The Mission: Proclaim the Unknown God, Part 2 (Acts 17:16-34)
Acts: The Mission of the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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We are going to consider a passage telling us of an experience Paul had when he encountered a group of people who had been known for their interest in worldly things. In fact, this entire culture had taken a huge interest in worldly things for about 500 years and that culture has significantly impacted all Western culture. The trouble is the people Paul encountered in Acts 17 verses 16-34 loved human words, but rejected Gods Word.
J.I. Packer once said, “The church is in trouble. The trouble is that we are not taking our God seriously enough. What is the proof of this? We are not taking an interest in His Word.”
In the first half of Acts 17 Paul traveled to three cities, but in the last city, mentioned in verse 10, Berea, he encountered a group of people who were exactly opposite to the people of Athens, whom we will learn about this morning. The Bereans Paul encountered loved God’s Word, but the Athenians loved human philosopher’s words. Before we dig into the text, I would like to share details about the culture in Athens which should help us understand the text.
(Athenian Culture)
(Athenian Culture)
From about 500 BC until about 300 BC, Athens had entered it’s golden age. Athens produced many world famous philosophers and cultural icons. I’ll highlight three such persons. The first prominent Athenian was...
Prominent Athenians
Socrates lived from 470 until 399BC and was a polarizing philosophical figure who did not believe in the Greek Gods and loved asking questions which he knew could not be answered.
(SLIDE: Parthenon) Pericles was a general and very important political person in Athens from 461AD for more than 30 years. He was responsible for building the Acropolis and Parthenon shown in this image. and he desired to unite Greece, but the city-state, Sparta, opposed this causing the Peloponnesian war to begin.
Plato 429BC - Founded the “Academy of Athens” where many famous philosophers studied. This academy was the first place of higher education in the Western World.
Athens was far past its prime when Paul appeared in Athens in Acts 17:15 which was about 51AD. Even so, it was still considered to be the seat of learning and philosophy.
A contemporary of Nero, named Petronius, stated that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man. It was this setting which Paul found revolting. Lets start reading Acts 17:16...
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Paul, revolted by idolatry, took action by preaching in the synagogue and marketplace, or Agora. This was normal in Athens. Zeno, the founder of the Stoics mentioned verse 18, once taught his students in the Stoa, or covered porch earning his group the name “Stoics.” Education was an Athenian value which, by the way became the model for Modern Day Western Civilization. All Athenians and foreigners were educating each other in public spaces, but all their words and knowledge held no value. Their knowledge was not fundamentally rooted in God’s truth.
Paul was no babbler, he wasn’t teaching foolish things, his lectures in marketplace and on the Areopagus were the only valuable lessons taught that day, any following day, or any prior day. The philosophers who heard Paul in the marketplace led him to the Areopagus because they had never heard anything like the Gospel before.
(Slide: View of Mars Hill/Areopagus)
On the screen, you can see Mars Hill also known as the Areopagus as it stands today. That stone outcropping in the lower left of the image is where Paul preached in verse 22 and the view would have been spectacular. From there they would have seen most of the temples where various deities were worshipped. The Areopagus was close to the Parthenon and Acropolis and here is the modern day view. Paul’s view would have been even more spectacular.
(Slide: View of the Acropolis from Mars Hill/Areopagus)
The Areopagus was was where Athens rulers had once met and it had also served as a courtroom. Socrates was tried and sentenced to death there about 400 years earlier. What Paul said next is something that I have always admired him for. He used something specific to Athenian culture to witness to the philosophers and whoever else happened to be there beginning in verse 22...
Acts 17:22–23 (ESV)
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
Paul had personally seen a blinding light and personally interacted with Jesus on the road to Damascus years earlier. Paul had seen and come to know the one true God and his entire purpose in life from that point on was to make God known to those who did not know him. Paul had a perfect opportunity here to proclaim the unknown God!
I desire to communicate two main points this morning. The first point is this...
How Does God Make Himself Known? (17:24-30)
How Does God Make Himself Known? (17:24-30)
This point is critical because a segment of today’s modern thinkers, called agnostics, believe that God cannot be known and that God cannot be proven to exist. Paul’s message recorded in God’s Word blows agnosticism to bits. Paul argued that God not only exists, but He wants to be intimately known. He gave proof that God desires to be known by arguing that...
