"A WORD TO THE WISE"

Written by Rob Bailes

Wise Men Search For Something New

The city was Athens and Paul was waiting for his fellow apostles to join him, but Paul wasn't one to sit still for very long and wait on others to show up! As Paul walked around the city he observed the practices of the people in Athens and one of the things that he really took notice of was there forms of worship and what they were worshipping. This is always a good sign of how wise a population is in the matters of God and the teachings of Jesus while on this earth. It wasn't long before Paul had made his way to the local place of worship that they called synagogue back then and he began to discuss this with those who were revered in the church and this led him into an argument over how the people were worshipping gods of gold, silver and art made by men.

It wasn't long before a group had gathered! It was a group of people who were termed the philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoicks. The disciples of Epicurus basically gave up the search by reason for pure truth and turned to search for true pleasure by experience instead.

Then there were the Stoicks and their philosophy was almost opposite. These did not deny the existence of the gods; but they held that all human affairs were governed by fate. They did not believe that any good was received from the hands of their gods; and considered, as Seneca asserts, that any good and wise man was equal to Jupiter himself. Both these sects agreed in denying the resurrection of the body; and the former did not believe in the immortality of the soul.
Epicurus, the founder of the Epicurean sect, was born at Athens, about before Christ 341.
Zeno, the founder of the Stoic sect, was born in the isle of Cyprus, about thirty years before Christ. His disciples were called Stoics from the Στοα, a famous portico at Athens, where they studied. Besides these two sects, there were two others which were famous at this time; viz. the Academics and the Peripatetics. The founder of the first was the celebrated Plato; and the founder of the second, the no less famous Aristotle. These sects professed a much purer doctrine than the Epicureans and Stoics; and it does not appear that they opposed the apostles, nor did they enter into public disputations with them. Against the doctrines taught by the Epicureans and Stoics, several parts of St. Paul’s discourse, in Acts seventeen, are directly pointed.

Act 17:16-19
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

So the Philosophers of these two groups took Paul to a place called Areopagus or Mars Hill and it was here that they asked him to tell them about this new doctrine that Paul was discussing at the synagogue. Keep in mind that Paul had also been going to the city square every day and teaching the people that met there about the events that led up to Jesus death and resurrection. This is what had gotten the attention of these Athenians; a people who spent all of their leisure time doing nothing but talking about things they knew and listening to others share their wisdom. (Acts 17:21)

This is when Paul tells how he saw their altar with an inscription on it saying TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Paul said that they were ignorantly worshipping, but now they could know who this GOD was because he was going to share the wisdom of God with them. Paul proceeds to tell them about the God that made all of the earth and the heavens and how He doesn't need anything from us or for us to make anything with our hands. Paul told them that God isn't living in a temple but rather that He gave life and breath to all living things and that He gives all things. Paul says in verse twenty-six that God made all nations of one blood to live on all the face of the earth and has determined when we would be here before the time has even come and what areas of the earth we would spend our time residing. All those who want to seek the Lord will be able to seek for Him and find Him as He isn't very far away from every one of us; because it is in Him that we live and move and have our being. Some of their own poets had said already that they are also his offspring.

Then Paul brings them into reality with the present day when he tells them that in times past when they were ignorant, God winked. Now though, there would come a day when He would judge the world in righteousness by the man who He had ordained, by which He has given assurance to all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead. We all know who this is today! We are not ignorant as people all across our globe celebrate Easter. Even though many have celebrated with bunnies and eggs, they too know what the celebration is really all about and cannot claim their ignorance to this. You see, the same new message that Paul shared that day on Mars Hill to the philosophers of that day in Athens is still being proclaimed today throughout America in every store and many churches that the Savior lives and is no longer the UNKNOWN GOD. Paul was laying the foundation with the teaching of Jesus on that day.

In verse thirty-two, it says that some mocked Paul and others said, we want to here more of this and still others followed him and stayed with him when he left the hill that day and it says that they believed.

Everyone there that day was wise and knowledgeable of many things. They spent all of their leisure time in search of new knowledge and wisdom, but Paul said that some of them jeered and cast his message aside in their pride and others said they would come back to hear more about it. The fact is that neither of these accepted the truth of God that day. They heard but they didn't believe. Did they come back? Maybe they did or maybe they went on with their life and back to their books and meetings where they continued seeking for the satisfying of their mind, body and spirit. Could it be that they searched their whole lives only to come to the end of life without ever believing in the God that isn't made with hands? This God that made them, breathe life into them, gave them a habitat and all that they possessed; sending a messenger with good news.

In verse eighteen, where it says that some saw him preaching of Jesus, the Greek for the word preaching is to give good news of Jesus. This is why they were so curious. Paul wasn't condemning people there in Athens and telling them how wrong they were in their acts of worshipping idols and images. Paul was giving them the good news of Jesus and the hope that they now have because of His death and resurrection. Some believed him. I ask everyone that reads this message today, "Do you believe or are you waiting until you know a little more?" Why not believe today? God who already gave you life on this earth wants to give you life in Heaven but it requires that you believe in Him. Today is the day of salvation!

Don't let wisdom seekers keep you from believing in what used to be known as the UNKNOWN GOD. You now know Him and know that one day we will all be judged in righteousness. Let's ask ourselves today if we have believed in the God of all creation or if we have put our trust in a church or the priest, a pastor, a leader or some another person in our life.