Every Disciple is Worth It

ME: Intro

So, it has been awhile since I last mentioned football during a sermon,

And since the NFL season kicked off this past Thursday,

I feel like it is okay to mention it again.

If you missed the game on Thursday,

The Buffalo Bills went all the Way to LA,

To dominate the defending Super Bowl champion Rams.

I was watching the game and see the Rams QB, Matthew Stafford,

Try throwing a no-look pass.

Let’s just say…it did not work for him.

But it got me thinking about how this no-look pass has become a new trend for NFL QBs.

It started back in 2018,

When another QB, Patrick Mahomes,

Successfully blew everyone’s minds by completing a no-look pass against the Baltimore Ravens.

That 2018 season was incredible for Mahomes,

He would go on to perform some other mind-blowing plays.

One example was a left handed pass on third down in the 4th quarter,

During a prime time game,

Against the division rival, Denver Broncos,

When trailing by 3.

After completing that pass,

He continued to lead his team down the field to go on and win the game.

Mahomes won the MVP award that season.

Since then, his versatility has become the new standard against which all other QBs are now measured.

But versatility is not only advantageous in football,

It is also advantageous when it comes to making disciples.

We have been following the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys in Acts,

Where he has been showing versatility as an evangelist.

He is like the Patrick Mahomes of evangelists!

He would adapt his methods to reach Jews or Gentiles,

He could switch it up from the synagogue to the marketplace,

But no matter the methods he used,

His goal of teaching the gospel remained.

Our passage this morning is Acts 17:16-34,

It is one of the most popular passages in Acts.

I think part of its popularity is because it gives us insight into the heart and ministry of Paul,

Providing important lessons for evangelizing with unbelievers today.

The first half of the passage gives us an idea of what the city of Athens is like,

While the second half focuses on Paul’s speech.

This speech is the lesson,

Because Paul evangelizes people who had virtually no background in God’s Word.

So, Paul begins with what they do know, creation-the world.

Then, he teaches the story of God’s redemption.

Slide

This is how Paul confronts idolatry,

Which he begins to do in vs. 16-21.

Then, his speech is broken up into two parts.

First, he wants his audience to Comprehend God in vs. 22-28.

Second, he tells his audience how God Commands Repentance in vs. 29-34.

And unlike some of Paul’s other stops,

A large number of people do not believe,

Nor is a church planted.

But some do believe.

So, our main takeaway from this passage is,

God commands every person to repent because every person is worth it.

So, with that in mind,

Let us begin looking at the need to Confront Idolatry seen in vs. 16-21.

WE: Confront Idolatry (vs. 16-21)

Slide

Now, Athens was not Paul’s primary destination,

Ch. 18 shows that Paul was on his way to Corinth,

Which at the time was the more centralized city of commerce and politics in Greece.

But Paul ends up in Athens,

Because our passage last week ended in vs. 15 with Paul being forced out of Berea,

Sailing to Athens on his own,

Where he would wait for Silas and Timothy to join him.

So, that is what Paul is doing here in vs. 16,

Waiting in Athens.

Now, Athens is probably one of the more well-known cities in the Bible.

Named after the goddess, Athena,

It was the leading city of Greece,

Back during the 400s BC,

Under the leadership of Pericles,

Who kept the Persians from taking control of Athens on two specific occasions,

Spurring on the Golden Age of Athens.

During the Golden Age, the city flourished economically and culturally.

It was one of the earliest cities to develop a democracy.

It was during that time the Parthenon was built,

As well as some other architectural wonders.

Ancient Greek literature, art, and poetry also flourished.

One artist named Phidias built a statue of Zeus that was considered a world wonder.

He also built a massive statue to Athena.

Historical figures like Hippocrates,

Who is called the father of western medicine,

Came from Athens during that time.

It is where Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle came from,

Philosophers that still influence modern philosophy,

Especially in our culture in America.

So, when we tend to think of Ancient Greece,

Athens is the city we are most likely thinking of.

However, by the time Paul arrives to the city here in Acts,

The Golden age has passed.

