20240519 Acts 17:16-34 Witness to Philosophers

There is a TV show called "Curb Your Enthusiasm." In an episode, a character who is not a Christian tells his wife who is a Christian, “With Christ, not only do you have to worship him, but you want everybody to worship him. I like lobster. Do I go around pushing lobster on people? Do I say you must like lobster, eat lobster? It's good, it's good. And this is not only where you live. You go to Africa. You travel all over the world, and say eat lobster, have more lobster. It's good. We want you to have lobster.”[i] What he is getting at is, it is great that you like Jesus, but do not impose that on others.

It is understandable that outsiders could think we are trying to impose something. How we see it, is that we have discovered the greatest joy in Christ. We get excited at the idea of more people discovering that joy.

In the book of Acts, we are in the second missionary journey. Paul is spreading the message of Christianity in Europe. In Acts 16, in Philippi, we saw the gospel encounters of Lydia, the slave-girl, and the jailor. In Acts 17:16-34, Paul bears witness to Philosophers in Athens. In connection with Pentecost, this text shows what Spirit-empowered witnessing looks like.[ii]

This text is important for us. Most of us have found ourselves in a situation in which someone is not a believer, they learn we are Christians. They are curious about this. Depending on their personality, they may even try to challenge us a bit. Acts 17:16-34 offers a model to engage people with the gospel. The three steps are (1) "Connect to our context" (Acts 17:16-21), (2) Converse with people (Acts 17:22-29), and (3) Call to repentance (Acts 17:30-34).

First, we connect to our context (Acts 17:16-20)

Paul was out in public. According to Ac 17:16, he is provoked because Athens was full of idols. In response, Paul spoke in the synagogues (Ac 17:17) and in the marketplace which was the public place (Ac 17:17). Philosophers from rival groups, Epicureans and Stoics, spoke with him (Ac 17:18).

Paul was causing a stir. He was speaking about Jesus and his resurrection. The philosophers wanted him to present his teachings to the Areopagus council. One of the roles of this council was to test new deities. If they accepted a new god, they dedicated a temple for the god and added a feast to their religious calendar.[iii]

For us in Brussels

We see that Paul is in public. In public, he interacts with people. This application is simple. Christians do not stay home to play video games all day. We avoid being on our phones to doom scroll. We want to avoid binge-watching Netflix.

We have freedom to enjoy technology at our own discretion. We do not want anything to hinder our interactions with people. It does not really matter what we do, just interact with people. We already do this at school, at work, or with social activities. This application is just do not retreat away from people. Paul was provoked because Athens was full of idols. As Christians, when we are in a city and interacting with people, the Spirit may also provoke us and move us to act based on what we see.

Second we Converse with People (Acts 17:21-29).

In Acts 17:17, Paul conversed with those who happened to be there. If we are out in the world, and the gospel really shapes our lives, and Jesus is our treasure, he will eventually come up in conversation. We can be prepared and excited to have intentional and winsome conversations about Jesus. To connect with people who do not know the Christian worldview, Paul does three things. He finds common ground. He corrects misconceptions about Christianity. He convicts them of their compromise. We look at these one by one.

We begin by finding common ground in Acts 17:22-23, 28.

In Acts 17:22, 23, 28, there are three ways Paul finds common ground with his hearers. First in Acts 17:22, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” Humans are religious creatures. We have an innate need to connect with something greater than ourselves. If it is not through religion, people do it through sports, politics, or music. This is common ground between all people and Christianity.

A second way Paul finds common ground is in Ac 17:23. He points out an altar, “to the unknown god.” Paul wants to introduce them to a new God. He shows that they are already open to a God they do not yet know. A third element of common ground, in Ac 17:28, he quotes and alludes to one of their poets. He says, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 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.’” You can look up this poem; it is called: Hymn to Zeus 4. It is a Stoic poem from the 3rd century BC. Paul is just appealing to what they already believe is true.

