Rev. David Holwick ZG
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 26, 1993
Acts 17:16-33
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I. "Know your enemy: a thousand battles, a thousand victories."
A. Famous advice by ancient Chinese general.
B. We live in a world that doesn't know what we believe, and doesn't
care.
A Denver woman told her pastor of an experience that she felt
was a sign of the times.
She had walked into a jewelry store looking for a necklace.
"I'd like a gold cross," she said.
The man behind the counter looked over the stock in the display
case and said,
"Do you want a plain one, or one with a little man on it?"
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C. Though many have no beliefs, some are seeking for deeper truth.
II. Paul's confrontation with the modern world.
A. Ancient Athens was the intellectual center of the world.
1) It was past its prime, but still esteemed.
a) They anticipated most trends in modern thought.
b) Always seeking new ideas.
1> Similar comments made by others.
2> They debate, when they should act.
2) Paul met two contrasting philosophies.
B. Epicureans. 17:18
1) Pleasure is the chief goal in life.
a) Not unbridled lust, but a life of tranquility.
b) They wanted to be free from pain, fears, and anxiety
about death.
2) Gods not denied, but they take no interest in people.
a) Similar to modern deism.
b) Everything happens by chance.
3) Motto is "eat, drink and be merry." Isa 22:13, Lk 12:19, 1 Cor 15:32
C. Stoics. 17:18
1) Founded by Zeno, who taught by a painted pillar (=stoa).
2) Deterministic - the gods have written your destiny and
there is little you can do about it.
a) You must accept your fate without emotion.
b) Essentially pantheistic - everything is god.
3) Emphasis on human reasoning and self-sufficiency.
D. Paul was labelled a babbler. 17:18
1) Babbler meant "seed-picker," someone who picked up ideas
without really grasping them.
2) He was called before the city council to be checked out
if he was safe or not.
3) Modern Christians get the same amount of disrespect.
a) Answers from the Bible are considered simplistic.
b) The truly educated have no answers for anything.
III. These popular philosophies summed up how ancients coped with life.
A. There has been little change to this day.
1) Many are seekers after pleasure.
"Ride hard. Die hard."
These words were on the cap of truck driver Larry Mount.
Larry fulfilled them by driving on the wrong side of
Interstate 77 at a high rate of speed and a blood alcohol
level two-and-a-half times the legal limit.
He crashed into a Kentucky school bus carrying Assembly of
God church kids home from an outing at King's Island.
Larry "rode hard," the kids "died hard."
He was charged with 27 counts of capital murder.
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a) Surprising how many young people turn to pleasure.
1> Example of Belinda, beautiful high schooler whose
boyfriend influenced her to use drugs.
No one knew until a self-styled evangelist challenged
her.
2> Much drug use in Roxbury, especially alcohol.
b) Reason society agonizes on how to handle sexuality.
1> Abstinence seems so unrealistic.
2> Instead, we are mastered by our passions.
Randy Shilts wrote "And the Band Played On" about
the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
He skewered both the government and other homosexuals.
Yet by the time he finished the book, he had AIDS
himself.
2) Many are stoic intellectuals who trust human reason and
distrust emotion.
"Star Hustler" Jerry? Hockheimer grew up Catholic but now
repudiates religion.
His religion is "NASA and the people at JPL."
B. The pursuit of pleasure and knowledge still dissatisfy.
1) Many wonder if this is all there is to life.
2) Paul told the Athenians his views.
IV. "An unknown god." 17:23
A. Paul preached to the people on their level.
1) He recognized that there was something genuine in their
seeking for God.
a) As in Lystra, there is no reference to the Bible or
Jewish history.
b) Neither is there reference to crops or God's grace
through nature.
2) His point of contact with them was their own philosophy.
a) What is God like?
b) What is our responsibility to him?
B. God is the Creator. 17:24
1) Greek religion put the world first, gods second.
2) Paul: God is not dependent on the world, or us.
C. All humans have a common ancestor. 17:26
1) Greeks thought they were superior, having sprung directly
from Athen's local soil.
2) Christianity accepts the inter-relatedness of all people.
a) Scientifically valid - one common ancestor.
b) Needs to be emphasized in our fractured society.
3) No one is sub-human.
a) Even people with bloody hands reveal by their false
justification of evil acts that deep down they
have a moral orientation.
b) Not all are our spiritual brothers, but everyone is our
brother and sister in the flesh.
D. We are morally responsible before God, and must change our ways.
1) Seeking for God is not enough.
2) False religion (idolatry) must be abandoned.
3) All people must repent and follow God correctly. 17:30
Gordon Liddy, President Nixon's Watergate operative, is a
prime example of a hard-bitten pagan.
He followed Nietzsche in his philosophy of "will to power"
to overcome fear.
He once ate a rat to get over his fear of rats.
He succeeded in life rapidly, got caught in Watergate, then
recovered to the point he made an appearance on Miami Vice.
David Letterman once asked him, "What happens after we die?"
Liddy's response: "We are food for the worms."
His answer gave him a sense of inner unease; he sought out
former FBI friends who invited him to a Bible study.
Liddy went because he had an historical interest in Bible.
He came to see the Bible as God's communication to man, had
a "rush of reason" and became a Christian.
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[Conversion disputed by Liddy in media??]
V. All truth is God's truth.
A. Paul quotes two Greek poets, Epimenides and Aratus, for support.
1) Paul did not completely reject Greek philosophy.
a) By God's grace it contains some elements of truth.
b) Its problem is that it is built on shifting sands of
human opinion.
2) Lasting truth must be founded on God's revelation.
CT, 1/13/89, p 38.
a) Problem: according to a recent poll, only 28% of
Americans believe in "absolute truth." CT, 3/9/92,p 16.
B. God's truth can be found in other cultures.
1) Aspects of God's truth have been grasped worldwide.
2) We accept this truth, but not the worldview they wrap it in.
3) Christianity takes the severed portions of truth found in
all other systems and unites them. CT, 1/13/89, p 38.
VI. What do Christians have to say to their world?
A. Evangelicalism is tagged as anti-intellectual.
1) Scopes "monkey" trial.
2) School book banning, even burning.
a) Jerry Falwell's list of burned books: 100 blank pages.
3) Many Christians have developed a bunker mentality.
a) We have our own schools and institutions.
b) Intellectual pursuit discouraged.
B. We should challenge our society on its level.
1) We need to know its philosophies and underpinnings.
a) Throwing Bible verses at them has little impact.
b) Also be aware that competing religions and
"spiritualities" use our terminology, but warp it.
2) Seek out the best in culture and incorporate it.
a) Search for all knowledge, especially Bible's.
Broadway and "Les Miserables."
Christian theme of forgiveness and grace.
Much weeping at end.
b) Don't separate your Christian faith from all other
areas of your life.
3) Some Christians have excelled at confronting society on
its own turf.
Francis Shaeffer gave a presentation at Harvard that
showed modern thought has atomized.
He received a standing ovation.
C. Don't compromise the gospel.
1) Paul used pagan illustrations to make a Christian message.
2) His theme is the same as Jesus's:
"The Kingdom is at hand, repent and believe the good news."
3) Be persuasive, but last word is God's.
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