ACTS 17:16-34 MINISTRY LESSONS FROM ATHENS2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 17:16-34 Ministry Lessons From Athens

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016.

Well, this evening we're continuing our study through the book of Acts. We're here in Acts chapter 17, and we'll be finishing up the chapter, verses 16 through 34. But let's begin by reading Acts chapter 17, verses 16 through 23. Here's what it says. Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

Therefore, he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him, and some said, what does this babbler want to say? Others said, he seems to be a

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak. Verse 20. For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know what these things mean. For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear something new.

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. 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.

Here in Acts chapter 17, we're continuing to follow along with Paul on his second missionary journey. And he is now in the city of Athens, and he's going to be ministering here for a short time before moving on to the city of Corinth in chapter 18. And so the title of the message this evening is Ministry Lessons Live.

from Athens. Lessons that we can learn from the example of the Apostle Paul here in Athens and the things that were going on as he was ministering to the people of this city. And so we'll talk about that, but just a quick look at the geography, a reminder of where we're at. We're following along with Paul in his second missionary journey. That's Acts chapter 16, 17, and 18. He

He started out over in Antioch, where his home church was, and he worked his way across the area that he had ministered alongside of Barnabas to in the first missionary journey, and that's the orange arrows there. They went through that region and ministered to those churches. Then they went into new territory, and they tried to go into Asia and Bithynia, but the Lord said no, and instead led them over across the sea to Philippi, which is in the region of Macedonia.

And he spent some time ministering in Philippi until he got run out of there. And so he went to Thessalonica. He was run out of there. So he went to Berea and then he was run out of there. And so that's how he has ended up now south of

at Athens. And this is in the region of Greece. It's a region known as Achaia. And so he's going to be there for some time as he goes just across the way to Corinth in chapter 18. And he's going to spend about a year and a half in Corinth there. So he's doing a lot of ministry, but moving from place to place to place as people drive him out of town and run him out as there's opposition to the gospel message.

But here he is in Athens, and he's parked here for a little bit. And so again, we get to learn some lessons from him about ministry and about what it's like to minister in different environments and different cultures.

Athens was the cultural and intellectual center of the Greek world. And so it's kind of a capital of sorts. It was a capital, a center for philosophy, for the different cultural and intellectual things that they were part of. It was very steeped in education. And so it's a different environment than what we've seen Paul ministering

through, you know, before this, as he's been going, you know, to different places, Athens is a very prominent place, and again, prominent specifically with the Greek culture.

And so here he is in Athens and he is going to be ministering. And so we'll learn four lessons from the apostle Paul that I think are important and appropriate for us to consider today. The first lesson is found in verses 16 and 17, and that is be provoked to minister. Be provoked to minister. Look again at verse 16. It says, now while Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him

when he saw that the city was given over to idols. So Paul is rushed down to Athens. He's rushed out of Berea because of the Jews that have come over and are causing trouble. And, you know, they're threatening his life once again. And so there's this immediate danger. And so they rush him down to Athens. And the sense, it's not directly stated, but it's kind of implied, Paul was waiting for Timothy and Silas, the rest of the guys to kind of catch up with him.

And it kind of implies that he wasn't really planning. He didn't have a big outreach plan, you know, like we do for Monday, right? He didn't have a big outreach plan for Athens, and that's why he was there. And so he was there to get to work. He was there...

As an escape. And he was waiting for the rest of his party to catch up. And it doesn't seem that he had any particular ministry plans or outreach plans there. Not that he wouldn't share the gospel. But you understand. It wasn't like a main objective while he was there to accomplish some specific ministry. But it seems that as Paul is there, he's seeing what's happening within the city. And he gets stirred up.

And he's prompted to minister, perhaps when he wasn't planning to, you know, maybe this was, okay, I need a good break, planning to head over to Corinth next. And we're going to do some real ministry there. So, you know, kind of taking some R&R and just kind of relax and recoup. And yet he couldn't, he couldn't have that time because there was this stirring up within him. And why? Well, he says in verse 16, because the city was given over to idols, right?

As he was there walking around the city, spending this time waiting for the rest of the party to join with him, he's looking at all of the idolatry that is taking place. Now, William Barclay, the commentator, says,

especially known for his understanding of the culture and things like that. Here's what he commented about the city of Athens. He said there was more statues of gods in Athens than all of the rest of Greece put together. So you consider all the rest of Greece and there's all these statues. Now in Athens, in the city, there's more of these statues than all the rest of Greece. So

And he goes on to say it's easier to meet a God than a man in the city of Athens. And so you get this impression that maybe it's just flooded with these statues, with these idols, with this idolatry that is going on. Another way to put it, maybe more understandable to us, is that there was more statues to the gods than there were Starbucks.