Stoics believed in god or gods. They believed the gods governed the world. The gods cared for the fortunes of mankind (Balbus’ debate 78-77BCE). They had a lot to say about God’s providence and understood that nature taught this divine providence. Stoics also believed in judgment. These are themes Paul puts together, even if their understanding was very different on these points. The second group Paul spoke with was Epicureans. The Christian message also has common ground with Epicurean thought. They believed that God is living, immortal, and blessed. They believed the knowledge of the divine was clear to all through common sense. They also believed that God did not live in man-made temples because God or the gods were far removed and lived in perfection. God did not need anything.

Paul is connecting in a way that his hearers are probably nodding their heads to a lot of what he is saying.

For us in Brussels

We want to understand our context. We want to understand the common ground between the gospel and what people believe. Belgium has a strong Catholic presence. All Belgians are aware of Christmas and Easter. They celebrate it in some way. This can serve as common ground. We can share the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being to save the world. Easter is the celebration of Jesus' resurrection after his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. This is an example of how we can find common ground with people.

NT Wright wrote a book called Broken Signposts. The Signposts are common ground among humans. He argues that all humans know that justice, spirituality, relationships, beauty, freedom, truth, and power are important. In his book, Wright uses these themes to show that Christianity makes the most sense of these human experiences. This is an area that will require a bit of work. To do this well, we need to study the culture and probably test different topics. With practice, we improve at connecting people to Jesus.

A second element of conversations is correcting misconceptions in Acts 17:21-25.

In Acts 17:21-25, Paul corrects misconceptions. Paul is before the Areopagus Council. They were to test Paul's God to see if they would establish a temple and a feast day for sacrifices. Paul corrects their misconception. He shows that his God does not need approval. He does not need an altar. He does not need a temple because he does not dwell in temples made with hands (Ac 17:24b). Nor does he need a feast day or animal sacrifices, he does not need anything. In fact, he is the one who gives life and breath and all things to all of his creation. In other words, God does not need anything from the Athenians because he provides everything the Athenians need. He is the Lord of heaven and earth (Ac 17:25).

Application

For us as well, it is important to know what people think about Christianity and what are the misconceptions.

These are some ideas that need correcting or discussing:

· Faith is required because Christianity is irrational and cannot be proven. Christianity is based on blind faith.

· Christianity prevents you from having fun. Christianity is about keeping a long list of rules.

· Christianity is anti-science.

· Christianity demonizes everything outside the church: music, movies, culture, and technology.

· The church is not a safe place to express differences of opinion.

· The church’s moral standards are outdated and need to be revised.

Correcting misconceptions is very winsome. First, because it shows we are self-aware about potential problems. We can demonstrate humility. Second, because we offer an opportunity to present new information to correct their view of Christianity. Third, each of these topics is an entryway to communicate the Christian message positively.

The third element of a conversation can be convicting of compromise in Acts 17:28-29.

In Ac 17:28, Paul quotes their poets saying, “For we are indeed his offspring.” Then he shows the problem with their worldview. How can they be God’s offspring and also think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, or an image formed by the art and imagination of man? His way to condemn idolatry is to begin with their own system of thought then he shows they are not consistent. Their system is flawed!

Application

For us, there are many ways we can do this. This is an example Tim Keller gives. It is about a secular person who admits that she does not want to live consistently with her worldview. She is a Cultural Anthropologist studying African culture. The ways some of those cultures treated women really bothered her. When she spoke to some of the people in authority in those cultures, they weren’t convinced they were doing anything wrong. Why would they be? She could not appeal to a greater authority for morality. If there is no God, then there are no absolutes. She was left with her feelings and opinions. And still, this secular anthropologist concludes, that even though she has no right to impose her Western values on them, she still believes that equal rights for women is universally true. She is compromising her own worldview. She would not have to if she changed her worldview to one that accepts universal truth.

This is how we can convict of compromise. Whenever someone who does not believe in a higher power insists on morality, they are being inconsistent with their worldview. If there is no moral lawgiver, all morality is a matter of personal opinion. If you want universal morals and want to live consistently, you need to believe in God. We can challenge people with this.

