May 17, 2020  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, AMEN

The text for our meditation today is the first lesson from Acts 17:16-31. There we read these words:

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘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.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

We begin in the name of Jesus, Amen

The Areopagus is a 370 foot high hill in Athens. The name is classical Greek for "hill of Ares." In Greek mythology, Ares (or Mars in Latin) was the god of war, bloodshed, strife, and pestilence --the son of Zeus.

Assembled there, men of Athens made up a large audience for Paul to share the Gospel. The assembly included the Epicureans (who did not believe in God, but that the world was created by a fortunate collision of atoms) and the Stoics (who believed that the gods were everywhere). Both groups were intellectuals who studied philosophy and engaged in academic debate.

Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-op'agus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious." All around Paul were statues, temples, shrines, and altars filling the public places and the city generally. From Zeus and Athene down to stones and artist images, they all had their devotees, and there were divinities and shrines in every house. The heathen festivals were celebrated in grand style; all these temples had their priests or priestesses. There were public and private functions accompanied by sacrifices and by rites.

Is it any wonder that Paul said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious?"

Think about this. If the apostle were to travel around this country today, visiting public places, examining society and culture, looking at the artifacts, coming into homes he would probably make the same announcement, "People of the United States, and especially you people of north Iowa, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

I have seen your coins with the words, 'In God we trust.' I have heard you stand together and as you pledged allegiance to your nation 'under God.' At civic events and before the graduations you have invoked God. From the crack houses in the dark corners of your cities to the lighted temples of death pinnacled by the trumpeted angel --from LSD to LDS, I perceive that you are very religious.

You worship money, wear images of saints, and congregate for hours around a central box known as a television. You have constructed buildings where rituals, rites, and sacrifices take place. Bookstores have works from transcendental meditation to new age spiritualism.

You throw salt over your shoulder and will not walk under a ladder. With your mouths you use the name of God to damn things and even people. Indeed, I perceive that in every way you are very religious."

But remember, being religious does not necessarily mean that one has eternal life or is saved. If that were the situation, then Paul would never have had to continue with his address to the Athenians, and you would not need to hear anything from this pulpit. If that were so, then all we would need to hear from someone would be, "Don't worry about me, I believe in God."

Regardless of much a person might believe, or how religious a person might be, where faith is focused is immensely and eternally important. That is why Paul did not stop when he perceived that the men of Athens were very religious. He continued, "For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, `To an unknown god'."

The Athenians had constructed an altar to an unknown god. Perhaps for some this was a way to cover all the bases --not wanting to offend one of the gods by neglecting to acknowledge him or her. It is also possible that, for some, it was constructed to this god of whom they had heard a bit, but they did not know his name, his power, or his work, as they knew of their many other deities.

Paul knew that altar and its inscription was merely a confession on the part of the Athenians that, despite their many gods, one God existed of whom they knew about, but did not, in any way, know Him. What Paul continued with may at first, seem strange. He did not appeal to the Scriptures. That was quite appropriate in this case. In dealing with pagans, an appeal to the Scriptures would be useless, so Paul appealed to the Almighty God and His creative work.

He said, "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for `In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, `For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man."

He presented God, the omnipotent Creator and Ruler, Who is absolute and sufficient in Himself. He laid special stress on man's relation to God, who as His creature is altogether dependent on Him and His gifts --who is intended to worship God. Then Paul continued to deal with the topic of the patience, the expectations, and the plans that this true God has --past patience, present expectations, future action.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.

God's patience with man's folly will end. In the past, in order to wait for the fullness of time when the Christ would come, God did not render judgment on sin. Or, as the epistle reading declared, God waited patiently in the days of Noah.

Paul told his listeners that this judgment would take place and of this he had given assurance to all men by raising Jesus from the dead. That is when the men of Athens stopped listening to Paul --that was the stumbling block --the Resurrection of Jesus. There was mocking and stalling.

But this was the Unknown God who Paul was called to proclaim. This is the One that the Church was to announce is LORD and God. This is the One Paul wanted to tell them about, but it didn't happen.

The hardness of their hearts and the stubbornness of their wills kept Paul from telling them that this LORD desired so much to be their God that He came to give His Life on the cross for them --that He graciously announced to all of them in the Word, "Because I live, you also will live."

This same LORD says to you today, dear friends "I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have given you My Word which is able to make you wise unto salvation and to comfort you in times of tragedy. You have My Promise that will give you hope when all earthly hope disappears. This is My Good News to you, I have redeemed you, I have called you by Name and you are Mine."

From centuries ago to the present, the Church has constantly been entrusted with the Gospel of God’s love for all people in Jesus Christ. It is that Good News on which this congregation is nurtured as you are this morning, especially during these trying times. It is that Good News which the people of God are to witness to those, who, like the men of Athens, have never heard concerning the unknown God.

My prayer for each of you every day, especially until we can meet together again, is that you may never tire of nor grow weary of hearing.....

.... The Proclamation of the Unknown God!

Christ is Risen.