And so they were not just on every corner, but in between the corners, you know. And so there was just gods everywhere. There was idolatry everywhere. There was the worship of these false gods everywhere he looked and everywhere he went. And so it's interesting in verse 16, it tells us that his spirit was provoked within him. His spirit was provoked. Now,

We understand the word provoke usually as inciting someone to anger, kind of like poking someone until they blow up. You provoke them to anger. And that is how the word is used, but of course it's not talking about Paul getting angry, but it's talking about that stirring up, that it's like prodding him, it's like prodding him. Every time he sees an idol, it's like poking him. It's like he can't handle it anymore. It's stirring him up. He's provoked. He's stimulated. He's spurred on anger.

To minister the gospel because of all the idolatry that is going on. Verse 17 tells us, So here he is, seeing all these idols and seeing the things that are going on, and it's provoked him, it's stirred him up.

So that he begins to minister. He begins to, it says, reason in the synagogue. And we talked about that word reason. It's logical. It's rational. It's bringing forth the word of God in a way that makes sense and is reasonable. And that's what he's doing. He's

sharing the gospel in the synagogue. And notice in the synagogue are Jews and Gentiles. And so we've talked about how that's Paul's pattern, right? He goes to the synagogue and because there he had the opportunity to minister to the Jews, his brethren whom he loved greatly, but also the Gentiles who were interested in Judaism, they would be there as well. And so he would be able to minister to both of them. But this is interesting because in verse 17, it also tells us he was in the marketplace daily. And so he was in the marketplace daily.

So he's not just ministering at the synagogue, but he's out in the marketplace, you know, where everybody's shopping, where everybody's selling. There's commerce going on. There's these transactions taking place. People coming and people going, hustle and bustle. And he's out there on a soapbox with a megaphone. Maybe not quite like that, but he's connecting with people. He's interacting with people. It says with whoever happened to be there.

So he's just like looking around and seeing, you know, random people who will talk to him. And he is connecting with them and sharing the gospel with them. It actually doesn't give the impression of like street declaration, but that ministry to whoever happens to be there, hey, can I talk to you? You know, you want to talk about some things? You have some time to talk about things of the Lord. And so there is Paul reasoning in the synagogue and reasoning in the marketplace, right?

And again, why? Well, in verse 17, it begins with the word, therefore. So verse 16, Paul was stirred up by the idolatry, stirred up by the statues that he saw everywhere he went. And so therefore, it's a direct response to, it's a direct correlation, his reasoning in the synagogues and in the marketplace is,

was the direct result of that stirring up that happened within as he saw the city given over to idols. What prompted Paul to minister was the stirring up that he had within. And I think this is an important point, and I'm sure you've heard me share this before, but it's something that is important for us to be stirred up to minister or to be provoked to

to minister. I would suggest that this should always be the case in ministry, that the reason why we minister. Now, we know that we're all called to be ministers. We're all called to make disciples. We're all called to share the gospel. We're all called to be part of the work of God, to serve God. We're all called to fulfill our part in the body of Christ. And so there is that application to every one of us about ministry and

But there's an important aspect to ministry that it needs to come from within, that the reason needs to come from that stirring up within, that the motivation that takes place for ministry needs to come from that stirring up, that provoking within, or that burden, we might describe it. It comes from within. Are you provoked to minister in that way?

You know, in a lot of ways, there is a lot of pressure to minister. And in different environments, in different capacities, you know, you could think about it in different ways. And so you might be thinking about this a little bit differently than someone next to you. But just speaking generally, there's pressure to minister. And some of that is appropriate, and some of it is actually not that appropriate. There's external pressure sometimes to do things for the Lord. Right?

There's external pressure, this outside expectation, this outside pressure, other people perhaps, or things on the outside that are kind of like pushing you to do certain things. And I'm not saying that's always wrong, but I would say that that should correspond with an internal pressure that you also have. That there should be something within you stirring you up, that's the Lord, stirring you up

to serve the Lord. That serving the Lord should not be just something that, well, someone told you you had to do that. Or, you know, people are going to talk bad about you, or not like you, or think that you're a lesser Christian if you don't. And so there's this external pressure. There's these expectations and this outside pressure that's put on people to minister. And

And I think we need to make sure that we are provoked within, just like we see happen in the Apostle Paul here. Now, this is something that is important to me. I really believe this. I really think this is important for us as believers.

that we make sure that we are doing what we're doing, that we are serving the Lord in the capacity that we serve the Lord because he has stirred it up and he has placed that upon our heart and because he is doing that work and not just because of some expectation or some instruction or some declaration that we're supposed to do this, that it's this external pressure causing us to do things for the Lord, but that it really needs to come from within.

And when we serve the Lord, understand there can be great pressure. Understand that I do what I do because there's great pressure from the Lord for me to do what I do. Otherwise, I would have quit a long time ago. There's great pressure. And so, you know, as the prophets would call it, the burden of the Lord. I think you probably understand that. There is a burden and there's

Things where when God stirs up stuff within you, it's not like, hey, you know, if you feel like it one day, if you want to get around to it, you know, could you serve me in this capacity? No, there's a burden and it's like, I have to do this. The prophet Jeremiah experienced that. He expressed it in Jeremiah chapter 20 verse 9.

