You may have heard people say, “All religions are basically the same”. Actually that is totally untrue. Every religion in the world teaches something different. All religions are radically different from each other. Some religions believe there is a God (Islam, Judaism, Christianity), others believe there are multiple gods (Hinduism), and others believe there is no God (Buddhism, Wicca, atheism). Each religion is different in what they teach about death and eternal life. Some teach reincarnation, others death as an end all, and others heaven. And those who teach about heaven disagree about that: Islam believes that heaven is place where we basically live like kings, the Jews say maybe there is a heaven but our focus should be on this world, and Christians say heaven is a place where God dwells and we go when we die.
Religions do not all teach the same thing. Here is one thing they all have in common though, except one. They all tell you what you need to do to be saved. Islam teaches that you need to submit to the will of Allah but obeying the Q’ran (Islam means submission). Jews say you need to keep the Torah, the Law and you will have Shalom, wholeness and fullness. Buddhism teaches that through virtue and meditation you can reach Nirvana, a peace and happiness. Hinduism is all about Karma, doing more good than evil. It is all about what we must do. Jesus taught something radically different. He taught that it is not about what you do to be saved, it is about what he has done for us.
You cannot keep the Law, or achieve shalom or gain enough karma or reach nirvana by what you do. You are guilty as a sinner before an All Holy God. But Jesus lays down his life for you. It is not about what we must do, but what has been done for us.
This morning I want us to look together at the letter to the Galatians. In the book of Galatians the apostle Paul is going to be looking at this very thing. That salvation comes not by what we do, but by what Christ has down for us. And in it he argues against legalism. We use the word legalism all the time, and I think we often misunderstand it. Legalism really only has two definitions.
1. Legalism is a belief that adds to what the Bible teaches “No dancing, no card playing, no loud music”. Sadly we do this all the time. We add our own traditions or our own feelings to what the Bible actually teaches.
2. legalism is a belief that we are saved by obeying the Law: “What I do, will make me right in the eyes of the Lord.”
Both of these are deadly to our souls. Both of them are spiritual diseases. In the Letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul will be dealing with the second kind of legalism: a belief that we have earned our salvation by our own works. I want us to look at the whole letter together and see if we can understand what the problem with legalism is.
Now because we are going to be looking at the whole book of Galatians, probably it is best to have your Bible open to Galatians chapter 1, and try to follow along with me as we go through the book pretty fast.
First a little background. This is a real-life letter from the Apostle Paul writing to the church in the region of the Roman Empire called Galatia. There was a group of Christians living there whom the Apostle Paul had told about gospel and who believed in Christ. Sadly soon after he left a group of people whom Paul calls the Judaizers visited them. The Judaizers were Jews who taught that, “Yes you need to believe in Jesus as Savior, but after that you need to obey the Law to be saved, especially circumcision.” Circumcision was the mark of a true Jew, and anyone who wants to be saved needs to be circumcised.
In this letter, Paul is furious. If you are someone who doesn’t read the Bible too often, you may be surprised at how furious he is here. He will say to the Galatians “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (3:1), He will say about these Judaizers that teach you need to be circumcised to be saved “I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” (5:12). You can use your imagination as to what he is saying there.
In fact you will notice this right from the way he starts of his letter. Normally Paul will give a greeting and then a thanksgiving and then jump into his letter. In this letter, right after he gets the greeting out, he skips the thanksgiving, and jumps right into his criticism. Look with me at verse 6,
1:6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
The Apostle Paul is furious. Now you might ask, why? Why is he so upset at the Galatians? The reason why is, he knows that the spiritual sickness of legalism is deadly to our souls. To try and be good enough for God is impossible. We can never do it. It either leads to guilt “I’ll never be good enough” or to pride “I must be better than everyone else.” Legalism is a false gospel he says. It does not save.
The Apostle Paul goes on to use his own life as an example. Paul was the ideal Jew. He was rising quickly within the ranks of the Pharisees. He was like a shooting star, passing every exam, doing everything right. He was more zealous and more obedient to the law than anyone around him. And then God called him, revealing to him that he was a sinner, and saved him not by works but by grace.
1:15But [when] God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles
Paul knew like no one else, that salvation by works would be impossible. It would kill us spiritually. You can’t earn your salvation.
There was another man who came to a similar conclusion about 1500 years later. Martin Luther was a monk and a priest and a professor of theology. He used to go to confession daily and often up to six hours at a time, the priest basically told him not to come back until he had committed a big sin. Luther said, if monk a man was saved by his monkery, it was I.” But he came to realize that all his good works, all his fasting and praying and giving to the poor, were infinitely unworthy before God. He was still sinful, guilty and condemned in the sight of an all Holy God. And that his hope was in Christ alone.
Paul wants to spare the Galatians the danger of legalism. He is angry with them, not because he doesn’t like them, but because he loves them. He doesn’t want to see them go down the same path he did only to realize that there is nothing but spiritual death down that road.
He tells the story about how he had to confront Peter about this very thing. Peter comes to visit Paul. The two of them are eating together along with some Gentiles. Now according to the Law, Jews shouldn’t eat with gentiles. But Peter and Paul both know that Christ has made us all clean, so eating together is no problem. But when certain other Jews show up, Peter slyly picks up his tray of food and sneaks away from the Gentile table over to the Jew table. Paul writes, in 2:11,
2:14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Paul is saying Peter don’t be a hypocrite. We are not saved by the law and we should not force these gentiles to obey Jewish customs as if they are saved by the law. The gospel doesn’t divide us up “gentile sinners over here” “Jewish sinners of there” No we are all sinners who are saved sheerly by the grace of God. So Paul confronts Peter.
