11 november 25, 2012 acts 17 hit the streets

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HIT THE STREETSACTS 17

NOVEMBER 25, 2012FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPIUSA

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Class Christmas PartySunday, December 2nd

(following the10:30 am service)

Penn’s Fish House2085 Lakeland Dr.Jackson, MS 39216

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Next week’s SS lesson:

YAHWEH the one faithful God

Who is able!

Exodus 6 & 15

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Today we are in Acts 17: 16-31

Reference material:

LifeWayChristian Resources

of the SBC

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Focal Passages:*Go Where People Are Acts 17:16-21*Know What People Believe Acts 17:22-23*Point People to God Acts 17:24-31

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This Lesson Is About:The need for believers (and churches) to move beyond their personal contexts to find appropriate ways to reach people with the Gospel.

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*The apostle Paul was alone in Athens, a world-class city with a day to himself. He hit the streets, walking around the city and taking in the attractions.

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*He saw idols and statues depicting various gods.

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Paul took this opportunity to communicate to the Athenians about the One, True God.

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*Too many Christians see the sights of a city but fail to share the Savior with its residents. *The Gospel was never intended to be kept to ourselves.

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*God desires for believers to share the Gospel, seeking ways to contextualize the message to the appropriate audience so others can hear and respond to Jesus.

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For that to happen, we must go where the people are – we must hit the streets!

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Focal Passages:*Go Where People Are Acts 17:16-21*Know What People Believe Acts 17:22-23*Point People to God Acts 17:24-31

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Acts 17:16-21 16 “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was troubled within him when he saw that the city was full of idols.

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17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

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18 Then also, some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, “What is this pseudo-intellectual trying to say?”

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Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities”—because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the Resurrection.

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19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, ‘May we learn about this new teaching you’re speaking of?

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20 For what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these ideas mean.’

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21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new. “ Acts 17:16-21

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*Paul was in Athens, the cradle of Western civilization and home to Greek mythology idols and philosophies.

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*It had been the home of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno and Epicurus whose words are still studied in universities today.

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Socrates

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Plato and Aristotle

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Zeno

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*Paul didn’t see beauty or fine art or brilliance; rather he saw that the city was full of idols.

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*Athens was smothered by idols and completely given over to idol worship.

*It was a junkyard of idols.

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*Over 30,000 statues were erected to gods, leading the Roman writer Petronius to remark, “It is easier to find a god in Athens than a man.”

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*Though idolatry was nothing new to Paul, these images troubled him. *Troubled, a strong word filled with fury and sadness, described a deep grief over the idolatry,

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provoking him to anger and a reaction of jealousy for God’s Name.

*The pagan idol worship offended his moral conscience.

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*It did not matter that the Parthenon symbolized classic Greek culture or that Athens was the hometown of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

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*If Paul walked through Jackson today, what would trouble him?

*What should trouble us?

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*Athens, named after the Greek goddess Athena who is credited with inventing the olive tree, was built around a flat-topped hill (later called Acropolis) about 3000 BC.

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Athena

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After the 6th century BC, the people were dissatisfied by periodic tyranny and demanded written laws.

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They chose one of their wisest men, Solon, to write a constitution and by the end of the century, another leader, Cleisthenes [KLIGHS-th-nees], had taken Solon’s

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principles and founded a democracy.*Athens eventually fell to Sparta and lost its power and wealth, yet managed to remain the intellectual center of Greece for

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centuries, even to the time of Paul.*Paul went to Athens during his second missionary journey after escaping with his life from Berea.

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*He was invited to the Areopagus which means “hill of Ares”.*Ares was the Greek god of war (the Roman name for the god of war was Mars) therefore, the area

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was known as Mars Hill.

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*This is the only time Paul preached to a pagan audience.

*He did not quote the OT as he would have done with a Jewish audience.

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*Paul used the Athenians’ own literature and philosophy to establish rapport and to move them to decision.*He began his sermon with the phrase, “Ye men

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of Athens” which had been used by Athenian orators for years.*Paul’s message was cut short when he mentioned the resurrection (vv. 31-32) because they refused

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to listen to anyone mentioning a bodily resurrection.

*The Epicureans rejected altogether the idea of personal immortality.

