Acts 17:22-31
We are here this morning on a traditional Easter Sunday morning.
It is the pinnacle Sunday on the church calendar.
For the Christian, the resurrection of Jesus is THE event.
THE RESURRECTION PROVES
He is the Son of God
He is the sacrifice for sins
He is the great high priest
And we love each of those proves and enjoy talking about them.
BUT NONE OF THOSE ARE GOING TO BE OUR FOCUS THIS MORNING.
For you see, there is something else the resurrection proves.
It is a thing that is very rarely mentioned, and often overlooked.
To find it, we will begin in the 17th chapter of Acts.
Acts 17:16 “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”
Paul had fled from Berea thanks to some angry Jews,
And landed in Athens.
And while he was there, “his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”
And by the way, the word “provoked” there literally means
“to become angry or infuriated”.
Paul had what Jeremiah referred to as “a fire in my bones”.
Athens was a city filled with
Mysticism, Idolatry, Philosophy, Temples, and False gods.
As Paul witnessed this “intellectual” city
Giving God’s glory to graven images, it was more than Paul could take.
Paul went on the offensive
Acts 17:17 “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.”
Eventually he did catch people’s attention.
Acts 17:18-21 “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,” — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
The Areopagus was a court named after the hill on which it stood.
It was in this court that Socrates
Had been condemned several centuries earlier.
These philosophers wanted to know what Paul was talking about.
Acts 17:22-23 “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.”
Paul immediately diagnosed the condition of the men of Athens.
“you are very religious in all respects.”
That is to say the least.
They had temples and statues, and altars for everything.
They even had “an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’”
THEIR THEOLOGY WAS VERY MYSTICAL & COINCIDENTAL
They recognized the presence of deity,
They just failed to actually know who that deity was.
Let me say, America is not just heading there, America IS there.
We live in a PLURALISTIC NATION, which recognizes every religion.
We live in a POLYTHEISTIC NATION, which recognizes every deity.
We also live in a MYSTICAL NATION which is fascinated with spiritualism.
Like the people of Athens,
America today is fascinated with deity.
We constantly hear the words “faith” or “God” or “spiritualism”
(Even Oprah is fascinated by it)
BUT LISTEN TO ME
SPIRITUALISM IS NOT CHRISTIANITY
AND IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU KNOW GOD.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
SPIRITUALISM IS PRECISELY WHAT THE MEN OF ATHENS HAD
They had religion and mystical experience steeped in ignorance.
They had no knowledge of God, yet they carried out ceremony.
And this is relevant today.
The cry of Christianity is that we have a personal relationship
With God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.
And yet, even in Christian circles, many do not truly know God.
They’ve never met Him…
They don’t converse with Him…
They don’t hear from Him…
They are not interested in His word…
They are not consumed with His desires…
They are not angered by things that anger Him…
They are summed up all to well by the apostle John.
1 John 2:4-6 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
Despite all the lip service about faith, and spiritualism, and God, The overwhelming disobedience to God indicates only one thing.
PEOPLE TODAY DO NOT REALLY KNOW GOD
Today, God is by in large, “unknown” to many people.
Paul was up against that very issue
(Religious people who do not know God)
And Paul determines to make “The Unknown God”; known.
There are two main things Paul points out in this text.
#1 WHO HE IS
Acts 17:24-29
If God is virtually unknown then there is only one place to begin.
We need a basic understanding of who He is.
In these 6 verses, Paul speaks of 5 of His attributes.
1) HIS EXISTENCE (24)
I told you that the men of Athens were very religious.
In fact, it was the center of Greek mythology.
Regardless of the gods found in Athens, one thing stood in common.
The gods were all relatively small.
Now, they would not come out and say so,
But it was evident in their theology in that each of them
Had their own temple in which they dwelled
And no doubt they would have also built a nice little cozy temple for our God too, if they only knew who He was, but Paul attacks that fallacy first.
Our God could not possibly dwell in a temple.
WHY?
He is “The God who made the world and all things in it” and “He is Lord of heaven and earth” He could not possibly “dwell in temples made with hands.”
In fact, when Solomon built that first temple for God he said:
2 Chronicles 2:5-6 “The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. “But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?”
Even Solomon knew, the temple was not to hold God
And that is what Paul points out.
God is real, He is so real in fact
That He is the God who created everything you see.
Our God is the real God who created everything.
And “He is Lord of heaven and earth”
I know scientists today tell you that you came from a monkey,
or that there was a massive explosion that started this world.
They try to disprove creation
Because they seek to disprove the existence of God.
Without debating all their ignorance, let me just give you the truth.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Paul wanted the men of Athens to know first that God is real,
And that He alone created all things.
“He is Lord of heaven and earth”
His Existence
2) HIS POWER (25)
The next attribute Paul wanted these people to know about God
Is that He didn’t require any help from them at all.
Greek mythological gods all had special powers, but they all,
Like their human inventors also each had crippling weaknesses.
Hermes had a propensity to steal and was known as a cheater and thief
Aphrodite had many love affairs
Dionysus was given to drunkenness and was effeminate
Zeus was given to lust and a wandering eye, even to human women
And because their gods were beset with human weakness, there were also obvious times when their gods could need help.
But the true God is not like these.
“nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything,”
Psalms 50:10-12 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.”
