Text: Acts 17:16-34<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The number of idols in Athens provoked Paul to speak out<\/p>\n
A. He spoke with Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue on the Sabbath<\/p>\n B. On the other days of the week, you would find Paul in the marketplace reasoning\nwith people.\n C. His discussions caught the attention of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who\nbegan to debate Paul\n
1. The city of Athens cultivated a large number of philosophers<\/p>\n 2. Epicureans did not believe in gods being involved in the world. They\nbelieved the purpose to life was to gratify the senses.\n 3. Stoics believed that fate controlled the lives of men and gods. Men did not\nreceive favors from the gods, but they could become godlike by their lives.\nPassion and affections were to be restrained. Happiness was achieved by\nthe ability to tolerate pain.\n 4. Some viewed Paul as a idle babbler who picked up bits and pieces of ideas\nalong the way.\n 5. Others thought he was teaching about new Gods because of his statements\nconcerning Jesus and the resurrection\n D. The philosophers wanted to hear more, not because they wanted to change, but as\nphilosophers, they were always interested in new ideas.\n 1. They invited Paul to come to Areopagus, an outdoor auditorium, where all\ncould hear Paul better then in the marketplace.\n
II. Paul’s sermon<\/p>\n
A. Paul starts with common ground. He acknowledges that they are religious people.<\/p>\n
1. They have objects of worship throughout the town<\/p>\n 2. Paul even found one dedicated to the Unknown God, just incase they\nmissed one.\n
B. It is the Unknown God whom Paul was going to explain.<\/p>\n 1. They, in their ignorance, worshiped anything. But they missed the one true\nGod.\n 2. He declared that God created the universe (something the Epicureans\nwould have denied).\n a. As creator, it was ridiculous to suppose God would dwell in things\nmade by human hands or that he requires the service of humans.\n
3. God made all people from one.<\/p>\n
a. There is really only one race, the human race.<\/p>\n b. He made the boundaries of nations and selected when they would\nexist\n
4. God wanted man to search for Him, though he was not difficult to find.<\/p>\n
a. Since we exist in Him, he is close to each of us.<\/p>\n b. Paul proves they understood this point by quoting one of their\npoets.\n c. If we are God’s children, then why would we represent God as an\ninanimate object formed by the thought of man?\n d. God has put up with this in the past, but now demands that men\nchange their ways.\n
C. A time for judgment has been appointed.<\/p>\n
1. Men will be judged by their actions<\/p>\n 2. We will be judged by a man (Jesus) whom God selected. Proof of that\nselection was made by raising this man from the dead\n
III. The mention of the resurrection got the philosophers stirred up.<\/p>\n
A. A returning from the dead was not accepted in any of their philosophies.<\/p>\n
B. Many ridiculed Paul.<\/p>\n
C. Others said they would talk more about it later<\/p>\n D. However, a few in the audience followed after Paul and believed. It sounded like\njust a small handful.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tActs of the Apostles\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paul in Athens Text: Acts 17:16-34 I. The number of idols in Athens provoked Paul to speak out A. He spoke with Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue on the Sabbath B. On the other days of the week, you would find Paul in the marketplace reasoning with people. C. His discussions caught the attention of Epicurean…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":10021,"menu_order":29,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10199","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10202,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/acts-of-the-apostles\/paul-in-corinth\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":0},"title":"Paul in Corinth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul in Corinth Text: Acts 18:1-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Athens never produced a strong church. It is never mentioned in the Scriptures again, even though some there had believed. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul, though, moved onto more productive ground in Corinth. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Corinth he met a couple named Aquila and Priscilla \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They had recently come\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10021,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/acts-of-the-apostles\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":1},"title":"Acts of the Apostles","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Acts of the Apostles by Jeffrey W. Hamilton October 2001 Outline Study of the book of Acts. This series is currently incomplete. Lesson 1 Introduction and the Ascension of Jesus\u00a0(Acts 1:1-11) Replacing Judas\u00a0(Acts 1:12-26) Lesson 2 Baptism by the Holy Spirit\u00a0(Acts 2:1-13) Peter's First Sermon\u00a0(Acts 2:14-36) The Establishment of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22733,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-i-thessalonians\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":2},"title":"Survey of the Bible – I Thessalonians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - I Thessalonians Text: I Thessalonians 3:11-13 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Background \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Thessalonica was a major seaport and the capital of Macedonia. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It had a population of about 200,000 people during the time of Paul \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It still exists as Thessaloniki in Greece. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It had a Jewish population, as seen\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30569,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/comfort-in-afflictions\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":3},"title":"Comfort in Afflictions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Comfort in Afflictions Greetings\u00a0(II Corinthians 1:1-2) Paul starts all of his letters in a similar fashion: Announcing who he is, the major people currently with him, and addressing for whom the letter is intended. Even in such seemingly mundane greetings, there is much to be gleaned from these few words.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/background-to-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":4},"title":"Background to I Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Background to I Corinthians Class Discussion Who did you find mentioned in the book? Are any the same person but mentioned with a different name? What are the various names for God and the members of the Godhead? What locations did you find mentioned in the book? Using a map,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22666,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":10199,"position":5},"title":"Survey of the Bible – I Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - I Corinthians Text: I Corinthians 1:18-31 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This letter of Paul shows us the difficulty of living a Christian life in a society that given over to idolatry and immorality. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This letter, like the other letters of Paul are found in the codex P46, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10199\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}