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.
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: Nearly everywhere Paul went on his missionary journeys, he began by preaching about Jesus Christ in the Jewish synagogues. The synagogues of his time appeared to have a setup such that they were open to various people coming and speaking, so Paul and his companions had the opportunity, until they were stopped, to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in the synagogues and from town to town.
The marketplace was another place, at least in Athens, where Paul could share the gospel of Jesus Christ. His was a day and age when people walked everywhere and where people gathered in public places to talk and where they could openly share their ideas or preach or witness. Today, in the USA, the internet, blogs, discussion boards, and social networks have become the places where people gather together to talk about various ideas and topics, so it is a wide open mission field right now, until that is taken away from us, so we should take advantage of the opportunities we now have available to us to openly share the gospel, as did Paul.
Paul was very observant. He often used what he observed of the people and their customs as a catalyst to share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, we can follow his example by observing others and praying for openings to share the gospel, too. What Paul observed was this was a city that was “full of idols.” Now, for them, they were actual physical idols that were intended for the purpose of bowing to or giving some kind of worship to. Our idols today, in the USA, are not quite that brazen. Ours are more sophisticated and subtle or more socially acceptable, as they have slowly and surely crept into our homes and lives to the point to where we don’t even recognize them as idols, so they are actually the worst kind of idols because they are not so easily recognizable as such. Yet, anything that robs us of our pure devotion to our One and Only God and/or replaces God in our hearts in our time, devotion, sacrifice, love, adoration, etc., that should be given to God and to God alone, has the potential of being an idol for us. An honest heart examination before God in prayer and in his word will reveal those hidden idols in our hearts, if we are willing.
Due to Paul’s distress at seeing that this was a city full of idols, he reasoned with the Jews and God-fearing Greeks in the synagogue, as well as in the marketplace. A group of philosophers began to dispute with him. Some thought he was advocating “foreign gods” because he was preaching the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. And, some of us might be treated the same way or in a similar manner by today’s churches, some of which have become so idolatrous in following the teachings of men and have watered down the gospel message so much so that when we share the full gospel message with them, we may be treated as though we are advocating some foreign god or foreign teaching to the church. And, this reaction to the full gospel might be a result of them becoming so accustomed to the watered-down version of the gospel, and have thus become dumb-downed so much, that they won’t even recognize the truth when they hear it, and to know that this is truly what God’s word teaches. And, we may, as well, be challenged, and perhaps even be thrown out of churches because they do not want to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches.
Yet, Paul, though he did meet some resistance, was met with a group of people who just happened to be people who enjoyed hearing and discussing new ideas. They were not, at least initially, threatened by the new ideas or by Paul. So, Paul seized on this opportunity to tell them about the One true God, and in the person of God the Son, Jesus Christ. He had noticed that they had an altar to an unknown God, so he used his powers of observation to his advantage here in telling them about this unknown God. He told them that this unknown God is the God who made the heavens and the earth and who gave life and breath and everything else to men. And, he told them that this God does not live in temples built by human hands. We know, in fact, that God now dwells in the hearts of those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ in faith and obedience, and we are his temple. Paul continued by telling them that this God made every nation of people and he determined ahead of time where every nation should live and the set times for each nation on the earth. In other words, the One true God created all things and is completely sovereign over all that he has made. He did this so that men would seek him and would find him. Then, Paul added, “For in him we live and move and have our being.”
Paul used this description of God to reason with the people and to get them to think about their idolatry and how futile and senseless it is to bow down to something we have made with our own hands. We, as intelligent people living in the USA, think that this should be so obvious, and yet our nation is a nation “full of idols.” One of the most favorite TV shows of our time is called “American Idol” and the show itself is idolized by so many people in our nation. TV, computers, the internet, movies, video games, careers, automobiles, sports and sport teams, actors and actresses, politicians, technology in general, texting, social networks, church buildings and programs, positions of power and authority, human recognition, music, etc. all can become idols in our lives without us even realizing that this is happening. What do we think about the most? What do we get the most excited about? What do we talk about the most? What do we want to tell others about the most? What do we prominently display in our homes, on our cars, etc.? What is on our minds when we get up in the morning and throughout the day and on our minds when we go to bed at night? What do we feel that we cannot live without? These questions, and more, are to help us to prayerfully consider before God what idols we might have in our lives that give neither life nor breath to us, nor give us any kind of hope, healing or guidance for our lives.
Then, Paul used the “R” word: repentance. He said that God commands all people everywhere to repent of theirs sins and their sins of idolatry. To repent means that we forsake that sin (or sins) and we leave all sins behind us and we go in the opposite direction toward God in faith and obedience to his commands. This is what it means to come into genuine faith and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There is no watered-down gospel here. God commands all people everywhere to repent. There just is no way around this. For, Paul said, God has set a day when he will judge the world by Jesus Christ. And, many on that day are going to think they have their ticket into heaven but are going to hear the words “I never knew you” because they believed a false gospel message that told them that repentance and obedience are not necessary for salvation and that God is pleased with them no matter what they do. What a mockery of God and of what Jesus Christ did for us in dying on the cross for our sins so that we could be free from sin!
This (following) song is addressed to “Ministers of our God.” God gave me the tune and the words. I had no idea when the tune was in my head what words God had in mind to go with the tune, so when he gave the words to me, I was surprised. Yet, as I thought about this, I realized that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are all ministers of our God, so this is speaking to all of us. As well, there are many people in positions of public ministry and of great influence over others to whom this is speaking, many of whom do not even truly know the Lord Jesus Christ. So, this is a call to all of us to repent of our sins and to forsake our idols and to follow Jesus Christ with our whole hearts in pure devotion to God, in surrendering all to him on his altar, as living sacrifices to God, no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but daily being transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we may prove what God’s perfect will is for each one of us by how we live our daily lives.
Ministers of Our God / An Original Work / June 21, 2011
Ministers of our God, harken to hear Him speak.
Have you given Him your hearts and souls today?
Hasten to give all to Him. Let Him cleanse your hearts from sin.
Cast yourselves on His altar. In your lives do not falter.
Ministers of our God, harken to hear Him speak.
Have you given Him your hearts and souls today?
Ministers of our God, flee from all your idols.
Remove them from your lives. Be transformed today.
Listen to the words I say. Give your all to Christ today.
Let him rule within your hearts, cleanse from sin, His grace impart.
Ministers of our God, flee from all your idols.
Remove them from your lives. Be transformed today.
Ministers of our God, won’t you come to His cross?
Die to sin and yourselves. Penitently pray.
Humbly accept Him today. Let Him wash your sins away.
Receive Him into your hearts. His mercy and grace impart.
Ministers of our God, won’t you come to His cross?
Die to sin and yourselves. Penitently pray.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music:
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/ministers-of-our-god
Song on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CwLNhDUaQw
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1152/Ministers-of-our-God
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