The Bereans and the Areopagus
The Bereans and the Areopagus
We continue with Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. He is encountering all sorts. He confronted and cast out the evil spirit that was operating through a young slave girl who was being used to make money. This landed Paul and Silas in prison because the girl could no longer bring money by fortune telling to her owners (Acts 16). In a miraculous way, God released Paul and his team from prison. You will think his problems are over but not. Paul gets thrown out of town in Thessalonica by his fellow Jews who were envious of the success of the gospel of Jesus. That did not stop him.
Paul will continue his journey and will now encounter the Bereans, the Epicureans, the Stoic and the Areopagus. Who are these strange sounding names? Let’s find out from Scripture. Let’s be ready to encounter all kinds along the way and be like the Bereans who did their home work. Are you doing your home work on the Word of God or are you just winging it?
Acts 17: 10-34:
10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 13When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"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 hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
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 man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For 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 all men by raising him from the dead." 32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." 33At that, Paul left the Council. 34A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. It amazes me how we can read a 400 page thriller over night and yet we can’t read two chapters of the Bible in one week. This was not the case of the Bereans. They studied and checked out the facts for themselves. The Bereans “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” v.11. Just because your pastor or any teacher said it does not mean it lines up with the word of God. We must find out for ourselves what the truth of the word is. Have you heard that kids who grow up in Christian homes and went to church every week that 75% will graduate from college without holding unto their faith?
2. No wonder Paul instructed Timothy his son to “15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Timothy was part of the trip to Berea and saw first hand real bible students. Are you a bible student and not necessarily a seminarian? We are called to study the word for our selves if we are to grow spiritually. Are you digging deep? There is a college in Missouri by name, the Berean College. It got its name from this chapter of Acts. Are you a Berean or a “Be-fed” - waiting for someone to feed you your Father’s word? It sounds up surd that the only time I hear from my Father is only when someone lets me hear or interpret what my Father said. We must go straight to read, hear, and study our Father’s words.
3. Every one of us must avail ourselves of some basic tools in our study of the word of God. In today’s age, most of the study tools are free from the internet (check out BibleGateway.com). We can also invest in hardcopies such as the NIV study bible or any other study bible that has dictionary and concordance. How amazing how much we spend to buy books to pass our professional exams but the most important subject of our lives, we invest like nothing? I don’t’ need to talk you into it. You got the point. Now go study my brother and sister. You “need not be ashamed” for lack of study.
4. We need to study and be ready to meet the Epicureans, the Stoics and the Areopagus? Who are these guys and gals? Paul confronted each one of them with the proper answers. The Epicureans “taught that the supreme good is pleasure” which ended up being sensual at the end. The Stoics “taught that people should live in accord with nature, recognize their own self-sufficiency and independence, and suppress their desires”. For the Stoics, it all amounted to self pride at the end. All of these sound like our present day Hollywood, extreme environmentalist and the New Age philosophies, just to name a few.
5. The Areopagus “considered themselves the custodians of teachings that introduced new religions and foreign gods”. For the gods they can not figure out and to make sure all gods are covered, they had altar to the “unknown God”. We have so many intellectuals among us these days and those who ridicule our God. Paul was accused of “bringing strange ideas to our ears”. Our gospel, the good news of Christ sounds strange to many ears of our time.
6. Apostle Paul confronted these intellectuals and philosophers. He came down to their level and identified something they all could agree with. Paul said, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am here to proclaim to you”. The God who made all things including you and me is the God you do not yet know. Even the evolutionist knows in his heart that God made him. Are you one of these intellectuals that have no room for God and Jesus?
7. The people then and now would rather worship what they do not know in the form of gold and silver or whatever designs that suits them. Paul made it clear and we must make it clear to all that “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed (the risen Christ)” vs. 30-31. The world is being “entertained and amused” by Hollywood so that the day of judgment can be forgotten. That day is coming. What an awesome day it will be. Jesus is the only Hope and answer to mankind for now and on that day.
8. Not all will believe the message but some would. “A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them, was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” vs. 34. Even one person is worth all the efforts.
Are you a Berean? And are you ready to confront the intellectuals (the Epicureans, Stoics and Areopagus) around you at your home, school, work or neighborhood? You and I can’t hide from them. They will confront us whether we like it or not. May God grant us understanding as we discipline ourselves to study his Word? We must give an answer to what we have – “Christ in us, the HOPE of glory”. Pray for the intellectuals that God will open their spiritual eyes. Amen.