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*Paul’s message in Athens was anything but a failure because a number of people were saved (v. 34) and two of them were mentioned by name: Dionysius and Damaris.

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Dionysius the Aeropagite

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*Dionysius was a member of the council and became quite influential for the cause of Christ even in this idolatrous city.*Dionysius also became the first bishop in Athens.

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*By Paul’s time, gods had lost the place of honor therefore the ceremonies and festivals that were held were observed out of tradition and habit.

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*Serious doubts and an intellectual restlessness characterized the populace, fueled by the many philosophical theories then in vogue.

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*Among the popular schools of thought were Stoicism and Epicureanism.*Stoics believed that the primary principle of the universe was reason.

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stoa (Stoics)

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Epicurus – “to experience modest pleasures will allow fear and pain to subside, in itself creating the greatest pleasure of all: a life of contentment through equilibrium”.

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*On the other hand, Epicureans considered earthly existence as something to be enjoyed to the fullest.

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*Highly materialistic, they considered pleasure as humanity’s ultimate goal with a concerted attempt to live a happy life free from fear and pain.

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*Paul’s short sermon to the philosophers in Athens stands out as one of the greatest messages of all time.

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*Paul reasoned or challenged the Athenians to think differently, to ponder anew. *Reasoned has the idea of discussing issues of importance with a view to

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winning another person to your own point of view.

*Paul proclaimed the Gospel, intent on winning Athenians to the living God.

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*First, Paul sought to reach people nearest to him. *As was his custom, Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, reasoning with the Jews and

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God-fearers, those who worshiped God.

*These were Gentiles who had turned from gods to God.

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*Second, Paul ventured to the marketplace every day. *The marketplace, or agora, was the center of public life, the place people gathered each day

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to buy and sell their goods.

*Many people frequented the marketplace, providing Paul an instant audience.

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*Statutes and temples stood in and around the agora.

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*Third, Paul debated with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, the two most popular philosophical schools.

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*The Epicureans, founded by Epicurus, felt the gods were distant and uninvolved in human affairs and believed no afterlife existed.

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*Life, therefore, was to be enjoyed with the pursuit of pleasure (avoidance of pain) paramount.

*The Epicurean mantra was, “Enjoy life!”

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“Eat, drink, and be merry; for tomorrow we die!”

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*The Stoics, on the other hand, founded by Zeno, were pantheists, believing in divine providence. *The highest human calling was to live by reason, the divine

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principle within them, with a focus on self-control, personal discipline, and endurance.

*The Stoics mantra was, “Endure life!”

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*Paul showed equal adeptness at speaking to the religious people in the synagogue, to common people in the marketplace, and to the highly sophisticated

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philosophers. *Christians today need to get to know people in various contexts—religious seekers, business professionals, and intellectuals—to engage

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them and to communicate the Gospel story. *Understanding language, culture, and needs is paramount to communicating the Gospel effectively.

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If Paul did come to Jackson and followed his pattern from Athens of going where the people were, perhaps he would first come to First Baptist Church, Jackson.

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Where would he likely go to find the marketplace/center of public life?

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*Where would he go to find the philosophers, intellectuals, or new thinkers? *What does our class do to go where the people are?

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*Paul’s hearers responded in a variety of ways.

*Some called him a pseudo-intellectual.

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Word Study: Pseudo-Intellectual Acts 17:18; “babbler,” KJV*The Greek word means seed-picker, like a sparrow picking up seeds or a vagrant picking up

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scraps of discarded food or a worthless person. *In this case, it refers to teachers who collected various ideas from various sources and taught them as though

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they were their own.

*The information was not original; it all was second-hand information.

*They were plagiarizers.

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Regardless, this name was not a flattering description of the church’s greatest spokesman.

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*This critical comment was a reference to one who picked up pieces of learning but had no real understanding.

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It was a term of disrespect roughly equivalent to “country bumpkin” or “chatterbox.” *Others called him a preacher of foreign deities.

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Two applications are in order: One, opposition is always better than indifference. *If people argue with you, it generally means they actually care about what

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you are saying. *Two, the Gospel has nothing to fear from an open discussion. *Paul wasn’t afraid to take the Gospel to the streets to meet opposing views

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head-on.

*Paul was taken to the Areopagus meaning literally “the hill of Ares,” the Greek equivalent of Mars.

