Loving God by Loving the World the Way God Does – Pt. 2

*This is a continuation of the message delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on February 2nd.

Acts 17:16-21 – “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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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 preachingJesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” ²¹ Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.”

A Loving Heart is Moved to Action

Very often in movies about high school, they have a scene where a scrawny, smart nerd gets picked on by strong, bulky bully.  That bully walks up to the kid in the hallway in front of everybody, picks up the kid, takes his lunch money, and then proceeds to shove him in his locker.  Nobody around who is witnessing this act does anything, but you can clearly tell that the whole student body is disgusted by this act.  THEY JUST DON’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!  Personally, I believe that when you witness a crime that you can stop but instead do nothing about it, you are in a way responsible for that crime taking place.  It is said that all it takes for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.  That is what I am talking about.  It is one thing to be provoked and hate sin, but it is a complete other thing to do something about that hatred.

In our passage today, we find that Paul was not only disgusted at the idolatry in Athens, but he did something about it.  In Acts 17:17-21, Paul begins to speak out against this idolatry sharing the Word of God with the people of Athens, in hopes, that they might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  He took action against the idolatry that he saw being committed in this place, because he did not want to see it continue.  Loving the world the way Christ does requires you to not just hate sin but to move against it by sharing with those in sin the solution to this sin problem – Jesus Christ.  We can learn a lot about how to take action against sin and how to share the Gospel by taking notice of Paul’s practices in this passage.

First, take notice of the action Paul took in vs. 17, “So he reasoned…”  Paul recognized that the Athenians were a people of knowledge and reasoning.  They loved to discuss topics of religion, philosophy, and politics.  Just think about all the famous philosophers from there – Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.  Vs. 21 describes the Athenians for us – “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.”  Paul realized that in order to speak to this group of people he needed to use not emotion, not fanciful words, not spiritual jargon but reason.  When one reasons he first listens to an argument, thinks about the argument, then responds.  Reasoning is not a one way street, where one is stuffing his opinion down another’s throat; it is listening and thinking through points on both sides and responding to them wisely.  Paul did exactly that, and we need to learn to do so when we share the Gospel.  As we share the Gospel with others, it becomes very unappealing when we just push people into boxes and judge them; instead, we need to listen and then respond being prepared to answer with grace seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6).  We can never force Christianity, we can only share Jesus Christ.  So let us learn to take this same course of action.

Second, take notice of where and with who Paul took this action of sharing the Gospel with also in vs. 17-18, “So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace everyday 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’…”  Paul spoke with everyone, everywhere.  It didn’t matter what the location was whether the synagogue or the marketplace.  It didn’t matter if he was talking to Jews, righteous people, devout men, unbelievers, common people, or philosophers.  It didn’t matter whether he was speaking to clear opponents of the Gospel like the Epicureans (philosophers who believed the greatest good in life is pleasure) or the Stoics (philosophers who believed that one must act with reason and not emotion so life will be lived virtuously and well).  He wasn’t afraid to share with anyone.  He never judged a group as less knowledgeable or less open but shared with every person that was available and willing to hear.  When we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must not be picky and choosy with who gets it, for all need to hear the Word of God.  Imagine if there was a fire going on inside a building, would you pick and choose who to warn to get out?  No way!  You would tell everyone to head for the stairs and get out.  We are in the same predicament as Christians.  The world is a place that is heading towards the judgment of hell, and we need to warn everyone we can that they need to turn to Jesus Christ for mercy, grace, and escape.  If we fully grasp the seriousness of the situation, we wouldn’t in any way pick and choose who to share the Gospel with but would do so with everyone, everywhere, every chance we get.

Third, take notice of the message that Paul shared as described in vs. 8, “…because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.”  Paul’s message was simple and to the point – “Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who gave up His glory in heaven to die for sinners like you and me, so that we could have a renewed relationship with Him.  Not only did He die though but He proved He was God through His resurrection three days later, guaranteeing us new life in Him.”  Paul did not try to hide or change the message to sound more appealing and reasonable to the Greeks.  He didn’t try to avoid the topic of the Resurrection, because it might dissuade some people from turning to Christ.  He didn’t avoid sharing the truth of the one and only true God.  He shared the simple Gospel message, unabashed and unashamed.  We must share the Gospel, fully and completely and without fear.  We must not try to hide parts that may not be as appealing or may not be politically correct.  We must share the Gospel in its entirety, for Jesus Christ is the only Way, Truth, and Life.  In addition, take notice that Paul’s message focused on Jesus Christ, not on himself or anything about him.  He did not seek to convert people to his opinion on the resurrection or his opinion on righteous living or his opinion on idolatry.  He simply taught Jesus Christ and focused everything on Him.  All focus in sharing the Gospel should be brought to Jesus Christ.

Fourth, take notice of the opportunity that Paul’s boldness in sharing brought about in vs. 19-20, “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.’”  Because of Paul’s diligence in sharing the Gospel anywhere he could preach, he was given an even greater opportunity now.  He was invited to preach at the Areopagus, also known as Mars’ Hill.  The Areopagus was actually known before Paul’s time for having a famous council that would judge trials and make important political decisions (Smith, W. A Dictionary of the Bible.  Logos Bible Software 4).  Although by the time Paul arrived, it may have no longer been involved with politics, this place was still held in high esteem.  For Paul to be invited to share the Gospel in a place like that would probably be similar to a preacher today being given a platform to speak in the Capitol building.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, if we serve Him in the opportunities given to us, He will surely provide bigger and better opportunities for us to serve Him in greater things, but we must be faithful in little before we can be given the opportunity to be faithful in much.  In addition, we must take that opportunity when it is given us.  Paul could have easily said NO to this chance to speak at the Areopagus, knowing that he was heading into enemy territory to be heard and tested by knowledgeable philosophers that would surely oppose his views, yet he didn’t allow fear or doubt to shake his resolution to share the Gospel; instead, he saw this as a great opportunity for him to make his Christ known.  Let us not be afraid even when we must be witnesses in the lion’s den.

