Eternity in their hearts (Acts 17)

TBD...

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God “has put eternity into man’s heart,”

A while ago I read a book by Don Richardson that gave an illustration of this in ancient Athens.

Sometime during the 6th century before Christ there was a great plague in the area of Athens/Greece. The people had sacrificed to their many gods to appease them and have the plague stopped, but it was not working. The priestess said that the city of Athens was under a terrible curse. She continued and said that a certain god had placed this curse on the city because of the crime of their king.

The people thought that they had been forgiven of that crime because they had sacrificed to every god that they knew of. The people of Athens were known for how many gods they had. If you were to enter into the city of Athens, it was said that there were more gods than people. That is how many statues and alters had been built to the different gods that they believed existed. They had sacrificed to every god that they knew of, yet the priestess said that there was still one that had not been appeased. The priestess said that she did not know this “unknown god”, but a man on the near by island of Crete did know and they should send for him. The people sent for a man named Epimenides from the island of Crete and brought him to Athens. (the people of Athens looked down on the people from Crete. To go to them and ask for help was a very humbling and unpopular experience)

Once Epimenides arrived in Athens and stepped off of the ship, he immediately noticed the plague that was upon the city. But he also noticed something else… “Never have I seen so many gods!” he exclaimed in amazement. Statues of idols lined both sides of the road. At this time Athens had several hundred gods, at least.

The people of Athens had become collectors of gods. As they conquered surrounding people groups, they would bring their idols and foreign gods to Athens. They had brought every god they could transport to Athens by cart and by ship. Epimenides met with the council and they inquired of him what should be done to appease this “unknown god”.

Tomorrow at sunrise bring a flock of sheep, a band of stonemasons, and a large supply of stones and mortar to the grassy slope at the foot of this sacred rock. The sheep must be healthy, and of different colors — some white, some black. And you must prevent them from grazing after their night’s rest. They must be hungry sheep! —— The members of the council looked puzzled at each other, but they did what Epimenides ordered.

The next day when everything was prepared Epimenides spoke to the people of Athens… Learned elders, You have already expended great effort in offering sacrifices to your many gods, yet all has been futile. I am now about to offer sacrifices based three assumptions different than yours…

there is still another god concerned in the matter of this plague — a god who's name is unknown to us and who is not represented by any idol in this city. I am going to assume that this god is great enough — and good enough — to do something about this plague, if only we invoke his help. This god is great enough and good enough to smile upon us in our ignorance — if we acknowledge our ignorance and call upon him!

Now, called Epimenides, release the sheep upon the slope. Let each animal eat grass wherever they like. Follow each animal.

Epimenides then prayed, looking up to heaven, … O thou unknown god! Behold the plague afflicting this city! And if indeed you feel compassion to forgive and help us, behold this flock of sheep! Reveal your willingness to respond, I plead, by causing any sheep that pleases you to lie down upon the grass instead of grazing. Those you choose, we will sacrifice to you — acknowledging our pitiful ignorance of your name!”

The sheep were released and they began to walk towards the grass. Many of the sheep started to eat. People thought, “it’s hopeless, this will never work, a hungry sheep will never choose to lay down and rest until it’s belly is full…” But then, In several places over the hillside sheep started to lay down. The people looked to Epimenides and asked, “what shall we do?”

He said, everywhere a sheep laid down, build an altar. The stonemasons started working. By late in the day, the mortar was dry enough to use. They asked, “which gods name should we write on the altars?… Epimenides said, “The Deity whose help we seek has been pleased to respond to our admission of ignorance. If we now pretend to be knowledgable by engraving a name when we have no idea what His name may be, I fear we shall only offend Him.” We must not take that chance. But, there is a way to dedicate the altars giving the god that answered us honor. Write the words “agnosto theo”…”to an unknown god” on each side of the altar. Nothing more is needed.

