The Unknown God
Acts 17:16-31
There are people here in our country today that are just as ignorant about the ONE true GOD AS THEY WERE WHEN THE APOSTLE PAUL SPOKE THESE WORDS HERE IN OUR TEXT TODAY, yonder in Athens Greece, listen as I read our text found in, acts.17: 16-31
16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens,[ Silas and Timotheus ] his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. 17Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. 18Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. 19And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? 20For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. 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.) 22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27That they should seek the Lord, if haply [or come to the conclusion] they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28For 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.”
29Forasmuch 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.
30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Well there was a time when the people of the United States considered ourselves a “Christian” nation in that we identified with the Christian faith. There was a feeling that the principles on which our country was founded, such as, (freedom, democracy, law and morality) were principles that came from the Christian Scriptures.
People here then didn’t see a problem with the fact that the laws of the land came from the laws of the Bible. The Ten Commandments were seen as a good thing. Prayer, even at public events, was welcomed and considered important.
But now days it seem that our culture has rejected Christianity as part of what defines us as a nation.
It seem as though the supposedly intelligent crust of our nations leaders & a Hugh majority of just every day citizens no longer welcome the WORD of GOD as our primary religious influence on the nation.
And in its place there has come a confusing array of systems and religions from other parts of the world.
For instance,“Eastern mysticism, Islam, the Kabbala, and even Satan worship” all these are seen as equal to, and as relevant as, Christianity. We’ve heard our own national leaders make comments such as,” let us pray to the god of our choice”.
Let me say right here that the Greek meaning for all that is, “hog wash”
All of this is most troubling to those of us who profess faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ who is Lord of heaven and earth.
He wants to be every ones Savior, but not every one is going to receive Him as such, but make no mistake; He is and forever shall be every ones Lord.
phil. 2:9-11Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We as believers in Him alone come into direct conflict with the world when we say that Jesus is not one way among many, but He is THE WAY.
He is the only way that we can come to God. The Bible says, 1 Timothy 2:5-6 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
There are not many mediators, there is only one. Jesus himself said, John 14:6- I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
He also said in JN. 10: 1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
We as believers in Him & Him alone don’t recognize other religions as equally valid. We believe that Jesus Christ is the One & Only universal Savior of the world.
1st. John 5: 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
It’s important for us believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to remember that there are many good and sincere people who follow these other religions. And it could be that God may be working in their hearts.
Jesus said in matt. 10:16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
As Christians we’re not suppose to shun lost sinners, other wise no one would ever be saved. Lets be friendly toward every body and try & win their confidence, Solomon said in Prov, 18: 24 24A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: - -
I recall a man where we use to work who was a Jehovah’s Wittiness, he would come out to the department that I worked in at that time while he was on his break, and he ask questions about the Bible, where he went, the Jehovah’s kingdom hall; had him brain washed into thinking that Jesus was not God in flesh, we were then and still are today good friends, by the way he is a Baptist today,
I ask one day who the Savior was, and he said; Jesus Christ, and I ask him how many Saviors there are, and he said one, so now he had said with his own mouth that Jesus was the only Savior, so I opened my Bible to Isaiah 45: 21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
In our text today the apostle Paul was grieved When he arrived in Athens for we read in, Acts 17:16 16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens,[ Silas and Timotheus ] his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
He was surrounded by statues of the Greek gods, and some I’m sure were grotesque or sensual, but instead of talking against all of these Paul said in vs. 22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
The response of the Greeks would have been different if he had been blunt and condemning in his approach.
They don’t need to be condemned for following the wrong God, they need somebody who will bring their vague concept of God into sharp focus.
I believe that God has placed in the heart of every person a desire to know him. And these are not just vague spiritual longings that can be satisfied with speculation or just any religion. These longings can only be satisfied by truth and reality, and that is that God made the world and sent his Son to take away their sins.
The Holy Spirit was guiding and directing Paul as he presented the truth.
Everyone needs Jesus, and everyone has access to him. He is the Savior of all and for all.
The Bible says, Acts 4:12 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
There are a lot people that are uncomfortable with the claims of Christianity.
But if any one wants to get to heven they’ll have to come the bible way, everybody, we read in Isaiah 55:1-3 1Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; --
Jesus Christ is for everyone. There is no cost and no barrier except the ones people build themselves.
Let us be people that will present the truth with kindness, because it is the gift of life.
The prophet Joel said, Joel 2:32 32And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered:
Do you know the true & living God? Or are you just passing away your precious life with the feelings of a hope so religion.
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