Now you have to understand that is not an easy thing to do. Peter is the disciple who was with Jesus during his life, he was one of the first one’s at the tomb, he was with him after the resurrection. He is like a celebrity. This would kind of like confronting Billy Graham or Rick Warren on something. Pretty intimidating. But Paul knows the gospel is too important. He says at the end of chapter 2
2:21: I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
He goes on to explain once again to the Galatians what this gospel is all about. Paul explains that all who rely on the Law are under a curse, but that those who trust in Christ recognize that Christ has taken that curse for us
3:10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, …13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
Breaking the law brings a curse upon us: God’s judgment, his righteous wrath. But Christ took that curse for us by dying on the cross in our place.
This is the time of year for sicknesses. The Flu, colds, coughs are flying around. I know a lot of people have been getting this head cold that is going around. I have never met actually enjoys being sick. They might enjoy getting to stay home from school or work for a day, but they don’t actually enjoy getting the flu. Of course having a cold is not the worst thing in the world, there are much worse sicknesses than these: there is heart disease, or cancer, or Alzeimers. These are more serious. Well there are even worse sicknesses than these, there are also spiritual sicknesses. Physical sicknesses eventually go away. Either we get better, or God forbid we die, but eventually we get over them. Spiritual sicknesses effect us forever. They so often go unnoticed. In fact many of us here today may have a spiritual disease and not even know it. The disease is legalism. It is deadly to our souls. To believe that what we do can save ourselves will only lead to a curse. But Christ is the great Physician, and the gospel is the cure.
He tells the Galatians that those who believe in Christ become sons and daughters of God through faith. Not slaves to the law, but sons and daughters.
3:26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Think about it, what do you have to do to get adopted? Nothing. It is not something you do, it is something someone does for you. Someone who says to a kid, “You mow the lawn twice a week, take out the garbage, babysit for my kids, and then maybe I’ll adopt you.” Is not fake. No God adopts us completely by his grace, not based one what we do, but on what Christ has done for us.
Now, don’t think that Paul is just some theological academic, dealing with the fine points of systematic theology. No, Paul cares for the Galatians. He loves them, that is why he is trying to be so clear about this. He knows that their joy is dependent on their trust in Christ alone as Savior. God’s salvation alone can bring true joy. You see since the Galatians have started accepting legalism, they lost their joy. That is what always happens. The most legalistic churches are the most joyless churches. Somebody said, we need to put the fun back in fundamentalism.
4:12I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Just as a side note, parents do you want your kids to love God? Make sure it is a home filled with grace. If you have a legalistic home, you know what will happen? You will turn your kids off to God so fast, you won’t even know what happened. Make sure your kids understand that you are a sinner just like them. Make sure they understand that you need to extend them the same grace that God has shown to you. That is a family with joy.
Next, is probably the most confusing part of the letter, but try to follow it. He gives them a little lesson from the Old Testament. He tells them the story of Sarah and Hagar. Now, probably most of us don’t know too much about Sarah and Hagar. But Abraham had two wives, and two sons one by each wife. God promised him that God would use his son to bless many nations. But he and Sarah never got pregnant. So years go by and he loses faith in God’s promise. So he takes Hagar as a sort of second wife, and has a son by her, Ishmael. He did it, not God. Then, year later, Sarah gets pregnant and has her son Isaac. One was the work of Abraham, the other the work of God. Paul’s question to the Galatians is, “Which of the two do you fit under?”
4:24These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother…Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.”
Are you slave to the law, unable to fulfill it, or are you a son or daughter, by the grace of God? Are you of Ishmael, or of Isaac?
Now what kind of life should we live if we are saved by grace and not law? First a life of Freedom
5:1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
Now probably a lot of guys here are circumcised, I am not going to ask for a show of hands, don’t worry. Don’t worry he is not saying you are not a Christian. He is saying if you try to be saved by the law (get circumcised for that reason), then why do you believe in Christ as a Savior? You can’t have it both ways. Either Christ is a savior who sets us free from the burden of the law to save ourselves, or you are still under the law. Which is it? Christ wants us to be free.
Now you can guess what the next question often is. If we are free, does that mean we go out and sin? It is amazing how sinful we are that is so often our first question. We are not under the law, so we can live fully for Christ. It has been said that the good works we do is simply gratitude to God for saving us?
Let me give an example. Let’s say a woman is married and her husband cheats on her. She is devastated. But she recognizes that it was a horrible mistake her husband made, that he is truly repentant, that he is totally broken about it. The wife somehow finds a way to forgive him. Imagine if his next question was “So does that mean I can go out and cheat all the time and you will forgive me? I mean how much can I do and still have you forgive me?” You would say that guy doesn’t have a clue about forgiveness. How much more so friends when God forgives us for our sin, should our response not be “What can I get away with?” but “How can I love you more?”
The difference is we have the Holy Spirit. Look at 5:22, the Fruit of the Spirit. If we are in Christ, we have been given a new life.