Over time the number of altars and gods that the people of Athens collected grew to more than you can imagine. Overtime, these altars to an unknown god became overgrown and were not maintained. Most were even broken down as they fell apart. But, a few remained that were maintained and preserved so that the people might remember what had happened that day when an “unknown god” heard their prayers.

That was an embellished story based on a few historical facts regarding Athenian history. Did that event really happen? I like to think so, but I doubt it happened exactly like the story tells. But, we know there was a city named Athens that had the reputation for being flooded with “gods”. The book of Acts tells us of a time when Paul was in Athens and he experienced something very similar to the story we just reviewed.

———

The Bible tells us in the book of Acts chapter 17, of a time when the Apostle Paul was traveling and he came to the city of Athens. He was by himself at first and while he was waiting for his friends Silas and Timothy to join him, the Bible says that Paul noticed that the city was full of idols. This bothered him a lot. Acts 17:16 says that “his spirit was provoked within him, when he saw that the city was full of idols.”

So, he started teaching in the Synagogue with the Jews and other people. He also taught and spoke every day with anyone who was in the marketplace.

Some of the philosophers in Athens listened to and talked with Paul.

In Athens there were two groups of people that looked at the world and life somewhat differently. One group (Epicureans) looked at life and said, “You only live once… so, you need to enjoy your life. If it feels good then do it. If it hurts then stay away from it. Enjoy the pleasures in life while you can. —— The other group of people (Stoics) looked at life differently. Their view was that good and bad things are going to happen in life whether you want them to or not. You can’t do anything about the bad things so just be strong and live with it. You are in control of your life. They believed that they would just do the best they could, and not let anyone tell them how to live their lives. They had no sense of a divine presence in their life. No need for a god who would interacted with them.

When the Epicureans and Stoics heard him they said, “What does this babbler wish to say?”

babbler = “seed picker”…Some of the philosophers viewed Paul as an amateur philosopher—one who had no ideas of his own but only picked among prevailing philosophies and constructed one with no depth.

Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

The people brought Paul to a place called the “Areopagus” (a place where teachers and philosophers taught. This was a cultural meeting place where people discussed new ideas and other things of philosophy.)

When they were there, the people said, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”

We are told in verse 21,”Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new”

Imagine the scene in your mind… Paul is in Athens. He is standing in the place where the people loved to gather to listen to tell of new ideas. The people are begging him to explain the meaning about what he has been telling them, about someone named Jesus.

Paul is given a platform that most of us don’t necessarily receive. He was basically given freedom by the city’s elite to explain in detail the message of the gospel. Notice that Paul doesn’t start with a systematic theology lecture, or an attack on the sinfulness of the city. Notice that he begins with an observation about the city and uses something that the Athenians knew from their history and builds a bridge to the truth of the gospel.

Let’s listen in on Pauls encounter with the elite of Athens in verse 22.

Paul’s Proposal (22-23)

“So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (ESV)

Paul starts his message to the Athenians, by reminding the people of something that he has observed as he walked through the city. He appeals to a witness that God has embedded of Himself in their history that would one day be used to point to Him.

No-one, that I know of, has found this altar but there are references to similar inscriptions in ancient writings. A number of ancient visitors to Athens saw altars or statues that bore such writing.

Paul does not say why the true God was unknown to the Athenians, though we know the answer from his teaching in Romans 1. The reason men and women do not know God is that they do not want to know him. God has clearly made himself known (Rom. 1:18-20); they reject the revelation. In general, sinful people do not like or want the God who is there. We see that evidenced in our own world today where Modern thought and Post-modern culture have taken God out of everything. (school, science, & religion…)

Since the people of Athens were always curious about new things, Paul uses that curiosity to make them listen to his message with very open ears. He tells them that what they have been worshiping in ignorance, he is going to tell them all about.

Paul was saying, ‘the god that you think you can’t know, I’m going to tell you all about Him. You can know Him!!! He has made Himself known to you!!!’

Let’s listen to how Paul explains this “unknown God” to the people of Athens. In this text we can see Paul’s Proclamation and Paul’s Proposition. Paul will first share with us what God has revealed about Himself, and then we will see how we should respond to the truth that God has revealed.