Athens has been a part of the Roman Empire for close to 200 years.

But much of the Greek influence remains,

And the city is still an impressive center of intellectual Greek culture.

It was a strikingly beautiful city.

We can imagine Paul hearing about the city of Athens as a young boy growing up in Tarsus.

So, here he is now as an adult,

Wandering the streets of this grand city,

Waiting for his companions to arrive.

While he does, we might be curious...

How would he respond to the wonder of this city?

How would he respond to the history of this place?

Well, the second part of vs. 16 tells us.

As he waits and looks around the city,

He sees that it is just characterized by idolatry.

For example, the highest point of elevation was dedicated to gods and goddess with a temple,

To give those who visited a feeling of supremacy and closeness to the gods.

This temple was the magnificent Parthenon.

But it wasn’t even just the Parthenon in Athens,

The entire city is filled with statues of gods and goddesses.

So, as beautiful and magnificent as Athens was,

Almost all of it was related to to idolatry.

The city was literally full of idols,

Representing all of the false worship going on in this city.

Seeing all this false worship was deeply disturbing to Paul,

Who has been given a mission from the one true God,

To make worshippers of Christ.

Instead, he looks around and sees a pluralistic society,

A culture mixed with spiritual people worshipping false gods,

And people who are more sophisticated in their intellect.

It is very similar to our modern day American culture.

So, knowing this,

How do we as Christians interact with a pluralistic society?

How do we engage with both spiritual people and sophisticated intellects?

Well, Paul’s visit provides us with answers to these questions.

So, we must engage like Paul does in this chapter.

But before we can engage like Paul engages,

We must feel like Paul feels.

And how does Paul feel?

Vs. 16 says his spirit was provoked within him.

He is deeply disturbed at seeing so many people worshiping various forms of idolatry.

We should be similarly affected at the sight of others worshiping various idols.

Not only do Paul’s actions challenge us,

But his feelings should challenge us as well.

This Greek word translated to provoked is a bit tricky,

The root of the word means seizure, spasm, or outburst.

So, it is not so much that Paul is angry at this idolatry.

Although, there may be some anger,

But what Paul is feeling is more complex than just anger.

In fact, the word here is the same word used to describe God’s feelings toward idolatry in the OT.

Where idolatry provoked God to a mixture of righteous or loving anger toward His people.

Because He wanted His people to worship Him alone.

Why?

Because He loves His people!

Slide

So, Paul is, likewise, experience this mixture of righteous anger for the name of God,

And brokenhearted love for the people who were worshiping false gods.

This means he was ultimately motivated by the same thing we must be motivated by,

Love for God and love for others.

In my experience,

Many Christians highlight Paul’s willingness to engage with the sophisticated intellects of Athens,

But then overlook his demeanor entirely.

When Paul engages the people of Athens,

He does not just start smashing their idols,

And arguing with them from a place of frustration and anger.

No, in this holy love,

He reasons with them,

He listens to them,

Hears them out,

Then engages with respectful dialogue and debate.

This type of engagement takes gentleness, compassion, and respect.

So, the lesson from Paul is directly related to our own hearts.

Paul speaks with what one commentary calls a sweet thunder,

That we must also speak with.

See, if we lack the thunder,

We will be cowards.

But if we lack the sweetness,

We will be obnoxious.

Making disciples demands both.

Slide

If we are willing to tell people that they need to change,

We must also be willing to connect with them and love them to Christ.

Disciples need both gentleness and boldness.

That is how we engage with people effectively.

By being committed to both truth and compassion.

So, let me ask,

Do you truly long in your heart for the idolaters in your world to worship God?

If their idolatry only disgusts you and your main concern is either disassociating or disproving their idolatry,

Then probably not.

And if that is the case,

Then you need to cultivate a longing in your heart for them by meditating on the cross of Christ,

Where we see the sweet thunder of God’s commitment to holiness and compassion for sinners and idolaters like us.

The more we think about the cross,

The more we grow in truth and love,

In gentleness and boldness,

In holiness and compassion.

