In Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out 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 some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore 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 man’s design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he 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 all men by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
My Understanding: The first thing that impressed me about this passage of scripture, and the recording of Paul’s and Silas’ visit to Berea, was the initial response the Berean Jews gave to the gospel message. They did not judge the message of the gospel by cultural, political, or intellectual considerations, or even by their own prejudices and preconceived notions about how God works. They listened to what Paul had to say, they received the message with great eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. They didn’t just write him off because they didn’t like the message or the messenger. Their pride and own sense of religious heritage and cultural significance did not hamper them from listening and/or from receiving the message with great eagerness. They took the right approach and they checked out what he said against the word of God.
“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good” (I Thess. 5:19-21 NIV).
Do we truly understand what this is saying? When we treat our fellow believers’ understanding and public sharing of the teachings of scripture – both from the standpoint of a literal interpretation and from a practical understanding as applied to our world today – with contempt (dislike; disrespect; disapproval; scorn; or hatred), unless it is something that is grossly obvious in its derision of the word of God, we are in danger of putting out the Spirit’s fire. So, instead of responding with contempt and disdain or even with disregard, we should listen to what he or she has to say, and we should check the message against the word of God to see if it has merit or if it can be supported with scripture. In other words, we should test everything, not just ignore it or even come against it with scorn without first having examined the scriptures to see if what the messenger is saying is true or not. And, we should do this prayerfully, seeking God’s face for understanding and for truth.
Although the Bereans had the correct approach, the Jews in Thessalonica learned what Paul was doing there, so they went there, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. Where God is working, Satan is working, too, and he will stir up people against us if we are truly speaking the truth of God’s word in interpretation and in practical application to today. There are always going to be people who don’t like the message for one reason or another. One of the reasons might be the fact that the word of God convicts of sin, and many people don’t want to be confronted about their sins. They want to hear what tickles their ears and what makes them feel good about themselves and how they are living. Another reason is that the message might offend their cultural lifestyles or their religious heritage, i.e. their own sense of self-righteousness. And, another might be that the message just makes them feel uncomfortable, or it exposes lies, or it warns of judgment, and they want to keep going on in their blindness and their sense of life continuing always as it is now, and they just don’t want to hear anything to the contrary that might puncture their comfort zones.
Often when the apostles faced such opposition, the Lord led them to leave and go someplace else. Since Paul seemed to be the most verbal and thus the most in danger, he was sent to Athens. Paul left instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, yet while he was waiting for them, he was on his own. He was a lone voice in an area that was known for its intellectuals and philosophers and foreign gods and different religions and religious practices. As he checked out his surroundings, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. I wonder, do we even recognize the existence of or see the number of idols that exist within our city, country or even inside the church? And, if we do, are we distressed over these idols? Paul was. We should be, too. Due to his distress, Paul began to reason with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, as well he spoke in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. Paul could not keep from proclaiming the Good News about Jesus. The word of God burned within him like a fire in his bones, and he could not keep silent (Cf Jer. 20:9).
At the market, a group of philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of their philosophies included: 1) Pleasure is the chief goal of life – the supreme good is happiness; 2) Harmonious living (in accord) with nature and an emphasis on one’s rational abilities and individual self-sufficiency; and 3) Pantheism – thought of God as “the World-soul” [Source: NIV Bible Commentary]. This sounds a whole lot like what we call “New Age” philosophy today - http://www.allaboutspirituality.org/new-age.htm. Yet, even if we do not adopt these New Age teachings into our lives, many believers in Jesus Christ still adopt some of the philosophies, perhaps without knowledge, as is evidenced by their lifestyles. Many believers today live as though pleasure (entertainment) is the chief goal of life and that the supreme good is happiness, which is partly why they reject any messages that confront them with the reality of their sins and/or divine judgment. Various professing Christians worship nature instead of the creator. Others focus much attention upon intellectual reasoning over divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit of scripture. Still numerous professing Christians rely much upon their own self-sufficiency and their independence rather than relying upon the power, strength, word, witness, and leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. So, we really are not much different today from what the people of Athens were in Paul’s day.
Paul was questioned as to what this new strange teaching was about. So, he began to tell them about the gospel. And, he used something he saw in their midst as a lead-in to the gospel message. He had noticed that they had an altar with the inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. That was the catalyst for him sharing with them the gospel message as he then told them about this “unknown God”. He told them that God is the creator of the world (heaven and earth) and he does not live in temples made by human hands. And, he is not served by human hands as though he needs anything. Wow! This is something that the institutional church of today needs to grasp, as well. God does not live in our buildings.
