Sermon on Mars Hill
Acts 17:16-34
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| Athens, Greece: The Areopagus |
The Apostle Paul is on his second missionary journey along with his chosen companions Silas and Timothy. They are on a divinely appointed mission, Acts15:36. They have already passed through the region of Galatia and have now arrived in Philippi where they were stripped beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the word of the Lord. From Thessalonica they were sent to Berea and from there believers finally had to escort Paul to Athens but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea
The timeline when Paul gives his Mars Hill sermon is approx
imately mid way through his second missionary journey about 51AD. His audience are Stoic and Epicurean philoso
phers including foreigners and we know that Paul spoke both Hebrew and Greek languages. The location of his sermon, The Areopagus, was well known for its public debates on philosophy and religion. Today Paul's sermon on Mars Hill is used around the world as a model on how to effectively preach the Gospel.
Paul is preparing to throw three Javelins' in this public forum and each one will exceed the mark of the previous throw. He is going to deliver three truths about God to his audience like a highly trained olympic athlete. He is very distressed to see that the city was full of idols. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosoph-
ers began to debate with him and they said, "what is this babbler trying to say?" - "then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus." Acts17:18,19.
"The Olympic flame has been lit"
"Paul then stood up and said, ' People of Athens! I see that in every way
you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at
your objects of worship I even found an alter with this inscription: To
an unknown God. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship
and this is what I am going to proclaim to you."Acts17:2
God's Omnipotence:The first truth Paul wants his audience to understand about God is that He has unlimited power. "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 human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."
The God - Greek transliteration; refers to the supreme being who owns and sustains all things.
who made the world - Greek transliteration; kosmos; the universe; an ordered system; the stars.
and everything in it - Greek translation; panta; viewing each part of the whole in terms individual parts
is the Lord - Greek transliteration; kurios; master; a person exercising absolute ownership rights.
of heaven - Greek transliteration; ouranos; the visible heavens; the root word meaning to encompass.
and earth - Greek transliteration; ge'; the physical earth; which God uses to prepare us for eternity.
and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if
He needed anything. Rather, He gives everyone life and breath and everything else. V24,25.
God's Omnipresence: The second truth Paul wants his audience to understand; God is present everywhere at the same time. "From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring,V26
God's Judgment: The third truth Paul wants his audience to understand; one dayGod will judge the world by His son Jesus Christ."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 human design and skill. In the past God has overlooked such ignorance but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day where He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to every one by raising Him from the dead." V29-31
Conclusion: Historians tell us today that the Golden age of Greece has brought many benefits to our post modern world, eg; The Grecian desire for freedom from foreign rule has brought us democracy. Their passion for learning brought us higher education and the college academy; Athens was home to philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The first ancient Olympic games can be traced back to 776BC. But Paul told his Athenian audience that, "you are ignorant of the very thing you worship." The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers did not believe that the world was created by one omnipotent God. But thanks to God and His servant Paul for a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ some of the people did believe. "At that, Paul left the council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed." V33,34.
Application: Become a believer and follower of Jesus Christ--if you are already a Christian praise the Lord!
A Bible study by: Glenn
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Definition of terms:
Epicureanism - stanford.edu/epicurus; was a complete system, involving the goal of human life: happiness; resulting from the absence of pain and mental disturbance; nature based on atomistic materialism; a naturalistic evolution of the world.
Stoicism - stanford.edu/stoicism; was one of the new philosophic movements of the Hellenistic period. They taught that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Stoicism and Epicureanism were both eclipsed by Christianity.
Omnipresence - present in all places at all times; from Latin; omni, all - present, everywhere.
Omnipotent - unlimited power - or - all powerful.
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