Jeremiah said, I will not make mention of him nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in my heart like a burning fire. Shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding it back and I could not.

Jeremiah tried to quit the prophet ministry. He tried to quit. He tried to say, you know, this is too hard. It's too difficult. There's lots of opposition. You know, I'm getting persecuted and thrown in the mud pits and all that kind of stuff. And so I'm just going to be quiet. I'm going to stop speaking in the name of the Lord. But Jeremiah was stirred up with it. He was provoked to minister. And the word of the Lord was in his heart like a burning fire.

It was burning within him. He couldn't hold it back anymore because it was burning. He couldn't resist any longer. He said, I was weary of holding it back. He was trying hard not to minister, but the burden of the Lord, he was provoked to such a degree that he couldn't not minister even when he tried. He had to serve the Lord in the way that God had called him to.

And though we might not always experience it to that intensity, I think that's a reflection of the way that ministry should work. That there's a burden within, that it's something that God has laid upon your heart. The Holy Spirit has moved you to a place where you need to do what the Lord has set before you. And that you are provoked within, not from external pressures, but

but because of what God is doing in your heart. Paul the Apostle expressed it in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 14, another way. He says, Talking about sharing the gospel, being ambassadors for Christ, Paul says, Now again, that word compel, it implies some serious pressure. Now, if I compel you to do something,

Well, I think that's a dangerous avenue to go down. But if the Lord compels you and he pressures you and he forces you, well, you know, it's for your good and it's for the good of the kingdom of God. But there's that compelling, there's that pressure, there's that provoking, there's that stirring up within because the Lord has laid that upon your heart. And I want to encourage you to make sure that you do what you do

in regards to serving the Lord, because he has stirred it within your heart. He has provoked you to do that. Now, all that being said, I understand, you know, well, there are some of us who would use that as an excuse to not do anything. Well, it's easy to be lazy then, because, well, I don't have to listen to external pressures, you know, and expectations that are set upon me. I don't have to listen to those, so I can just, you know, not do anything, and that's much more comfortable and relaxing than

And so that's where some people get uncomfortable and it's like, okay, well, no, there needs to be some pressure. You know, there needs to be some expectations. Let me put it to you this way. If you're not serving God in some capacity, then something is wrong. There is something wrong if you're not serving God in some capacity.

Now, what capacity that is, that's between you and the Lord, frankly. It's not anybody else's business, except for you're part of the body of Christ, and the rest of the body depends on you, and you depend on the rest of the body. And so there is this relationship, and it gets a little bit messy here, but that's between you and the Lord. He's the one who's given you your role in the body of Christ. He's the one who's given you your part. And if you're not fulfilling your part, well, that's wrong. There is some capacity that God has for you in the kingdom of God.

It goes right along with what James tells us in James chapter 2, that faith without works is dead. That believing in Jesus Christ is going to result in works, in service, in serving the Lord. But the thing I'm pointing out here is make sure the avenue that you choose to serve the Lord is from the Lord and not from external pressures. There's a great deal of freedom that comes along with that because if you're not provoked, then you don't have to feel guilty. You don't have to feel guilty for not doing what

people perhaps think you should do or expect you to do because, well, you're not provoked. Now, if you're not provoked because you're not walking with God and you don't have a relationship with God, well, there's a danger there. But listen, if you're walking with the Lord and you're hearing him and he's speaking to you and he's leading you and he provokes others in some capacity that he doesn't provoke you in, then you don't need to feel guilt over that. If you're walking with the Lord and you're confident, you know, you're doing what God's called you to do, then be free and do what God's called you to do.

But make sure that you're hearing from God and walking from God. That's where there should be, you know, that check that if there's nothing happening, if there's nothing going on, if you're not serving the Lord in some capacity, you need to make sure that you're walking with the Lord, that you have that connection with God because we all have our part in the body of Christ. And when you understand your part in the body of Christ, God's going to provoke you. He's going to stir you up to fulfill your role.

And there's going to be a compelling, there's going to be some pressure applied. God will want you very strongly to do the things that he has called you to do. I like the way that Paul kind of works through this in his mind in 1 Corinthians 9. He says, Paul says,

His ministry is preaching the gospel. He says, if I do that, I don't have anything to boast of. This is a ministry that's been given to me by God, the calling, the equipping, it's all by the Lord. He says, I do what I do because necessity is laid upon me. I didn't, you know, try to have a glorious crusade ministry or campaign or church planting ministry or...