Paul could look at a place like Athens and all the idols around him,

And see it differently than most.

Because he looked at the world through the lens of the cross.

Looking at our world through the lens of the cross is the only way we can prepare to lovingly engage with idolaters in our lives.

Slide

That is what Paul does starting in vs. 17.

Looking at the idolatry in Athens through the lens of the cross,

Made him unable to just sit and wait for Silas and Timothy to show up.

So, he continues his mission of making disciples,

By once again following his custom of going to the Jew first then the Greek.

He begins in Athens at the synagogue,

To reason with the Jews and the worshipers of God.

Then he also went to the marketplace to engage with whoever happened to be there.

Slide

Vs. 18 says that some of the people who happened to be there were philosophers,

Specifically from two of the best-known schools of thought,

Epicureans and Stoics.

Epicurean philosophers were students of the ancient Greek philosopher, Epicurus.

Who had taught that the purpose of life was pleasure through freedom from pain, passions, and fear.

A tranquil life was the goal,

And it could only be attained through freedom of destructive emotions.

Now, he did not deny the existence of gods,

But ultimately believed that they were indifferent toward humans.

Stoicism was similar,

Coming from the philosopher Cypriot Zeno around the same time as Epicurus.

But Stoicism believes that that harmony had to specifically be found with nature,

Because nature is god.

He taught that the natural human ability to reason was our compass for living a virtuous life in this world.

So, both essentially promoted life as a quest for peace of mind.

And at this time, many people followed these teachings,

They would gather in various parts of Athens to discuss how to live according to their philosophies in their present day.

That is likely why they willingly engaged with Paul in a healthy debate.

But others seemed more prideful.

And just wrote Paul off as ignorant,

Saying he is peddling worthless ideas,

Unlike the sophisticated teachings of their philosophers.

They were essentially comparing him to a parasite,

Latching onto someone else’s teachings or sayings,

To use them for his own advantage.

Slide

Vs. 16-18 set the stage for Paul’s speech later this chapter.

We have Paul, a disciple of Jesus Christ,

Stirred by love for God and others,

Engaging with Jews, worshipers of God, followers of philosophy, and sophisticated intellects.

So, as he gets set to teach this diverse crowd,

He understands the need to establish a point of contact.

Which later we find out, he prepares to do as he is brought to the Areopagus in vs. 19.

Areopagus is a place that literally means “Ares’-Hill”

Ares is the Greek god of war.

The Roman god of war is Mars.

So, this place is referred to as Mars’ Hill.

It was near the fortified part of the city called the Acropolis,

And was a meeting place for a council during ancient times.

Over time, the council eventually morphed into a more official council of law in Athens.

Under Roman rule,

The court would supervise moral issues, education, and religious conflict in a Royal Portico built on the hill.

So, Paul gets brought to this council,

Who seem to approach Paul with an open mind.

They ask him to continue this new teaching he has been presenting.

What he has been saying is strange to them,

They have not heard this kind of teaching before,

And at the very least,

They want to understand it,

They want to know what it means.

So, moments ago we acknowledged all the human characters in play here.

But their openness is a subtle reminder that God is sovereignly at play here as He always is.

He has prepared this diverse crowd to desire to hear the gospel.

And by the end of the chapter,

Not all have a merely curious desire for the gospel,

But some even trust the gospel.

It is remarkable evidence of God’s sovereignty.

GOD: Know God (vs. 22-28)

Slide

Then, in vs. 22-31, we read Paul’s evangelistic speech.

Where he does not reference the OT,

But he does allude to it.

This is the third and final extended speech of Paul in Acts.

By the time he begins his speech,

He has found the religious inclinations of the Athenians as his point of contact.

And drew on what they all could see from nature,

To teach about the attributes of God.

With the Jews he would use literature that they trusted and were passionate about, the OT.

With the Athenians, he also used literature that they trusted and were passionate about,

Their own poets.

This is how Paul begins his teaching,

Before concluding with the application that all people everywhere need to repent.

