Keep sharing good news without ads.
Reading Acts 17:22-23 where the Apostle Paul is in Athens, and he comes across an altar that says, "To an Unknown God," and Paul preaches to them about the true God. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
As the Apostle Paul was walking about Athens, he came across an altar to an unknown God. Preaching to the Greeks there, he said, this God that you think is unknown, I'm gonna proclaim to you as known when we understand the text.
Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Visit our website at www .wutt .com.
Here once again is Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. In our study of the book of Acts, we come back to chapter 17. This week, we're gonna be studying Paul's sermon to the Greeks at the Areopagus. I'll read once again, verses 22 to 31. Hear the word of the Lord.
So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, to an unknown God.
Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all people, life and breath and all things.
And he made from one man, every nation of mankind to inhabit all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
For in him, we live and move and even exist as some of your own poets have said, for we also are his offspring. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the craft and thought of man.
Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he determined, having furnished proof to all by raising him from the dead.
And it's right after Paul says that, verse 32 says, now, when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, we shall hear you again concerning this. As we're gonna be looking at this sermon this week, it's divided into three parts.
First of all, Paul calls their attention to their religion. That's in verses 22 and 23. After that, he calls their attention to the real God in verses 24 to 29, and then finally calling their attention to repent, and that's in verses 30 and 31.
So we have religion, that'll be the section we look at primarily today, verses 22 to 23, the real God, verses 24 to 29, and repentance in verses 30 to 31. So let's come back up to the beginning of this in verse 22, where it says that Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus.
What was the Areopagus? Well, remember when we've been reading various passages in the Old Testament, we've read of the city gates, of the men or the judges who would sit in the gates and try the cases of the people that would be brought to them.
So these judicial decisions would be made there in the gates. Job talked about taking his seat in the city gates. When we read about the angels coming to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy them, Lot is sitting in the gates, and the people of Sodom mock him as someone who asserted authority over the rest of them.
There was no one else in the city wise enough to try cases, and so Lot was the one that was trying those cases. And it was said in the law that whenever cases would be brought to the judges, that these things would be decided there in the city gates.
So just as that was the case in the Old Testament in the biblical cities, it would be the case at the Areopagus for the Greeks. This was where cases were tried there in Athens. The principal council was gathered there and they served as a judicial body responsible for overseeing cases like homicide.
If somebody was killed, murdered, whether that was manslaughter or intentional, those things would be decided there at the Areopagus. If somebody was wounded or assaulted, and even certain religious offenses would be brought there to the council at the Areopagus.
And that's what has brought Paul here. So previously when Paul has been sharing the gospel in Athens, he had gone to a synagogue. He has shared with people in the marketplace. He has debated even the Epicureans and the Stoics.
By the way, I wanna make a clarification on the Epicureans and Stoics. I had mentioned that the Epicureans believe that everything is material, including the soul. And so when a person dies, the soul just becomes nothing.
The molecules break down and it's just gone. Just like the body breaks down, so it is the case with the soul. The Stoics, I said, though the Epicureans did not believe in an afterlife, the Stoics did.
That was kind of overstating the case a little bit because it's not like they thought that there was a heaven where people went to and they lived forever in heaven, but that the soul, the Stoics did not believe the soul was as material as the Epicureans did.
And so maybe the soul, when a person died, it would like merge in with this higher plane of existence or something like that, or just become like part of this ethereal cloud of souls that everybody became part of.
So it wasn't like they believed in necessarily a conscious afterlife that we will go to. They were a little more optimistic about it than the Epicureans. But neither group, the Epicureans or the Stoics, believed in the resurrection of the dead.
They both mocked that idea and thought that it was absurd. And neither believed in absolute truth either. This was a point of debate throughout Greek philosophy. Is there such thing as truth? Even the Romans would argue about this.
One of the most famous questions about that in the New Testament was where when Jesus was before Pilate, he said to Pilate, everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. And Pilate responded to him saying, what is truth?
So both the Greeks and the Romans were like morally relativistic. And you see that throughout Greek philosophy as well, because different schools of thought would have different ideas about what is absolute morality or what is not, so on and so forth.
And so with the Epicureans and the Stoics, they doubted such a thing as absolute truth. When you had men like Plato and Socrates and Aristotle, they argued for the existence of truth. But then as you kind of go through the philosophers, that understanding begins to deteriorate eventually till you get down to Epicurus and Zeno, who was the father of Stoicism.