I'm just doing what I have to do because the Lord has laid this necessity on me so that woe is me if I don't preach the gospel, if I don't do what God has called me to do. So this is the call. This is what I've been compelled to do, Paul says. But then in verse 17, he says, now, if I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

So Paul says, look, I don't get a choice in the ministry that I'm called to. This is my ministry. Necessity is laid upon me, but here's my choice. I can choose to do it willingly, and then I have reward. But if I am not that excited about doing it, I still have to do it. Necessity is laid upon me, and so if I do it against my will, well, it's because I've been entrusted with the stewardship. And so some things, Paul says, look, I'm not that excited about doing, but I do them because I

God's called me to be a steward. Necessities laid upon me. There's pressure. I'm provoked. I have to do what God's called me to do. If I do it willingly, there's reward. But it's not an optional thing. I have to do what God's called me to do because I've been entrusted with a stewardship. And so I would encourage you to make sure that you are provoked to minister, that you participate in light the night because of that provoking within, that internal, the Lord's told you what to do and how to serve and how to be a part of

of the body of Christ, how to serve in different capacities. Make sure that you're provoked to minister, that you're connecting with God and hearing from him and knowing the necessity that is laid upon you. And so I think that's a good lesson to learn from Paul's ministry here in Athens. Be provoked to minister. Well, moving on to verses 18 through 23, we have point number two, and that is minister to people where they are.

Another thing that I love about the example here of the Apostle Paul is that he ministers to people in a way that is relatable and understandable to them. And we talked about this back in Acts chapter 13 as well as we talked about the elements of the gospel. And one of the essential elements was a bridge to people where they are. That when we're sharing the gospel, we need to build that bridge. We need to make that connection so that people can get on board and understand that

what it is we're talking about as we share the gospel. Well, we pick it up in verse 18. It says, So here's Paul in the synagogue with the Jews and Gentiles that are there, but then also in the marketplace with whoever might be around saying,

And so he encounters there, probably in the marketplace, some philosophers. Now there was kind of a couple different schools of thought, ideals behind the different philosophers of the day. And so Epicurean and Stoic were two different types of philosophers. The Epicureans, they believed in

that the pursuit of pleasure was the chief purpose in life, but not pleasure as in like carnality and, you know, all kinds of indulging the flesh type things, but they defined pleasure as a peaceful life that was free from pain and fears and specifically the fear of death. And so

They pursued this kind of life of peace, you know, kind of this Zen lifestyle that just kind of not disturb anybody and not get disturbed. And that was the chief purpose of life. They,

Could believe in God or not believe in God, that didn't matter. If there was gods, they had nothing to do with man. They were so far removed that they weren't involved and engaged with humanity. And so that was the philosophy and the teaching of the Epicureans. Now the Stoics, they did believe in God, or rather they believed in gods, and that God was in everything and everything was God, and there was this pantheism that they believed in.

And so they also believed that all things were good, whether good or evil, that all things were from God. And so just accept it and take it and you could do whatever you want because it was all from God. And so they relied a lot upon reason and really valued that. And so there was these philosophers, the Epicureans and the Stoics. And so they encounter Paul probably again in the marketplace. And Paul is preaching this.

Jesus and the resurrection to them. It says in verse 18, he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. So he's talking to them about Jesus Christ. They're philosophers. They like talking. They like reasoning. And we'll see that unfold here in verse 19. It says, and they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and saying, may we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know what these things mean.

For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new story.

So we get a little picture of kind of the culture there in Athens that they just loved. They lived for sitting around and talking about new ideas, new thoughts, new concepts. So, you know, they would just hear whoever's coming through. They wanted to hear, well, what do you have to say? And what's your philosophy? What's your views of life? And there was this openness to hear and just talk about whatever, you know,

wind of doctrine might be passing through the region. And so they brought him to the Areopagus, which was the place on top of Mars Hill where they would meet and gather and have these kinds of discussions. And so they took him there, they sat him down, and they said, okay, we want to hear what you have to say.

And it wasn't so much that they were necessarily interested in converting, but this was just their practice. If it would have been anybody else preaching anything else, they would have done the same thing. Let's just hear, you know, there was a strong openness to any thought, any message, anything that might come through. And so Paul takes advantage of this opportunity.

As he's given this platform, it says in verse 22, 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.

Paul here is given this platform and he begins to speak. Now, his message is fashioned based upon this, well, the issue of idolatry that's happening within the city, but specifically this altar that he sees with the inscription that says, to the unknown God. Now, this probably was not a unusual sight there in Athens because, well, about 600 years prior to this, there in Athens, the

There was a famous Greek poet, Epimenides, something like that. My Greek pronunciation probably isn't accurate. But this poet was there in Athens, and there was a plague that was going all throughout Greece. And as it came through Athens, there was lots of death and suffering that was going on. And so the Greeks concluded that they must have offended one of their gods.

And so they began frantically to offer sacrifices to their various gods, but the plague continued. And so they were desperate and they decided, well, we've sacrificed to all of our gods. Maybe there's another God that we don't know about that we've offended. And so this man, Epimenides, came up with a plan. He decided, well, let's let out a flock of sheep, just kind of roam wherever they want to.

And when they lay down, we'll take that as a sign from God that that's a sacred place and we'll offer a sacrifice there to whatever God might be there because that's where the sheep laid down.

And so wherever those sheep laid down, they would offer these sacrifices. And their belief was that that was because there was an unknown God there that they didn't know before. And so hopefully one day they would learn about him. But in the meantime, let's try to make this God happy to end this plague that we are experiencing.