Because a day is coming where God will judge the world in righteousness through Jesus Christ.

Slide

Paul notes in vs. 23 how as he was passing through,

He saw their objects of worship as evidence of their religiousness.

Paul’s speech is very respectful here.

He is acknowledging how sacred these objects are to them.

Then he highlights one specific example he saw,

An altar inscribed to an unknown god.

Historians have suggested that this could be the Altar of the Twelve Gods,

Which was built just to make sure no god was left our of worship,

To ensure they did not accidentally stir one of the god’s anger against them.

Paul’s point is that they do not know their gods in a relational way,

As Christians know God.

It is here he transitions from observation to teaching,

Indicated by the word, “therefore.”

Paul tells them that they are worshiping a God they do not know,

And He is here to proclaim God to them.

Slide

So, he begins in vs. 24 with a basic argument from nature.

He says, God made the world!

God made all things!

He is not carved out of stone or metal.

He is not confined to a temple or statue.

He is sovereign over everything!

Slide

He directs who lives where and when!

God gives everyone life and breath and all things.

He transcends beyond the human realm,

Yet He is imminently involved in human affairs as well.

So, He is both known and cannot be fully known.

He is not obligated to humanity because He is sovereign over all of creation.

Yet He made humankind in His image to have a relationship with Him.

Slide

This is what Paul teaches in vs. 26.

Referring to one man specifically,

The first man, Adam.

The Bible teaches that from Adam,

God also made the first woman, Eve.

And from them,

God made every nationality of the whole earth.

The book of Romans teaches that all humanity inherits the guilt of sin from this one man.

With the guilt of sin comes the consequence of God’s wrath,

Which is, death.

This came from sin of our first ancestor, Adam,

From what we call the fall.

This was the first time humanity lapsed from God and godliness,

Into sin and lostness.

Slide

Gen. 3:6 records the fall,

Genesis 3:6 ESV

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

From this account, Romans teaches three takeaways.

Slide

First, God made Adam the representative of all people.

But God also made Jesus the representative for all who trust in Him.

Second, God placed Adam in a state of happiness.

He promised to permanently establish and provide for Adam,

If Adam merely obeyed God’s command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The issue for Adam,

Is the same issue for all of us.

Are we going to let God determine what is good and bad?

Or are we going to decide for ourselves and disregard what God says?

The fall shows that Adam chose the latter.

And guess what?

We all also choose the latter.

And that is the essence of sin.

So, the third point is that Adam had been led by Eve,

Who was led by the serpent,

Who was Satan in disguise.

So, both willingly chose to defy God and follow Satan.

The ramifications were an anti-God, self-exalting mentality becoming part of human nature.

But it did not stop there.

Genesis records how Adam and Eve were paralyzed when they became aware of their sin,

It says they were ashamed.

They went from a blissful state before God,

To a terror of being in His presence.

Which they were actually right to be afraid of,

Because they were now cursed.

Cursed with pain and death.

The result was they could no longer stay in the paradise of Eden.

Slide

And yet,

As the consequences of the fall are being poured out on Adam and Eve,

God shows them mercy that foreshadows salvation.

First, God made a sacrifice to cover their shameful nakedness.

Then, He promised that the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent.

This was the first promise of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, Adam is linked to the rest of the human race.

As Genesis continues generation after generation.

Some promising figures are introduced;

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even Joseph.

But each one is shown to still be a sinner.

And each one dies.

So, as Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 15:22,

In Adam, all die.

Slide

The Puritan, Blaise Pascal,

Described this idea of Adam’s sin being inherited by every human as an offense to reason.

But then, he went on to say that once we accept this as true,

It makes total sense of the human condition.

In other words,

It is clear that we all sin just as our father Adam sinned.

This is what we call human depravity.

Because if any of us were given the same opportunity as Adam,

We all would disobey God to determine right from wrong for ourselves.

And to follow Satan instead of God.

We all would sin because we all do sin.

And simply observing humankind is clear evidence of this truth.

