So in Acts chapter 17, we're
going to begin our reading at verse 1. It'll help us understand the
second part of this chapter much better if we have this information
already reminding us of what has just taken place. Now when they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where was
a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul, as his manner was,
went in unto them and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of
the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered
and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus, whom I preach
unto you, is Christ. He is the Messiah. And some of
them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout
Greeks, these would have been, I suppose, Jewish proselytes
to have been in a Jewish synagogue. and of the devout Greeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which
believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd or
vile fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set
all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason
and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they
found them not, they drew, that word drew in my margin is rendered
dragged, they dragged Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers
of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside
down are come here also. whom Jason has received, and
these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that
there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people
and the rulers of the city when they had heard these things,
and when they had taken security of Jason and of the other, they
let them go. And the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night, unto Berea, who coming together
went into the synagogue of the Jews." Now, I can't answer fully
why Paul, that's the first place he went when he got to town,
if there was a synagogue. That's where he went. And about
nine times out of ten, he either got stoned or beaten or put in
prison or run out of town or whatever. So when he gets to
Berea in verse 10, He went into the synagogue of
the Jews. I love this statement. These
were more noble than those in Thessalonica. And yet, the church at Thessalonica
was one of the letters that Paul writes that makes up one of the
books, two of the books in our New Testaments. More noble than those in Thessalonica. in that they received the Word,
the Word of God, with all readiness of mind," and here it is, "...and
searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed
also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men not a But when the Jews of Thessalonica
had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea,
they came there also and stirred up the people. And then immediately
the brethren sent away Paul to go, as it were, to the sea, but
Silas and Timothy remained there still." Now, you probably don't
know this. You might not even believe it
when I tell you, but nothing has changed. The gospel creates a great deal
of opposition wherever it is preached. You take it to any
Baptist church in this county and you'll find out in a hurry. Of course, they won't dirty their
hands. They'll get the law to do it for them. It's done nonetheless. Now we return to Acts 17 and
pick up our reading. We begin reading at verse 15. Paul has arrived in Athens, Greece. And in Paul's day it was a thriving
city. It had a type of open air building
called the Areopagus. It is also sometimes called Mars
Hill. And in that structure was a type
of court in which the affairs of the city of Athens were heard
by some number, I don't know how many, of judges. And these
people, in order to be a judge, must have been the governor of
that city, the sole governor. I don't know what kind of terms
they had as far as how long or anything. I don't know enough
about it to say. But here are these people meeting
on this, the oldest part of the city, on a hill called Mars Hill. So these people who had heard
Paul in the marketplace, perhaps even in the synagogue, now bring
him to this seat of exalted learning. These people, philosophy, you
know, disciples of Plato and Socrates and other famous philosophers
that gather at this place and try to bring before each other
something new, something new. And that's basically what religion
does, tries to bring you something new. But if you'll remember this
one adage, it'll save you a lot of grief. If it's true, whatever
it is, whatever the teaching or the preaching, If it is true,
it is not new. There is nothing new under the
sun. But if it's new, it is not true. It cannot be true. Truth, divine truth, is forever. Now let's watch as these... Don't
you think by now that Paul is gun-shy? No, but he goes to the
heart of that huge city, right by his lonesome, as far as any
earthly companions are concerned. Verse 15, They that conducted
Paul brought him unto Athens, and receiving a commandment,
this is from Paul to Silas and Timothy, to come to him with
all speed. this person that's now a messenger
going back, departed. Now, while Paul waited for them
in Athens, Curtis, you were speaking about this exact thing this morning. Paul's spirit was stirred in
him, given what he saw and what he
heard. You know, you just start a slow
ball. You read a statement on a church
sign and you run into something in the newspaper or the TV or
a magazine. His spirit was stirred in him. Now, if you don't have this problem,
I think you do have a problem. I can see where you could overdo
it, Curtis, and me, and some other people. What was it that
stirred him? When he saw the whole city, wholly,
entirely, given to what? Idolatry. Now, don't you suppose
that's where we are today? This whole world has gone hog-wild
over everything except the truth. disputed he, that my margin says
that word could be translated, oh where is it? I can't find it now, reasoned. Therefore reasoned he in the
synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the
market daily with them that met with Paul. Then certain philosophers
of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him, and some
said, what will this babbler say? Others, some, they said
he seems to be a setter forth of strange gods. I mean, they
got them running out their ears already. You know, why not add
another one? Because he preached unto them
Jesus and the resurrection, Christ and the resurrection. And they took him and brought
him unto Areopagus, Mars Hill, saying, May we know what this
new doctrine whereof you speak is? For you bring certain strange
things to our ears. We would know, therefore, what
these things mean. And now a parenthetical statement
in verse 21. 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. Then Paul stood in the middle
of Mars Hill and said, now a normal man would have been trembling
in his boots and he probably couldn't have talked without
his voice just, you know, showing all that's going on because here's
a man right by himself, the most learned people on the face of
this earth in their day. Paul stood in the middle of Mars
Hill and said, you men of Athens, I perceive that in all things
you are too superstitious, for as I passed by and beheld your
devotions for your worship, that in all things I lost my place. I found an altar with this inscription,
to the unknown God. They had one to every God you
could imagine, but just in case they missed one, they have this
altar to the unknown God. Paul says to them, Whom, therefore,
you ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you. Here is the God that
I wish to talk to you about, the one that you do not know. And Paul begins now to describe
this unknown God, God that made the world. Well, preacher, I
believe the world evolved. Well, you don't believe this
God then, if that be the case. If our God did not make us, he
certainly cannot save us. God that made the world and all
things therein. seeing that he is Lord of heaven
and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped
or served with men's hands as though he needed anything." Now,
if that is not the theme of today's religion, I do not know what
it is. God needs you. God wants you. He needs your help. He needs
your money. He needs your time. He needs
your talents. And they don't care if you ever
know Him or not, as long as you pitch in. You'll be well respected
and well treated. When you die, you'll perish and
go to hell. this God that made the world
and all things therein, is Lord of heaven and earth and dwells
not in temples made with hands, neither is He worshipped with
men's hands as though He needed anything, seeing He gives to
all life and breath and all things. So believers can only give back
to God what He has given to us. Verse 26, And has made of one
blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if
haply or perhaps They might feel after Him and find Him, though
He be not far from every one of us. Paul even says in Romans 10 that
Christ is in your heart and on your tongue. That's how close
He is. He's not far away at all. This
is the God who is everywhere present. 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
like unto gold or silver or stones." I believe the number was over
3,000 of these statues or carvings made out of gold or silver or
stone. And this was all over this city,
and that didn't include the ones that were in private homes and
so forth. God is not like gold or silver
or stone, graven or engraved by art and man's device, and
the times of this ignorance, God winked at or overlooked,
but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed
a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by
that man, that God-man, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has ordained,
whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He has
raised Him raise Christ from the dead. And when they heard
of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, We will hear you again of this
matter. So Paul departed from among them,
howbeit certain men clave or stayed fast with him and believed,
among which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named
Damaris, and others with them. And this guy that's called Dionysius
the Areopagite, that very structure now is the Areopagus, and this
man obviously was a member of that group. He leaves that place
and is following the apostle Paul, and a woman and others
doing so as well. All right, let's come now to
this passage and try to cover seven issues that make up this
wonderful chapter of Scripture. At the same time, it is wonderful,
it is awful as well. I think I've given this message,
this title, if I remember right. I haven't written it down yet.
Taking a quote out of one of these verses, back in verse 23, simply, the
unknown God, the God men do not know. Do you know why He's called
the unknown God? Because God can only be known
by revealing Himself to us. We cannot know Him otherwise. We can know about Him. We might
even know His name. We might say some things that
He's done. We might believe He created the world. But God is
unknown to a sinner until He reveals His grace in Christ to
us. And how it is that God can save
us and still be just when he justifies the ungodly. So it
is then to the unknown God that these people had either a statue
or some figure or an altar or whatever. Seems like Paul called
it an altar. So the first thing we look at
in regard to this is the preacher himself. This is the former Saul
of Tarsus, who is now Paul the Apostle, a man who is hunted
and beaten and imprisoned and done everything that men can
think to do. Some of the very things that
he did himself when he was a proud, arrogant Pharisee. His ultimate
deed in Acts chapter 7 is overseeing the stoning of Stephen. as he's
preaching to these people, even after the stones began to fall.
