God has set a day of judgment
Act 17:16-34
Key verse: 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Paul escaped from Berea and went to Athens. Athens was the center of Greek culture, which was most advanced in the science, literature and philosophy of the time. Though their prime time as the dominant power of the world was over more than 300 years, it was still enjoying as a free city with rich Greek heritage. In this city, there were so many gods that some said it is easier to find a god than a man in Athens. Paul was shocked and incensed by so many idols. As usually he went to synagogue and preached the good news. But at this time as soon as he finished preaching at the synagogue, he went out to a market place to preach. Athenians were totally different audience than he encountered in the past. They had no known knowledge about God of Israel or Jesus. Simply they were purely pagan and lived a life totally cut off from the God of Israel. Simply by the fact that they were totally novices to God’s truth, it was a very difficult task for Paul to present the message of the Gospel. Yet Paul made a remarkable speech to them. It was the first of such a complete message made purely for the pagans, novices of God’s truth. If the message given at Pisidian Antioch was the best sample of message to the acquainted of the biblical truth, then this message is the best sample of message for the pagans.
The initial response of these people to Paul’s message of the Gospel was tepid one and they called Paul a babbler. But as he went out to the market place day by day to talk to them, they began to pay attention to what Paul claimed. His message was comprised of many unknowns. It was all too strange for the Athenians to take in or get some grip on the message. But one thing stood out to their mind. That was the resurrection of Jesus. They were acquainted of many ideas about gods. But they never heard of resurrection and Jesus. Simply resurrection was the outside of the sphere of their minds. For these people death was the ending point of life and anything beyond it was totally unknown or was not a part of the understanding of life. So they wanted to hear more about Jesus and resurrection. People invited Paul to a place, called Areopagus (Mars hill). It was a place the people of city of Athens conducted meetings for various city affairs and even judicial decisions. It was likely that the audience at Areopagus represented the entire city of Athens, the capital city of the world of intellectualism and religiosity of the time. The truth of God, the Gospel, must be able to survive and to penetrate this city if the message of the Gospel was to move forward to the people of the world of all kinds of paganism. In this regard this message bears so much importance for us all.
I go out to talk to a quite number of students every week. Many of them are like Athenians, having no basic knowledge of God of Israel, Jesus, and resurrection. The reason is clear. The new generation of US is getting more biblically illiterate and there is a gross lack of teaching of the bible at home and even at churches. This is further compounded by a large mass of foreign students from the biblically illiterate nations. In this regard, the message of Paul gives us the understanding on the fundamentals of how we can present the gospel to these students.
How did Paul introduce them the truth for life? Here in the meeting of Areopagus, he called out loudly, People of Athens! It was a pretty big place and there might be tens or hundreds of people, who were ready to listen.
The true God, the creator of the heaven and the earth.
Read v23. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
In Athens, there were so many gods. Yet, there was an inscription ‘unknown god’. If we look at this in positive side, we can understand that they were seeking gods with all their intelligence and the truth. At the same time despite of such efforts, they did not get to the full understanding of gods or the truth of life.
What was the result of such efforts? We can find that answer through the life and belief of these two groups, epicureans and stoics, the most advanced and thought through understanding of life. They were twin towers of scholars of the time. If anyone understand life or the universe better, then it was these two: Epicureans and Stoics.
Epicureans’ chief purpose of life is to have pleasure. This does not mean indulging all kinds of pleasures that crass type of hedonism seek. They like enjoy tranquility of life, free from pain, from disturbing passions, from superstitious fear, such as fear of death. Though they do not deny the existence of gods, they maintains that god has no interest in the life of men. So they say, if it feels good, then it is good.
Stoics are severe and lofty pantheists who believe that the world is under the law of an iron necessity. So passionless conformity of the human will to this law is to live good life, being unmoved even by all external circumstances and changes. This is ultimate form of virtue or perfection. They think that life is meaningless. Yet they would not let this meaningless bring down their spirit for life.
Howson characterized the ruling principle of life of these two groups into two words; pleasure and pride.
They were the most educated and the scholars of the day. Yet they were living in uncertainty and darkness. They gathered together and talked daily within their reason and their experiences, season after season, year after year without any conclusion or firm faith or conviction. So both of these people are left with the question on how to live now. NOW is the most concern, one was led to ‘pleasure’ while the other pursued a perfect harmony with the rigid rules of the universe in pride in themselves. Here we can notice few things common among these two;
First, though they had so many gods, they had no certainty on what the truth was.
Second, despite of such an intense search for the truth, their needs were not met and were forced to find answers for life relying on rationalism and empiricism.
Third, though they assert their beliefs, there were ongoing arguments that were fed by deeply seated skepticism.