Slide

But in comparison to the sin of humankind,

Paul continues to teach about the sovereignty of God.

Saying, God determines the appointed times and boundaries of where all people live.

He did this for all people,

So, that humankind might seek Him,

Might reach out and find Him,

Because He is not far from each one of us.

God is near to all people through His revelation.

In a general sense, He can be observed through nature.

But in a special sense, He came near as Christ,

And understanding the gospel of Christ is necessary for salvation.

Slide

Paul builds on this in vs. 28 by quoting the poet Epimenides,

Who wrote these words about Zeus.

But Paul is saying this is true of God.

God brought all people into being.

Humans only exist by God’s providence.

Then, Paul again quotes another poet, Aratus.

Remember, when Paul taught the Jews in the synagogue,

He would use the OT to teach them about Jesus.

Because they respected, trusted, and revered the OT.

Paul’s audience here does not know the OT.

So, he uses the poets they respect, trust, and revere.

Even thought these poems do not actually refer to the true God of the Bible.

He applies these quotes to Him.

Because what they say are true of Him.

YOU: Proclaim Repentance (vs. 29-34)

Slide

After quoting their poets,

Paul’s teaching shifts in vs. 29 to teach that God Commands repentance.

He says, since we are God’s offspring,

God cannot be made by human hands.

He is not like gold or silver or stone,

He cannot be fashioned by human art or imagination.

God has the uniquely mysterious quality of self-existence.

The Psalms are filled with praises about God existing before anything was created.

Slide

It is a common and natural question to ask,

Who made God?

In fact, when I use to teach kids in a day camp down in NC,

I would repeatedly get this question from kids.

And the clearest answer I could ever give,

Is the clearest answer the Bible gives:

God doesn’t need to be made,

He has just always been.

His existence is different from ours.

We exist in a limited and fragile way.

But God, our Creator,

He exists in an eternal and self-sustaining way.

His existence is necessary in the sense that it is impossible for Him not to exist.

This is a basic truth about God.

As the Creator,

He has life in Himself,

He has infinite energy in Himself,

He needs nothing.

God has an independent self-existent nature.

Therefore, in our endeavor to study an infinite Creator as finite creatures,

We all make errors by presupposing our own limitations upon God.

No matter how hard we try,

We all do it,

Because all we know are the limitations we have.

We do not have the capacity to completely comprehend God.

Slide

So, faith bridges the gap between what God has made known,

And what is unknowable.

It is a disservice to ourselves when we live,

As Jesus said,

With little faith.

Because then, we are trying to trust in a small and limited God.

See, trust this idea of His self-existence is like a fortress against this mistake.

This principle that God exists from Himself alone,

Is part of what sets Him apart from every creature.

It is foundational to what we know about His character.

God’s existence is independent of all of creation.

This protects us from diminishing His greatness,

And His endless worth and value!

Slide

So, turning from nature in vs. 30,

Paul introduces what Jesus taught about the end times.

Saying God had overlooked the times of ignorance.

In other words,

God took into consideration the limitations of human knowledge about Himself.

But now the truth about the living God has been revealed in Christ.

Therefore, we get to Paul’s application,

God commands all people everywhere to repent.

God commands every person to acknowledge our evil ways and to turn from them.

Why?

Slide

Paul says in vs. 31,

Because God has established a day of judgment.

Where He will judge the world according to the righteous standard set by a specific Man,

Whom God has raised from the dead.

So, who is this righteous man that has been raised from the dead?

Jesus Christ.

And His day of judgment has been anticipated in both Old and New Testament prophetic literature.

There are many warnings about that day in the Bible.

In fact, it is described as imminent.

And as the day draws near,

The Bible repeatedly commands people to repent!

Because when God’s judgment comes,

Only righteousness will remain,

And human depravity makes it clear that we are not righteous.

So, if you reject Jesus,

God will reject you on that day.

Because only Jesus lived perfectly righteous.

Then, on the cross,

He was forsaken by the Father for our sin and unrighteousness.

But, as Paul also says,

God has given assurance to all who trust in Christ by raising Christ from the dead.

