Introduction to God
Cassie Burnall was in the library of Columbine High School when the ‘Trenchcoat Mafiosi’, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold burst in brandishing guns and bombs. Cassie, like others ducked under her desk and prayed. One of the teenage killers pointed a semi automatic pistol to the side of her head and asked, “Do you believe in God?” Cassie looked back at him and answered, “Yes”. At this the gunman exclaimed, “There is no God” – and pulled the trigger, killing Cassie.
What many do not know is the background to this. In early adolescence Cassie herself was an angry girl, dabbling in witchcraft, drugs and alcohol. She had been broody and at times suicidal – much like the Trenchcoat Mafiosi. A local pastor thought she was “lost irredeemably”. Her parents were desperately worried. They took her out of her school, kept her at home, and then sent her to a Christian school. She went to a summer Christian camp and there she committed her life to Jesus Christ. And did she change.
After some time she asked if she could go back to Columbine High School and “be a witness for Christ.” That is what she did, she returned to “spread the word” in that tough secular school. What commitment. She had such a passion to serve Jesus, her Saviour. We admire such determined behaviour, it seems so exceptional – but in the early church this was much more the norm. Thus after Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem a persecution against the early church began. They fled for their lives but they did not keep quiet.
“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Acts 8 v. 4
Paul had this same passion to persuade others that they must become Christians, because he recognised that Jesus is the creator and Lord of this universe and that everyone will stand in judgement before him one day. He knew that Jesus is King, as can be seen in Acts chapter 17. It would be helpful if you had a Bible open at this passage as we look at the details.
Paul’s Method
In Acts 17 v. 7, this is what the crowds accused these early Christians of teaching, “There is another king, one called Jesus”. Note their technique. There was no entertainment, no music, - he simply debates, doubtless with great conviction, sharing the truths that he has learnt about Jesus. In one famous evangelist’s book is the remarkable statement that “emotion is the driving force of the gospel”. He gives no scriptural backing for this idea, which is presumably based on his methods. Admittedly some preachers do have techniques more akin to those of Adolf Hitler who won stadia full of young people by his emotional rhetoric and as he had them chant,
“Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer.”
Such sentimentality can produce results of sorts, but they rarely last. Today’s advertisements rarely use reasoned argument to sell anything. Thus a beautiful young woman who uses a certain brand of toothpaste finds that she is surrounded by a crowd of handsome young men, as if that were the true effect of that toothpaste! Such techniques were not those used by Jesus or his apostles. They chose to win people by convincing their consciences and convincing their minds.
At Thessalonica.
At the beginning of this Acts chapter 17, Paul and Silas had been expelled from Phillipi, so they moved on to Thessalonica where they attended the synagogue. There, in verse 2, Paul “reasoned with them from the Scriptures”, and , in verse 3 he “explained”. He gives the reasons why everyone should be Christians by giving the evidence. Again in verse 3 comes the word, “proving”. The evidence he gave was both from the Old Testament, which Paul recognised was all about Jesus, but he also used the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The last point to notice is that he taught in such a way as to obtain a response about Jesus. In verse 4 Paul, “persuaded”.
How few Christians there are around today who are both convinced enough and also trained adequately to do this. The early church undoubtedly trained their new members in this role and we need this emphasis and training again today. Peter said in his first letter,
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you, to give the reason for the hope you have.” (1 Peter 3 v. 15)
The problem is that such conviction and teaching will alsways cause a reaction. Look at Acts 17 verse 5 to 9! Jealous listeners will call us arrogant. They will become angry.
At Berea.
When Paul moves on to the next major city called Berea, he uses the same approach. In verse 11 he is found “teaching”. What is he teaching? It was the same as always, he taught, “the word of God” (verse 13). If you look back to Acts 16 verse 32, we read the story of how Paul and Silas talked with their Philippian jailor. They “spoke the word of the Lord to him”. In other words they unflinchingly taught that Jesus is the Christ – the only way back to God!
Note that he again emphasises the evidence that proved he was teaching the truth. In verse 11 it says,
“They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
The ‘word of God’ which has been given to us in the Bible has always been central to the Christian message, as it is the only reliable way we know about Jesus and all he has done for us, and it teaches us to think like Jesus. Calvin, the great Christian teacher in Geneva in the sixteenth century, loved to remind his listeners about the authority of the Bible by reminding them of Romans chapter 3 verse 2,
“These are the very words of God.”