First let’s listen to see some of the ways that God has revealed Himself to us through what Paul proclaims.

I. Paul’s Proclamation (24-27)

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” (ESV)

God is the Creator of all things (24)

Paul’s first point in his proclamation is that God is the Creator of all things. One of the great truths we get from the doctrine of creation is that God has not left himself without a witness. It is true that not all peoples have had the Scriptures. In the Old Testament period God gave the Bible primarily to the Jews. But all people at all times have had a witness to God and who He is in creation, in the heavens, and on earth. No one can claim that they know absolutely nothing of the one true God. (Even in the African jungle, the people know that there is someone or something that made everything and is in control of everything).

God is the sustainer of all things (25)

Paul’s second point is that God is the sustainer of all things. Verse 25 says, “nor is He (God) served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” God sustains & keeps His creation. It is not that we provide for him; he provides for us. In Colossians Paul says that “in him (that is, Christ) all things hold together” (1:17) God is sustaining us. Then later in Hebrews 1:3, we are told that Christ upholds the universe by the word of His power. Both of those verses seem to suggest that if the Lord Jesus Christ were not holding all things together everything would fly apart.

I think Paul proclaimed in Athens a God who not only created all things but who also sustains them. The very fact that we and the world are here, that we are alive, and that we can think about both it and ourselves are all due to the sustaining activity of God. (this is a stark contrast to what the Greeks ideas were about the characteristics of their gods).

God is the ordainer of all things (26)

Third, in verse 26, Paul says that God not only sustains the universe but also guides the affairs of men. He is the ordainer of all things. Verse 26 says, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and boundaries of their dwelling place,”

We do not know the future; we do not know what God has determined to do in national affairs. Nevertheless, we can have confidence that God is in control of what happens. He has made plans and also determines whatever comes to pass. This is the true God, not a weak God, not a God we must beg in order to get him to change his mind about something. He determined, for example, that the Greeks would be Greeks; the Americans, Americans; and that the Syrians would be Syrians. None of these things are accidents.

We need to seek Him. (27-28)

Paul wraps up his proclamation in verses 27 and 28 by stating that we need to seek God.

If God has revealed himself to us in creation, as he has, and if God sustains creation (including ourselves), and if God has determined the boundaries of our regions and has made a plan for HIs creation, it would seem that as people, we have an obligation to seek God out and find him.

This is a purpose of God’s general revelation. God has revealed himself to the world by creating the world and everything in it, so that we might seek him out. Paul states clearly and emphatically in verse 27, “that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each of one of us,”

Paul uses a word here for “reaching out for [or ‘feeling after’] God and finding him” that the Greek poet Homer used in the well-known story of the Cyclops.

The giant one-eyed Cyclops had captured Odysseus and his men, and Odysseus had gotten him drunk and then blinded him with a sharp stake. The hero then wanted to sneak out of the cave where he and his men were being held. But it was difficult because the Cyclops was standing in the way, groping around, feeling after Odysseus so that he might find him and kill him.

That is the very word Paul uses. So it is as if he is saying: In our sin we are as blind as the blinded Cyclops. Nevertheless, because creation is still there, we have an obligation to feel after God and find him, even though we cannot see him. (How often do you, “feel after God”? — my answer would be, not nearly enough.)

Now, God has revealed Himself to mankind in many ways. As Paul taught the people of Athens about this “unknown God”, he shared with them that this God that they thought was unknowable has revealed Himself clearly to them. God has revealed Himself to them through his power and wisdom of creation, His power as He personally sustains and keeps everything, and then through His power as His plan is acted out in a way that is according to His will.

In a sense Paul is telling the people of Athens that, this God that you think you can’t know. He knows you!!! Not only does He know you, but He has made Himself known to you!!! He created the world you live in, He created you! He sustains you, He keeps you alive! Not only that, He has a plan for the world that He has created and you are part of that plan. This God has made Himself clearly known to you but that is not all…

Paul then moves on in verses 29-30 to share with the people that this powerful and personal God has not only just revealed Himself to them, He does not only want the people of the world to know who He is, He wants the people of the world to respond to Him, to respond to Him in faith.