5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
As Paul comes to the end of his letter, he emphasizes one last extremely important point. If our salvation is all of God and none of us, than there is no boasting, no pride, no bragging, except in Christ.
6:14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
When we recognize that our salvation is all of grace, how can we be proud? How can we look with judgment upon another sinner? How can we look down on someone else when we know it is only by Christ’s death are we saved? It is not about what we do to be saved, it is about what Christ has done for us.
This is where Jesus was worlds apart from religion. They couldn’t be more different. The idea of Heaven, or Shalom, or Nirvana, or Loka is not something we can earn. No obedience, submission, or karma could ever earn it. It is not found it what we do. We are sinners who stand guilty in the sight of an All Holy God. Eternal life is found it what Christ has done for us. Trust in him and what he has done for us. May we never boast except in the cross of Christ our Lord
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Gospel at Starbucks
The Gospel at Starbucks
Acts 17:16-34
New Englanders are a unique breed. How do we reach New Englanders with the gospel? How do we reach non-Christians friends and family with the gospel?
I want to read you a story right out of the book of Acts. The book of Acts is all about how Christianity spread throughout the world. It is telling the story of how people started becoming Christians all over the world. It began in Jerusalem, after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and from there it spread outward. How did it do that? What was the message of the Christians to the world? How do people become Christians? In Acts 17 we see the apostle Paul coming into the city of Athens.
Now one thing you have to understand about the city of Athens is it was a lot like New England. It was a place of a lot of history and tradition. Athens was the place of all the great Classical Greek authors, and politicians, and philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Boston of course was the place where a lot of great thinkers and the founding fathers of our country came from. Athens was a place of learning and education. People from all over Roman Empire went there to learn and discuss ideas. New England still remains the educational center of the country: Harvard, Yale, MIT. Athens was a place that valued free thinking. They wanted to be on the cutting edge culturally. New England is considered the most liberal and cultured part of the country.
How does Christianity spread in a place like Athens? How does Christianity spread in a place like New England? Or to put the question practically, ‘Living in this area, how do my next door neighbor about being a Christian?’ But how do we go about this? Let’s read together how it happened in the book of Acts, 17:16-34
I. Be grieved at the idolatry of sin (vs 16)
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
Paul was an extremely educated man. He had what was equivalent to 2 Ph.D.s Read through Romans and you will get a sense of how logical his argumentation is. He studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel, who is known outside of the New Testament as a great Jewish thinker. He probably spoke at least three different languages: Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek. Not only does he know his Torah and Mishnah as a former Pharisee, but he also knew his Greek poets. In this passage he quotes Greek writers at least twice, Euripedes and Epimenides. He is about as logical and careful a thinker as you will ever read.
So you might think for someone like Paul to come to Athens he would just be in awe of the history and tradition and learning and cultural brilliance of a place like that. Here is a scholar coming to the city of scholars. He must be excited. But he isn’t. In fact, quite the opposite. He is grieved. “Greatly distressed” Luke tells us. Why? Because the place is full of idols. One commentator describes Athens as a ‘veritable forest of idols’ Paul is grieved because in all their learning and in all their cultural brilliance, they have missed the true God.
This doesn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate all the architecture and art and beauty of Athens. But he is not distracted by it. At the heart it is no different than any other city he has been to. It is a place that is taken by the deception of sin. It is overrun with idolatry and blind to knowing the true God.
Friends, if you are trying to share the gospel with someone, don’t get distracted from the reality of sin. Someone with a Ph. D. is no different than someone with a GED when it comes to sin. All of us are sinners who need a savior. We have the same struggles, the same temptations, the same need of a Savior. The same is true of every doctor or lawyer, every college professor, every Senator, every President. Just like it is true of every mechanic, carpenter, or customer service rep, or stay at home mom. Sin is sin, and does not discriminate based on education or vocation. C S Lewis said, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”
Friends we need to grieve over the sin in our culture. Grieve over the fact that so many people don’t know the true God. Living in New England we have our share of liberal churches. They are an easy target to beat up on. “They allow gay ministers there. They don’t believe in the Trinity there. They worship Mary there.” But instead of getting angry, we should grieve. Instead we should grieve over the fact that they have missed the true God. What a tragedy! What a sad sad situation.
Ask God to give us an opportunity to share the true gospel with the people in our city. New England is still full of idols: cars, money, jobs, family. Which brings me to the second point.
II. Be willing to engage a seeking world (vv 17-21)
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Notice Paul goes not only to the synagogues but also the marketplace. He tries to reach the religious folks and the pagans. In New England we have both right? We have the religious folks who would say they believe in God. They don’t think of themselves as sinners who need a savior. They don’t have a relationship with God through Christ, but they are in some sense religious.
But we also have those who are non-religious. Maybe they are agnostics, they just don’t know if there is a God. Maybe they are into New Age or Wiccan philosophy. Maybe they are Atheists, who believe there is no God at all.
But notice in our passage, Paul tries to engage both. Part of his time is in the synagogue and part of it is in the marketplace. Interestingly enough in Athens it is the pagans who are more open to hearing about Christ!
Some of those in the marketplace hear him and are interested.
Two particular groups of thinkers engage with him: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans would kind of be like our modern day Self-help books. Basically life is all about seeking long-term pleasure. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy the brief life you have and that is it. The Stoics would be more like our legalists. Life is all about living a disciplined and reasonable life and being an upstanding citizen. Don’t get to passionate or too emotional just be a good person.
