Paul in Athens

Acts 17:16-31

Paul found himself in Athens and as usual he had discussions with the Jews and philosophers of the area. He never looked back at the trouble, but ahead to the new group to preach the gospel of Christ. This time in Athens, the people had nothing better to do than talk of the ‘cutting edge’ ideas of the day or listen to new ideas. They were intrigued by Paul because he came with new ideas.

They also had tried to cover their religious bases with alters to all of the gods they knew and there was one there to an unknown god. Paul saw this and began there with his preaching to the Athenians. Paul was speaking to the Epicureans who believed that everything happened by chance, that death was the end of everything, that the gods were remote from everything of the world and did not care, and that the purpose of life of the pursuit of pleasure. They did not want material pleasure because, to them, pleasure could only be in situations where there was no pain.

The Stoics believed that everything was God. They felt that God was a fiery spirit that became dull in matter so that everything has a piece of God in it. They believed that everything that happened was the will of God so everything should be accepted without resentment. They believed that the world disintegrated and regenerates to go through the same cycle of events again.

The people took Paul to the Areopogus to share his ideas. So, he was in the most learned city in the world in front of the most exclusive court in the world. The court had about thirty and they did talk through and handle moral dilemmas as well as acting as a legal court. To Paul, this was just another God-given opportunity to share God’s word as a witness for Christ.

Paul had a six-point sermon for at the Areopogus.

1. God is the maker and not made by human hands referring to the alter to the unknown god.

2. God has guided history through time. He has caused the rise and fall of nation since the beginning of time.

3. God has made man in such a way that they long for and seek God in the darkness.

4. The days of feeling our way through and ignorance are passed. Searching in the darkness has been accomplished.

5. The day of judgment is coming. Life is not progressing to extinction as the epicureans believed. Everything is not absorbed back to God as the Stoics believed. Life is a journey to the judgment seat of God where Jesus Christ is the judge.

6. The proof of the absolute power is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is no unknown god but a risen Christ with whom we have to deal. Remember Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus.

Acts 17:32-34

The Athenians Respond

The Athenians had enough pretty quickly especially when they heard about the resurrection of dead men. So typical of the Athenians was that they wanted to handle the intellect of the situation, but they don’t want to follow through with action. It seems that Paul had less success in Athens than in other areas he had preached, but some still believed. It was worth his effort. The Spirit had a purpose for leading Paul to Athens.

Paul had to deal with three main responses: 1) Some Athenians mocked him. They were amused at the apparent passion and earnestness of this Jew. He was merely entertainment to them. Making light of life in this instance will certainly end in tragedy. 2) Some put off their decision in procrastination. We will hear you at a later time. Procrastination is dangerous because once you decide to put off a decision; you so often have made your decision to ignore. 3) Some of the Athenians accepted the message and embraced it. Foolish men reject an offer coming from God.

There were two men named as accepting Christ. The position of women in Athens was very restricted. It is very unlikely that a respectable woman would have been in the market square at all. It is telling that she was moved to turn away from the shame that was her life. Once again the message of God cuts across all social and economic lines.

Next, Paul heads to Corinth

Have a Great Week!

Brad

Thessalonica

Acts 17:1-9

The first sentence makes the trip to Thessalonica was a pleasant stroll through the country-side. Actually, it is a distance of over 100 miles of walking travel. In a single verse the journey was pretty much dismissed moving on to the important point of the book, furthering the gospel of Christ. People were hearing and accepting Paul’s preaching of the truth of the gospel.

Thessalonica is very important because it is on a major ‘highway’ connecting to other parts of the Roman Empire known as the Aegean Way. This allows the gospel to continue to travel with the Christians on to more parts of the world. These paths were the key to commerce and communication in the Roman Empire.

Paul began in the community by debating the scriptures in the synagogue. This was his normal mode of business by offering the message to the Jews first then the others. During this debate the Jews were noticing that Paul and Silas were ‘stealing’ the gentiles from them. They saw the gentiles as part of their community and they were threatened just like when Jesus did during his ministry.

The Jews did their best to slow Paul and Silas down. They began by stirring up the crowd with emotion. Then, when they dragged Jason in front of the magistrates, they accused the missionaries in preaching political rebellion. Sound familiar? They accused Jesus of the same thing as they attempted to accuse him in the end. What can you learn from this situation? Is stirring up the crowd the best way?

Stirring up the crowd reminds me of the junior high and high school ‘drama’ that so often happens when someone gets angry in a situation. So often, teenagers will stir up and seek support from friends instead of going and confronting the object of the anger.

On to Borea and Athens next week. Have a Blessed week!

Brad

The Pytho and the Jailer

Acts 16:16-40

The slave girl was known as a Pytho, someone who could give people glimpses into the future. The girl was also insane. These people were strangely respected by people in ancient times. They would say that she lost her wits to have the mind of the gods. The owners of this girl were making their living off of her “abilities.” When they realized she could no longer do this, they went after Paul and Silas appealing the people to all things Roman playing to the anti-semitism of the crowd. They were successful and had Paul and Silas arrested in maximum security.

As we choose our livelihood or career to make a living, what is acceptable for this profession?

When Paul and Silas were arrested their physical freedom had been taken away, but their freedom to worship God was still in tact. As Christians our ability to worship God and keep with him is with us and cannot be taken away no matter what setting we find ourselves.

