternal life. They saw
God. They saw salvation. Now watch
this, verse 34. Among the witch was Dionysius
the Areopagite. Paul was brought to the court
of Areopagus and he had to stand before the Areopagites. Dionysius was the head judge. His history is recorded in Athens. He had to stand before all these
judges. They said, Paul, this is strange. You're preaching
to God. That's a strange God. That's
an unknown God. Never heard of God like this.
You're going to have to go stand before the court, and you're
going to have to be heard by the judge. And can't you see
this judge, Dionysius, saying, Go ahead, Babylon. Speak your
nonsense. Paul told him the truth. God
slayed his heart. He latched hold. He believed
it. All of this chaos, all of this
trouble, all of this idolatry before the highest court, he
heard the message of the gospel in all of its raw truth. And
God slayed that man's heart. And he latched hold of Paul.
And he latched hold of the gospel. And Paul spent a lot of time
with that man and he taught him. Started teaching him the gospel.
And Dionysius became the first pastor of the church in Athens. God raised up a church. And the
judge he had to stand before was the convert God gave to him.
God's sheep. And that man, it just broke him,
he fell in love with God, he fell in love with the truth,
he fell in love with the gospel. And he taught him and he stepped
down from that court and he started pastoring that church. And verse 34 goes on to say,
with him a woman named Damaris. History is not certain who she
was, but God is. She was a certain woman that
God chose to show mercy to, and it says, others with them. And they started the church at
Athens. God blesses the truth. God blesses the truth. God does not bless a watered
down truth. God does not bless, let's try
to make everybody happy truth. God blesses His truth. God brings men and women out
of their idolatry, all of their religion, and He calls them to
Himself through His truth. And I pray God might do that
for me, and us, and this city. This city. Let's start praying
for this city twice as hard as we have been. May God bring this
city out of idolatry. May God spare them from all of
their religion. Every soul, He has a people.
Every soul, He's purposed to save. Lord, call them to yourself
through the declaration of the truth and cause them to be wholly
given to Christ. We all used to be wholly given
to our own idolatry in some form. May it be said that we are wholly
given to Christ. All right, let's all stand together.