And so they would have these altars to the unknown God that they hadn't learned about yet and wanted to make sure they didn't, you know, get him mad again because of the suffering that they went through. And so Paul uses that as the entryway, as the, you know, kind of the on-ramp to the message that he's about to bring of the gospel.

Now, we'll get into that message in just a few moments, but just the concept here that Paul is using is really important for us to consider.

Warren Wiersbe says this was a masterpiece of tact and teaching. That he's using tact. He's approaching this in a way that they're coming along with him. You know, they're able to understand what he's talking about. They're on board with him as he launches into the gospel message. In verse 22, he says,

So as he gets this opportunity to talk, he says, okay, guys, here's what I've observed. You are very religious. You're very devout. And you worship all of these gods. And even I saw this one, there was the altar to the unknown God. And so he begins by connecting with them where they're at, recognizing, not in a way that is, you know,

saying, hey, it's okay that you worship all these false gods, but just recognizing, hey, you want to worship, and you worship all these gods. You're very religious in that way. And then there's this one altar for the unknown God, and I want to talk to you about that God. I think it's interesting in verse 23 also, it says, Paul says, as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, this

conversation that Paul is having, this, you know, message that he's bringing forth, it was not just like an instant reaction to what he was seeing. Although he was stirred up by those idols, there's thought that's gone into this. He was considering the objects of their worship. He was thinking about them. He was pondering them. He was thinking about where they're at and what causes them to be in this place of worshiping these false gods. And

It's a thoughtful place that it's coming from. It's thought out in his presentation and in his ministry to the people. And so he brings up this altar of the unknown God. And then he says, that's the God I want to talk to you about. And you can imagine, you know, that kind of like is a good avenue. It's a good way to kind of, he's got the ears of the people.

Because they were worshiping this unknown God out of fear of making this God mad again because they didn't want to experience that plague again. But they didn't know the God. And so they had this opportunity through Paul to learn about the God that they didn't know. Now, again, it's not Paul condoning idolatry, but it's Paul using what they knew to bring them the gospel message and connect them to the true and living God.

The commentator Thomas Constable says it this way. He says, Paul again followed his policy of adapting to the people he was seeking to evangelize and met them where they were in their thinking. He met them where they were. He went to where they were so that they could understand the gospel message that he was presenting. This is important for us to consider as we talk about ministry.

Listen, God's left us here. He's called us as his people to make disciples, to bring forth the gospel, to shine the light of Christ, to light the night. He's called us to do his work here on this earth. But sometimes we are so formulaic in our approach that we miss out on this key element of meeting people where they are, that we want people to come to where we are.

And I'm not necessarily talking about our physical location, but maybe you could include that as well, you know, going to where people are as opposed to making them come to you. But concept-wise and understanding, many times we speak in a way we want them to learn our language. We want them to learn, you know, what we know and what we understand and what we have in our perspective and our thoughts. And we don't do the work of...

Again, back in verse 23, Paul says, I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship. And I think it's important for us to consider that. Sometimes we're not considering where they're coming from. We're not considering where their mind's at, where their understanding's at, where their heart's at. And we're wanting people to just jump on to where we are and our understanding and our level and understand the words that we use. And that's not the way that the apostle Paul approached it.

he sought to evangelize and met the people where they were in their thinking. And so he takes these things that were familiar to them, these gods that they worship, this unknown God, and he uses that as the bridge to begin to share the gospel. Now, I'm not talking about a compromise in our doctrine or in the message. We'll see that as we go on in the message that Paul preaches here. But to build that connection, to have that connection to people where they are and for us to do the work,

of making it relatable and understandable and accessible to the people that we're ministering to. Paul the Apostle, this was his method. He continued to do over and over again. Again, we talked about this back in Acts chapter 13. We also see this

described a little bit by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9. In verse 19, Paul says, Now he goes on from this verse to say, Now,

To those who are under the law, I became as those who are under the law that I might win those who are under the law. And to those who are without law, I became as those who are without the law so that I could win those who are without law. And to the weak, I became weak, he says, that I might win the weak. He says in 1 Corinthians 9.22, I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. See, Paul puts a burden on himself. It's my responsibility, Paul says, to

to come to you in a way that's accessible, in a way that you can understand and relate to, in a way that you can grasp hold of the truth of the gospel message. It's my responsibility.

to let go of my traditions. It's my responsibility to let go of my vocabulary, perhaps, or to let go of my concepts or the way that I've always done things. It's my responsibility to change myself so that I can reach you. It's not my responsibility to change you so that I can reach you. It's not my responsibility for you to change so that I can reach you. It's my responsibility, Paul would say, to change me.

and to approach this ministry in a way that is accessible and meaningful and acceptable to you. Minister to people where they are. It takes work. It takes some consideration. Paul described it this way. I made myself a servant to all. I think that's a good way to understand it, a good perspective. It's about serving people. That we need to have this heart and this mindset where we approach ministry as serving people.

