Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends on this Friday,
We’ve all had the experience of listening to a riveting speaker as they built their case to a powerful, heart piercing conclusion. Perhaps you’ve even been moved to tears by such a speech.
But my friends, do you understand the difference between a powerful orator and a message anointed and applied to your soul by the Holy Spirit of God? It is in those spiritual situations where real life change can happen. It’s far more than emotions or logic or manipulation; it’s God touching your soul!
I left you yesterday in the middle of such a speech. The apostle Paul had actually been invited to meet with the Areopagus in Athens, Greece. This gathering of men were considered among the most intelligent and influential of any fraternity of men anywhere in the world. For Paul, I’m sure he compared this Areopagus to the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, with which he was very familiar.
Paul was continuing his speech, so let’s listen closely: “Since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now God commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:29,30) Perhaps Paul pointed at some of the ornate statues or altars where people were lighting incense and praying. Perhaps Paul pointed to the great Acropolis Temple there in Athens.
These learned men knew Paul was right. It was totally illogical that human beings should carefully craft an image and then bow down to it and call it their god! Yet that has been done in every part of the world for centuries. Paul could very easily have quoted several of the Jewish prophets who proclaimed God’s mocking of the foolishness of idolatry. Such as Jeremiah 10 or Isaiah 44).
I’ve often wondered why Paul did not quote Psalm 135 to those intellectuals. It proclaims: “I know the LORD is great, that our LORD is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases Him in the heavens above and on the earth below… The idols of the nations are silver and gold made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them!“ (Ps. 135:5-7,13,15-18)
That’s very clear, and may I use the phrase “damning”, isn’t it? Is ‘idolatry’ in fact near lunacy? A person makes something with their own hands, then calls it their god and bows down in worship, and gives it their allegiance? Now before we throw stones, are we courageous enough to look at ourselves and our societies? What has captivated the souls of the people in your city?
For these reasons Paul concluded his powerful message with this warning: “For God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.“ (Acts 17:31) Now that statement shook these wise men. It pierced their souls. Why? Because humanity has, in every generation, lived with the assumption there will NEVER be an eventual reckoning. Too many believe there will NOT be a time when God will ultimately hold every person to God’s ultimate standard of perfection and then dispenses God-justice judgment. But that’s ignoring the obvious.
Parents call children to account. Teachers call students to account. Police call law breakers to account. Judges and juries call convicted criminals to account. So why would Holy God NOT call humanity, He has created, to account?
Do you live in a place where many people are deluded and have thrown wisdom and caution to the wind? But what does God say? Repeatedly, generation after generation God says what Paul here predicts: there will be a day of judgement, and every person will stand before God and ALL will be evaluated by Holy God’s standard. Hebrews 4:13 says it clearly: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him [Jesus] to whom we must give account.” That truth is echoed in Isaiah 45:22-24; Rev. 20:12 and many other Scriptures. God has promised accountability and judgment for all mankind, and the God assigned Judge of the world will be the only Man to ever die and be raised to life immortal. Paul had not yet mentioned the name Jesus, but clearly Paul had made the case! Jesus the Christ will be the all-knowing judge of all humanity.
As with any group of people listening to a powerful speech the reaction that day was varied. Luke tells us some of the Areopagus were interested in what Paul said, some sneered at him, but one of these scholars became a follower of Paul and we presume he believed in Jesus as his Savior. His name was Dionysius. He is only mentioned here in Acts 17:34, but others in Athens, both men and women, both Greek and Jew, also believed Paul’s message and they formed the beginning of the first church of Jesus followers in the great city of Athens.
We don’t know exactly how long Paul stayed in Athens, but we presume it was a fairly short period of time, because the next verse (Acts 18:1) begins with these words: “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth…” But whether a few days or only weeks, the Gospel of Jesus Christ took root in Athens and Paul had experienced one of the great thrills of his life: presenting God’s truth to the Areopagus, some of the most intelligent and influential men of the first century.
For the rest of his life Paul carried this memory with him. The Gospel had spread from Jerusalem all the way to Athens. Finally, what Jesus had commissioned His disciples to do was being accomplished. The name of Jesus was being proclaimed at the ends of the earth, (Acts 1:8) at the intellectual pinnacle of the vast Roman empire!
Now once again it’s important for us to pause and deeply reflect on these important truths. How has your heart and your city responded to the great truths of Jesus and His Gospel?
The ‘lessons learned’ notes at the link below will be very helpful to you and the worship song I’ve found will encourage you and draw you to Jesus. And tomorrow, I’ll be here waiting for you, and we’ll see what Paul did next.
Today’s Scripture: Acts 17:29-34.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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