They hear Paul and say, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Not the nicest remark, but at least they are listening. Others get confused and think he is talking about different gods. That’s because he mentioned Jesus and the resurrection, which in Greek is Jesus and Anastasis. But he peaks their interest enough to get an invitation to the Areopagus. Maybe you have heard the term ‘Mar’s Hill’, well that is what this is. Areo from Ares or Mars and pagus meaning ‘Court’ or ‘council’. By the first century it was no longer used for legal purposes, but had become just a public discussion place. Luke tells us that it is a place where everyone comes to ‘do nothing but talk about and listen to the latest ideas’ Kind of like Oprah. Paul just got an invitation to the Oprah Winfrey show. Or on the small scale it is sort of like getting an invitation to Starbucks to talk to a group of friends. But nevertheless it is an opportunity for Paul to engage with a non-Christian world and tell people about Christ.
Friends what are we doing to engage non-Christians with the gospel? Are you intentional about trying to start up conversations with non-religious people? The gospel doesn’t just belong in churches, it also belongs at starbucks, at the Areopagus, around the water cooler at work, over the fence talking to your next door neighbor. You may find that those who are non-religious are more open to hearing about the gospel than those who think they are all set with God.
Christianity will stand up to any philosophy or religion. Just like it will stand up against Epicurean and Stoic philosophies, it will stand up against naturalism, or new age thinking, or agnosticism, or atheism. It will stand up against Buddhism, or Islam, or Hinduism, or Judaism. We need to be willing to engage people who have radically different beliefs than us and explain the gospel of God’s grace through Christ with them.
The gospel is kind of like a lantern. If you stay in the cabin all the time, you never get to see how bright it is. It shines the brightest when you take it out into the night. Then people can see it and say, “Wow look at that. A light here in the middle of the woods at night.” The Bible says, go take the lantern out into the woods where people can see it. Engage with non-Christians, let them hear about God, and his Son and the gospel. Trust me friends, you will see how bright the gospel looks against atheism or Buddhism, or Islam.
Just as a quick test. What percentage of your friends right now are Christians? If it is about 50/50 we are probably doing well. If it is more like 90/10 we might want to make some changes. Remember Jesus was called a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He made it a point to engage non-Christians. I wonder how many non-Christians are in our city who haven’t yet accepted the gospel simply because they don’t know any Christians yet! Nobody told them yet!
Don’t get me wrong, the point is not, “Go hang out with non-Christians all the time.” The point is to engage with non-Christians so that they might know Christ as savior too. Jesus didn’t hang out with sinners and tax-collectors because he thought, well they are just more fun to be with. No, he spent time with them because he loved them enough to want them to know the grace he offers them by his death and resurrection. This brings us to our last point.
III. Be clear as crystal about what the gospel is (vv 22-34)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
Here is where I want to spend the majority of our time. Paul is in the middle of the Areopagus, and he gets a few minutes to explain what Christianity is all about.
Notice how Paul starts off his address, verses 22-23. He doesn’t immediately condemn everything about the Athenians. He doesn’t say “You all are a bunch of pagan idolaters who are going to hell, and now let me tell you how much God loves you.” He starts off by making a connection. He looks around and sees that they have an altar in the temple to ‘an unknown God.’ What is the point here? The Athenians worshipped so many different gods, that they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any of them and get that god or goddess upset. So they set up an altar to this unknown god to make sure they didn’t offend him. What Paul is saying is ‘You did miss one, you missed the real God, now let me tell you about him.’ But he is finding a way to relate to them. He is finding something good about them to connect with.
Friends, we don’t have to condemn everything about someone who doesn’t believe. Just because someone doesn’t believe in God, doesn’t mean they can’t say or do anything beautiful or good or wonderful.
Look for the good in what they believe. Let me give you a couple of examples. Someone says “I believe I’m a good person, I give to the poor and I help people out, so I must be going to heaven.” You might say, “Well, it’s important to give to the poor and help people out, but how good is good enough for God? God says, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” Are you holy?” Make a connection with people in order to let you know where your coming from. Or someone says, I think God is in nature. You might say “Well God created the whole world, including the trees and the mountains, they reveal his glory, but God is so much greater than his creation.”
Notice what he does next in verses 24-28. He starts to lay the groundwork for the gospel. He tells them that God made the world and everything in it. That he is Lord of heaven and earth. That he doesn’t live in temples made by us. That he doesn’t need our sacrifices, in fact he is the one who gives us life and breath and everything else.
He goes on from there and talks about God’s sovereignty. He is not like the pagan gods who don’t really care about us. He made the every nation from one man and determines the times and places set for them. He does this so people will seek him and find him. In other words, he is not just the God of the Jews, he is the God of everyone. We are all accountable to him.
He is laying the foundation for the gospel.
Now, if he was in the Jewish synagogue he wouldn’t need to say this. The Jews already believe God is the creator, that he is Lord of Heaven and earth. They already know that God is sovereign.
But he is not talking to Jews, he is talking to pagans. And when he is talking to pagans, he cannot assume the same things. He recognizes the people he is speaking to.
