THE UNKNOWN GOD

Mike Johnson

At the Areopagus, in the very well know city of Athens, Paul preached a sermon to a group of philosophers and well-educated men.  He started his lesson by saying, “for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:” (Acts 17:23).  Paul then proceeded to tell these idolaters about this “unknown” god.  How did Paul end up in Athens, and how, once there, did he get the opportunity to preach this sermon? Consider some background information.

 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 While on the second missionary journey (recorded in Acts), Paul and his fellow workers (Silas and Timothy) came to Troas, where he saw a vision in which a man from Macedonia stood and pleaded with him.  The man said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (16:7). Entering Macedonia (which put them in Europe), they traveled to Philippi, where Lydia and her family were baptized (16:15).  After being arrested, Paul and Silas converted the Philippian jailor and his family (16:30-34). Next, they went to Thessalonica, where he preached about the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and some became believers (17:4). Opposition forced him to leave for Berea where many became believers.  Here, Paul found these to be more noble (fair-minded- NKJV) than those in Thessalonica, “…in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (17:11). Troublesome Jews followed him there and stirred up the people.  After this, the brethren from Berea accompanied Paul to Athens (17:15) while Timothy and Silas stayed behind.

When Paul got to Athens, he was highly disturbed as he saw a city full of idols. There were so many in this city, one ancient writer (Petronius) said it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens. Paul was going to wait for Timothy and Silas, but he was so disturbed by what he saw, he began to teach immediately.  He reasoned (“disputed-KJV) in the Synagogue with the Jewish and Gentile worshippers (17:17) and also taught in the market place. At the market place, he spoke to whoever was there, which included Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who ridiculed him and misrepresented his teaching (17:18). But, since the Athenians always wanted to hear something new, he was invited to speak at the Areopagus.

At the Areopagus, Paul first preached about God.  He could not teach them about Christ, the son of God if they did not even believe in the true God.  They had an altar to the “unknown god,” whom Paul said they “ignorantly worshipped” (17:23). Please note the following eight points that Paul made about God in his sermon. He taught that Jehovah:

  • created the world and all things therein (24a);
  • is the Lord of the heaven and the earth (24b);
  • does not dwell in temples made with men’s hands (24c);
  • is not worshipped with men’s hands (25a);
  • gives to all life, breath, and all things (25b);
  • created from one blood every nation (26-27a);
  • is not far from each one of us (27b);
  • is the one in whom we live, move, and have our being (28a).

Speaking against idolatry, he then drew the following conclusion: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.” He then called for a response, calling upon them to repent (vs. 30-31), and told them WHY they needed to.  Acts 17:30-31, which serves as a climax of Paul’s sermon, says, “ Acts 17:30-31 says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Please consider some important lessons from these verses.

ALL MUST REPENT

Earlier, Paul has spoken of the pagan nations. Verse 30 speaks of God “overlooking” (for a time frame) but not excusing their ignorance (Rom. 1:19, 3:23, 6:23).  For a time, God did not try and “break it up;” He did not send prophets to them.  However, in the Christian Age, He presents a universal and consistent call to repent.  The Epicureans, Stoics, Jews, and Gentiles all had to repent. Peter told the people on the day of Pentecost they needed to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).  In Acts 3:19, Peter said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  God requires all to repent today!

THE JUDGMENT IS A MOTIVATION TO REPENT

There are various motivations which should cause a person to repent.  God’s goodness and His love for us, for example, should motivate us to repent.  Romans 2:4 asks, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Further, Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loves us, and He sent His son to die for our sins.

Verse 31, however, teaches the final Judgment should also motivate us to repent as it points out all must repent because God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world.  This verse has been called the “heavy artillery” of repentance.  We obey God because of our love for Him, but we also repent because one day, we will have to face the Judgment.  2 Peter 3 speaks of Christ returning in judgment as a thief in the night and speaks of the destruction of the earth.   The conclusion in verses 11-12 is “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” Thus, the return of Christ, the destruction of the earth, and the Judgment should motivate us to live righteously.

THE WORLD WILL BE JUDGED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS

 In mythology, the view existed that deities shared every human sin, only to a higher degree. However, verse 31 teaches that we will be judged “in righteousness.”  To be judged in righteousness is to face a very high standard. Note Psalm 9:8, which says of God, “He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.”

The Scriptures define unrighteousness as acting contrary to Biblical teaching, i.e., to commit sin or practice unrighteousness.  I John 5:17 points out, “all unrighteousness is sin,” and Psalm 119:172 reveals that all of God’s commands are righteousness. In John 12:48, Jesus said, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” Roman 2:16 reveals, “in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”  In II Corinthians 5:10, Paul revealed, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

Thus, righteousness will be the basis of our judgment, and the Scriptures define what righteousness is.

CHRIST WILL BE OUR JUDGE

 Verse 32 points out Christ will be our judge. As noted, the basis of judgment is the words of Christ (Jn. 12:48), Jesus will be our judge, and the gospel will be the basis of that judgment (Rom. 2:16).  Also, in John 5:22, Jesus taught, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.” In Acts 10:42, Peter said, “And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.” (Please also note Mt. 25:31-46, 7:21-23.)

To back up this point, he said that God had raised Jesus from the dead.  This truth is what gave Him the right to judge us.  Jesus repeatedly stated He would rise from the dead; God would not have allowed this of an imposter. Romans 1:3-4 speaks of Christ and says, “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

THE RESPONSE

 Seemingly, Paul was interrupted at this point.  No doubt, he meant to develop more the theme of Christ’s divinity. As today, there were different responses to the message of God’s Word. Consider the three reactions.

  • Some Mocked (v.32) – They thought his teaching was absurd. It may be they not only mocked him with their words but with their sneers and expressions.  Many people respond to gospel preaching in the same way today.
  • Procrastinated (v. 32) – Some said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” This response may have been a polite way of rejecting Paul’s message as some do today. Many people today will say, “I know I ought to obey Christ and one of these days I will,” but they never do. Perhaps some liked what Paul said, and were making an honest statement.  They genuinely wanted to hear more later on.  Either way, delay is hazardous.
  • Believed (v. 34) – Paul may have left discouraged, but later some came to Paul, who further taught them, and they became believers.

CONCLUSION

Paul went to the great city of Athens.  Being disturbed by the sin (idolatry) he saw, he began to preach the Word of God immediately. He spoke to both the Gentiles and Jews.  Among these were people who held the Epicurean and Stoic philosophy. He did not back down from boldly proclaiming the truth when he got the opportunity to present a message about God in the famous Areopagus. He then openly called on the people to repent!  From his sermon, we learn about God, Christ, and the need for all to repent.  What a valuable message for everyone!