Dealing With Unbelievers
Text: Acts 17:16-34
Introduction
1. A recent study by the George Barna Group showed how Americans feel about the Bible. While many Americans still believe in the authority of the Bible, the survey showed "the biggest jump of any group are those American adults who are antagonistic to the Bible, meaning they believe the Bible to just be a book of stories and teachings written by men, and they rarely or never read the Bible. That group stood at one in ten adults (10%) in 2011. In 2013, their ranks have grown to 17% of all U.S. adults."
2. Lack of regard for the Holy Bible is growing in the U.S. So what do we do when we talk to someone about Jesus and they don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God?
3. When someone doesn't believe in the Bible we use what we have...
A. Everybody believes is something.
B. Use What They Believe To Your Advantage.
C. Be Bold In Proclaiming The Truth.
4. Let's stand together as we read Acts 17:16-34.
Proposition: Just because someone doesn't believe in the Bible doesn't mean we can't witness to them.
Transition: First, it helps to understand...
I. Everybody Believes In Something (16-21).
A. Discussing The Latest Ideas
1. Paul had left Berea, where he had a different experience than the one he was about to have in Athens (read vv. 10-15).
A. In Berea, they had a high regard for Scripture and so Paul used it to tell them about Jesus.
B. However, now that he was in Athens the story was very different because they didn't believe in the Scriptures so Paul had to develop a plan B.
2. Our narrative begins with, "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there."
A. Athens was famous for its Acropolis and all its temples.
B. About six hundred years before Paul's time it was a world leader in art and philosophy. By this time, however, it had lost its glory. No longer politically or commercially important, its leadership in culture and education had been overtaken by Alexandria in Egypt.
C. Nevertheless, Athens still nurtured the memory of its past, and its temples were still beautiful examples of the best in Greek architecture.
D. Even so, everywhere Paul looked he saw a city that was "full of idols," and this caused his own spirit to be "deeply troubled" (almost "angered" or "outraged") within him.
E. Luke uses a strong, though different, word (paroxynomai) for Paul's reaction to seeing the city so full of idols. This word has been defined as "to be provoked or upset at someone or something involving severe emotional concern" (Fernando, NIV Application Commentary, The – Acts, 473).
F. As always, Paul first went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and preached to the Jews and the godly Gentiles there.
G. But he was concerned about the rest of the Gentiles too. Every day he talked to whoever "happened to be" in the "marketplace" (Gk. agora, not only a marketplace but also a center of public political and cultural life) (Horton, 296).
3. In addition to those he encountered in the synagogue, "He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
A. Paul debated with "a group of Epicurian and Stoic philosophers" (v. 18).
B. The Epicurians were "a philosophical school that valued pleasure (the absence of pain and disturbance) and disbelieved in the gods of ancient myths."
C. "They were influential only in the educated upper classes, and their views about God were similar to deism (he was uninvolved in the universe and irrelevant)."
D. Stoicism was "the most popular form of Greek philosophy in Paul's day.
E. Although most people were not Stoics, many Stoic ideas were widely publicized."
F. Though they believed in a supreme God, it was in a pantheistic way. (spirits in nature, i.e. Native American religion).
G. The Stoics saw the world as determined by fate and advocated that "human beings must pursue their duty, resigning themselves to live in harmony with nature and reason, however painful this might be, and develop their own self-sufficiency" (Fernando, 474).
4. So, "Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.
20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”
A. Paul’s dialogue in the marketplace led to an invitation to address the Council of Philosophers, also known as the Areopagus, which had been the judicial and legislative seat of government of Athens.
B. By Paul’s time, however, their responsibilities involved little more than overseeing certain areas of religion and education. These intellectuals, ever interested in hearing new ideas, wanted to hear about this new religion that Paul was presenting.
C. They wanted to know what it was all about. The word “know” will surface a good deal in the verses that follow.
D. Here the descendants of the most influential thinkers in Western civilization, who had been on a centuries-long quest for knowledge, were given an opportunity to receive the ultimate knowledge about God entering the human race to redeem fallen humanity and put them in a position to know the person of Jesus Christ.
(Barton, 535).
5. Then Luke gives us some further background in a parenthetical statement, "(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)"
A. Luke parenthetically explained this predisposition of the Athenians and many who were residing there (foreigners) to spend days at a time discussing the latest ideas.
B. Evidently, these were somewhat highbrow intellectuals, who loved to hear and discuss the latest fads in philosophy and theology.
C. The picture is that they rarely actually did anything they discussed; they just enjoyed tossing around ideas.
(Barton, 536).
D. Anybody that has ever been on social media can tell you that not much has changed in 2000 years. People still like to discuss/argue about the latest belief or fad.