The same is true of us. If we are talking to someone who is say, a non-practicing Roman Catholic, you probably don’t have to start with: God is the Creator, there is only one God and he is Triune, he gave us his Word in the Bible. You probably can assume they understand that. Now they may not trust in Christ as savior, but some foundation is already laid for you to start talking about the gospel.
But friends, more and more people we will meet have no religious background at all. You have to start even more basic. You have to lay the foundation. There is a God. He is good. He loves us and cares for us. He made us in his image. God is sovereign over your life. You are not an accident. He has put you in this place and in this time for a reason. And so on. Paul is laying the foundation for the gospel.
I got into a brief conversation with a group of atheists on an internet discussion recently and I was amazed at how difficult it was to talk to them about God. Because we couldn’t even agree on the most basic things: like human beings are more than animals. Or there is a moral authority to the universe. I would say, “Where does our sense of morality come from?” Now if I was speaking to a Muslim, it would be totally different. I could assume that they believe God exists, and that morality comes from Him. The conversation would be about what this God is like.
Sometimes this takes awhile. We need to make sure we are on the same page first. Not everyone has the same idea in their mind when they say ‘God,’ or ‘Jesus,’ or ‘Christian.’ But Paul doesn’t take long to get to Jesus. The point is not to linger here long. Get to the gospel. That’s the goal. Get to the gospel. And that is what Paul does starting in verse 30.
Verse 30, God calls us to repent. Repentance from sin is a non-negotiable of the gospel. If someone doesn’t believe they are a sinner, they can’t believe in a Savior. Repentance from sin is where faith begins.
One of the most confusing and hurtful things you can say to someone seeking to be a Christian is, “God doesn’t care what you do or how you act, he just wants you to believe in him.” That is like saying to a drowning person “I love you, but I think you should just stay in the water.” The gospel requires repentance from sin. And repentance is a turning away from sin and a turning to God.
Next verse 31, he mentions Jesus. He does mention him by name hear, although he did earlier, he simply says the man God appointed. God has set apart a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. You can’t have Christianity without Christ. The gospel is not ‘just believe in God,’ or ‘love God,’ or even ‘trust God.’ The gospel is that God sent his Son Jesus as the savior.
And lastly again verse 31, he talks about Christ’s resurrection. And therefore assumed is Christ’s death for us. “He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” The resurrection of Christ is the heart of the gospel. By the resurrection God reveals that Jesus is the savior, the Son of God, whose death was in behalf of our sins. As the Bible will say elsewhere, “If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
In verse 32 we learn that many of those listening are turned off by this.
Understand that to the Greeks, resurrection was looked at as morbid and unthinkable. The body is evil, the soul is good. When we die we get to leave our bodies behind and becomes purely spiritual. You might think, why doesn’t Paul just compromise a little here? Couldn’t he just talk about Christ as ‘spiritually risen’? But Paul won’t budge here. The resurrection of Christ, which demonstrates him to be both Savior and Lord is a non-negotiable. Without belief in the atoning death and the resurrection of Christ, there is no Christianity.
But we do learn that some of those listening come to faith. He mentions two in particular Dionysius and Damaris come to know Christ as savior. Paul was clear about the gospel, and because of that some came to faith in Christ.
Conclusion
How do we reach New Englanders for Christ? The truth is there is no super secret. There is no magic method. You reach people in this part of the world the same way you reach people anywhere. You reach educated people the same way you reach uneducated people. You do so with the gospel. And what is the gospel? It is the good news of the saving death and resurrection of Christ.
Friends as we seek to bring Christ to New Englanders, whether at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts or anywhere, it always the same message. We need to grieve at the idolatry of sin. We need to be willing to engage a seeking world. And we need to be clear as crystal as to what the gospel is.
The Gospel is God saving sinners from our sin, and faith in him is what saves. Charles Spurgeon, "If the Lord's bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach."
Billy Graham, the well known Evangelist, tells the story of a time he spoke at Cambridge University in England. Cambridge of course is this great school, probably one of the best in the world. Billy Graham gave his first sermon there attempting to sound intellectual, thinking this would be the best way to reach the intelligentsia of Cambridge. But he says there seemed to be little impact. Before he gives his next sermon, he comes to realize something. He writes in his autobiography,
“Then, on my knees with a deep sense of failure, inadequacy, and helplessness, I turned to God. My gift, such as it was, was not to present the intellectual side of the Gospel. I knew that. What those students needed was a clear understanding of the simple but profound truths of the Gospel: our separation from God because of sin; Christ’s provision of forgiveness and new life; and our hope because of Him.
Finally, on Wednesday night, I threw away my prepared address and preached a simple Gospel message on the meaning of the Cross of Christ. That night more than 400 Cambridge students stayed behind to make their commitment to Christ…For the rest of the week, I strove to be as simple and yet as direct as possible, and the response continued to surprise us all. (259)
What Billy Graham recognized is what Paul knew entering Athens. For all the culture and learning and education, sin is sin, and sin takes us away from knowing the true God. The gospel is what saves us and redeems us no matter who we are.
Imagine the life it would bring our church if we were constantly reaching non-Christians with the gospel. What a statement that would be to our New England culture. Imagine us as a church not blown back and forth by the newest cultural trend or latest religious fad. Instead we grieve at the way sin takes people from knowing the satisfaction of the true God.