And when you're serving, you're setting aside your wants, your desires, your preferences to meet the needs of others. Now, when you're serving a table, perhaps you'd rather sit down, but you set aside your wants, your desires, what you prefer, and you're standing up and you're bringing things that are needed. You're, you know, taking care of the refills and you're serving the table. When you're serving the gospel, you're

Well, yeah, maybe you'd rather be quiet. Maybe you'd rather be home on the couch. Maybe you'd rather do all, but you're setting aside your needs, your wishes, your preferences. Maybe you'd rather talk about things on a different level. Maybe you'd rather approach things in a different way, but you're not serving you in ministry. You're serving the people. He says, I've made myself a servant to all that I might win the more. It's a good attitude. It's an appropriate heart for us to have that it's a heart of service.

sometimes we get so frustrated with people because why don't they understand? Why don't they, you know, know better? They do know better. Why don't they do better? Why don't they live better? And we get really upset and frustrated with unbelievers many times, but we need to make sure we have a heart of service, that it's our job to come alongside them in a way that, well, they can understand, that it's relatable and approachable to them, that we minister to people where they are.

so that we can win the more. Paul says, I'm free from all men, but I've made myself a servant to all that I might win the more. And so he starts with a method. He starts with something that is relatable to them, this unknown God. Now, Paul could have started with some open ridicule. You guys are so stupid, worshiping these false gods and these gods. And you even have a God, you don't even know who the God is, but you're trying to worship the God. That's ridiculous. That's ridiculous.

it probably would have not been an effective on-ramp for him to share the message. He probably wouldn't have got very far into the message. And yet sometimes that's how we approach things. And it's not the way that God's called us to minister. We need to minister to people where they are, to serve them, no matter how ridiculous they might be. Now, challenging concepts, challenging ideas, challenging, you know, politics, it could be very messy sometimes.

And a lot of it depends on your prior relationship with whoever it is that you're interacting with. And so I'm not saying there's no time ever for some sarcasm or some testing in those kinds of ways. That might be appropriate in some cases. But again, it's about serving the people where they are, ministering to them where they are. If you're making jokes about what they believe. So I've been in instances and situations where

Someone is seeking to minister to Mormons. And so, you know, they're trying to minister. They're trying to reach out. And they're making jokes about the stuff that they believe. And again, if you have an established relationship, maybe there's a little bit of room for that. But without that established relationship, you're just offending people. And it's not serving them. It's not giving you the opportunity to share the gospel. You're not ministering to them where they are. It's just mocking and ridiculing. And it's not...

Well, it's not the example that the Apostle Paul set for us. And so I would encourage you to take that before the Lord. Learn this ministry lesson that Paul demonstrated in Athens, that we need to minister to people where they are. That means that we love them, that we seek to consider what are they worshiping and why are they worshiping those gods and where are they coming from and what's their understanding so that we can then use those things as the on-ramp to get them

in the message that we want to bring, to bring them into the gospel that is the truth. Well, moving on to the third point, verse 24 through 31, here we have minister sound doctrine. So all that stuff being said doesn't mean that we water down the message, that we change the gospel, that we change anything else.

when we get that part done, we get them on board, now we need to bring forth the truth, sound doctrine. I'm just going to read through what Paul says here in verses 24 through 31, and then make a few comments. Verse 24, Paul says, "'God, who made the world and everything in it, "'since he is Lord of heaven and earth, "'does not dwell in temples made with hands.'

Verse 28.

Verse 30. Verse 30.

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. Here, as Paul gets into the meat of his message, you can see that he is declaring some solid doctrine. As he begins to introduce God, he introduces God as the creator. He is the God who made everything. He made the world. He is the Lord of heaven and earth.

And notice in verse 24, he says he does not dwell in temples made with hands. Now, in their culture, these gods that they worshiped had temples, physical temples in specific locations. And they were real big on the geography that, you know, this god was the god of this region and this god was the god of that region. And there was, you know, these temples that were sacred places for these particular gods that they worshiped.

But as Paul is looking at the idolatry that's going on and stirred up within, his primary thrust in this message is the fact that these idols are not gods. And so he's introducing the true and living God as the creator, as the one who's bigger than all the temples and bigger than all of creation. And so that's why he says in verse 25, he's not worshiped with man's hands. And what he means by that is he, God doesn't need anything from us.

You know, like he's hungry, so please sacrifice, you know, some animals because God's hungry. No, he doesn't need anything from us. Instead, he says in verse 25, he gives all life, he gives to all life, breath and all things. So he gives you breath and he gives you breath and he gives you breath. He gives all life their breath. He's the one who has not only created everything, but he's the one who's sustaining every living being. He is the one who gives breath to all. He says in verse 26, he's made from one blood every nation of men.