Saul heard his words, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. He didn't realize it then, but
he's already conquered right then. Just a short period of
time later, he's brought to his knees as he's going to Damascus
to arrest people who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
second thing is the preparation. Look in verse 16. Now while Paul
waited for Timothy and Silas 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 devout persons, and
in the market daily with them that met with him." So here he
is looking at this whole city, everywhere he goes, on every
street, no doubt. There's a carving of an idol. Here's another one of this type
and of that sort, and on and on and on. And the man realizes
that these people, though they are smarter than most any other
place on the globe in that day, yet they don't know God. They
know about the gods, but they don't know the true and living
God, the unknown God. Untold. Did I say 3,000 gods? It's 30,000. and works of art and all of it
having to do with idolatry. I passed a church sign the other
day, just this past week, and it is real short, but I ain't got over it yet. It said simply, just four little
tiny words, let go and let God. Those people who believe that,
who endorse that, who put such a sign up in the first place,
do not know the true and living God. That's not who God is. That is as ignorant as the people
we're reading about in Acts chapter 17 in Athens, Greece. And no doubt some of those people
are learned people. But being learned is not anything
to be of help to us when it comes to the gospel. The most uneducated person imaginable
is saved as well as the scholar. But I'll tell you, the percentages
of scholars is far, far less than any other type of person
that one could mention. Let go and let God. Now listen
carefully. If God needs my help and can't
do something, he's not God. He's not God. And there's a whole
lot of other churches that may not be brazen enough to put it
on a sign who believe in the same God. Had another encounter this week
with some old friends that we hadn't seen in, gosh, fifty years
almost. And they want to know if I'm still
pastoring and this and that and the other and where we are and
how we're doing and all this stuff. And they began to talk
about their religion. We all grew up in the same Baptist
church. back in the 40s and 50s, and they began to say some strange
things. I mean, it was revealing. So
I knew I couldn't walk out of there without letting them know
where we stood. So anyway, they became curious. One of the questions that we
were asked, what do you teach and preach? And I said, the Bible. They said, is that all? Just the Bible? It is sad. Sad, sad, sad. Look at verse 22. Here's his
pulpit. See if you can imagine these
words right in front of this pulpit. Mars Hill. I mean, the place of learning. Gee whiz. Back in verse 17, he was in the
synagogue, and now he's on Mars Hill. He's coming up in the world. Now, I want you to notice the
people. Compare these persons with those whom he preached to
in the synagogue and in the market, for that matter, and it was Some
of the people that were involved in this group on Mars Hill that
had heard Paul as he spoke to others in the markets of that
city. And so they are the ones that
brought him to Mars Hill and in effect introduced him to the
people that were there. So we come now to the men of
Athens, the leaders, the rulers. of that huge city. And I want
you to look at Paul's sermon. We're going to start here in
verse 23. He begins by telling them in
verse 22 that they are too superstitious. The fact is that they've got
gods to every god known to man. But in case they miss one, they
don't want to offend him, so they put to the unknown God.