Fourth, they are deists
Fifth, their efforts are all for how they live NOW. They had no understanding of eternal life, i.e no idea of resurrection at all.
Truly, this was a pitiful condition. Actually the people of the world live either with the same ideas of these two groups of people or some mixture of these two ideas.
The findings of Athens are similar to the findings of today’s world. The people of today, esp. postmodern people have exposure to all of these gods. In the end they are not sure what to believe. They are to sort things out with two, rationalism and empiricism, which never given them a certainty of the truth for life and forced to remain in skepticism. But they are also forced to choose one of these two ways of life, ie epicurean way or stoic way. For the time being, their lives are to run either by pleasure or pride or anywhere in between these two.
What is the answer?
V2424 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
They knew so many gods. But they had not known or heard the God who created the world and everything in it. So this God is not of this world, the world that they knew of. But the gods they knew were of this world, understood and reasoned with the terms of this world. In this way, they were cuff from the God who created the universe. Who is the God that we believe? How is the God of Christianity different from other gods of this world? These are the questions we face and we are to give an answer. The most clear and concise answer is that the God we believe is the God of creation. There are many other ways to present our God, yet all other ways to describe our God is incomplete or inadequate. There are no other gods who asserted to be a god of creation, expect our God. Also there is no other gods that proved himself in power and in authority to be the God of creation**. Also we must note that he did not reason with them that Paul’s God is the true God. He simply declared (proclaim v23) to them that the God of creation is the only God. So knowing and accepting God is not a matter of ‘reasoning’ within human reasons but a matter of ‘believing’. This God stood clearly in contrast to the gods who were to be living in the temples built by human hands, i.e. gods made up of the things created by the God of creation. In other word, God of creation is not under human control. Instead if man is to relate with Him, then man are to believe and to worship with respect and honor. When Moses asked God what was his name, He said, “I am who I am”(YHWH; Exo 3:14) This is evident in how this God relate with what he created.
V25 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Among all creation, man is the most prized creation. Nevertheless, this God is unaffected or uninfluenced by man. He alone is the only one autonomous being. He exists of himself and by himself, unaffected by any things of what he created, including man. Truly he has all authority in Himself. In his autonomous will in love and grace, he gives everyone life, breath and everything else, i.e. all means of living for men. This includes literally all things, not just what we eat, what we wear, but also, the earth, trees, air, sea and sky, sun and moon and stars. They are all God’s provision for men! We men ought to know this and we are to respect and serve Him as the source of our being. God’s hand does not stop here.
26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
God controls the entirety of human history, i.e. human destiny. He determined me to be a Korean and you to be an American. There are American, Europeans, Middle Eastern, African and Asian. There are black, white and yellow. There are about 200 nations or countries. Each has its boundaries that they are to stay within. Though we, men, have freedom, all men are still within these boundaries that God has set. God is in control of human history in its entirety! God is autonomous as well as sovereign over all of his creation, including all men. In his sovereign will he runs the world. So this God is the Lord of all. In His will, purpose and discretion, God runs the world and the whole people of God world. Any hardships or mishaps of life even sickness and death must be seen and understood within God’s will and his purpose. Also unless we know Him and have relationship with him, unless we meet his purpose and follow his will, we never find the true meaning of life and we will be living like epicureans and stoics with deep seated doubt and skepticism.
Moses prophesied that at some point in the future Israel would face the similar situation as these people.
Deuteronomy 32:16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God-- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 The LORD saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 "I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.
As we noted here, the primary causes of such predicament was idolatry, rejection to serve the God of creation, the only God of their lives! As long as this persists, their condition will not change; so many gods, so much knowledge in human experiences, so much intelligence based on rationalism render them futile outcome. Even now the whole world is struggling to find solution for life which is filled with so many problems. I met quite a number of students who said that they are studying certain subject because they want to contribute a solution for many problems in this age. One wanted to major in criminal justice because he wanted to solve and to implement real justice. One wanted to study biology because he wanted to do research in finding cure for many sicknesses such as malaria. They are good and commendable. But do these studies alone provide true or meaningful answers for life?
Paul began to offer the solution from God, the creator.
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
There is a clear intention and will of God in putting us in such predicaments, which neither Epicureans nor Stoics could not overcome them or find answers for such troubles of life. There is no answers within the created things of the world. The means and ways that men can find in the created world are two rationalism and empiricism. As we noted in these twin towers of philosophical truth, there is no certainty and no faith or conviction. Even with the best of their efforts, they leave sour taste of lasting skepticism in the depth of their mind. The reason is clear; there is no answer for life and it is only found in the one who created us. We are shut off God’s face, God’s truth and God’s life. We are forced to remain in this condition. Why? God did this so that they may seek Him. In Him only or in relationship with him only, we can find answers. Why is it the case? Why can we find answers from the world that we have control over? Why do the solutions that we find in this world not meet our needs? Paul answers this way;
28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Our existence is utterly God-dependent! It is from our birth to our death. God made us know this and let us feel this. It is God’s living testimony for us that God bore us; our entire being is from him, of him, and by him. We are his children, his offspring. As his offspring, men cannot get way from His sight, men cannot defy his will and purpose. Literally, in Him, we live, move and have our being! Psalmist expressed such feeling.