Paul again expected a response to what he taught, as in verse 12 we read, “many believed”. Then, as still happens today, when the gospel is clearly taught there is a reaction which is either acceptance or antagonism. In verse 13 we read,
“When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too.”
Jesus was committed to winning people for God’s kingdom, his disciples were and it is what he has commanded us to do, to “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28 v. 19). The major role of the church must be the same as Jesus and his apostles – to win people back for God.
It is worth emphasising that this was teamwork. Paul very much relied on the support and encouragement of others. In verse 10, the “brothers looked after Paul and Silas”. In verse 14, the “brothers sent Paul”, and in verse 15 they “escorted Paul to Athens.” All Christians were involved in this ministry, enabling the sharing with others of the ‘word of God’. They did this because,
The Christian message is really true - Jesus is God.
People desperately need to hear this message.
At the end of a busy out-patient clinic at the hospital I saw a lovely elderly patient of mine sitting in a wheelchair, waiting to be collected. We started talking.
“How are you coping?” I gently asked.
“I’m having a hard time, what with my arthritis, diverticulitis and oedema,” she replied.
“I am sorry,” I responded, not knowing quite what to say next! “Do you have anything good things to look forward to?”
Her face looked blank, so I suggested,
“Are you looking forward to heaven?”
The lady looked up at me and said,
“I don’t think he’ll have me!”
What a desperate plight to be in.
At Athens.
Paul arrives in Athens about 50 AD. It was a major University city, with many academics, politicians and a lot of young people just enjoying life! Paul wanders about this beautiful city, with its majestic buildings and statues, but he is far from overawed by the splendour. Instead,
“He is greatly distressed.” (Acts 17 v. 16)
The people in this city are insulting the one true God. Paul doesn’t see just statues, he sees idols – pretend stone gods that have usurped the allegiance of the Athenian people. There is a spiritual battle going on that many have yet to recognise.
Alexander Solizhenitsyn wrote,
“The fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future – it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their decisive offensive. You can feel their pressure, yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses – What is the joy about?”
Do you ever feel like Paul when you visit a large city, or go to the cinema or a football match? When you see the crowds do you feel distressed and wonder how many of these people belong to God?
I was recently talking with a very kind lady as she lay in a hospital bed.
“I think everyone finds their own way to God, don’t you agree?”
This was a difficult position to be in as I could not agree.
“No, I’m sorry but Jesus doesn’t agree with that idea. He said that he was the unique Son of God and that “No-one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14 v. 6)
Whenever something distresses us, action is needed. Look at the first word in verse 17 - ‘SO’. Paul was distressed for these people – SO he tries to persuade them about Jesus. Their eternal destiny depends on how they respond to him.
Paul starts with the religious people again by going to the synagogue (verse 17). There he again ‘reasons’ with them. Paul’s concern extends to all the people of Athens who also need to get right with God, so next we see him in the market place where again he is trying to persuade anyone who will listen. But, oh dear, there are some trouble makers coming up to him. They are real tough nuts – the cities philosophers, and to make it worse they come from two rival schools of philosophy.
The Epicureans (verse 18) were followers of Epicurus who had lived 341 to 270 BC. He said that “good was what brings most pleasure”. In essence they held that happiness was the main goal of society. They thought that although a god may have originally made the world, he is nowhere around now – all there is left is chance and luck. Not surprisingly some people interpreted this as “lets eat, drink and be merry”.
The Stoics were an elite, proud group who followed the teachings of Zeno (335 to 263 BC) who had taught in Athens 350 years before. They were called Stoics because the students met at the ‘Stoa Poikile’ (the painted colonnade) in this very market place in Athens. They thought that the world was controlled by blind irrational forces. Today we would describe this as ‘pantheism’, they did not acknowledge a personal creator God outside his creation. They taught ‘Don’t fight these forces of nature, just accept your fate’, although they did encourage a high sense of duty, saying that everyone should do what is right whatever the consequences.