Imagine us as a church that is not afraid to engage people with all different types of beliefs: Wicca, atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or just plain agnosticism. Imagine us like lanterns in the dark night engaging an unbelieving world. The darker the belief the more bright the lantern shines.
And most of all imagine being a church that is super clear about the gospel. We are not fuzzy on this one at all. No matter who we are talking to, our message is always the same: God sent his son into the world to save sinners, like us, believe in him and receive the grace of eternal life. I pray and hope that we as a church could be like that.
Acts 17:16-34
New Englanders are a unique breed. How do we reach New Englanders with the gospel? How do we reach non-Christians friends and family with the gospel?
I want to read you a story right out of the book of Acts. The book of Acts is all about how Christianity spread throughout the world. It is telling the story of how people started becoming Christians all over the world. It began in Jerusalem, after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and from there it spread outward. How did it do that? What was the message of the Christians to the world? How do people become Christians? In Acts 17 we see the apostle Paul coming into the city of Athens.
Now one thing you have to understand about the city of Athens is it was a lot like New England. It was a place of a lot of history and tradition. Athens was the place of all the great Classical Greek authors, and politicians, and philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Boston of course was the place where a lot of great thinkers and the founding fathers of our country came from. Athens was a place of learning and education. People from all over Roman Empire went there to learn and discuss ideas. New England still remains the educational center of the country: Harvard, Yale, MIT. Athens was a place that valued free thinking. They wanted to be on the cutting edge culturally. New England is considered the most liberal and cultured part of the country.
How does Christianity spread in a place like Athens? How does Christianity spread in a place like New England? Or to put the question practically, ‘Living in this area, how do my next door neighbor about being a Christian?’ But how do we go about this? Let’s read together how it happened in the book of Acts, 17:16-34
I. Be grieved at the idolatry of sin (vs 16)
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
Paul was an extremely educated man. He had what was equivalent to 2 Ph.D.s Read through Romans and you will get a sense of how logical his argumentation is. He studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel, who is known outside of the New Testament as a great Jewish thinker. He probably spoke at least three different languages: Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek. Not only does he know his Torah and Mishnah as a former Pharisee, but he also knew his Greek poets. In this passage he quotes Greek writers at least twice, Euripedes and Epimenides. He is about as logical and careful a thinker as you will ever read.
So you might think for someone like Paul to come to Athens he would just be in awe of the history and tradition and learning and cultural brilliance of a place like that. Here is a scholar coming to the city of scholars. He must be excited. But he isn’t. In fact, quite the opposite. He is grieved. “Greatly distressed” Luke tells us. Why? Because the place is full of idols. One commentator describes Athens as a ‘veritable forest of idols’ Paul is grieved because in all their learning and in all their cultural brilliance, they have missed the true God.
This doesn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate all the architecture and art and beauty of Athens. But he is not distracted by it. At the heart it is no different than any other city he has been to. It is a place that is taken by the deception of sin. It is overrun with idolatry and blind to knowing the true God.
Friends, if you are trying to share the gospel with someone, don’t get distracted from the reality of sin. Someone with a Ph. D. is no different than someone with a GED when it comes to sin. All of us are sinners who need a savior. We have the same struggles, the same temptations, the same need of a Savior. The same is true of every doctor or lawyer, every college professor, every Senator, every President. Just like it is true of every mechanic, carpenter, or customer service rep, or stay at home mom. Sin is sin, and does not discriminate based on education or vocation. C S Lewis said, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”
Friends we need to grieve over the sin in our culture. Grieve over the fact that so many people don’t know the true God. Living in New England we have our share of liberal churches. They are an easy target to beat up on. “They allow gay ministers there. They don’t believe in the Trinity there. They worship Mary there.” But instead of getting angry, we should grieve. Instead we should grieve over the fact that they have missed the true God. What a tragedy! What a sad sad situation.
Ask God to give us an opportunity to share the true gospel with the people in our city. New England is still full of idols: cars, money, jobs, family. Which brings me to the second point.
II. Be willing to engage a seeking world (vv 17-21)
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Notice Paul goes not only to the synagogues but also the marketplace. He tries to reach the religious folks and the pagans. In New England we have both right? We have the religious folks who would say they believe in God. They don’t think of themselves as sinners who need a savior. They don’t have a relationship with God through Christ, but they are in some sense religious.
But we also have those who are non-religious. Maybe they are agnostics, they just don’t know if there is a God. Maybe they are into New Age or Wiccan philosophy. Maybe they are Atheists, who believe there is no God at all.
But notice in our passage, Paul tries to engage both. Part of his time is in the synagogue and part of it is in the marketplace. Interestingly enough in Athens it is the pagans who are more open to hearing about Christ!
Some of those in the marketplace hear him and are interested.
Two particular groups of thinkers engage with him: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans would kind of be like our modern day Self-help books. Basically life is all about seeking long-term pleasure. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy the brief life you have and that is it. The Stoics would be more like our legalists. Life is all about living a disciplined and reasonable life and being an upstanding citizen. Don’t get to passionate or too emotional just be a good person.