We heard Paul’s Proclamation, now let’s listen to Paul’s Proposition… (Paul is preaching a message and has introduced his subject matter, he has created a need for the text, and now he introduces his proposition… he now moves into telling the people what they should do with this information now that they have heard it.)

II. Paul’s Proposition (28-30) —

Verses 28–31 say,28 “for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,” (ESV)

Basically Paul is encouraging the people of Athens in this way: Because you have not sought after God the way that you should have when God revealed Himself to you, You need to repent!

We can see why Paul calls for repentance. But, it is interesting how Paul approaches the peoples need for repentance. Because God has revealed Himself in some ways through His creation, people everywhere have no excuse for not believing that there is an all powerful God who they need to seek out and learn more about.

He could have talked to the people of Athens about their immorality that took place everywhere. But he did not. He could have talked about how the philosophers really were teaching and leading people into error with their false ideas about religion, but he didn’t. There was a sense in which the Greeks did not know any better in these areas. They didn't have copies of the Bible circulating throughout the city. Not so with the revelation of God through His creation. In this area they did know better, just like all people do. Being guilty of not responding to the revelation of God that they did have, they needed to repent. God is calling people everywhere to turn from their false ideas of who God is, and their false ideas of what the purpose of life is and turn to Him. God holds man responsible for responding to the amount of revelation that he has received.

We need the message of repentance for our generation too, though we are far guiltier than the Greeks. Our generation not only has the knowledge of God through His creation, but we have his completed Word in our hands, on our laps, on our phones, our watches or sometimes on the screen behind me…

Not only does our society need to repent, we personally are called to respond to God’s revelation and turn to Him.

True Christianity does not begin by saying, “You’re a very good guy” and “everything is going to be nice for you if you will just get in touch with God.” True Christianity says, “You have failed to seek after God. You have gone your own way. Deep down you know that there is One true God, but because of your sin you don’t want Him. Therefore, God commands and requires that you repent.” As we repent, God holds out the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Paul has shared with the people of Athens who the one true God is. He has shared some of God’s character so the people can know what the one true God is like. Paul shares that since God has created us, sustains us, and has a plan for us, that we are to respond to God in repentance. Paul not only tells the people of Athens of their need for repentance, but then ends his message by giving three reasons why they should repent… As people that God has created, as People that Jesus Christ has died for, these are also three reasons why every one of us needs to search our heats and respond to God. These reasons for repentance can be applied to everyone that we talk with and share the gospel with. Evangelism does not have to be complicated. It consists of basically 3 elements… telling people who God is, what he has done, and how to respond.

Throughout the Bible there is a pattern. God reveals truth about who He is and then gives man an opportunity to respond in faith. The same is true today. God has revealed to us who He is, now is our opportunity to respond to HIs truth in faith and repentance. Paul closes his sermon by sharing with us 3 reasons for why we need to repent.

(Some of us need to listen to these reasons for repentance and respond to it… others of us need to listen to these reasons so that you will be more motivated to share them with others so that all of those around you can have an opportunity to respond to God in repentance.)

Conclusion/Application:

(Read vs. 30-31)

“30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (ESV)

3 reasons to repent, then we’ll close.

1. God has been patient, overlooking ignorance for a time (v.30) —- God’s patience should encourage us as well as having encouraged the people of Athens. Our land is as corrupt as theirs, even though we have known the gospel for hundreds of years, which they had not. God has not yet destroyed (America) for its sins. Why? It is because God is patient. God’s justice demands that every sin and sinner be punished. God would have been just, when Adam and Eve sinned, to destroy them, and with them, the entire human race. But in His goodness, mercy, and patience, He withheld His judgment for a certain period of time. (Paul teaches this same idea in Romans 3:25.)

