Preaching the Word of the Cross (Continued)
Acts 17:15-34
Acts Series Part 34
By Dave Redick

Far from being a text on marketing evangelism that advises us to cut back and become like the world in order to win people to Christ, this passage underscores that the message of the gospel should not be minimized, cut down, altered, or eliminated in any way in order to draw crowds or eliminate its built in offense and appearance of foolishness to arrogant people.

Introduction 

Imagine a situation where you are transported from the comfortable spot you are in right now to a city of approximately 250,000 people, not a single one of them having ever heard the name of Jesus Christ. There are no churches. There is a Jewish synagogue or two, but their expectations of Messiah leave little room for the Jesus you preach. Your closest Christian friends are at least 250 land miles away in a day when the fastest means of transportation over land is the horse. Besides the distance, the last time you saw your friends, they were under violent persecution for the sake of Christ. You wonder how they are doing since you, too have experienced persecution on numerous occasions. Yet you cannot contact your friends. There are no telephones. No Internet café’s. No overnight letter services. No Western Union terminals. You are all alone as a Christian, though hundreds of thousands of people surround you. As you walk around the city you realize that the people who live here are quite religious, but not in good way. Everywhere you look you see idols’ temples. Some of them are huge, richly adorned with marble, gold, and silver. Stone and metal statues of so-called gods are everywhere. In such a city, how could there be room for the preaching of the word of God? Yet you are specially called by the only true God to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” That charge includes the people in this city. You have no invitation from anyone to speak. No one awaits you for a special week of meetings with a car and a comfortable place to sleep. If you do speak it will be because you insert yourself and interrupt those whose minds are focused on other things. They may not appreciate that. What are you going to do? If you preach the gospel, where will you begin? What will you say? 

These are the circumstances encountered by the apostle Paul as he left the ancient city of Berea under the careful and protective escort of the Berean Christians and sailed to Athens, the very citadel of humanism in its time.  

We’ll be in the 17^th chapter of the book of Acts this morning in our ongoing series called Acts of the Apostles. Today’s message is a continuation of what we started last week from the 17^th chapter. I called the message then and now, Preaching the Word of the Cross. We’ll focus on verses 16-34. 

I pointed out last time that Acts 17 falls nicely into three parts, based on Paul’s preaching in three cities on his second missionary journey. The first two were: 

1. The Preaching in Thessalonica where the Word of Cross was Resisted.

 2. The Preaching in Berea where the Word of the Cross was Received.

The focus of my message last time was to show you how the early preachers faithfully preached the message of the cross and didn’t compromise, water down, or minimize its content, though it wasn’t always accepted by those who heard. I pointed out to you what Paul wrote elsewhere about the gospel – that the message of the cross was made by God to appear offensive and foolish to arrogant man. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Then a few verses later in verse 21: “God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” God was well-pleased that the message saved only those who were humble enough to accept it.  

According to these verses, God has intentionally constructed the message of the cross so that arrogant men will either be offended by it or it will look like foolishness to them. In neither case will they accept it. It is very clear that God doesn’t want the arrogant in His kingdom – a fact born out in other parts of the Scripture like James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5: “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble,” and by Jesus’ own words in Matthew 23:12: “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” 

The word of the cross was not always accepted as the early preachers went across the world and preached it. In Thessalonica it was resisted violently. In Berea it was received humbly but then those from Thessalonica came and drove the preachers out. In neither case did the early preachers change the message because of this negative response. This instructs us in a day when a lot of people reject the message and there is pressure to change it in order to make it more acceptable. 

We come now to the third part of this chapter, perhaps the biggest test of all to see if the preaching of the word of the cross should be compromised when it offended people and they thought it foolish. I’ve called it: 

3. The Preaching in Athens where the Word of the Cross was Ridiculed. 

Before I continue, I need to clarify something. I mentioned the marketing philosophy of church growth in last week’s message and I think some of you were puzzled about what I meant. Let me explain briefly. 