E. So it doesn't matter who you are or what you do everybody believes in something.
B. Everybody Believes
1. Illustration: When I was a younger man, our church was doing some ministry at a local shopping mall. We would sing songs and in between sets we would go out and witness to people. One man that I talked to said to me, "I believe all you've got to do is follow the Ten Commandments." So asked him to name them for me. After several minuets of hemming and hawing he spouted out, "Well you not supposed to sleep with other men’s wives." He had one of them down, how about the other 9?
2. The reality is everybody believes in something.
A. Psalm 14:1 (NLT)
Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!
B. Like the man I encountered in the mall, everybody has a belief system that they follow.
C. Some people's god is they bank account.
D. Some people's god is their car.
E. Some people's god is their drugs.
F. Some people's god is alcohol.
G. Some people's god is sex.
H. But everybody believes in something!
Transition: So the secret in ministering to them is...
II. Use What They Believe To Your Advantage (22-29).
A. Religious In Every Way
1. The secret to Paul's success was that he did his homework. He was well versed in what they believed and he used it to his advantage.
2. Luke begins this section of the narrative in vv. 22-23, "So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about."
A. Paul was well prepared to speak to this group. He came from Tarsus, an educational center, and had the training and knowledge to present his beliefs clearly and persuasively.
B. Paul was a rabbi, taught by the finest scholar of his day, Gamaliel, and he had spent much of his life thinking and reasoning through the Scriptures.
C. Luke recorded this sermon in more detail than many of the others, likely as a sample of how Paul addressed the typical lost, intellectual Greek.
D. Rather than arguing the Scriptures as he would with a Jewish audience, he adapted his message and backed up a step or two to speak of a Creator; then he moved toward speaking about a Savior and Judge.
E. Paul began his address by affirming the religious nature of his audience by explaining what he had seen in their city.
F. "Very religious" in Paul's opening statement (v. 22) is a general word that can mean several things depending on the context.
i. It could be a criticism, as is implied by the KJV translation: "Ye are too superstitious," though this is an unlikely way to start an evangelistic speech.
ii. It was probably not a compliment, for according to an ancient writer Lucian, "complimentary exordia [beginnings] to secure the goodwill of the Areopagus court were discouraged."
iii. Most likely, therefore, it was a simple observation, opening the way for Paul's comment about the altar to the unknown god (v. 23a) (Fernando, 475).
G. He chose a starting point, a place where they could agree, rather than starting with their differences.
H. The Athenians had built an idol to an Unknown God for fear of missing blessings or receiving punishment.
I. The Athenian philosophers were either polytheistic (worshiped many gods) or pantheistic (believed all nature was god), so it would be natural for them to build an altar, superstitious that they might have overlooked a god.
J. Archaeological finds have shown many such altars with the inscription, “to the unknown god(s).” Paul’s opening statement to the men of Athens was about their “unknown god.”
K. Paul was not endorsing this god but using the inscription as a point of entry for his witness to the one true God (Barton , 536).
3. He then continues saying, "“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us."
A. The central body of Paul’s speech is a presentation of God as the Creator, who made the world and everything in it.
B. This Creator doesn’t live in man-made temples, even spectacular wonder-of-the-world Greek structures like the one a few hundred yards up the hill from where they sat on the Acropolis.
C. God does not need anything from humans since he has no needs. From general characteristics of the Creator God, Paul moved to the more specific Judeo-Christian claims that God created all life and all nations from one man.
D. This would likely rub proud Greeks the wrong way, since they believed themselves to be racially superior to all other nations (whom they called “barbarians”).
E. This “unknown god” is not only knowable; he is not far from any person.
F. This contrasted to the Greek gods, which lived in seclusion and could not be approached. The need that motivated the construction of an altar “To an Unknown God” (17:23) could be realized in Christ, for he was very near and available—to be known!(Barton, 536).
4. Look at what Paul says next, "For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ "
A. To illustrate and support his point, Paul quoted first from Epimenides, a Cretan poet from 600 B.C. (whom he also quoted in Titus 1:12): In him we live and move and exist.
B. The next quote is from Aratus (a Stoic poet from Cilicia, 315–240 B.C.) in a line from his work Phainomena: We are his offspring.
C. Both of these statements from well-known and accepted literary sources of the day served Paul’s purpose well in arguing for the fact that the creation and sustaining of life was in the hands of the one God whom they did not know but who was very near and very knowable.
D. The sense of humanity being God’s “offspring” means that all receive life and breath from him.
(Barton, 536).
5. Then Paul draws it together saying, "And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone."
A. All these points lead to the conclusion (note "since this is true" in v. 29) that idolatry is unnecessary and give weight to Paul's call to repentance that follows (v. 30).
B. If this God is indeed the supreme Lord of creation, the wisest thing to do is to turn to him.
C. This turning to God is not an optional extra that merely adds a new dimension to one's life.
D. It is a command that goes out to all people everywhere.
E. But the wisdom of such a step becomes all the more evident when we realize that this God is someday going to judge the world (v. 31) (Fernando, 475).
F. It was Paul's familiarity with what they believed that enabled him to deal with them on a level they could understand.