God is the ultimate Creator! (17:24-26)
He made the world (v24, Gen 14:19,22)
In verse 24, I can imagine Paul sweeping his hand out in a gesture toward the Acropolis and the temples of Athens below when he said..
Acts 17:24–25 (ESV)
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything
The Stoics believed Athenian gods were created by human imagination. Those gods, Athena, Zeus, Hermes, and so on were made up because people needed examples of true virtue which all people should strive to achieve. They heard through Paul that there really is a God who exists who is not made up by mankind.
The Epicurean philosophers heard that the unknown God was and is the only deity worthy of worship. The unknown God has limitless power. In verses 24 and 25 Paul declared that God “made the world, and also made from one man every nation of mankind.” Only one God exists, and not only did he create something from nothing, but he....
He gives life and breath and everything (v25)
in verse 25. Humans were created to look like God, not the other way around. Genesis 1:26 declares “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Life is a gift from God. I also find Acts 17:25 quite interesting because, if we think about it, we find a huge contrast between how God used his breath and how the philosophers were using their breath. God’s breath, God’s Word breathed out gives life to all who hear it. God gives humans breath so that breath will be used to worship God.
Athenians were using their breath to debate God’s very existence. The philosophers were the ones who were babbling as though they knew nothing! Paul continued… God can be known because...
He made all the nations. (v26)
Paul argued that Adam and therefore all his descendants are proof of God’s existence in verses 25-26.
Acts 17:26 (ESV)
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
God did not leave man to “evolve” on his own, but the unknown God was all sovereign. He alloted days and seasons for each person to live and die. He created seasons for nations and governments to rise and fall. He determined where on earth those nations would even dwell. Every aspect of creation points to a God who desires to be intimately known.
(Pause)
We find Paul’s next point in verses 27-30. God is...
God is not far from us (v27-30)
When Paul spoke verses 27-30, the Epicureans would have taken notice.They believed the gods were unconcerned with human existence. They believed the god’s were only concerned with their own pleasures therefore a person should only seek pleasure and happiness. Many people today, like the Epicureans believe if God is real, He has no interest or involvement in the affairs of our world. Paul argued against this in verse 27… that all mankind...
Acts 17:27–30 (ESV)
...should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
God is a father who is intimately involved in the affairs of His children. We can read any of the Psalms to know this. Perhaps Paul was also playing on Greek mythology by suggesting that all humans are Demi-Gods. All humans are created in God’s image to bear God’s image and to unleash God’s power through the Spirit that is in us to the whole world. You and I are God’s offspring. We know who our father is. This was a strange thought for the Areopagites. Greek Gods were known for being distant and uninvolved. Many modern movies even portray that aspect of the Greek Gods. If you have ever seen the “Percy Jackson” series, you will know what I am talking about.
God is different. I read Eph 5:1-2 last week and want to read it again now....
Ephesians 5:1–2 (ESV)
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
God is not far from us, God can be known, and here is the best news yet, knowing God causes our responses to become God-like. Virtue exists because God himself exists! I admire Paul’s approach to sharing the Gospel in this passage, for it was the Gospel which changes the course of a person’s life and it was the Gospel which drove Paul to live as He did. In one form or another, Paul seems to continually ask the question...
How Do I Make God Known? (17:30-34)
How Do I Make God Known? (17:30-34)
Because he always found a way to share the Gospel. He concluded his guest lecture in verses 30-34...
Acts 17:30–34 (ESV)
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
This morning each of us needs to ask the question, “How do I make God known?” Step one is that I must...
Truly believe that knowing God is urgent!
Paul lived life in a way that communicated the urgent and immediate need of the Gospel. Verses 30-31 reveal his belief. God will judge the world, that day is coming soon and we do not know the day or hour. Salvation is urgent, repent, believe in Jesus who rose from the dead!
Christ’s resurrection was an impossible concept for many on Mars Hill. Greek poet, Aeschylus(Aiskhylos), wrote a play named the Eumenides. In it, he made Apollos, say, “When the dust has soaked up a man’s blood, once he is dead, there is no resurrection.” So, for at least 500 years Greeks did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Jn 10:17-18 proves otherwise...
John 10:17–18 (ESV)
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
How do I make God known? I must believe, no I must be wholeheartedly convinced in the very core of my being that judgement day is near. I must believe and act with utmost urgency.
