VERY RELIGIOUS YET VERY LOST!
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ’For we are also His offspring.’
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter." 33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Acts 17:22-34 (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION
If being religious or intellectually gifted could bring salvation, Athens would have been the epitome of spirituality. Athens was the intellectual center of the world in Paul’s time. The world’s greatest philosophers and poets came out of Athens: Sophocles, Euripides, Socrates, Plato, etc. Athens was the academic center of the world in that day. In spite of its intellectual prowess, it was spiritually ignorant and deeply idolatrous.
Paul would tell the men of Athens what he had written to the Corinthians: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness"; and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 1 Corinthians 3:19-20 (NKJV).
Ardent religious activity and a high and lofty intellect fall far short of the righteousness God requires. To attain to the righteousness that God requires, one must have the righteousness of Christ imparted to him through repentance and faith.
Idolatry was rampant in Athens. Adjacent to the city was the seaport town of Piraeus. Merchant seamen from over the known world would bring their national and personal idols with them and place them in the area around the Agora, or public market place. Paul’s spirit was grieved at the extent of the idolatry he saw. “While Paul waited for them (Timothy and Silas) at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Acts 17:16 (NKJV). It was in such a setting that Paul confronted the Athenians with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul was concerned about the spiritual tragedy of idolatry. Though provoked by what he saw, he did not hesitate to preach the gospel to those who would listen. We need to ask ourselves: “Does the idolatry that pervades our society today grieve us?” Or do we overlook it with a “that’s just the way things are” attitude? Let’s look at message Paul delivered to the high tribunal at the Areopagus.
PAUL PREACHED THAT “BEING RELIGIOUS” IS NOT ENOUGH.
When certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered Paul, some ridiculed him, while others took him to the Areopagus, the supreme tribunal of Athens, which was situated on Mars Hill. Then Scriptural account reads:
“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.” Acts 17:22-23 (NKJV)
PAUL PREACHED THAT GOD IS LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”
“…for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ’For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.”
He reasoned with his audience that God does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything. He quoted their own poets who had written “For we are also His offspring.” Using their own logic, he showed the folly of worshipping man-made objects.
PAUL PREACHED THE NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE AND THE CERTAINTY OF DIVINE JUDGMENT.
"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.” Acts 17:30-31a (NKJV)
The carnal mind of the natural man resists the call to repent but Paul declared that God commands repentance. Jesus said: “…unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
PAUL PREACHED THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.
“…He has given assurance of this [Divine judgment] to all by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:31b (NKJV)
The philosophical thinking of the world resolutely resists the reality of the miraculous. For the worldly-minded individual to believe that Jesus bodily rose from the dead, he must admit to the existence of a living and Almighty God. Doing so requires his defying every idol he had previously worshipped. Most Athenians refused to take this leap of faith.
Whenever and wherever the gospel is preached, every hearer will respond in one of the same three ways as did those in Athens when Paul preached. Those responses are:
1. Some mocked (or sneered)
2. Some showed interest but were not ready to accept Paul’s message.
3. Some believed.
The two who believed were identified by name, Dionysius the Areopagite [one of twelve judges forming the tribunal], and a woman named Damaris. Others who believed were not identified by name. Tradition from another Dionysius, the bishop of Corinth in A.D. 171, as referenced by Eusebius, Dionysius (the Areopagite) suffered martyrdom under Caesar Domitian cir. 90 A.D., about the same time that John was exiled to Patmos.
CONCLUSION
It is unlikely that any one in our country will experience martyrdom because of our faith. But there is a price to be paid if our life reflects Christ and our witness is clear. Our Lord Jesus made this abundantly clear when He said: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NKJV). Paul adds: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12 (NKJV)
But wise indeed is the person who accepts God’s offer: “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV).