So these people who are doubting the existence of truth, who worship all kinds of gods, though they themselves don't believe that they will enter into some kind of existence with the gods. And Paul is standing there at the midst of the Areopagus, this place where they believed the gods were, and this is why various cases were tried here.
Because though we can't possibly understand what truth is, well, maybe the gods know, and maybe the gods will reveal to us who is true and who is false, who is guilty and who is innocent here at this place that was called the Areopagus.
This was named the Areopagus after Ares, the hill of Ares, who was the god of war. For the Romans, that was Mars, hence why this place is also called Mars Hill. But you also had a temple there. Right now it's just like a marble hill.
It looks like a big pile of marble rocks if you ever visit Athens and you go to the Areopagus today. But you can find various illustrations of it online where it's envisioned that there was a big temple there, and the purpose of that temple was kind of like City Hall, since the cases would be tried in that place.
There was a lot of worship that would go on there as well, and there were idols to all of these false gods. There were images of the gods that the Greeks worshiped. Remember that when we started with Paul in Athens, we read in verse 16, while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
While most people would walk around and look at the architecture in Athens as something monumental and amazing, pointing at stuff, people would come, and they would just be amazed at the level of architecture throughout the city.
To this day, people will visit Athens because they want to see the ancient architecture, some of which that would still stand to this day, or the idols, the idols, the images, the statues of the gods, and those things that have managed to be preserved in museums there and things like that.
People still flock to Athens to see these things. But for Paul, when he saw this, he was stirred in his spirit. It wasn't necessarily that he became angry, but his heart went out to these people who were worshiping gods and would come under condemnation and would perish under the wrath of God if they continued in this way.
Hence why Paul being provoked has got to share the gospel with them. So he is sharing with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, and he goes out to the marketplace every day. Whoever happened to be present there, he's doing public evangelism, and he's telling them about Jesus because they're even saying.
He's speaking of strange deities because he was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. These were the things that Paul was talking about in the marketplace. So they knew this and therefore brought him up to the Areopagus because this is a new strange religion that this guy is talking about.
Maybe we should let the gods hear it. And since we can't figure out the difference between what's true and what's false, the gods will reveal to us whether or not what this man speaks is true. So the way that Paul opens this sermon to them is saying, men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.
I see religion everywhere. Paul has been walking all over the place and seeing all these statues. By the way, these marble statues of these gods in Athens were always like peak physical specimens, right?
You've seen the statues before. So these were fit men. Now, not like Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilder type fit. That is kind of almost like a caricature of a fit man that we have in our minds today. These guys that will bodybuild and then have muscles in places I haven't even got places and will flex and do all this number.
And that's what we're used to seeing in a bodybuilder. Well, the Greeks didn't really build their muscles up in that way. But when you look at the statues of who are represented as gods and goddesses, they were what the Greeks imagined to be like the perfect physical specimen.
If there is anybody who's perfect in their physical appearance, it's got to be the gods and the goddesses. This would later affect Christian art as well when it came to depicting Jesus. Because eventually the Christians got tired of being mocked for their God who was hung on a cross.
And so they're like, we got to do something to make Jesus look a little more appealing. So you'll notice this in European art that as the centuries go by, Jesus looks a little bit more chiseled and buff even when he's hanging on the cross.
And it was because the Christians were like, well, we want to be able to show that our God is macho too. Now, the way that the church excused this at that time was they said, well, we're wanting to depict the glorified Christ that we have talked about in Revelation and he's glorious there.
He's not Jesus lowly, meek and mild anymore. And so they want to depict him as being like somebody who if our God got in a fight with your God, he would beat him in a fist fight. And it's just the way that aesthetics have gone, that's the influence of the mockery of the world that would even come into Christian art.
But anyway, these guys looked great. The men and the women that represented these gods and goddesses, the likenesses that were built into these statues. They were peak physical specimens, but they are worship.
They're there for worship. This is who the Athenians would bow down to. They would kiss the feet of them. They would burn incense to them. They would pray to them. They would appeal to them. So Paul is seeing all of these statues of these gods and goddesses and he sees a very religious people.