Loving God by Loving the World the Way God Loves It – Pt. 1

This Sunday as well as next I have the fortunate opportunity to preach at my church.  Because of this, the next few posts will probably be focused on the same topics that I will be sharing from the pulpit. This is the first part of the sermon that was preached this Sunday.

Introduction

During the month of February, the minds of people drift towards the topic of love since Valentine’s Day occurs on the fourteenth.  Often, couples find the time to renew their vows, get engaged, or start relationships on this day for romance.  For others, it is just a time where they become more aware of how single they are (Single-Awareness Day).  But because most minds are already on this topic, it makes it easy for us to concentrate for the next two weeks on the issue of love.  The Bible teaches us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths and that the second greatest stems from that – to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30).  This love for God is so important that Christ rebuked the growing, spiritually serving church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation, because they had lost their first love – Jesus Christ.  But the big question is how can we love God tangibly?  It is obvious already that if you love someone, you will spend time with that person.  This concept is the same with one’s relationship to God – if you love God, you will spend time communing with Him in prayer and Bible reading.  According to 1 John 5:3, another way we show our love to God is by keeping His commandments.  We can even show our love to God through our tithes and offerings, for in it we show worship and sacrifice.  But one way many Christians overlook as a way to show their love to God is by reflecting His love to others.  For the next two weeks, we will be discussing this exact topic of how to show our love for God by reflecting His love to the world and to the church.

This week we will focus on the first topic of loving the world.  For those of you, who just turned on the red flashing light bulbs and sounded the alarm, I am not discussing something blasphemous like loving the world as in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, but loving the world the way God does, who willingly gave up His Son Jesus Christ to death on the cross, so that everyone in the world could have an opportunity to receive Him.  God’s love for the world can be summed up in one goal – that every person may have a personal growing relationship with Him.  One of the best reflections of this type of love is found in the heart of Paul in Acts 17:16-34 as he preached to the citizens of Athens.

A Loving Heart is Provoked by Sin

Acts 17:16 – “No while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.”

Before Julius Caesar turned Rome into a global empire, the Greeks “ruled” the world.  Due to their previous status and the rule of Alexander the Great (a love of the Greeks), Grecian culture encompassed the whole world.  In Paul’s time, Greek was actually the common language of the Empire.  The concepts of democracy and republics influenced the structure of Roman politics.  Even the Greek pantheon of gods was copied to create the Roman pantheon.  All the Greek city-states surely played a role in shaping the culture of the world at the time of Paul, but of all the city-states, Athens was probably the most prominent.  Athens was a hotbed for philosophy during its peak and even continued to be a pool of knowledge and questioning when Paul arrived.  But with all its “wisdom,” the city was filled with idolatry.  It was in this environment that Paul entered in – a mix of philosophical atheism and social polytheism.  In addition, Paul entered into this difficult environment after experiencing two discouraging situations in two cities in a row – Thessalonica and Berea, where he was basically driven out of the city by the same set of Jews.  If anything, Paul would have been expected to come into Athens with a heart that was downtrodden and numbed already to the sin around him.  Personally, if I was Paul that many negative responses to sharing the Gospel would have probably caused me to already give it up completely.  Instead, when Paul saw the idols, he “was provoked” or in other words “roused to anger.”¹  Paul was moved to anger when he saw the idolatry taking place in the whole city.  Paul saw that sin was taking place due to the ignorance of the people of the truth of Christ, and he could not help but be hurt in his heart seeing it.  He wanted so badly for the people to understand the Gospel, to abandon their idols, and to give their lives to the one and only God, for what they were doing was wickedness.  He was moved with righteous anger.  We see this take place in Matthew 21, where Christ overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple, for He saw their sin and was provoked as well.

When we see sin in our lives and the lives of others, does that stir up our hearts to change it or do we just idly sit around, ignoring it, as it gets worse and worse?  Sin is the one thing that breaks our God’s heart, and it should do it to us as well.  It should move us to do anything in our power to remove it from our presence.  Paul saw the idolatry and just wanted it all to disappear.  He wanted it to be corrected.  Paul was acting like a parent to these people, for parents when they see their children doing wrong are usually provoked not because they lack love for them but instead love them so much that they don’t want to see them continue down a path of wickedness or danger.  It is like a mother who sees her child about to place his hand on top of a hot stove.  She responds by yelling for him to stop before he gets burned.  If the mother doesn’t say anything or is not even bothered by this we could almost say that she is a “sick and deranged” mother who wants to see her child get hurt, but if she acts like a mother doing everything in her power even though she sounds angry to protect her child, we know that she loves him.  It is the same exact thing.  God loves the world so much, He cannot bare to see its sin, for He knows that the end path is destruction.  Paul had this same love for these people and was provoked in heart.  And we need to have the same love for the world.  Although our world may not serve idols of stone and wood and gold and silver statues but we have our idols of money, power, fame, pleasures, things.  We need to shatter them.

As a little aside, we need to also consider our hearts.  What idols do we have in our lives that we are not provoked about?  How can we go and judge others, wanting them to remove their idols and only serve the one true God, when we are keeping our own idols and exalting them?  We need to be provoked enough to also destroy our idols.  To not only take them from their pedestals but to bury them so deep that we can never return just as Jacob did at the tree near Shechem before going to worship the Lord. 

 

 

¹Vine, W.E., Unger, M.F., White, Jr., William, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996