We might not be interested in these people’s philosophies, but all of us has a philosophy or world view – the principles on which we base the way we live. Some years ago a survey was taken at Sydney University on the beliefs of the students. One question they were asked was, “Does your philosophy help you to handle every part of life?” The answer of nearly all the students was “NO”. What a desperate situation to be in.
Paul’s Message
What is it that Paul talks about to these thinkers? Verse 18 shows clearly that he taught the same ‘good news’ or ‘gospel about Jesus’ that he shared wherever he went. God had come to this earth in the flesh as Jesus, so that we could be put right with God. Again he gives the evidence that it is true – this time emphasising that the resurrection really happened. Doubtless he told them that more than 500 people had seen him alive after his death by crucifixion.
When they hear this , some look down their noses at Paul saying, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Paul was quite used to this negative reaction but, surprise, surprise, it was not outright rejection this time, as some wanted to hear more. “We want to know what these strange ideas mean” (verse 20). So they invite Paul to a meeting of the Council of the Areopagus, which was a group of the intellectual and social elite of the city who, at this time, used to meet in the ‘Royal Colonnade’ in the north-west corner of the market place. This council just loved to hear and discuss new ideas (verse 21).
We only have a summary of this talk as undoubtedly it lasted more than one minute! He begins with an introduction to catch everyone’s interest. Paul starts, “I’ve been walking around Athens and have noticed how religious people are. As I looked carefully at the altars you worship at, I found one to an unknown god.” Other writers of about that time have said that altars to unknown gods were to be seen in Athens. It is probable that these were there not so much because of the uncertainty of the worshippers, but because of restoration work! When an unknown altar was repaired and the original dedication had been lost with time, the inscription “to the unknown God”, would be appropriate. Paul takes this up saying, “This unknown God you worship, I am going to tell you about.” Brilliant - short, sharp and to the point.
He now simply tells them the story from the beginning of the Bible, without telling them where it came from. In verse 24 he tells them the gist of Genesis chapter one, of the ‘God who made this world’. He says that this God is a real God – a great creator god – not a minor player who needs to have a man made temple to live in! He then explains Genesis chapter two and following, by saying that this God made one man and from this one man every nation on earth is derived. Did you know that there are documents that show the genealogies of the kings of the early Britons, as well as the early kings of Denmark, Norway and Iceland, right back to the earliest times. Six separate genealogies for these kings have been found that go back to Noah and Japheth!
By teaching the Bible truths in this way Paul gently corrects the Epicurean thinking that God is not interested in his creation, and also counters the Stoic thinking that God is just part of his creation. Instead Paul stresses that there is a real God who made the world and all of us in it. He stresses that if we are God’s children then he cannot be inanimate metal or stone, he must be personal and therefore we must have great responsibilities to him (verse 29). The greatest responsibility that we all have is to seek God until we find him. God can be found by anyone who looks in the right place. This means looking at the right person!
Verse 27 is fundamental,
“God did this (that is he made the world and everything and everyone in it) so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him”.
Last Saturday I was sitting in the lounge at home, preparing a talk. My Bible, commentaries and some other books were lying about. The doorbell went and there was a representative for cable telephones and television. He came into the lounge, sat down and discussed what he had to offer. He noticed the books and said,
“I see you are religious. Do you know that you can have the Christian channel free?”
“Oh,” I replied, “that’s interesting. Are you interested in Christian things yourself?”
“Well, sort of. I would call myself a Christian but I don’t go to church. I feel such things are personal and private.”
“Yes, I do understand,” I replied, “- but there is a major problem with that view, it means that people do not discuss these things much, so it is difficult to be sure that they understand them correctly.”
I then asked him,
“Are you sure that you have got these things clear for yourself?”
“I hope so,” was his rather uncertain response.
It was perfectly obvious from this reply that he was not clear, so I then asked,
“Would you be offended if I briefly summarise what Jesus taught so that you can check out your ideas?”
Whether it was because he was keen to keep in with me, or because deep down he wanted to know, I am not sure, but he replied,
“That would be interesting.”
So I started to explain the very fundamentals.