And so Paul says, verse 23, while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription to an unknown God. Now, why would there be an altar that has an inscription on it that says to an unknown God?
Well, they've made statues to all of these other gods. They've made temples to them. There's temples all throughout Athens. Athens was filled with pagan worship. But just in case, just in case we forgot one of these gods, maybe there's a God out there we don't know about.
Maybe he hasn't revealed anything to us in some way. He hasn't found a way to gift us with something like fire or the wheel or something like that. So we don't want to make that God mad. And just in case that God is out there, well, we should make an altar to him.
So let's make an altar to an unknown God. So however that's inscribed on that altar to this unknown God, the Greeks have made this just in case there's a God that they missed or forgot about or somehow he hadn't revealed himself to them yet, let's build an altar to him.
That way we don't make him mad to an unknown God. And the way that Paul so smartly turns that into a sermon about the true God is to point out to them, this is the one God that you have forgotten. The one that I'm going to tell you about, this is the God that you've forgotten.
You've got temples and idols made to all these other gods. What about that unknown God? You don't know, but I'm going to proclaim to you as known. Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
And then Paul goes into the sermon where he is going to talk to them about the true God. Now, this sermon really is an exercise in pointing out to them, you already know who this God is. Like you have knowledge of his existence.
They don't know him in a personal relational sense, not the way that you and I know God, right? If you know Jesus Christ, you know God and better yet you are known by God. We have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
We know him and he knows us. The Greeks know of God, but they don't know him, right? So this is the very thing that Paul talks about at the beginning of Romans as well. Romans 1, 18 to 20. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
And incidentally, even the Athenians recognize the wrath of God. That's why they've built this altar to an unknown God because there is wrath in the world. There is destruction and devastation. We can see that all the world, everything that exists has been subjected to futility.
Somewhere God is angry. And so we're gonna make an altar to this unknown God that maybe we can appease him in his wrath. So they recognize the wrath of God revealed from heaven. They're just not worshiping the true God who pours out his wrath on the ungodly.
But Paul goes on in Romans 1, 19 to say, for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature. So not just that God exists, but even that he is eternal and divine.
These things have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. And that's really what Paul is pointing out to the Athenians here as well.
You are without excuse. You cannot say that you don't know that this God is there. You've made an altar to him and have labeled it to an unknown God. You worship in ignorance. And so I am gonna proclaim to you who he really is.
And then that's what we get next in verses 24 to 29. It is Paul pointing out to these men who this God really is so that they would come to know him. And that's part of the second part of the message as well.
That they would seek God. Perhaps they might grope for him and find him though he is not far from each one of us. And indeed God is not far from these men who are listening to this sermon because the gospel of Jesus Christ has come to them through this missionary named Paul.
He has been speaking about Christ in the marketplace. He's been brought there to the Areopagus with hopes of sharing the gospel with those who would turn from their sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
My friends, when it comes to us sharing the gospel with others, we need to actually follow this same kind of pattern of what we have here in this sermon at the Areopagus. Paul doesn't go off on rabbit trails to prove to them that God is real.
He doesn't go through this whole long list of apologetic arguments. He actually very simply points out to them, you already know he's real. And here's how you know he's real. You made this altar to him right here.
But you worship in ignorance so I'm gonna tell you who he really is. And when it comes to sharing the gospel with people, we can't be distracted by some of their arguments. They know who God is. Find a way to open up that cognitive dissonance in their minds so that they're able to see, oh yeah, I already do know who God is.
So that way you're not running around trying to prove the existence of God anymore. You've pointed out to them, you already recognize that he exists and then somehow get to an understanding of law and gospel.
You have broken the law of God. What you deserve for that is judgment. You need Jesus Christ who died for our sins so that all who believe in him will be saved. The elements that we have here, even within this sermon can help us in the way that we share the truth about God with others.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read here. And as we continue to study this sermon, may it sharpen our minds to know how we can share the truth about God with others. Some may not be ready to hear the gospel yet.
Their heart may be too hard to it, but give us the ability to speak in such a way that the spirit works through our words and penetrates hearts and brings them to a knowledge of the truth that they may know Christ, him crucified for our sins and by faith in him be forgiven and have everlasting life with God.
It's in the name of Jesus that we pray, amen.
Thank you for listening to When We Understand The Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website, www .wutt .com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page.
Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study When We Understand The Text.