Third we Call to repent (Acts 17:30-34)

So far, we looked at engaging the culture just by being out in public. Second, we looked at conversations in which we find common ground, correct misconceptions, and convict of compromise. The last element is to call people to repent.

Throughout the speech, Paul makes positive statements about God. According to Ac 17:24-25, God made the world and everything; he is Lord of heaven and earth, gives life and breath and all things to all his creation. According to Ac 17:26, all nations come from one man. They cover the face of the earth according to God’s sovereign desire. In connection with the religious nature of human beings, Paul says in Ac 17:27 that God made man so they should seek Him and have a relationship with Him. The tone changes in Ac 17:30. He has just pointed out the folly of idolatry, and he calls them to turn from idols because there will be a final judgment. A prominent theme of the Christian message is the theme of judgment for sin. God is morally perfect and he reigns with perfect justice. Human beings are all sinful and so we all deserve to be judged for our sins.

Now, a theme as prominent as judgment is salvation from judgment. This was taught throughout the Old Testament. In the NT we have the clearest picture of how forgiveness is possible. Jesus took God's judgment against sin, so that he could offer the forgiveness of sins to all who repent and trust in him. Paul warns the Athenians of the coming judgment. We also have this responsibility in Brussels. Paul testifies to the resurrection of Christ to give the credentials of the one who will judge the world. According to Acts 17:32-34, some mocked, others wanted to hear more, and others joined him and believed.

Application

We can expect the same three reactions. Some will laugh. Some will want to know more. Others will believe and follow. This gathering is proof that the gospel works. Some of us grew up with no framework for Christianity. We heard the gospel. Perhaps some of us mocked the message for a season. For a season some of us wanted to hear more. There was also a moment at which we believed, and repented from our sins and now we worship God with his people!

Conclusion

We are not all the Apostle Paul, and we will not all become public debaters! And, all Christians have been transformed by the gospel. The good news that Jesus is King and our sins are forgiven changes our lives. Sharing Jesus is a lot more glorious than sharing our love for lobster! We want others to experience our peace, our joy, and the love of God. This text offers us a few tips to become more intentional in engaging others with the gospel. Find common ground. Correct misconceptions. Highlight inconsistencies in other worldviews. Call people to repentance. If we do this, God could really work through us to lead more to escape judgment and find life in him!

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[i] Matt Howell – Redeemer Pres Memphis – 4/18/2024 Sermon - Evangelism.

[ii] Acts 16-18:22 contains the second missionary journey. Acts 16 reported Paul’s ministry in Philippi. The journey continues in Thessalonica (Ac 17:1-9), and Berea (Ac 17:10-15), then ancient Achaia in Athen (Ac 17:16–34) and Corinth (Ac 18:1–22). These chapters include amazing accounts. A theme that appears in both Thessalonica and Corinth, is that in order to stop spreading the Christian message, the Jews took Paul and Silas before the city authorities. In Thessalonica, they tried to show that the Christian message opposed Cesar since there was another king, Jesus (Acts 17:7). In Corinth (Acts 18:1-22), the Romon proconsul, Gallio saw through the scheme and told the Jews to resolve their religious debates outside of his criminal court! The account in Berea is also worthy of a whole message. Luke commends the Jews there for hearing the gospel, and together studying the scriptures, which was the Old Testament to assess the message (Acts 17:11), then they believed! (Acts 17:12). As a biased historian, Luke is teaching the attitude Jews need to have. If you want to be a Berian Christian, we need to: (1) receive truth (Acts 17:11), so we accept the norm for life is outside of ourselves, (2) in the context of a gathered community, we study the Old Testament because that’s what they had (Acts 17:11), (3) then they believed (Acts 17:12). https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-bereans-had-no-bibles-2/

[iii] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/introducing-the-athenians-to-god-pauls-failed-apologetic-in-acts-17/