And so he's created all of us, all of humanity from one blood, talking about the roots that we have. We go back to Adam and Eve. We're all descendants of Adam and Eve. You can go out a little bit later in history and also say we're all descendants of Noah because it was Noah and his three sons that survived the flood and the world was repopulated after that. And so he's isolating the understanding of creation and origins to us

God who created all things, who provided all things and has made all of us from this one couple, Adam and Eve, this one line of blood. He says he's the one who's determined our times and boundaries so that we should seek the Lord, that we might search for him and find him, even though he's not very far from us. And then he quotes a couple of their own poets and philosophers. Again, kind of pulling and meeting them where they're at.

pulling in things that they've understood, you know, and so it'd be kind of like quoting some song lyrics or maybe some, you know, quotes from a good movie or something that, you know, just kind of pulling in these cultural references that they understood, they were familiar with. And as he's introducing these concepts, he's saying, look, I'm not introducing something totally brand new, you know, you guys have talked about these things in the past. So verse 29 is kind of

The main point of his message. 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 or by man's devising. So here, Paul is refuting the whole concept of idolatry. But notice how he got there. You know, again, he considered them. He talked about this altar to the end. No, God used that to bring forth the opportunity to minister, started with creation. You know, he worked his way to this point of saying,

So you understand that idolatry is not real. You know, it's fake. These are not gods because we're God's offspring. And this gold or silver or stone that you worship is lesser than you. That it's not a God. Idolatry is illogical. It doesn't make sense when you understand the God who created the heavens and the earth and the God who created people. He cannot be this statue or this image or this idol.

And so that's the point that Paul is bringing them to, but he's tactful. He brings them along for the ride. He doesn't, you know, just offend them at how ridiculous they are for believing these things, but he brings them along. He's helping them understand and think through these things in a way that they have the opportunity to change their mind and to reconsider their thoughts. Now, in verse 30, Paul gives a little bit of a warning. He says, look, God overlooked these times of ignorance in the past, but now he's commanding everybody to repent.

So you might've got away with this in the past, but now you have a responsibility to recognize this doesn't make sense. This doesn't line up. This is not the truth. And to repent, to change your mind and believe in the true and living God. And this is important because what God has appointed a day and he's going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he ordained. And he's proven this. He's given assurance of this by raising him from the dead, talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And so he brings them to this place of understanding there's going to be a time where you stand before God and you'll have to give account and Jesus is going to judge you. And God assured us of that by raising Jesus from the dead. He is the judge of the living and the dead and we will stand before God one day.

He brings forth some sound doctrine. I mean, he talks about creation. He talks about, you know, where nations come from, where people come from. He brings them to the understanding that idolatry does not make sense and doesn't fit with the understanding of God. And then he calls people to repentance and tells them about the day of judgment. There's some solid sound doctrine in this message that Paul brings forth. Again, it's a good model for us.

We want to work and do the best we can to consider and understand where people are coming from so that we can bring forth the message in a way that they can connect and relate and understand. But we cannot go so far as to change the message so that now we're bringing forth, you know, something soft, something lesser than sound doctrine. We need to also bring forth the truth. It's the truth in love that we need to bring. And that's what Paul does here.

John Stott, the scholar, says, we learn from Paul that we cannot preach the gospel of Jesus without the doctrine of God or the cross without creation or salvation without judgment. Paul wants to preach the gospel, so he's talking about creation. He wants to preach the gospel, so he's talking about judgment. He's pulling in the truth, the doctrine of God, because these are essential parts of

of the message. Now that doesn't mean that, you know, every gospel presentation or every conversation you have with somebody that's, you know, a ministry conversation has to follow this exact formula and include these kinds of things.

But you understand the point. It needs to be based upon and we need to bring forth the truth and sound doctrine and not necessarily this formula. And maybe there's other doctrines of the Lord that we emphasize at different times depending on the people that we are ministering to. Because again, Paul was dealing with these people specifically in their idolatry. And so he shared these things that were appropriate to refute that and help them understand that idolatry was not necessary.

appropriate. It was not right. It was not the truth. And it doesn't make sense because these idols of silver and gold are not gods. And so we need to minister sound doctrine. Paul didn't try the tactic of getting them hooked and then, well, I'll give them the truth later. You know, I just kind of got to get them on my side, get them on board, and then later on I'll give them the truth. He brought forth the truth and called people to repentance and even warned them about the

as he was able to bring forth this message. And so ministry lessons from Athens. We need to minister sound doctrine. Well, finally, in verses 32 through 34, we have point number four, and that is leave ministry results to God. In verse 32, it says, and when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, we will hear you again on this matter.

So Paul concludes his message. Now,

It's often been observed that probably this wasn't the conclusion of Paul's message, that probably he had more in mind after verse 31, but they kind of interrupted and said, oh, wait, resurrection, and just kind of halted the show at that point because some mocked and some others said, well, maybe come back again and we'll hear some other time on this topic.

Now, resurrection was something that they, unlike, you know, worshiping an unknown God and all that kind of stuff that they could easily grasp hold of as Paul was talking, this was kind of like shocking to them. They didn't believe in resurrection. They believed in immortality of the spirit, but not the resurrection of the body. And so this was something that they were not, you know, ready to hear with and talk about right now. And so some mocked and others said, well, come back later and we'll talk about it.