The building is not the church. When we enter a physical building called a church, we are not entering the house of God. It may even be as far from the house of God as we might imagine, too. The corporation (business) is not the church, either. The hearts of true believers in Jesus Christ is where God dwells by his Spirit. We, the people of God, are the church. I might attend a gathering of believers, and that gathering is the church, but the building is not, and the “sanctuary” of the building is also not the sanctuary of God. Our hearts are now his only sanctuary. And, he doesn’t need our religious activities, either, or our false worship, i.e. our forms of worship that are not true worship. What he desires is our individual lives on the altar, not conformed to the world’s pattern, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, which is also a working of the Holy Spirit within us.
Then, Paul went on to explain the divine providence (wisdom; foresight; provision; and destiny) of God in our lives. Psalm 139 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came into being.” Before I was even a thought in my parent’s minds, God had my life planned for who he wanted me to be and what he wanted me to be doing. He placed me within the womb of my mother and he knit (formed) me there. We are not on this earth by chance. God planned for us to be here and he has a plan for our lives. Paul said that God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out and find him.
So, since we are created by God and for his divine purpose in our lives, Paul said that we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man’s design and skill. In America, in the 21st Century, we don’t see a lot of physical idols such as what Paul was speaking of, and yet we do have many, many idols of silver, stone and gold. We just may not recognize them as idols in our lives. An idol is anything that: takes the place of God in our lives; we devote an enormous amount of time, energy, devotion, money, etc. to (other than what is required as far as with jobs and family); robs us of our pure devotion and obedience to God; we feel we just have to have in order to be happy; leads us into sin and rebellion against God; leads us into lukewarmness in our relationship with God; and/or contributes to us having little or no witness for Jesus Christ because we are embarrassed about our faith or because people liking us is more important.
When we act in ignorance, God may overlook our ignorance at times, yet his true desire and command is that all people everywhere repent. Repent means to go in the opposite direction. It is a change of mind. It means to turn from our sin and sinful and selfish lifestyles and to turn and to walk in faith in Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and in obedience to God’s commands. This is not optional! It is a command of Almighty God. When we say we believe Jesus saved us from our sins, the mere act of believing should be evidenced by our repentance. I had a man tell me one day that he did not have to repent, he just had to believe. Boy, did someone tell him a BIG FAT LIE! And, he believed it. Why? Because it meant he could continue in his sin and still have the hope of eternal life. What a slap in the face to God; to Jesus Christ who died for us and who took all our sins upon him so that we could go free from the penalty of sin AND the bondage to and control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis. NO - to believe means to repent and to obey. These words are inseparable. To believe = repentance = obedience.
Then Paul said, “For…” “Indicating a reason why something happens or is done” (Encarta). The reason, Paul explained, why we must repent is that God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed – Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead. That is not the only reason, though. We must repent because God wants us to be free from the control of and the bondage to sin in our lives. He came to set us free! So, he wants us to repent, not just because he is going to judge the world one day (maybe soon), but because he loves us and he does not want us to be trapped in sin’s deceitfulness. I have been in bondage to sin and I am free from that bondage, and I can tell you that I would never, ever want to go back!
Because I am free, I can walk in faith and obedience to my Lord and I can experience his love, mercy, grace, tenderness, compassion, companionship, encouragement, council, etc. on a daily basis, and that love relationship with him is awesome! He is the best friend anyone could ever have!! And, like Paul, and like Jeremiah, the word of God is like a fire in my bones, and I cannot keep silent because I know the urgency of the message, I know the timeliness of it, I know how it can transform lives out of darkness into God’s wonderful light, and I know the reality of coming judgment. So, even if I have to sing alone (though not really alone), i.e. without accompaniment (A Cappella), I will keep on singing hymns to the Holy One and songs of the battle won in Jesus Christ, my Lord.
Sing It A Cappella / Glad / Ed Nalle & Rob Neal
Sing it a cappella… Let’s lift our voices and say what’s on our mind
We’ll sing God’s praise, for the Lord our God reigns
Sing it a cappella - hymns to the Holy One and songs of the battle won
Come and hear the praise of the King
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