Psalm 119:168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.
Though we have freedom, our freedom is timed and contained within the boundary of His will and purpose. The obvious boundary that all men are to live in includes, all forms of sinfulness, sickness, and death. These are God’s statements and His will for us to seek him. Soon after the fall of man, God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Gen 3:19 NIV). The God who created man ruled when man sinned against God in this way. That rule is still in effect because that God is still living and implementing his word on all human being. The most striking and yet common feature of the understanding of God by these two philosophies, epicureans and stoics, is deistic belief in god.
Stoics as well as epicureans acknowledge that there are gods. Those gods had no relevant to their actual lives because the gods they believe is deistic. A God created long time ago the whole universe but is now sleeping and has no concern on any human affairs. This is called deism. The believe God’s existence but they deny that God is in action now in human affairs. They deny God’s commanding presence in his will in all human affairs. Even among Christians, many believe God like stoics or deistic belief. It is wrong and it is a form of defamation of God’s authority, God’s grace and God’s open arms of love for all sinners! Even now in Him we live, we move and we have our being! We daily live in his sight and everything of the world is under his gracious control for his good and righteous purpose. Even in the worst situation we are to give praise him for his good will and his utmost wisdom!
God, the creator is living and is with men! What does this lead men to do?
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
The first thing that man must do is to reject idol worship and turning to God of creation. This is the first importance in reestablishing our relationship with God, the creator of our being. God is jealous God as Moses said in Deut. As long as men’s mind are attached to those gods, they are alienated from the true God and there is no way to find the truth, meaning and purpose of life. The troubles of life will persist. God overlooked in the past but now he command all people on earth to repent, repent from idol worship, repent from rejecting the one and only God, the God of creation. God began to make such demand. He did this because he was offering a solution for life for all men. What is that solution?
31a For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
Paul began to offer a solution for such hopeless life. At the beginning of this offer, he did not mention something sweet. Instead he put forth a stern word of judgment. As God has set a day of judgment, that judgment is set and firm. In other word, the coming of judgment is certain and there is only a finite time for each one before a judgment comes to him or her. (This may imply the Day of Judgment when Jesus comes again. It is more of the day when one dies.) On the day of his or her death, he/her will be brought before the judgment seat of God.
The message of judgment is hard to deliver. Paul in front of many people of Athens, including epicureans and stoics, declared that a judgment is set and is coming! This is to acknowledge that the utmost authority and power of God almighty will come forward in full strength to all human being, putting behind all times of grace and leniency for ungodliness, idol worship and apostasy. God is running the world in his grace for now. But this will surely end and God’s judgment is coming and is actually happening every day! Sinners, idolaters perish every day to eternal judgment! The world has to know this and we have to know this. We ought to preach this as well. The message of salvation is never complete until the message of salvation is sealed with the message of judgment! Paul was standing alone before a large crowds he delivered this message. They were all strangers to him. But in his compassion and love for them, he dared to deliver the message of judgment! It was all possible that they could pick up stones and hit him. It was possible to gang up on him to death! Nevertheless Paul delivered the message of judgment! It is genuine love for them and true obedience to the will of God and faithfulness to the message of the Gospel! Why? This is the one and only solution for their lives! It is a bitter medicine.
Why now at this time, not before, did God set a day of judgment?
31b He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
God spoke the truth of life through his son Jesus, particularly through his suffering, death and resurrection. So Jesus’ death and resurrection is a full revelation of truth of God. The truth on who will perish and who will be blessed. At the same time God made a full provision for the salvation of any man who believes in him. Since God has shown full revelation of his truth for live in the full extent of his love, Jesus’ death and resurrection is the final message from God. NO MORE message is coming from God. So from this point on, the message of salvation is wide open for the world. So since then, the world has been on the cross road, to choose to reject Jesus leading to judgment and to choose to believe for life and eternal blessing.
The message of Jesus’ death and resurrection is the message for now and until Jesus’ coming. We ought to deliver Jesus ‘death and resurrection in all and every occasion, to serve as a welcome for God’s blessing and to deliver as the ultimatum for God’s judgment. This is the Gospel and in and through the message of this Gospel, the power of the Holy Spirit is working.
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