Some 25-30 years ago (by my own recollection) concern began to be voiced that churches were not growing adequately and that we should try to determine the reasons for it. There was nothing particularly wrong with that. In fact, self examination could be a good thing. If we can do things in a better way within the limits of the teaching of God’s word, that’s great. We should do them. However, during those days of searching some suggested that we look toward successful American business rather than the Scripture as the answer to the growth problem. In time a number of successful businessmen were consulted. New books were written, extolling methods that supposedly “worked” in contemporary society. When business is slow, the advice went; you carefully examine your market, your product, your methods, and your bottom line. Anything that does not produce desired results is dropped. Those things that multiply customers are adopted and amplified to make them more effective. The so-called “Purpose Driven” movement is a well-known example of these ideas in action. Several axioms of business are believed to be critical to this marketing model. The first is that the customer is always king. What the customer wants, the customer gets. Whatever might drive away the customer is undesired and should be discontinued or minimized. Another axiom is that whatever “works” is right and whatever “doesn’t work” is wrong, the deciding criterion always being the size of the crowd gathered on Sunday. This philosophy is commonly called “pragmatism,” and in many church circles today it trumps the word of God as the final arbiter between right and wrong.  A third axiom is that unless your “bottom line” shows a sufficient increase, you have no right criticize means, methods, or results. Those who “succeed” with the biggest crowds are the experts. Those who don’t “succeed” by these standards are not to be heard. 

Using this marketing philosophy, churches began to poll non-church attenders to see what it would take to get them to come to church. Free child care, casual dress, contemporary music, shorter sermons, elimination of all things “negative” and “judgmental,” less time involved so people could have their Sundays for their own pursuits, and no requirement of lasting commitment, quickly came to the top in surveys of modern unbelievers. As a result, out the door went such things as expository preaching, talking about the Bible’s warnings concerning the afterlife, and any expectation of accountability for the way people conduct their lives. Heaven was in. Hell was out, along with many other key Bible doctrines deemed offensive.

The results of these efforts are now known. Large crowds are produced by this model. Some of the largest churches in America employ this marketing philosophy. To the casual observer who doesn’t know the Bible, it looks wonderful. How could anyone criticize it? But with the word of God minimized because so-called “seekers” are not willing to sit still for it, the outcome does not seem nearly as glowing. People are more and more ignorant of God’s will because they aren’t taught the whole counsel of God. There is little difference between the behavior of many in these churches and the behavior of those who profess no faith at all. Pew Research published an extensive survey earlier this year that shows an overall slide of morality and Bible understanding in modern churches. One finding that stood out to me was that 57% of what they called “Protestant Evangelicals” now believe that there are many ways to God and not just one exclusive way found in Christ. Some very big names are promoting this idea. That ought not to be surprising in a context where all things negative are avoided. In today’s atmosphere of multi-culturalism, it offends people to tell them that Jesus is the only way to God.  

Though there are many other things I could say about this matter, I’m going to stop there. The reason I bring it up is because this passage that we’re going to consider this morning, Acts 17:16-34, is often cited as justification for this marketing philosophy of church growth under the guise of “cultural relevance.” According to those promoting the marketing philosophy, in Athens: 

Let’s read the passage and I’ll make some comments as we go along. I believe you will see that not one of these claims of the church marketers is valid. 

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols.

This is the sum total of what is said about Paul’s attitude toward what he saw in Athens. Though some of the art and architecture he saw there may have amazed him – after all he did have a Hellenized education and was taught the cultural acumen that would facilitate his appreciation of fine things – what really stood out to him was the fact that this city was given over to the worship of false gods. That word “provoked” in the original language means to be agitated, irritated, or angry. Whatever awe Paul may have felt beholding the marvelous sights of Athens, it was quickly overshadowed by the specter of the idolatry there. Someone remarked that had Paul been writing a travelogue for Athens, he would have said simply, “It is full of idols.” To someone concerned for lost souls, no amount of the world’s glitz and glamour can camouflage the fact that people are lost and headed for a Christless eternity.  

17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.

