99 Paul Preaches in Athens [Acts 17:16–34]
The Bible passage: [Acts 17:16–34]
The Story:
When Paul was in Athens, his spirit was troubled when he saw that the city was full of idols.
He discussed God in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
Some of the philosophers argued with him. Some said, “What is this pseudo-intellectual trying to say?” Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities” - because he was telling about Jesus and the resurrection.
They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you’re speaking of? What you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these ideas mean.”
The Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. As I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar inscribed: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it - He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
“From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live, so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
“Through Him we live and move and exist. Even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Being God’s offspring, then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.
“God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him. But others said, ‘We want to hear more about this at another time.”
The Lessons:
- To tell the people of Athens about the one true God, Paul started off by talking about what they already believed, and then he related to that. He met them where they were and took it from there.
Next: 100 Paul is Shipwrecked [Acts 27:1 - 28:15]
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