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*The Parthenon atop the Acropolis was a temple dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city.

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*On the lower slope stood the Areopagus where the council met to deal with major governing responsibilities.

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*Thus, this word is often translated Mars Hill. *The Areopagus would be similar to the Supreme Court. *It had authority over Athens in civic and

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religious matters. *By Paul’s day the council’s powers were more limited and it no longer met on the hill but in a building in the agora, the marketplace.

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*The agora (marketplace) was the hub of the city.*It was the commercial center of the city and the major government buildings were located there also.

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*It was still known as the Areopagus for the hill where it had originally met.

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*The council inquired about Paul’s new teaching. *The Athenians pursued the latest fad in philosophy, art, or religion.

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*We are not much different, always looking for a new idea, a new plan, a new strategy, or a new formula.

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*There is pressure on universities to teach “new” ideas and that is one way institutes of higher learning become extremely liberal.

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*The new teaching sounded strange to them. Paul was not on trial. *The council members wanted an explanation about what he had taught in the marketplace.

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Paul would give an account of his teaching, telling the court what he believed, but he could not defend himself without preaching Christ.

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*He used every opportunity to tell the story. *The Athenians’ longing to always hear something new opened the door for Paul’s message.

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Focal Passages:*Go Where People Are Acts 17:16-21*Know What People Believe Acts 17:22-23*Point People to God Acts 17:24-31

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Acts 17:22-23 22 “Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.

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23 For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD’.

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Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” Acts 17:22-23

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*Paul did not speak as a man on trial, but rather as a bold communicator of the faith. *Standing before the people in the Areopagus, Paul, like any great

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communicator, got their attention. *He started where the people were. *He acknowledged that they were extremely religious people.

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*Religious is translated superstitious in the King James.

*The word has both negative and positive connotations.

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*Positively, it showed the pious and devoted nature of people.

*The Athenians had a reputation as religious people.

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*Negatively, however, the word communicated that people were superstitious in their religious observances, meaning they worshiped many gods for fear of offending

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any god. *Ironically, the hearers would have taken Paul’s acknowledgment as a compliment—being very religious, while Paul would have meant it has

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an insult—denouncing their idolatry. *Interestingly, both meanings were true. *They were religious and they were superstitious.

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*Humankind is inherently religious.

*Every society, no matter how primitive, has some conception of a higher power.

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*Even the most corrupt religion demonstrates humankind’s innate longing to know God. *Idolatry exists because the human race has suppressed God’s true

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knowledge. *We were made to know God, but when we suppress God’s truth that is found in creation and written in our hearts, we always turn to idolatry.

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*Paul provided a telling and revealing example of their piousness. *As he had walked around the city, “observing the objects of your worship”, Paul

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witnessed an altar (the only time an altar to a false god is mentioned the New Testament), that arrested his attention, calling to the forefront their vain religious efforts.

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*The altar … was inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. *Even though there were 30,000 idols in Athens, still they weren’t sure they had enough.

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ALTAR TO AN UNKNOWN GOD

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*The altar did provide Paul a point of contact with his polytheistic audience and a perfect launching pad for his monotheistic discourse.

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In other words, Paul used this inscription to tell the Greeks about the one true God. *Paul referred to what the Athenians worshiped, but he was about to introduce

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them to the God Who was personal. *The Greeks valued knowledge. *Ignorance, or not knowing, violated all they held dear.

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*He tactfully told them they didn’t know what they were talking about. *In a way Paul said, “You admit there is a God you don’t know. I happen to know that God and will

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now proclaim Him to you.” *By admitting that God was more than they knew, the Athenians opened the door for Paul to boldly preach the Gospel.

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*Their idolatry was the most conspicuous evidence of both their spiritual piety (v. 22) and spiritual poverty.*The 2nd Commandment condemns idolatry.

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*Why have an altar to “the unknown god”?*Perhaps it was to appease any god whom the Greeks may have failed to give his or her proper due.

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*Yes, there was a God unknown to them, the only One Who exists, the Creator of all.*The true God is knowable and He has intentionally revealed

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Himself to us through His Son!

*The Athenians had made god in their own image.*That’s the problem with all idolatry.