Paul never held a grudge. He was quite willing to open the door of salvation to the jailer who had closed the door of freedom on him. He stood on his dignity and claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. He demanded the respect of his position for the sake of his calling. He wanted the people of Philippi to understand that the Christians of their city had influential friends. They should think before instigating persecution.

How would we react in a similar circumstance?

The Philippian jailer would represent the solid middle class of Roman society. He had standing in the community because of his official position. When the earthquake hit and all of the prisoners stayed, his physical life had been spared. He had heard Paul and Silas singing hymns and had heard something of the message because he was ready to be saved. God had his attention.

How does God demand our attention today?

As soon as everyone’s spiritual needs were met, the jailer changed his actions having Paul and Silas’ wounds dressed and food set before them at his table, a true change of heart.

Have a Great Week!

Brad

http://www.putnamchurchofchrist.com

Preaching in Macedonia

Acts 16:6-10

Paul, Silas take the gospel to Europe

The doors were closed to Paul when it came to preaching the gospel where he was. This must have been a little perplexing to him since he was a Roman citizen in a Roman colony trying to preach. The Spirit kept telling him no and he kept searching.

How did the Holy Spirit send this message to him? We don’t know. Common ways in the early church were through a prophet of the Lord, it may have been by a vision, or it may have been an inescapable conviction of his own. Another way of communication could have been his ill health-his thorn in the flesh. At any rate, the message was clear to Paul. How do we react to these sorts of things? Could it be that we are being led in a particular direction?

What makes Paul’s health a possibility is that in verse 10 the story changes from third person telling to first person witnessing. Luke was a doctor making it more likely that Paul was suffering from some ailment that he felt needed attention. This is an example to us that Paul took his weakness as being a messenger from God.

Next, week is Paul’s dream and the first conversion from preaching in Europe.

Acts 16:11-15

Review: The dream of the man in Macedonia gave Paul guidance to seek to go on to Macedonia to preach the good news. What do Christians see as guidance from the Lord / Holy spirit today? Consistent study of God’s Word gives us guidance through faith in our convictions based on our study. We have read before that the amount the Holy Spirit works through us is a direct result in our attitude and growth in faith.

Are we paying attention? We have talked about the times in our lives when a check showed up in the mail on the day a bill was due or the milk ran out for the baby when there was no other money to pay for it. Are we paying attention and looking for these instances in our lives when something occurs by God’s intervention?

Do we keep searching for an answer or do we quit and wait for the answer to come to us? The search for answers can get exhausting and it is work. In our society today the prevailing attitude of young people is that it has to easy or I’m not going to be taking part. I don’t care what the consequences are. The addage of nothing worth-while comes without effort seems to have been lost to a certain extent these days.

In Philippi, the Jews didn’t have synagogs, but they had a place of prayer where they met each Sabbath. These places were generally along a river in a lonely, shady place. Paul’s work was so extraordinary there because of the cross section of people that were there. Lydia was among the most wealthy in the city being a merchant of purple. This was very costly because the dye was gathered drop by drop from a certain shellfish.

What do you think about the Lord opening Lydia’s heart to Paul’s message?

Lydia’s immediate reaction was to extend hospitality to Paul and his friends. When Paul was explaining Christian character he said that Christians should extend hospitality (Romans 12:13). Peter urged the same thing about hospitality on his converts recorded in 1 Peter 4:9.

Hospitality is hard for me because of the amount of effort it takes to get the kids on board for the hospitality program, clean the house, and have the energy to entertain. Then, there is the issue of space. Growing up, we had people around many times, but not really like what Paul and Peter are describing. I have started a new program in my business life that I hope will change this and get hospitality into our program giving us more motivation to do more of this.

Next week, the slave girl who tells the world Paul and Silas are preaching the Word of God.

Have a Great Week!

Brad

Something new: http://HeartFelt.myctmh.com

Led by the Holy Spirit

Acts 16:11-15

Paul, Silas take the gospel to Europe

The doors were closed to Paul when it came to preaching the gospel where he was. This must have been a little perplexing to him since he was a Roman citizen in a Roman colony trying to preach. The Spirit kept telling him no and he kept searching.

How did the Holy Spirit send this message to him? We don’t know. Common ways in the early church were through a prophet of the Lord, it may have been by a vision, or it may have been an inescapable conviction of his own. Another way of communication could have been his ill health-his thorn in the flesh. At any rate, the message was clear to Paul. How do we react to these sorts of things? Could it be that we are being led in a particular direction?

What makes Paul’s health a possibility is that in verse 10 the story changes from third person telling to first person witnessing. Luke was a doctor making it more likely that Paul was suffering from some ailment that he felt needed attention. This is an example to us that Paul took his weakness as being a messenger from God.

The dream of the man in Macedonia gave Paul guidance to seek to go on to Macedonia to preach the good news. What do Christians see as guidance from the Lord / Holy spirit today? Consistent study of God’s Word gives us guidance through faith in our convictions based on our study. We have read before that the amount the Holy Spirit works through us is a direct result in our attitude and growth in faith.

Next week, the first conversion from the preaching in Europe (Lydia)

Have a Great Week!

Brad