They hear Paul and say, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Not the nicest remark, but at least they are listening. Others get confused and think he is talking about different gods. That’s because he mentioned Jesus and the resurrection, which in Greek is Jesus and Anastasis. But he peaks their interest enough to get an invitation to the Areopagus. Maybe you have heard the term ‘Mar’s Hill’, well that is what this is. Areo from Ares or Mars and pagus meaning ‘Court’ or ‘council’. By the first century it was no longer used for legal purposes, but had become just a public discussion place. Luke tells us that it is a place where everyone comes to ‘do nothing but talk about and listen to the latest ideas’ Kind of like Oprah. Paul just got an invitation to the Oprah Winfrey show. Or on the small scale it is sort of like getting an invitation to Starbucks to talk to a group of friends. But nevertheless it is an opportunity for Paul to engage with a non-Christian world and tell people about Christ.
Friends what are we doing to engage non-Christians with the gospel? Are you intentional about trying to start up conversations with non-religious people? The gospel doesn’t just belong in churches, it also belongs at starbucks, at the Areopagus, around the water cooler at work, over the fence talking to your next door neighbor. You may find that those who are non-religious are more open to hearing about the gospel than those who think they are all set with God.
Christianity will stand up to any philosophy or religion. Just like it will stand up against Epicurean and Stoic philosophies, it will stand up against naturalism, or new age thinking, or agnosticism, or atheism. It will stand up against Buddhism, or Islam, or Hinduism, or Judaism. We need to be willing to engage people who have radically different beliefs than us and explain the gospel of God’s grace through Christ with them.
The gospel is kind of like a lantern. If you stay in the cabin all the time, you never get to see how bright it is. It shines the brightest when you take it out into the night. Then people can see it and say, “Wow look at that. A light here in the middle of the woods at night.” The Bible says, go take the lantern out into the woods where people can see it. Engage with non-Christians, let them hear about God, and his Son and the gospel. Trust me friends, you will see how bright the gospel looks against atheism or Buddhism, or Islam.
Just as a quick test. What percentage of your friends right now are Christians? If it is about 50/50 we are probably doing well. If it is more like 90/10 we might want to make some changes. Remember Jesus was called a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He made it a point to engage non-Christians. I wonder how many non-Christians are in our city who haven’t yet accepted the gospel simply because they don’t know any Christians yet! Nobody told them yet!
Don’t get me wrong, the point is not, “Go hang out with non-Christians all the time.” The point is to engage with non-Christians so that they might know Christ as savior too. Jesus didn’t hang out with sinners and tax-collectors because he thought, well they are just more fun to be with. No, he spent time with them because he loved them enough to want them to know the grace he offers them by his death and resurrection. This brings us to our last point.
III. Be clear as crystal about what the gospel is (vv 22-34)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
29"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
Here is where I want to spend the majority of our time. Paul is in the middle of the Areopagus, and he gets a few minutes to explain what Christianity is all about.
Notice how Paul starts off his address, verses 22-23. He doesn’t immediately condemn everything about the Athenians. He doesn’t say “You all are a bunch of pagan idolaters who are going to hell, and now let me tell you how much God loves you.” He starts off by making a connection. He looks around and sees that they have an altar in the temple to ‘an unknown God.’ What is the point here? The Athenians worshipped so many different gods, that they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any of them and get that god or goddess upset. So they set up an altar to this unknown god to make sure they didn’t offend him. What Paul is saying is ‘You did miss one, you missed the real God, now let me tell you about him.’ But he is finding a way to relate to them. He is finding something good about them to connect with.
Friends, we don’t have to condemn everything about someone who doesn’t believe. Just because someone doesn’t believe in God, doesn’t mean they can’t say or do anything beautiful or good or wonderful.
Look for the good in what they believe. Let me give you a couple of examples. Someone says “I believe I’m a good person, I give to the poor and I help people out, so I must be going to heaven.” You might say, “Well, it’s important to give to the poor and help people out, but how good is good enough for God? God says, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” Are you holy?” Make a connection with people in order to let you know where your coming from. Or someone says, I think God is in nature. You might say “Well God created the whole world, including the trees and the mountains, they reveal his glory, but God is so much greater than his creation.”
Notice what he does next in verses 24-28. He starts to lay the groundwork for the gospel. He tells them that God made the world and everything in it. That he is Lord of heaven and earth. That he doesn’t live in temples made by us. That he doesn’t need our sacrifices, in fact he is the one who gives us life and breath and everything else.
He goes on from there and talks about God’s sovereignty. He is not like the pagan gods who don’t really care about us. He made the every nation from one man and determines the times and places set for them. He does this so people will seek him and find him. In other words, he is not just the God of the Jews, he is the God of everyone. We are all accountable to him.
He is laying the foundation for the gospel.
Now, if he was in the Jewish synagogue he wouldn’t need to say this. The Jews already believe God is the creator, that he is Lord of Heaven and earth. They already know that God is sovereign.
But he is not talking to Jews, he is talking to pagans. And when he is talking to pagans, he cannot assume the same things. He recognizes the people he is speaking to.
The same is true of us. If we are talking to someone who is say, a non-practicing Roman Catholic, you probably don’t have to start with: God is the Creator, there is only one God and he is Triune, he gave us his Word in the Bible. You probably can assume they understand that. Now they may not trust in Christ as savior, but some foundation is already laid for you to start talking about the gospel.
But friends, more and more people we will meet have no religious background at all. You have to start even more basic. You have to lay the foundation. There is a God. He is good. He loves us and cares for us. He made us in his image. God is sovereign over your life. You are not an accident. He has put you in this place and in this time for a reason. And so on. Paul is laying the foundation for the gospel.