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*It reverses the order of creation.*It worships the creation instead of the Creator and ultimately makes god in its own image (Rom 1:18-23).

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*The beautiful statues of the gods in Athens were mute testimony to the wrongness of their religion.

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*Crafted by the finest artists, they were representations of the human form, of gods made in the image of human beings (17:29).

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*The reverse is true. *Humans were crafted by God in His own image.*We reflect that image only when we acknowledge God as Creator and submit

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ourselves to His will and rule over our lives through Jesus Christ.

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In knowing the people we try to reach we are in a better position to share the Gospel.

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*Establishing a point of contact is crucial.

*For Paul the altar to the unknown God provided the contact with the Athenians.

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*This altar revealed the hunger of the human heart. *If we study people and talk with them, we will discover the hungers of their hearts.

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*Effective evangelists listen, read, watch, observe, and pay attention to what people say and do. *Sooner or later their hearts will be exposed,

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opening the door to share Christ. *Paul could have been disrespectful or unkind. *He could have jumped right to confrontation, telling them how wrong

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and misguided they were.

*Instead, he chose to speak the truth in love, compassionately persuading them to the truth.

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On a scale of 1 (very little) to 10 (complete comprehension), how well do you know what the lost people in your community believe about God, faith, and religion?

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How can you become more informed about their beliefs?

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Focal Passages:*Go Where People Are Acts 17:16-21*Know What People Believe Acts 17:22-23*Point People to God Acts 17:24-31

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Acts 17:24-3124 “The God Who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands.

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25 Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.

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26 From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

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27 He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

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28 For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

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29 Being God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

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30 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent,

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31 because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by

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raising Him from the dead.”

Acts 17:24-31

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*Paul shared several truths about God. Tactfully and strategically, using images and quotes from familiar Greek culture, he communicated the Gospel.

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*He began with God’s greatness; He is the Creator of the world (kosmos), a familiar word in Greek philosophy.

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*God as absolute Creator would have differed from the Epicureans, who emphasized chance, and the Stoics, who said God did not create anything.

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*God was indeed the UNKNOWN GOD to the Greeks. *Paul pointed out that God is both the personal Creator of all existence and the personal Lord of

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everything made. *God is not distant, nor divorced from human affairs. *He can’t be localized, limited, imprisoned, or confined in shrines made

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by hands.

*How can the One Who made everything live in shrines made by humans?

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*Next, Paul spoke of God’s goodness; He is the Sustainer. *God is not contained in shrines made by humans nor is He served by human hands.

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*The One who sustains life needs no one to sustain Him.

*With this statement Paul undermined Greek religious thinking.

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Instead, God gives people what they need: life and breath and all things. *He is the Source of all we need. *We depend on Him; He does not depend on us.

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*Then, God’s government is revealed. *The God of Creation rules history and geography. *From one man refers to Adam and humankind’s

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relationship to God. *And though people have scattered throughout the whole earth, they can trace their ancestry back to one man created by God.

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*God determined their appointed times and the boundaries. *Paul emphasized God’s providence over history and His care over His creation.

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*Paul stressed the active and personal nature of God in sharp contrast to the views of the Stoics and the Epicureans.

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*God personally engages in human affairs—we can know and trust Him.

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*God intended that people might seek God. *Paul stated, “perhaps they might reach out and find Him.” Reach out pictures a blind man stretching out his

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hands to feel his way along. *Obviously the barrier to finding God is sin, resulting in our being alienated and far from Him.

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*We stagger, blinded to God’s reality though He is not far from each one of us.

*God is not a distant deity.

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*When we see God as He truly is, our only response is to worship Him. *Paul implored the worship of God; He is the Creator in whom we live and move and exist.

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*This statement appeared in a poem by Epimenides (600 B.C.) from Crete.

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*God, also, is Father.

*Paul quoted another Greek poet, Aratus of Soli (315-240 B.C.), “For we are also His offspring.”

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 This citation is from Aratus, a third-century b. c. Greek poet.

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*Paul did not infer a pantheistic view of humanity, but rather that God is the life-giver and life-sustainer.

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*Redemptively, God is Father only of believers, yet from a creation standpoint, He is also Father of humanity. *Paul exposed their fallacy by quoting Greek

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philosophers that God is Creator and Father, thereby higher, stronger, and more powerful than humankind. *God can’t be controlled or boxed in.