(PAUSE)
How else do I make God known? Acts 17 gives us opportunity to
Evaluate my methods!
Do I believe the Gospel is urgent? If so, what I can I do to be more effective? I hope the questions in your notes will be a good starting point to either fine tuning our witnessing approaches. (consider leaving the stage and mingling with people here? ask them pointed questions?) Question #1 is a critical beginning point...
How do I rely on God’s power more often?
All learning and education is pointless EXCEPT when God is the very core of that education. Athens was THE CITY to live in to get a higher education for about 400 years! The majority of education in the US today is based on Socrates’ and other philosophers’ teachings 2,421 years ago. In verse 21, this “telling or hearing something new” is a reference to the Athenian education system!
Secular education at its very core is directly opposed to God’s Word. Paul conversed with the most learned and renowned men of their time in AD 51. Those philosophers knew many things. They knew just about everything about everything except for what really mattered… things of the Scriptures.
Secularly educated men believed Paul was a fool in verse 18 and 31. Their secular training taught them to be opposed to the Gospel.
Jeremiah 9:23–24 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom… but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Paul also had recieved a secular education yet in 1 Corinthians 2:2 he declared, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Knowing God and relying on His power are the most important factors in life. That is not the strategy taught in most schools and colleges in the USA. We must navigate every single circumstance in life solely by knowing God and relying on His power.
(PAUSE)
Here is another question to help us evaluate our methods..
“What strategy do I have?”
(for sharing the urgent message of Christ with others?) What strategy do I have? Paul had a strategy. The first place he went to witness was the synagogue. Why the synagogue? Why did he go to church to witness to people? Yes, witnessing still does take place in the church, yes the Gospel message is central in all sermons, but we didn’t come to church to church this morning for the sole purpose of witnessing like Paul did.
Most people in the synagogues in Paul’s day believed the Messiah was coming but they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. When Paul’s strategy was ineffective, when religious people in the synagogues rejected Christ, Paul moved on to a backup strategy.
He went to the marketplace, or found a place of prayer. Paul found people who he perceived were very religious and then he struck up a conversation with them. Having a strategy is important, so please take a moment and write out your current strategy.
(PAUSE AND WAIT)
Next please answer this question...
“What is currently working?”
Hopefully you have your strategy because it has to some level been effective, so what is currently working.
(Pause)
Next is a tougher question...
What do I need to change to be more effective?
Please answer that question if you can think and listen at the same time. Paul was all about being the most effective at any given point in time. We read of no success in the synagogue, so Paul changed it up. He preached in the marketplace and generated some interest, but his strategy wasn’t that effective. As Paul walked about Athens, he seems to have been looking for ways to change his method to be more effective for Christ, then he saw the altar with the inscription dedicating it to the unknown God.
Paul changed his approach. He used Athenian culture to be more effective for Christ. He spoke their language. Paul growing up in Tarsus (in modern day Turkey) would have been aware of Stoicism. He had some cultural connections and awareness and could turn even their own poets quotations into Gospel centered conversations.
When I was in college we would often gather to watch football games, some of them were outreach events. Every once in a while a student leader would say something like, “Hey, Eric Moulds just made it into the endzone! Do you know how you can get into the endzone with God?” That is not cultural competence, that is cultural corniness.
We need to know what movies, music, and books are influencing the people we are connected to. We can use quotes from that media to begin conversations about spiritual things.
I remember the day Dale Earnhart died during the Daytona 500. I was not into racing, but many of my warehouse coworkers loved racing and several of them were diehard Dale Earnhart fans. I determined that I was going to use that tragedy to initiate conversations about spiritual things with my race-fan coworkers.
Paul said he knew nothing/wanted to know nothing but Christ. Clearly Paul knew a lot about the world. What Paul was trying to communicate is this: be aware of culture but don’t be immersed in it. We are not ambassadors of earthly things like most professors are and like the philosophers were on Mars Hill. We are ambassadors for another kingdom therefore. We need to know how to craft things of this kingdom into conversations about God’s rapidly coming kingdom!
We have an obligation to proclaim the unknown God, but it should be much more than that. It should also be our passion and privilege to make God known.
As we close, I invite you to just listen to David’s passion for God preserved for us in...
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Prayer Ideas:
Passion, wisdom, ability to effectively use culture to communicate Gospel truth, evaluate our methods/not be afraid to try something new.
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