I think it's interesting in verse 33, it says, so Paul departed from among them. Paul left. Now, obviously, this isn't, you know, second by second, moment by moment account of everything that happened there on Mars Hill. But they mocked. Some said, okay, we'll hear you again. And so Paul left. He was stirred up. He was compelled by the Lord to bring forth the message, but he didn't force everybody to receive it right then. When they mocked, he didn't, you know,

just finish out the time with just exchanges with those who are mocking and just, you know, go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth with those who thought the idea was ridiculous. They mocked and some said, hey, we'll hear you again. And so Paul said, okay, I've shared what the Lord put on my heart. I had my opportunity and now he leaves it in the Lord's hands.

He leaves the results to God. He doesn't have to have everybody, you know, get on his side or agree with him or receive this. Now, some people did in verse 34. It tells us some men joined him and believed. Some people did believe. Some people did respond. And there was a couple noteworthy people that are mentioned here. And so they responded, but that was in the Lord's hands. And he left that in the Lord's hands. He allowed the Lord to do the work that he wanted to do. Now,

This is interesting because there are a lot of discussions about whether or not what Paul did here in Athens was a good or a bad approach. So all the things that I've been commending Paul on and saying, hey, these are good lessons for us. There's a lot of people who would turn that around and say, no, you shouldn't do that. And you shouldn't do that. And you shouldn't do that. And they base that on what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2. Now, remember, in Acts 17, he's in Athens. In Acts 18, he's going to Corinth.

So right after Athens comes Corinth. And so 1 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul says this, And so a lot of people look at that and say, well, you see, Paul learned his lesson in Athens.

There wasn't that big of a response. Only some people responded to that message that Paul brought forth. And so when he went to Corinth, he changed his method. And so instead of trying to approach them in wisdom or excellence of speech, he just stuck to Jesus Christ and him crucified. And that's why he had such a successful ministry in Corinth. And there's room for that discussion if you want to have that discussion. But I disagree with that understanding of it because, well, here in verse 18, it

The whole situation happened and he was brought there to Mars Hill because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. That's what it says at the end of verse 18. And then in verse 31, he talks about Jesus being raised from the dead. And so I would suggest Paul didn't, you know, learn his lesson, but that he was adjusting his approach to different places according to the Spirit's leading and what was necessary for the people that were there. And so he preached.

preach Jesus Christ and him crucified in a different way. Same message, but in a different way. And I believe that's what we're called to do, that we are called to be stirred up by the Lord. And maybe some people are going to disagree with how you're called to serve. And I don't think you should share the gospel that way, or I don't think you should bring it forth that way, or you shouldn't serve in that capacity or whatever. But you know, we're responsible. We're going to stand before God talking about what Paul said. We're going to stand before God. He's the judge. We're

And we're going to give an account for what he provoked us to do. What did he stir us up to do? And did we minister to the people that he set before us? Right where they're at, in a way that they can understand it. Or did we not minister to them because, well, we were too busy ridiculing or laughing or not caring about them? Do we minister to the people that God has set before us? The truth. The truth in love, but the truth. Sound doctrine. And that's our job. That's our responsibility. Beyond that, it's in God's hands. We leave the results to God.

Our responsibility is to be prompted by the Lord to reach out to love and to serve the people that he set before us and bring them the truth in love and then let God do what he wants to do. And some will respond and some will mock, but that's in the Lord's hands. Our job, our responsibility is to respond as the Lord provokes us to minister, to let him stir us up, to do the work for the kingdom of God that he's called us to do.

Well, this evening we're going to close out our time together with worship, and Adam's going to come up and close us out in this time of worship. But as we do on Wednesday nights, I want to encourage you and give you the opportunity to minister to one another, that as we're here and worshiping the Lord, perhaps the Lord has provoked you. Maybe as we've been talking, maybe he'll provoke you as we're worshiping to minister to someone else here in this room.

And so we, as we do, we want to give you that opportunity. Feel free to get up, to move out of your seat, to go to someone, to pray for them, maybe share a scripture that God's put upon your heart or whatever God's stirred up within you. Well, be obedient and respond as the Lord provokes you to minister and go where they're at. Don't make them come to you and shout, hey, Rick, come over here. You know, get up out of your chair, go minister where they are and just share what God's put upon your heart and pray for them in the way that God stirred you up. And

If the Lord hasn't stirred up something within you, that's okay. And you can just, you know, not feel guilty about, well, I didn't go pray for somebody during the time of worship. Well, that's okay. If God didn't stir you, God didn't stir you. You don't have to be responsible for that. But if he has stirred you, then I would encourage you to do that. Minister to someone else. And feel free also, if not, to pray together or pray on your own and ask God to stir you up.

For someone here in this room or for people in your life or whoever God wants you to minister to, look for God. Be seeking God. Be connected to God. What does he want to provoke you to do in his kingdom? So let's be seeking the Lord for that and responding as he speaks to our heart. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.