The resurrection was a transformation of Christ’s humanity.

Multiple times in Luke’s gospel,

After the resurrection,

Jesus was able to appear and vanish.

So, the resurrection was a renewal of His body.

It was His fully glorified and deathless body.

Now, He lives in and through this glorified body in heaven,

And will continue to do so through all eternity.

The Bible says the same will be true for all who repent and trust in Christ.

Because when you do, Christ’s righteousness is credited to you.

The resurrection has been repeatedly emphasized throughout Acts.

It is indisputable proof that Jesus is the Savior of the World,

Proving the gospel to be true.

It demonstrates His victory over death.

It proves that He is righteous,

And is evidence that He is God.

It guarantees that all who trust in Him are forgiven and justified.

This is the only hope of eternal life.

Slide

That is why God commands you to repent and trust in Jesus.

As Christians, we often refer to salvation as an invitation.

Which it is, in one sense.

But really,

Paul is clear in our passage this morning,

That repentance is a command,

Not just an invitation.

So, yes, in one sense, you have the freedom to reject God’s invitation to salvation,

But rejecting His invitation is ultimately disobeying His command to repent.

And if you disobey this command,

It comes with eternal consequences on the day of judgment.

God has announced His day of judgment before it comes,

So, that we could repent.

Because every one of us will have to answer for our sins.

Tragically, we all will be found unrighteous and undeserving of heaven.

But if we repent, confess Jesus as Lord,

Then we are covered by His righteousness,

And we do not need to fear the coming day of judgment.

WE: Conc.

Slide

Paul’s final word was on the resurrection of Christ.

And neither Stoic or Epicurean philosophy believes in bodily resurrection.

So, when they hear Paul talk about this,

Some ridiculed him in vs. 32.

But others still wanted to hear more.

Perhaps it was mere curiosity,

Or perhaps their heart was being stirred by the truth.

Either way, they ask to hear Paul teach again about this.

And even after he leaves their presence in vs. 33,

Slide

Some joined him and believed.

By the end of ch. 17 as a whole,

A church is planted in Thessalonica,

Which according to 1 and 2 Thessalonians is a healthy, growing, mature, and loved church.

Then, a church gets planted in Berea with disciples who love and study God’s Word.

Then we come to Athens,

And many have suggested that Paul failed here.

Because there were so many less people who believe.

There is no indication that a church was planted.

In fact, the small number of people who did believe,

Left Athens to join Paul on his journey.

One of them was a member of Areopagus, Dionysius.

Another, a woman named Damaris.

So, was it worth it for Paul to go to Athens and teach that God commands repentance?

Was it worth it for him to engage with the philosophers and sophisticated intellects?

Tell you what,

When you get to heaven, meet up with Dionysius and Damaris and ask them if it was worth it.

Heck, even meet up with Paul and ask him if it was worth it.

I am certain that he would say that was a great day for the kingdom!

Slide

So, don’t get caught up in only doing big things fast for God.

Yes, clearly Paul’s ministry produced big things fast at times.

But in this instance,

He is in a city that is perhaps more like our culture than any other city in Acts,

And he gives one of his most gifted teachings,

And instead of a church sprouting and growing rapidly in Athens.

We get a few people and two names,

Dionysius and Damaris,

Who join Paul as disciples of Jesus.

So, this reminds us that we do not evaluate based on results.

We evaluate on faithfulness to the gospel.

So, the question is not how many disciples did Paul make?

It is,

Was Paul a bold and gentle witness of Christ?

He absolutely was!

Some mocked his message,

But not everyone.

So, to every Dionysius and Damaris who trusts in Christ because we are being bold and gentle witnesses of Christ,

It is worth it!

As a disciple,

Paul encountered religious followers and sophisticated intellects,

And we will too.

Therefore, we must also be bold and gentle witnesses of Christ.

We may be mocked by some,

But by God’s grace,

Others may trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is why we must proclaim this message:

That God commands every person to repent,

Because every person is worth it.

Pray.