God had been patient with the people of Athens, and He has also been patient with you and with me. He has overlooked your ignorance for a time. Pay attention, and let God’s patience lead you to repentance. The Grace of God has been extended to us, now we are to respond.

2. God commands repentance — If God tells us to do something, we had better do it.

It is no small matter. — Men are to “repent.” Of what? Sin and Idolatry. If men set anything above God as the object of their time, thought, energy, or life, they are worshiping the work of their hands and are thereby degrading God and themselves.

They must repent because judgment is coming! Verse 31 clearly says that it is… Mankind is not moving toward dying off,(as the Epicureans thought), nor toward becoming part of the universe (as the Stoics supposed). But mankind is moving toward divine judgment. Moreover, our Judge is One who has been raised from the dead… Jesus Christ.

———This is where many of the people of Athens stopped listening to Paul’s message. Many of the people of Athens did not believe in any kind of resurrection. One of their ancient philosophers had written this “When the dust has soaked up a man’s blood, once he is dead, there is no resurrection,”… this was a popular belief in Athens.

Everything is fine as long as we remain theoretical (as long as everything is just talking), but when we call for action, men begin to shift in their seats, and look at their watches. Seeing their accountability to the true God makes many uncomfortable…. Right?

People will come and sit in church and listen for years and enjoy it, but when faced with a time when they have to actually change the way they are living… people don’t like that.

3. God has appointed a final day of judgment when Jesus shall be the final judge. — Paul’s words were, “because he (God) has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (v.31)

Paul was in a city where there were almost more gods and false idols than people. He was sharing with the people that there is one true God and He is the one who created everything. He is the one who created you… He is the one who keeps you alive and keeps the world together… and He is the one has made a plan for His creation… This God is not far away, He is right here and He wants us to know Him. Not only does He want us to know Him but He wants us to respond to Him. He wants us to have a relationship with Him.

Today, we not only have the truth we can know about God through the world that He has created but we have His inspired Word where He reveals more and more about who He is and what He has done so that we can have a relationship with Him.

God has been patient with us extending His grace to us and overlooking our ignorance for a time so that we have an opportunity to respond to Him and repent. A judgment is coming and God calls us to repent, to turn from our sinful ways and respond to His truth. God has revealed to us that Jesus Christ came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins… that Jesus, the Son of God will one day judge the world. We know that this is true because Jesus, who died on the cross and was buried, was raised from the dead proving that He is God and that all He said is true.

Paul gave the people of Athens an opportunity to respond, and some did. This is an important step in our own witnessing. As we share the truth about who God is, what He has done, and how they should respond, we need to provide an opportunity for people to respond.

Verse 32-34 tells us that some people mocked and made fun of what Paul said, some told him that they were interested but would come back alter, but some people joined and believed.

Paul gives us a great example here of how to share our faith with people who are open to new ideas yet skeptical about the spiritual. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God “has put eternity into man’s heart…” The context of that verse is that God has made man for his eternal purpose, and nothing in this fallen world can bring mankind complete satisfaction… except God.

God has “put eternity into our hearts” and he has left himself a witness to people… We see that acted out in Acts 17. God placed a witness of Himself in their history and a yearning in their hearts to seek after something greater than themselves. The same is true about our culture and time today. God has left Himself a witness.. our role is to respond to God in faith and then help others have an opportunity to respond to God’s Story of Hope.

Maybe you are not a believer today…

God is giving us an opportunity to respond to His truth today. God has revealed Himself. God calls us to respond to Him in faith, repenting of our sin and come to Him. Like the people of Athens, we do not have an excuse for turning away from God today. God has given us everything we need for life as well as everything we need so that we can repent and be saved.

The question is, how will you respond today? Will you make fun of the message like many of the people of Athens did? —— Will you say, “This is all interesting and I think that I’ll listen to more of it later…”, or will you say, I have heard from God and will respond to His call today and believe.?

God has given us HIs truth, now it is our opportunity respond.