As was his custom at all times, Paul went first to the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue. What results he had there aren’t mentioned by Luke, perhaps suggesting that there may not have been much. Perhaps the Athenian Jews had succumbed to the lure of the worldly trappings that their city held. Apparently, either between meetings in the synagogue or after he had worn out his welcome there, Paul went to the Agora – the marketplace – a large courtyard in the southern edge of the city, in the shadow of the hill called Areopagus. The Agora was given over to buying and selling, along with open air speeches by the many philosophers of Athens. Almost anyone could find a ready audience, if but for a little while. Two groups of these philosophers took special notice of Paul’s preaching and engaged him in conversation. 

18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.”

 Far from being impressed with Paul’s great wisdom and worldly understanding, or his open mindedness and social acumen, these philosophers called him an “idle babbler,” a word in Greek that means literally, “seed picker.” It was used among philosophers to signify a fool who grabs up a seed of truth here and another there, like a bird picking up seeds out of the gutter, putting it together and passing it off as though it were his own but not really understanding anything. It was a term of great contempt. If Paul were the marketer that some claim, he now had every reason to begin examining his presentation and re-tooling his message. Remember what He said in 1 Corinthians 1:18?   “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness….”

Did you notice what Paul was preaching to these people in the marketplace? Was he preaching self-help for “felt needs?” Was he preaching health and wealth and God wants you rich? No. According to Luke in verse 18, He was preaching “Jesus and the resurrection.” Those who say that Paul held back on his preaching the word of the cross in Athens ignore this phrase. Preaching Jesus and the resurrection must of necessity include preaching his identity and his purpose in coming to this earth. When Philip “preached Jesus” to the Eunuch in Acts 8:35, it led to the man’s confession, baptism, and salvation. To say that Paul cut back on the message is deceitful. 

19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean."  

The Areopagus was a court on top of a hill devoted to the god Mars. It was a legal court at times. At other times it was a meeting place where philosophers gathered away from the crowds of the Agora, for special exchanges. 

Two kinds of philosophers are mentioned in verse 18 – the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans believed that everything happened by chance. Though they believed in many gods, according to them there was no god who cared anything for the concerns of man. They also believed that death was the end of human existence and there was no afterlife or resurrection. (Hmm. Now let’s see. Paul didn’t confront these people or point out the error of their beliefs, now did he? Nope. He just preached Jesus and the resurrection to men who didn’t believe there was any resurrection. He didn’t challenge their beliefs at all. Of course not!) The Epicureans believed that the highest good in life (because you only go around once!) was to find comfort and pleasure and as little suffering as possible. They were comparatively moral, believing that true pleasure could only be found in right living. 

The Stoics were pantheistic fatalists. As pantheists, they believed that everything was god, and that everything happened because of god’s will – a will that could not be altered. Thus to them the best way to deal with life was to keep a straight face, a stiff upper lip, and endure your suffering nobly. Their pantheism made them very humanitarian, since they believed that everyone was a god.  

While some of the philosophers in the marketplace mocked Paul, these Epicureans and Stoics brought him off to the side to hear more, charging him with being a “proclaimer of strange deities.”  

Luke seems to question their sincerity in this in his recounting it in verse 21: (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)  

Whatever the motives of these men, Paul was now in a great position to preach the gospel to men who were quite influential in Athens and perhaps in the world. He dared not blow it in his presentation by looking foolish or being offensive. 

22 And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.  

Note that Paul did start with some common ground. Like he, they were religious. He also spoke to them with respect for their position and with the politeness that such position would dictate. This is the sum total of his “accommodation” to their diversity, though. After this, please notice, he patiently, but persistently took their religious views apart and showed them to be foolish and misguided. And he did this in a very interesting way. 