I got into a brief conversation with a group of atheists on an internet discussion recently and I was amazed at how difficult it was to talk to them about God. Because we couldn’t even agree on the most basic things: like human beings are more than animals. Or there is a moral authority to the universe. I would say, “Where does our sense of morality come from?” Now if I was speaking to a Muslim, it would be totally different. I could assume that they believe God exists, and that morality comes from Him. The conversation would be about what this God is like.
Sometimes this takes awhile. We need to make sure we are on the same page first. Not everyone has the same idea in their mind when they say ‘God,’ or ‘Jesus,’ or ‘Christian.’ But Paul doesn’t take long to get to Jesus. The point is not to linger here long. Get to the gospel. That’s the goal. Get to the gospel. And that is what Paul does starting in verse 30.
Verse 30, God calls us to repent. Repentance from sin is a non-negotiable of the gospel. If someone doesn’t believe they are a sinner, they can’t believe in a Savior. Repentance from sin is where faith begins.
One of the most confusing and hurtful things you can say to someone seeking to be a Christian is, “God doesn’t care what you do or how you act, he just wants you to believe in him.” That is like saying to a drowning person “I love you, but I think you should just stay in the water.” The gospel requires repentance from sin. And repentance is a turning away from sin and a turning to God.
Next verse 31, he mentions Jesus. He does mention him by name hear, although he did earlier, he simply says the man God appointed. God has set apart a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. You can’t have Christianity without Christ. The gospel is not ‘just believe in God,’ or ‘love God,’ or even ‘trust God.’ The gospel is that God sent his Son Jesus as the savior.
And lastly again verse 31, he talks about Christ’s resurrection. And therefore assumed is Christ’s death for us. “He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” The resurrection of Christ is the heart of the gospel. By the resurrection God reveals that Jesus is the savior, the Son of God, whose death was in behalf of our sins. As the Bible will say elsewhere, “If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
In verse 32 we learn that many of those listening are turned off by this.
Understand that to the Greeks, resurrection was looked at as morbid and unthinkable. The body is evil, the soul is good. When we die we get to leave our bodies behind and becomes purely spiritual. You might think, why doesn’t Paul just compromise a little here? Couldn’t he just talk about Christ as ‘spiritually risen’? But Paul won’t budge here. The resurrection of Christ, which demonstrates him to be both Savior and Lord is a non-negotiable. Without belief in the atoning death and the resurrection of Christ, there is no Christianity.
But we do learn that some of those listening come to faith. He mentions two in particular Dionysius and Damaris come to know Christ as savior. Paul was clear about the gospel, and because of that some came to faith in Christ.
Conclusion
How do we reach New Englanders for Christ? The truth is there is no super secret. There is no magic method. You reach people in this part of the world the same way you reach people anywhere. You reach educated people the same way you reach uneducated people. You do so with the gospel. And what is the gospel? It is the good news of the saving death and resurrection of Christ.
Friends as we seek to bring Christ to New Englanders, whether at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts or anywhere, it always the same message. We need to grieve at the idolatry of sin. We need to be willing to engage a seeking world. And we need to be clear as crystal as to what the gospel is.
The Gospel is God saving sinners from our sin, and faith in him is what saves. Charles Spurgeon, "If the Lord's bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach."
Billy Graham, the well known Evangelist, tells the story of a time he spoke at Cambridge University in England. Cambridge of course is this great school, probably one of the best in the world. Billy Graham gave his first sermon there attempting to sound intellectual, thinking this would be the best way to reach the intelligentsia of Cambridge. But he says there seemed to be little impact. Before he gives his next sermon, he comes to realize something. He writes in his autobiography,
“Then, on my knees with a deep sense of failure, inadequacy, and helplessness, I turned to God. My gift, such as it was, was not to present the intellectual side of the Gospel. I knew that. What those students needed was a clear understanding of the simple but profound truths of the Gospel: our separation from God because of sin; Christ’s provision of forgiveness and new life; and our hope because of Him.
Finally, on Wednesday night, I threw away my prepared address and preached a simple Gospel message on the meaning of the Cross of Christ. That night more than 400 Cambridge students stayed behind to make their commitment to Christ…For the rest of the week, I strove to be as simple and yet as direct as possible, and the response continued to surprise us all. (259)
What Billy Graham recognized is what Paul knew entering Athens. For all the culture and learning and education, sin is sin, and sin takes us away from knowing the true God. The gospel is what saves us and redeems us no matter who we are.
Imagine the life it would bring our church if we were constantly reaching non-Christians with the gospel. What a statement that would be to our New England culture. Imagine us as a church not blown back and forth by the newest cultural trend or latest religious fad. Instead we grieve at the way sin takes people from knowing the satisfaction of the true God.
Imagine us as a church that is not afraid to engage people with all different types of beliefs: Wicca, atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or just plain agnosticism. Imagine us like lanterns in the dark night engaging an unbelieving world. The darker the belief the more bright the lantern shines.
And most of all imagine being a church that is super clear about the gospel. We are not fuzzy on this one at all. No matter who we are talking to, our message is always the same: God sent his son into the world to save sinners, like us, believe in him and receive the grace of eternal life. I pray and hope that we as a church could be like that.
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