We continue with Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. He is encountering all sorts. He confronted and cast out the evil spirit that was operating through a young slave girl who was being used to make money. This landed Paul and Silas in prison because the girl could no longer bring money by fortune telling to her owners (Acts 16). In a miraculous way, God released Paul and his team from prison. You will think his problems are over but not. Paul gets thrown out of town in Thessalonica by his fellow Jews who were envious of the success of the gospel of Jesus. That did not stop him.
Paul will continue his journey and will now encounter the Bereans, the Epicureans, the Stoic and the Areopagus. Who are these strange sounding names? Let’s find out from Scripture. Let’s be ready to encounter all kinds along the way and be like the Bereans who did their home work. Are you doing your home work on the Word of God or are you just winging it?
Acts 17: 10-34:
10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 13When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"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 hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
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 man's design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For 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 all men by raising him from the dead." 32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject." 33At that, Paul left the Council. 34A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. It amazes me how we can read a 400 page thriller over night and yet we can’t read two chapters of the Bible in one week. This was not the case of the Bereans. They studied and checked out the facts for themselves. The Bereans “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” v.11. Just because your pastor or any teacher said it does not mean it lines up with the word of God. We must find out for ourselves what the truth of the word is. Have you heard that kids who grow up in Christian homes and went to church every week that 75% will graduate from college without holding unto their faith?
2. No wonder Paul instructed Timothy his son to “15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Timothy was part of the trip to Berea and saw first hand real bible students. Are you a bible student and not necessarily a seminarian? We are called to study the word for our selves if we are to grow spiritually. Are you digging deep? There is a college in Missouri by name, the Berean College. It got its name from this chapter of Acts. Are you a Berean or a “Be-fed” - waiting for someone to feed you your Father’s word? It sounds up surd that the only time I hear from my Father is only when someone lets me hear or interpret what my Father said. We must go straight to read, hear, and study our Father’s words.
3. Every one of us must avail ourselves of some basic tools in our study of the word of God. In today’s age, most of the study tools are free from the internet (check out BibleGateway.com). We can also invest in hardcopies such as the NIV study bible or any other study bible that has dictionary and concordance. How amazing how much we spend to buy books to pass our professional exams but the most important subject of our lives, we invest like nothing? I don’t’ need to talk you into it. You got the point. Now go study my brother and sister. You “need not be ashamed” for lack of study.
4. We need to study and be ready to meet the Epicureans, the Stoics and the Areopagus? Who are these guys and gals? Paul confronted each one of them with the proper answers. The Epicureans “taught that the supreme good is pleasure” which ended up being sensual at the end. The Stoics “taught that people should live in accord with nature, recognize their own self-sufficiency and independence, and suppress their desires”. For the Stoics, it all amounted to self pride at the end. All of these sound like our present day Hollywood, extreme environmentalist and the New Age philosophies, just to name a few.
5. The Areopagus “considered themselves the custodians of teachings that introduced new religions and foreign gods”. For the gods they can not figure out and to make sure all gods are covered, they had altar to the “unknown God”. We have so many intellectuals among us these days and those who ridicule our God. Paul was accused of “bringing strange ideas to our ears”. Our gospel, the good news of Christ sounds strange to many ears of our time.
6. Apostle Paul confronted these intellectuals and philosophers. He came down to their level and identified something they all could agree with. Paul said, “Now what you worship as something unknown I am here to proclaim to you”. The God who made all things including you and me is the God you do not yet know. Even the evolutionist knows in his heart that God made him. Are you one of these intellectuals that have no room for God and Jesus?
7. The people then and now would rather worship what they do not know in the form of gold and silver or whatever designs that suits them. Paul made it clear and we must make it clear to all that “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed (the risen Christ)” vs. 30-31. The world is being “entertained and amused” by Hollywood so that the day of judgment can be forgotten. That day is coming. What an awesome day it will be. Jesus is the only Hope and answer to mankind for now and on that day.
8. Not all will believe the message but some would. “A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them, was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” vs. 34. Even one person is worth all the efforts.
Are you a Berean? And are you ready to confront the intellectuals (the Epicureans, Stoics and Areopagus) around you at your home, school, work or neighborhood? You and I can’t hide from them. They will confront us whether we like it or not. May God grant us understanding as we discipline ourselves to study his Word? We must give an answer to what we have – “Christ in us, the HOPE of glory”. Pray for the intellectuals that God will open their spiritual eyes. Amen.
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