23 "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'  

Six hundred years before Paul’s time, Athens was stricken with a plague. Hundreds of people were dead or dying and the city was desperate. A famous poet named Epimenides came up with a plan to pacify whatever god or gods were causing the plague. He suggested the released of a flock of sheep in the city to roam freely. Whenever a sheep lay down, they would sacrifice it to the god of the nearest temple, in the hope of pacifying the one that was angry. But a problem developed. Many of the sheep lay down in places where there was no temple nearby. Everywhere this happened the Athenians erected an altar or shrine “To an Unknown God.” It is likely that Paul spotted one of these altars and said, in effect, “I saw your altar and I know this Unknown God. Let me introduce Him to you.” It was a brilliant way to gain their attention while in no way endorsing their idolatry. 

23b What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; Paul isn’t quoting scripture here, is he? The reason is probably that they would not have considered Jewish Scripture relevant or authoritative. But notice! While he isn’t quoting Scripture, he isn’t ignoring it or cutting it out, either. He is teaching exactly what the Bible says about God! And he is doing it without backing away from the effect this truth might have on their views. “God made the word and all things in it.” Is that in the Scriptures? Sure. And it would include them and their idols, wouldn’t it? “He is Lord of heaven and earth.” Is that in the Bible? Yes. And it would make this “Unknown God”  more powerful than their gods, wouldn’t it? “He does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Is that in the Bible? Yes. Look around Athens at all those temples. Paul’s claim was that this “Unknown God” was bigger than all of them. “He is not served by human hands as though he needed anything.” Their gods required constant human attention. The “Unknown (to them) God” was self-sufficient.  “He gives life and breath to all things.”  Though Paul is being respectful here, far from accommodating their religious views, he is challenging them left and right and doing so with Bible teaching – though not giving book, chapter, and verse. 

26 “ and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth….” Where do we find that truth? In Genesis. Understand also that this was a blow to the Athenian view that the Greeks had a different origin than other men and were thus, superior. “…having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation….” These things didn’t happen by chance as the Epicureans taught. They were determined by the “Unknown God” that Paul preached. 27 “…that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him… These things were done (the determining and appointing of times and boundaries) so that men would seek God, not so that some men could lord it over other men. And for the Epicureans, these things didn’t happen by chance. They were determined by the “Unknown God.”  “… though He is not far from each one of us;” What would that say to these men who believed no god cared anything for humans on earth?

28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.'  

“Ah,” say the church marketers. Paul recognized and respected the teachings of their finest men!” Is that the case, or is this statement rather founded on the truth that even people groping in darkness stumble across a truth once in awhile? (How does the saying go – even a broken clock is right at least once a day?) Furthermore, if the Athenians are His offspring, and all of their “gods” are manufactured by human hands, what does that make their idols? They we not greater than the Athenians. They were less. 29 "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.  

Wow! Paul is systematically taking their false religion apart! But he isn’t finished yet. 30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."  

Far from being accommodating and “non-judgmental,” Paul calls on these people to repent. And he warns them of the coming judgment. Judgmentalism! And he speaks of the One who will judge them! It will be the one whom God raised from the dead. He’s still preaching Christ, isn’t he? 

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." 33 So Paul went out of their midst.

At this point it looks to me like Paul’s sermon was interrupted. He didn’t have a chance to finish. This suggests the possibility that had he continued he would probably have been even more specific in exposing their false religion. 

34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. 

Even in this city of idols, God’s word, when accurately preached, produced results – not the same numbers as in other places where the Scriptures were familiar, but results, nonetheless. And consider this… 

Far from being a text on marketing evangelism that advises us to cut back and become like the world in order to win people to Christ, this passage underscores that the message of the gospel should not be minimized, cut down, altered, or eliminated in any way in order to draw crowds or eliminate its built in offense and appearance of foolishness to arrogant people. People still need to be humbly converted and that will never happen until they understand that God exists and that they are accountable to Him. They will never be converted until they understand the gospel, the word of the cross that the apostles taught. This includes their acknowledgment of their sinfulness, their determination to repent, their willingness to confess Jesus as who He is, and their obedience to Him in Christian baptism. We should never allow ourselves to be pulled away from these truths – even if sometimes it seems the “results” are less spectacular than we would wish for.

 May God bless you as you consider these things.