Acts 17:16-34

Read Acts 17:16-21

We see that as usual Paul must speak of His Lord. This is the One to whom he has given his life...this is his Lord and Savior...of course he will speak about him!

So he's waiting and he passes his time reasoning with those around him...

Notice how the learned ones respond in verses 18-20:

Now then...who were the Epicureans and the Stoics?
Epicureans:
Epicurus, the son of Neocles, who was born 342 years before Christ, and taught philosophy at Athens, in his garden; the principal tenets of which were, that the world was not made by any deity, or with any design, but came into its being and form, through a fortuitous concourse of atoms, of various sizes and magnitude, which met, and jumbled, and cemented together, and so formed the world; and that the world is not governed by the providence of God; for though he did not deny the being of God, yet he thought it below his notice, and beneath his majesty to concern himself with its affairs; and also, that the chief happiness of men lies in pleasure. His followers were called "Epicureans"; of which there have been two sorts; the one were called the strict or rigid "Epicureans", who placed all happiness in the pleasure of the mind, arising from the practice of moral virtue, and which is thought by some to be the true principle of "Epicureans"; the other were called the loose, or the remiss Epicureans, who understood their master in the gross sense, and placed all their happiness in the pleasure of the body, in brutal and sensual pleasure, in living a voluptuous life, in eating and drinking, &c. and this is the common notion imbibed of an Epicurean.

Stoics:
the author of this sect was Zeno, whose followers were so called from the Greek word "Stoa", which signifies a portico, or piazza, under which Zeno used to walk, and teach his philosophy, and where great numbers of disciples attended him, who from hence were called "Stoics": their chief tenets were, that there is but one God, and that the world was made by him, and is governed by fate; that happiness lies in virtue, and virtue has its own reward in itself; that all virtues are linked together, and all vices are equal; that a wise and good man is destitute of all passion, and uneasiness of mind, is always the same, and always joyful, and ever happy in the greatest torture, pain being no real evil; that the soul lives after the body, and that the world will be destroyed by fire.

One thing to realize about this passage is that the men questioning Paul are not just idly curious about what Paul believes...far from it. Note verse 18 in which they wonder whether Paul is a "proclaimer of foreign gods." Centuries before Paul, Socrates was charged with introducing new gods and corrupting the youth and was killed for it. So this was a very serious charge they contemplated against Paul...it also shows how clever Paul is in how he responds to them later on.
But for now...they certainly don't need to prod Paul very much to get Paul to speak about the One whom he loves, right? :)

So they ask him to explain himself and he proceeds to do so...

Read Acts 17:22-34

In vv. 22-24 we see that clever response right? How can they accuse him of proclaiming foreign or new gods when they themselves had an altar to the One whom He spoke about?
But Paul does not just point this out to escape death...we already know he's quite willing to die for his faith!
No, Paul also intends to truly preach to them the unknown God that has chosen to reveal Himself now through Paul!!

We see in vv. 24-31 the power of the Word preached!! O for such sermons from our pulpits! O for preachers who would not hesitate to proclaim our Lord! Regardless of their audience!

Let me touch on a topic we spent some time on last week...here Paul preaches powerfully and with conviction and with the attitude that the chips will fall wherever they will fall! But he does this to an audience that he knows may not agree with him!.

Why then does he do it? Is it not because of his desire to obey Christ? Did Jesus tell his disciples to bring salvation to people? Or did he tell them to proclaim the message of the cross and to call ALL people to repent? So Paul carries out his orders and trusts that the work of God will be done!!!

THEREFORE he does not care whom his audience is...because his marching orders did not tell him to worry about that!

As we discussed last week...it is one thing for us to be bold in a room full of people whom we know agree with us...try it when surrounded by those whom you are unsure of or whom you know will oppose you!!!

At any rate, Paul proclaims:
the omnipotence of God (v. 24)
the omnipresence of God (v. 27)
and
the omniscience of God (v. 31)

In short, Paul proclaims a Sovereign God...

And see now the response in verse 32:
The response is always the same isn't it? Some mock but some listen more closely...
This is why it is the message of the cross that is so important and not the messenger!
This is why it is so important for us to ground ourselves in the Word and not worry so much about methods...

Even though Dave is not here I know he would agree wholeheartedly with me when I say that Christianity is NOT a business and business models will NOT help the church to grow even ONE bit!! [to expalin...brother David is a business professor at a local college]

Why?
Because our job is to proclaim the message...God will do the growing!!

This is why Paul states the following in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7:
"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase."

Note now how this chapter ends...we mentioned two responses above...those who mock and those who listen...and here in verse 34 we see the other one...those who believe.
If the conversion of men and women depended upon our own poor abilities...then we would have good reasons for despairing...
But brothers and sisters...WE are called to proclaim the Word and to call people to repent...let us strive to do so obediently. And to know that there is one book above all that we need to know...the Word of God! Our sword.

Amen?

Close with prayer