“The God who created this world did so through Jesus, and God gave all authority in this world to Jesus. He is our eternal King. The problem comes with us when we decide that we don’t want Jesus to be God, we want to live independently of Him. In fact we all naturally want to put ourselves in His place. We want to put ourselves at the centre and not have Jesus there. We want to decide what is right or wrong and we want to live as if God doesn’t matter.”
At this point the salesman interjected,
“Yes, that is true.”
He continued to listen intently as the story continued,
“The Christian good news in summary is that God has decreed that anyone who returns to live under the authority of Jesus, is regarded by God as if he or she has never rebelled. They are given a complete pardon and even more are accepted as part of God’s personal family, with all the benefits that that involves. However if people persist in rejecting their creator, in that they won’t allow Jesus to be their Lord, they will face eternal rejection by God himself. The stakes are high.”
“I have never heard it talked in terms like that, but it does make sense,” he exclaimed.
Then for about thirty minutes we discussed these things. Before he left I asked him if I could give him a copy of my book ‘Cure For Life’
“This explains in more detail the claims that Jesus made, what hard evidence there is to support those claims, and then in essence what he taught.”
“I would like that,” he replied. “I promise I will read it and will come back to let you know what I make of it.”
Only time will tell how that man will respond to the claims of Jesus, but he will make a decision about Him, everybody has to. There are really only two possible paths to take, either accept what Jesus says and go along with him, or reject him. There are of course some that put on a pretence of accepting the Christian faith, but Jesus is very aware whether people are trying to live under his authority and do God’s will or whether it is a sham.
I can imagine that the philosophers who heard Paul in Athens, “who spent their time doing nothing but talking about the latest ideas”, were saying, “Quite good, interesting, but I didn’t like his beard or his tie!” So often, whenever people hear a talk about the Christian gospel they say, “interesting but . . . . ”.
Notice how Paul nails home what he has been teaching about Jesus. He says,
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” (verse 30)
Jesus is not just an optional theory for those with a religious bent – He is the Almighty God, creator of the universe, who came to earth to reveal god and to be the one way back to God for all, for all of us. How we can trifle with him. If this gospel is true, and the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah (330 of them) and the resurrection prove it is, each of us must repent. It is not enough just to have an intellectual, nodding acknowledgement of him. We must put our whole lives under his control so that we live both for him and with him.
Can you imagine Paul, as God’s representative, pointing at everyone who was listening to him, saying,
“God commands all men everywhere to repent.” (verse 30)
This command doesn’t come from Paul, or some other preacher, it comes from God himself.
Why must we all become Christ’s men and women? Paul answers this,
“For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice.” (verse 31)
We will all be judged fairly, and look who will be the judge, it will be this same Jesus. When he looks at our lives, with justice, how will we match up to the standards that God has set and even to those that we set for other people?
We do need a Saviour who will enable us to be God’s people, not on the basis of what we are or do but purely on the basis of his undeserved love for us. What else can we hope for? We know that Jesus is that Saviour, and the evidence for this again is the resurrection. (verse 31)
At the recent funeral of a great Christian of the last generation, Leith Samuel, the congregation were reminded of the road sign with a double meaning, “Do not enter the box until the exit is clear!” Leith’s exit certainly was clear but most today do not yet have a Saviour.
The Response
When Paul explained these things, his listeners divided themselves up into three groups. It is the same today.
In verse 32 we read that “some of them sneered”. There is little more that can be said to such people but to beg them to think again and reconsider their eternal future and the offer of Jesus.
Others said that they wanted to hear about these things again. If this describes you, please will you make every effort to “seek until you find”. Join in a ‘Christian Basics’ or similar group where the essentials about Jesus are discussed. If that is difficult you could read ‘Cure for Life’ (ISBN 1-9010-7407-2) which is based on our ‘Christian Basics’ course. It explains who Jesus claimed to be, what the evidence is to support those claims, and what he taught.
Verse 34 says that a few became Christ’s men and women - they put their trust in him. These included Dionysius, one of the Areopagus elite, Damaris, a woman, and a number of others. May I ask everyone reading this, who has perhaps been sitting on the fence up till now to become one of the “number of others”? These people, like all true Christians have personally put their trust in Jesus and are committed to living close to him. We have all prayed,
“Yes, Jesus, you are the Lord of the universe, and from now on you are my Lord.”
BVP
