A.Have you ever been in a strange place with strange people who were as different from you as they could possibly be?How did you relate to them?What did you say?
B.The apostle Paul found himself in such a situation in the city of Athens.His interactions with the Athenian people resulted in one of the greatest sermons ever preached as he told them about the unknown God.
II.THE CITY OF ATHENS
A.During Paul’s second evangelistic journey, he was brought to the city of Athens.
1.Before going to Athens, Paul had travelled in Macedonia, where his preaching of Jesus brought persecution from the Jews (Acts 17:1-13).
2.For this reason, "the brethren” (Paul’s fellow Christians) sent Paul away by sea, while Silas and Timothy remained in Macedonia (Acts 17:14).He was then taken far south to the ancient city of Athens in Greece (Acts 17:15).
B.Athens was a city of great importance in the ancient world.
1.Athens had once been a great city-state and the capital of the former empire of Greece during the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.
2.It was famous as a center of literature, art, architecture, and politics.Many famous philosophers had taught in Athens, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
3.Under Alexander the Great, the influence of Athens and Greece had spread across the world and was responsible for much of the culture in the Roman Empire during the life of Paul.To this day, Athens is still recognized as the birthplace of Western civilization and democracy.
4.The city of Athens in the first century A.D. had several dominant features, a few of which are significant to Paul’s sermon from Acts 17.
a.Paul’s sermon was given at the Areopagus, which was a rocky hill in Athens.The name "Areopagus” came from the name "Ares” (the Greek god of war, same as the Roman god Mars) and the Greek word pagos, which means "large rock.”The name had originally been for the council that met on this hill.The Romans called this place "Mars’ Hill.”
b.A few hundred yards to the east of the Areopagus was the Acropolis, which was a higher hill than the Areopagus.This hill was the original site of the city and had been used as a citadel to defend the city as it had expanded.
c.On top of the Acropolis was the Parthenon, which was the temple of Athena (completed 438 B.C.).Athena was the Greeks’ virgin goddess of wisdom, fertility, the arts, and warfare.She was the matron goddess and pride of the city of Athens, her namesake.
d.The Agora was the huge market place in the center of Athens directly north of the Areopagus.This was place where most business was conducted in the city.
III.PAUL AT THE AREOPAGUS
A.In this idolatrous city, Paul was moved to preach the gospel of Christ.
1.Paul’s "spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols” (Acts 17:16).This place was radically different from the cities of the Jews, such as Jerusalem.
2.In his usual custom, Paul first preached Christ to the Jews in the synagogues, but he also preached to God-fearing Gentiles and anyone present in the market place or Agora (Acts 17:17).
3.When he drew the attention of the curious Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, they brought him to the Areopagus to be heard by everyone in the city (Acts 17:18-21).
B.At the Areopagus, Paul began his sermon by using the city’s idolatrous religion as a starting point for preaching the gospel of Christ.
1.Paul acknowledged that the Athenians were very religious, but he did not commend them for it (Acts 17:22).Whereas the pagans considered it a virtue to have many gods, Paul did not.
2.Pointing out one of their altars of worship marked "To an Unknown God,” Paul said he would proclaim the truth about what they worshiped in ignorance (Acts 17:23).
C.Paul then contradicted everything that the idolatrous Athenians believed about religion.
1.The contradiction began with a declaration that there is one God who made everything (Acts 17:24).In other words, he began with "In the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1).
a.The idea of a single Deity was absolutely foreign to these ancient pagans.They believed in separate gods for almost everything in the world, but Paul said there is one true God.
b.The pagans had many myths about the origins of the world and man, but none of them believed in one God who made everything.For them, this was a radical teaching.
c.In teaching these few words, Paul had just denied the entire religion of these pagan people.He had said that their beloved Athena and all their other gods were nothing.
2.Paul continued to shock the Athenians when he declared that this one great God has no need of a temple or of temple service (Acts 17:24-25).
a.Within clear view of the Acropolis, Paul said that the glorious Parthenon was useless.
b.He had also told them that their many sacrifices were nothing.God didn’t need them.
3.Paul then declared the sovereign rule and purpose of the one true God (Acts 17:26-29).
a.God has made all the nations of men from one (see Genesis 1-11).This contradicted the pagan myths of the various origins of men as well as the basis of their class systems.
b.God is in control of the nations and sets their boundaries and times.This contradicted the pagans’ ideas of the patron gods of the nations and their reverence for Caesar as lord.
c.God’s purpose for all men is the same, which is to seek God.These pagans were not living for themselves, their false gods, or even their emperor.They lived for the God whom they did not know!The good news for them was that the true God was not far from their reach.
d.God was already in these pagans, "for in Him we live and move and exist.”One of their own poets, Epimenides from the sixth century B.C., had rightly said that they were the offspring of God.Indeed, there is "one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:6).
e.Therefore, Paul said that the Athenians needed to change their religious thought from the worship of carved images to the spiritual worship of the true God.What a bold statement for a man standing in the midst of a city full of idols!
4.In conclusion, Paul preached the core message of the gospel of Christ (Acts 17:30-31).
a.They had worshiped in ignorance for many years, and God had overlooked it until this moment.Now they had to repent, which meant rejecting their entire system of beliefs and ways of life.
b.Paul warned them of the coming judgment to be accomplished through Jesus Christ, whom God had raised from the dead.The resurrection of Jesus was proof that He would judge them all in righteousness.
D.Consider Paul’s approach for preaching to the Athenians.
1.Paul was impressively bold in his speech.He had no fear of offending the Athenians when he stood alone and told them that everything they believed was wrong.
2.Paul preached the word of God to the Athenians.
a.He did not quote Scripture directly because the Athenians would not have understood the references.However, he preached to them the word of God just the same.
b.He taught them about creation and the origins of man as well as the sovereignty of God throughout history.He also taught them about God’s providence in the present.These are themes taught throughout the Scriptures and revealed by God’s word.
c.Let us take a lesson from Paul’s approach.We can never convert others to Christ without preaching God’s word.It is a mistake to try to prove the existence of God without His word.The Bible is the basis of everything we believe, so let us preach it.
3.Paul told the Athenians what they needed to do, and it was the same message he gave the Jews.They needed to repent and change their ways to get ready for judgment.Today, all men need to do the same.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.At the conclusion of Paul’s preaching, some rejected his message, some wanted to hear more, and some believed.These are the same reactions gospel preaching receives today.
B.Beyond those who heard the voice of Paul on the Areopagus, untold millions have heard and read his words recorded in Scripture.Let us also learn from the great boldness of this man and the eternal truth he taught on that day many years ago.
