The Unknown God
Paul the Evangelist • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsSolomon wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes, “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15, KJV 1900) Since the fall, humanity has had a self-centered approach to life, believing what makes us happy must be good. Instead of worshipping God, we worship ourselves and create idols in our lives to help us achieve our goals. Salvation is the realization that, as creatures, we are here to worship the Creator and bring glory and honor to Him. In Acts 17, Paul and his companions encounter three different cultures and are able to reach some people in each one with the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, we will examine the key factors that allowed Paul to share the gospel and how we can also share the gospel in our communities.
Notes
Transcript
How do we counteract a culture that is hostile to the gospel?
What would make someone hostile to the gospel?
It threatens their way of life.
They don’t believe it’s true.
They have other notions of salvation.
One of my favorite paragraphs from my new book, “The Potter's Clay: Unlocking the Gospel Power of Transformation,” is found on page 64.
“As I write this book, the U.S. is experiencing a moral revolution. The country is quickly moving from Judeo-Christian (traditional) morals to morals of self-fulfillment. Instead of asking, "What brings God glory?" the question becomes, "What brings me joy and fulfillment?" Your moral code has everything to do with the decisions you make and the actions you take. Let me use same-sex attraction as an example. Traditional morals and the Bible would say same-sex attraction doesn't bring glory to God and, therefore, to lust or engage in homosexual activity is a sin against God. That being the case, a person desiring to glorify God would refrain from any sexual sin. A person with morals of self-fulfillment would say a person not living their true self is sinning against their nature and should live the life that brings the most fulfillment to them. Both come from a caring heart, but the object of worship has changed. Society alters the moral fiber with the presupposition that humanity is inherently good; therefore, how a person feels about themselves must be good. Some would even go so far as to say, "How can this be wrong if God made me this way?" Jesus told the rich young ruler only God is good. Both the Old and New Testaments will attest that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). When we acknowledge the truth of our sinful nature passed down from generation to generation, we place the focus of good back on God. If there is any good in me, it is Jesus living through me.” (Sizemore, Bill. The Potter's Clay. Xulon Publishing, 2024, p. 64.)
The Proclamation of Christ and the Resurrection
The Proclamation of Christ and the Resurrection
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Is it weird that you would believe that God was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, paid for the sin of the world on the cross, rose again after being dead and buried, and ascended back up into heaven to await the judgement of God? Absolutely it’s weird!
But is it true?
The Acceptance
The Acceptance
4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
The Resistance
The Resistance
Jealousy
Jealousy
5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
“The greatest resistance to change are those that benefit most from status quo.” Daryl Price, Director of Noonday Association
Fear
Fear
7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
Learning Missions with Jeff Adams in Iraq. The government didn’t care about your religious beliefs, but about the unrest it brought to the communities.
The Proof of the Scriptures
The Proof of the Scriptures
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Our faith is not a blind faith, but a faith based in science and fact. Some of the greatest scientific minds believed in God because of the intelligent design of our world and universe. The Bible has never been a historical book but a prophetic book telling us the things to come. As we bible unfolds we see the truth of it in the prophecy revealed. The Bible then becomes our final authority for life and practice as we realize we are still living in its prophetic pages.
The Acceptance
The Acceptance
12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
They believed because they saw it for themselves in scripture.
They believed because they saw it for themselves in scripture.
They believed because Jesus is still alive and drawing people back to the Father.
They believed because Jesus is still alive and drawing people back to the Father.
The Resistance
The Resistance
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.
Be careful of the few speaking for the many.
Be careful of the few speaking for the many.
The tongue is powerful enough to both curse and bless.
The tongue is powerful enough to both curse and bless.
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Renouncing other gods
Renouncing other gods
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.
A zeal for God without the knowledge of God leads to the worship of other things.
Counteracting the Culture
Counteracting the Culture
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.
The Epicureans were followers of a philosopher named Epicurus, who taught that pleasure and not the pursuit of knowledge is the chief end of life. The Stoics were pantheists who believed that wisdom lay in being free from intense emotion, unmoved by joy or grief, willingly submissive to natural law11 MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.; p. 1638). Thomas Nelson.
Neither thought is correct. The whole duty of man according to Solomon is to “fear God and keep his commandments.” We exist for God’s good pleasure. God’s good pleasure is expressing his essence of love to his people and for them to do the same in return.
Bringing Meaning to their Religion
Bringing Meaning to their Religion
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.
Bringing Worship back to God
Bringing Worship back to God
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, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 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, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
Using their culture to counteract their truth
Using their culture to counteract their truth
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.
Calling People to Repentance
Calling People to Repentance
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.”
The Resistance
The Resistance
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
The Acceptance
The Acceptance
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.
Conclusion
What is your resistance to the gospel in your life?
Fear
Losing something or someone you love?
The Unknown?
Your Status Quo?
Whatever it is, God has overlooked it for a season. But now he is calling us all to repentance not because he is angry but because he loves us.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
R Group Questions
What is your resistance to the gospel in your life?
What is your resistance to proclaiming the gospel to others?
What is the greatest resistance that you feel from our culture or community?