And this is the one the apostle wishes to speak to them about. He's called here in our text
in several places, Him. God is Him. God in Christ is
Him. So in verse 24, God is said to
exist and hold all created power in heaven and earth. He is Lord
of heaven and earth. He made the world and everything
therein. We cannot compromise on this. This is either true or it isn't
true. And if this Bible is true, And
if the Lord Jesus is true, if the Apostle Paul is true, then
this is the truth. Unquestionably, this is the truth. God exists without our aid. We sung this in a couple of the
hymns already this morning. God doesn't depend on us. My
soul, we depend on him. We wouldn't have air to breathe
if it weren't for Him. Then in verse 25, I want you
to notice the spiritual character of God. Neither is worship with
men's hands as though He needed anything, seeing He gives to
all life and breath and all things. God is the giver. We are the
receivers. Sometimes I wonder why churches
have turned 180 degrees from what they were founded on. It's
because religion is trying to get people to keep what they
have alive. And I'm telling you, if God is
not here, we ought not be here either. It's that simple. It's God who seeks us and finds
us and reveals himself to us. And it's not because we're somebody
special. It's because we're sinners without
any other hope, at all, without any other hope. Look at verse 26, the first part
of the verse. God is made of one blood, all
nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth." Well, so much for my family tree. We all have one common ancestor. His name is Adam, and from him
we are born sinners with a sinful nature. in the second part of verse 26,
and has determined the times before appointed and the bounds
of their habitation. He's talking about people and
nations and families, just any way you want to slice up the
human race that's on this globe at any one time. It is strikingly
true. that God in sovereign providence
rules everything in this world. He appointed the times before
appointed and the bounds of their habitation. Look at verse 27,
the first part of the verse. Man's desperate need of God,
that if they should seek the Lord, if happily or perhaps They
might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us." Now, how can that be so, that God is not far
from us? What about if we're not in church, in school, on the golf course,
on the highway, in a vehicle, whatever? How can God be so close? The God of this Bible, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, are everywhere present. There is no place that
He is not. One of the Psalms deals with
that. You can go to the depths of hell. You can go to the grave.
You can go here, there, or wherever, and God is still present. Still
present. Verse 28. Oh, to learn this verse, for in Him, in God, in Christ,
we live, we are sustained, we move, and we have our being. In God, in Christ, we live physically
and spiritually. And in him we have our being,
as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are his offspring,
God's offspring. God gave us our physical birth,
and he gives us our spiritual birth. We owe our being to him,
and we owe our well-being to him. the spiritual part of us,
if we're His. That is exactly true. All right,
now we move to verse 29. And here is what I call the application
to this preaching on the part of the apostle. And we do not know if this is
all that he preached or if it was condensed for our Bible,
you know, to go into the Scriptures I do not know. I don't have a
clue either way. I'm just thankful we have what
we do. All right, verse 29. Here's something we ought not
to do. For as much then as we are the
offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is
like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art and man's device."
This is sheer ignorance, to believe that
God can be captured in a piece of stone or silver or gold or
whatever. It's crazy. Yet people have these
little things hanging around their neck, you know, a cross
or whatever, some religious symbol of some kind or other. God, the Godhead, is not like
gold or silver or stone. And God is not like us. Aren't you glad? But now in verse
30 and 31, here's what we ought to be and do. Verse 30, And the
times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men
everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in the
which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man
whom he has ordained, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, whereof
he has given assurance unto all men." Here's why. Here's how we know that Christ
is that judge. In that, God has raised Christ
from the dead. Is Christ resurrected? Then He's
the judge on the day of judgment. You can read it as plain as words
can state it in John chapter 5. Now we come to the last point
having to do with what I've tried to put all, I didn't even mention
these things to you, but I had the preacher, the preparation,
the pulpit, the people, the proclamation, and I didn't ever get around
to changing application. And number seven is the prognosis
or the results. And this is covered in verse
32 and in verse 34. And when they had heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, We'll
hear you again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit, certain men claimed
unto him and believed, among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite,
and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. So I can promise
you this, wherever this gospel goes, some will believe and some
won't. And the preacher nor any other
human being doesn't determine which is which. God saves whom
He pleases. I know that for sure. The biggest
surprise and amazement in all of us ought to be that God would
save the likes of me. One more verse and I'm finished.
Chapter 13, verse 48. Here's another case in which
people got bent out of shape over the preaching of the gospel,
and so verse 48 of Acts chapter 13 defines for us who it is that
believes. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord." Well,
aren't Gentiles special? We're Gentiles. I guarantee you all Gentiles
don't believe either. They were glad and glorified
the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. And that's still the same today.
It's the same everywhere on this globe. Everywhere. Some believe
and some don't. What makes the difference? God.
Grace. The gospel.