B. Find Out What They Believe
1. Illustration: I want to recommend a book to you entitled, The Universe Next Door, by James Sire. This book is all about the struggle to discover our faith, to find our own worldview. Some main purposes of this book are 1.)"to outline the basic worldviews that underlie the way we in the Western world think about ourselves, other people, the natural world, and God or ultimate reality; 2.) to trace historically how these worldviews have developed from a breakdown in the theistic worldview, moving in turn to deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern mysticism and the new consciousness of the New Age; 3.) to show how postmodernism puts a twist on all these worldviews; and 4.) to encourage us all to think in terms of worldviews, that is, with a consciousness of not only our own way of thought but also that of other people, so that we can first understand and then genuinely communicate with others in our pluralistic society." More concisely, this book takes all of the major belief systems of the world and gives you a working knowledge of what others believe.
2. In order to be witnesses we need to familiarize ourselves with what others believe.
A. Acts 1:8 (NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
B. It's time we stop living in our little Christian bubble and find out what they world values and believes.
C. We cannot just sit in our Christian bubble and expect others to come to us for answers.
D. We need to prepare ourselves to minister to a world that is increasingly hostile to Christianity and the Bible.
E. We've got to engage a world that is lost and going to hell.
F. We've got to get out and minister to people in a way that they can understand.
G. Because the world needs Jesus!
Transition: Once we have prepared ourselves, we need to...
III. Be Bold In Proclaiming The Truth (30-34).
A. He Commands Everyone Everywhere
1. Paul now gets to the heart of what he is trying to say, that God is calling people to repent of their sins or face judgment.
2. He tells those gathered there, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him."
A. Along the way Paul has answered another question that would have arisen in the mind of a philosophically oriented person.
B. If there is a God who is supreme, why does he allow people to live in such open defiance of him without punishing them?
C. His answer has three aspects: God overlooked their ignorance in the past, but now he "commands all people everywhere to repent" (v. 30), and a judgment day is coming (v. 31a).
D. In other words, God will not tolerate sin forever, for he is indeed just.
E. The wicked who openly defy God may prosper for a time, but one day they will have to pay for their sin if they do not repent (Fernando, 476).
3. As a result he then warns them, "For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
A. Paul confronted his listeners with Jesus’ resurrection and its meaning to all people—either blessing or punishment.
B. The Greeks had no concept of judgment. Most of them preferred worshiping many gods instead of just one. And though their gods became angry from time to time, there was no real accountability in the way that Paul was presenting.
C. God has set a day for judging the world, however, and the judge had been selected.
D. All judgment had been given to the one who was raised from the dead—Jesus Christ (see John 5:22)—the one Paul had been proclaiming in Athens since the day he had arrived (see 17:18).
E. To the Greek mind, the concept of resurrection was unbelievable and offensive, but on this issue the whole gospel hinged (1 Corinthians 15:13-14).
F. Although Paul knew it would offend their precious philosophies, he did not hold back the truth. Paul often would change his approach to fit his audience, as he did with this one, but he never would change his basic message.
(Barton, 536-537).
4. Just to show you that not much has changed since Paul's day, "When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”
A. The mention of the resurrection would, of course, draw an immediate reaction from this group of intellects.
B. Some laughed, yet there were others who seemed intrigued and asked if they could hear more about this later.
C. The latter group may simply have been patronizing this fellow scholar and visiting lecturer. Paul’s speech was not in vain, however, as the next verse shows.
D. This basic feature of the Christian message brings the growing sense of unease within some in Paul's audience to a head, and they begin to sneer at him (v. 32).
E. Others, however, want to hear more, and the gathering ends on that note (v. 33)(Fernando, 476).
F. The point here we must not miss is that even in the face of opposition and ridicule Paul kept proclaiming the truth.
B. Holy Boldness
1. Illustration: Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given. The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon: "Hugh Lattimer, do you know before whom you are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away your life, if you offend. Therefore, take heed that you speak not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, do you not know from where you come--upon Whose message you are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who sees all your ways and Who is able to cast your soul into hell! Therefore, take care that you deliver your message faithfully." He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday--and with considerably more energy.
2. Never back away or give in when telling people about Jesus!
A. Acts 4:31 (NLT)
After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
B. Did Jesus back down or give in when he went to the cross for you?
C. Then we need to not back down or give in when we are telling others about him.
D. We need to be bold and willing to speak no matter the circumstances.
E. We must never give up, give in or give out!
F. We must preach the word of God boldly until Jesus comes again!
Transition: Whether we tell people about Jesus by using Scripture or some other means we must continue to tell people about him.
Conclusion
1. Lack of regard for the Holy Bible is growing in the U.S. So what do we do when we talk to someone about Jesus and they don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God?
2. When someone doesn't believe in the Bible we use what we have...
A. Everybody believes is something.
B. Use What They Believe To Your Advantage.
C. Be Bold In Proclaiming The Truth.
3. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