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*He can’t be ruled. *He rules us!

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*Idolatry attempts to create and to confine God within limits of our own making, thus to control Him—such absurdity to think God can be fashioned of gold or

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silver or stone.

*How foolish to make gods in our own image. *If God created humans, how can humans create God?

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*Greek religion was nothing more than the manufacture and worship of gods created by human art (physical idols) and imagination (idols of ideas).

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*If Paul’s hearers recognized God as Creator, they would have had to acknowledge their own self-idolatry, and, therefore, repent.

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*Next, Paul spoke of God’s judgment; He will judge the world.

*Bringing his message to a close, Paul returned to his original premise:

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The Greeks were guilty of ignorance. *They did not know God, as Paul demonstrated. *But God overlooked it, not that it went unnoticed or excused, but that He

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delayed judgment. *But He has set a day for judgment. *Paul, then, called them to repent.

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*The word communicates a complete turnaround, here, from idolatry to the living and true God.

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*Paul confronted them with the Gospel demands, knowing the consequences for thosewho fail to repent and turn to God.

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*Paul had pointed them to the One True God. *If they did not recognize Him on earth, they would on Judgment Day!

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*On that day God would judge the world (humankind) in righteousness. *This judgment will be universal, no one will escape.

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*No miscarriage of justice will occur. *All people will acknowledge it as correct and accurate: it will condemn those who turn from God and it will clear

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those coming to God by His revelation and grace. *It will be definite, a day has been set. *Although no one knows the exact day, the identity of the Judge has been

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revealed. *Paul referred to the Man—He is Christ, God’s Son. The proof of His existence and coming judgment is the resurrection.

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*Paul encountered a religious and spiritual culture that was far from understanding the living and true God. *Likewise, we live in a culture with a religious

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heritage and spiritual trappings.

*People have created idols of their own choosing and made gods of their own devices.

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*This generation is no closer to understanding and accepting the Gospel truths than the Athenian philosophers. *As students of culture, we seek to understand

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what other people believe so we can speak the Gospel in a “language” they will understand. *Understanding as well as engagement with people is demanded.

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*We are missionaries, finding ourselves in a “foreign” country. *Though we speak the same language and frequent the same places, we have to engage people

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where they are to lead them where they need to be—and, urgency is paramount. *Judgment Day is coming for everyone. *Time is running out!

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*If we don’t share Christ with our friends and neighbors, who will?*If we don’t share the Gospel now, then when? *Paul’s message was powerful and clear.

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*While some took it to heart, “joined him and believed” (v. 34). and some wanted to hear more, still others “began to ridicule him” (v. 32).

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*This reminds us that not all people will receive the Gospel.

*We should not allow negative responses to deter our witness.

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*Often, repeated conversations, trial and error, and faithful living and proclamation are required for people to follow Christ.

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*People are too precious, Christ’s message too valuable, to give up after one hearing. *Keep banging the Gospel’s drum. *Hearts will soften.

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*The Word will take root. *People will step over the line in faith.  

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Paul picked up on images, ideas, and aspects of life in Athens to help convey the message of God to people.

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Knowing what you do of your community, what concepts or aspects of life would help you point people to God and convey His message of salvation?

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*The study theme for this four-lesson study is “The Church: Transforming Lives in a Changing Culture.” *A church transforming society has to move

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outside its “walls” and hit the streets with the Gospel.

*As Christ’s followers we can’t insulate and isolate ourselves.

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*Let us take Christ’s message to where people are, developing a missionary mind-set.

*Who do you know who needs to hear about Jesus?

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*Will you hit the street to tell them about Jesus?

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Biblical Truths:• Move out of your comfort zone to share the Gospel.• Don’t be intimidated; keep on telling others about Jesus.

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• Seek to know your audience through observation, study, reading, and listening.• Keep the focus on Jesus when witnessing to others, avoiding the

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rabbits of philosophy.

• Seize every opportunity God gives you, thinking of those occasions as divine appointments.

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Perhaps you are quite in tune with your community and had no difficulty with the previous activity.

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But perhaps society around you has changed so fast and so drastically that you struggle to understand many of the people in your community.

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Ask God to help you find contextually appropriate ways to share the Gospel.