The true God, is not beset with weakness,
Nor does He need anything from humanity.
Rather, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.”
It is not He who comes to you for help,
But it is you who should go to Him for help.
He is God, and He is powerful.
3) HIS SOVEREIGNTY (26)
Not only does the true God exist as creator of all things, and not only is He powerful, but the true God is also sovereign over His creation.
That means that the true God even determined your life.
Every human ever born was determined by God.
Where he would live, when he would live, etc.
“having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”
The true God is not controlled by His creation,
Rather He sits in control of His creation.
Jeremiah 10:11-16 “Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.”
God is real, God is powerful, God is sovereign
4) HIS INTENTION (27)
Paul even throws in, what it is that God intends,
By placing each man exactly where He placed them.
The intention of God is that His creation would seek Him.
In fact God intends that they would grope for Him,
And as a result of this seeking that they would find Him.
The Bible teaches that there is a partial knowledge of God all around us.
Both the conscience of man, and the creation of God testify of God.
Romans 1:19-20 “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
That testimony is not sufficient to save us,
But it is sufficient to motivate us to seek the source of it.
If you see a building, then you know it had a builder.
If you see a painting, then you know it had an artist.
If you see a design, then you know there was a designer.
Everything around us points to a creator,
The idea is that we as humans would seek to know the Creator.
It is God’s intention that you seek Him and find Him.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
God is real, He is powerful, He is sovereign, and He expects to be sought
5) HIS PROVISION (28)
Not only is He the author of life, and sovereign over life,
But it is only because of Him that LIFE CONTINUES TO EXIST.
“in Him we live and move and exist”
Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
And that is not some foreign new concept.
Even the pagan philosophers in Athens had enough sense to recognize that something, somewhere had to keep life going.
“as even some of Your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”
The point is, every man, should recognize that there is a true God
Who does indeed provide for life.
“I KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH ME”
(Man in Florida airport)
WELL – DUH!
That is one of His key attributes.
He is the source of life and provider of all good things.
James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
So Paul has given five basic attributes about the one true God.
He exists
He is powerful
He is sovereign over creation
He intends for man to know Him
He sustains life and provides life for all creation
And then Paul sort of gives a simple point in reference to all these.
(29) “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”
Not only did Paul want them to recognize there is one true God,
Paul also wanted them to quit dumbing Him down to their level.
God is not formed in our image, we are formed in His.
God is not created by us, we are created by Him.
We do not move God, God moves us.
That is who He is.
But there is a second and vitally important thing
We must also learn.
Not only who He is, but:
#2 WHAT HE REQUIRES
Acts 17:30-31
If there is one true God who sits enthroned over all creation,
And who holds my life in His hands,
Then I had better learn what it is He wants from me.
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,”
ARE YOU INCLUDED IN ALL PEOPLE?
ARE YOU INCLUDED IN EVERYWHERE?
Then what is God now saying to you? – “repent”
It is the one word message of the God of creation.
Some could say, “Repent of what?” – Everything.
Romans 3:10-18 “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
That is God’s summation of mankind.
It is not that man just does bad things,
It is that man has missed the mark in everything.
Even the good man does, is not acceptable to God.
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
His assessment is that man has completely and totally missed the mark.
Not one single human is acceptable to Him.
Not one single human is pleasing to Him.
“all people everywhere should repent”
And people say, “Why should I repent? I like my life”
(31) “because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The reason you should do what God says,
Is because the God who created this world,
Has already fixed the day, in which He will judge it.
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
And when He does, He will judge this world by one man.
“He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man who He has appointed.”
Some day, when the curtain is removed, and judgment begins,
We will not be compared to one another.
The standard of God’s judgment will be One who is perfectly righteous.
Isaiah 28:16-18 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place. “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place.”
The tested stone…
The measuring line called justice…
The level called righteousness…
Are all one and the same, they are the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is God’s perfect standard
Someday when judgment begins, you will be placed beside Jesus,
If you do not measure up to Him, you will be forever judged.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT GOD WILL JUDGE MEN BY JESUS?
It is that often unspoken purpose of the resurrection
I was telling you about.
“having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
When God raised Jesus, He revealed that Jesus was acceptable.
There was no grounds by which death could hold Him.
He is perfect, and He is righteous, and He is God’s holy standard.
The resurrection of Jesus also serves as a tremendous proof
That Jesus is the standard by which God will judge this world.
If you wish to escape the judgment of the one true God,
You must be as righteous as Jesus.
You say, that’s not possible.
I can’t be as good as Jesus. In fact, I’ve already blown it.
What should I do?
“God is now declaring to man that all people everywhere should repent.”
Peter said the same thing:
Acts 2:36-39 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent”
Give your life to Jesus.
He is the Savior of the world.
And if you will surrender your life to Him, He will save you,
He will wash you in His blood and make you righteous before God.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
This morning I want you to look at the empty tomb,
I want you to know that Jesus is acceptable to the only true God.
God is real, He is powerful, He is sovereign, He intends for man to seek Him, and He is the provider and sustainer of this world.
HOW CAN YOU KNOW THE UNKNOWN GOD?
Repent, and give your life to Jesus, He is God’s only Savior.
John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
DO YOU KNOW GOD? DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
God has accepted Jesus, what have you done with Him?
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
