Being Provoked By Worship...

This week, we are launching into a discussion about the concept of worship. We talked about the reality that everybody worships something. We then explained that the reason why everybody worships something is due to the fact that worship, simply put, is a response to what we value most. Worship is a life that is lived in response to what we value most.

If you want to know what you truly worship, simply look at where you leverage your time, your affection, your energy, and your loyalty, because that is what you worship. And regardless of what we say, our worship is more about what we do than what we say. Often what we say we worship is betrayed by what we actually worship with our time, talent, and treasure.

Today, though, I don’t want you to take my word that everyone worships something. Instead, the fact that everyone worships something is not a new thing. The fact that everyone worships something is a human nature thing. We see this reality revealed for us in an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Acts. So, let’s jump into this event from history together, beginning in Acts 17:15-16:

Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.

Luke, who is the author of the book of Acts, brings us into this event from history by providing for us the context in which this event from history would take place. This event from history occurred during Paul’s second missionary journey, which took place between 49-52 A.D. After planting a church in the city of Thessalonica, which was located in northern Greece, the Apostle Paul left Silas and Timothy in Thessalonica to travel to Athens, which is located in southern Greece.

After arriving in Athens, Paul sent those who traveled with him to Athens back to Thessalonica with a message for Silas and Timothy to come join him in Athens as soon as possible. Luke then explains that as Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. What is interesting here is that this word provoked, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to cause a state of inward arousal that stimulates one to action. In addition, when Luke uses the word observing, this word literally means to observe something with sustained attention.

You see, as Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, Paul began to study the culture of Athens. And as Paul studied the culture of Athens, he discovered the timeless reality that everyone worships something. You see, the city of Athens was a multicultural city that people from all over the known world would travel to. Athens was also one of the intellectual capitals of the world and had a world famous university. Athens was also a place where the Arts flourished.

And as a result, the city of Athens was full of art that depicted the various images that represented the gods of the religious systems around the known world. So, as Paul studied the culture of Athens, Paul’s desire to engage those in Athens with the message of the gospel was aroused after observing those in Athens who worshipped false gods. We see how Paul engaged the residents of Athens in verse Acts 17:17-21:

 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"-- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean." (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to define some terms and answer some questions. When Paul uses the word reasoning here, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, means to engage in a conversation and discussion. This word is where we get the English word dialogue.

In other words, Paul did not walk up to people and beat them over the head with his Bible. Instead Paul studied the culture and engaged the culture in a conversation and dialogue about the message and teachings of Jesus. Every day, Paul would engage in conversations about the message and teachings of Jesus in the synagogue, which is where Jewish and non Jewish people who were religious would gather to worship God.

In addition, Luke tells us that Paul would engage in conversation and dialogue in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. Now the market place was the center of civic life in Athens. The marketplace was the coffee shop, the firehouse, so to speak, of Athens. This was the place where irreligious people would tend to gather.

Now this leads us to the questions that we need to ask and answer which is “who were the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers that were conversing with him?” Epicurean philosophers believed that the chief end of man was pleasure and happiness, which was achieved by avoiding excesses, by seeking tranquility and freedom from pain and by loving mankind. They believed that if gods existed they did not become involved in human events.

By contrast, Stoic philosophers believed in a multitude of gods and that man’s purpose and responsibility was directing history through reason. Stoic philosophy was marked by a sense of moral duty and earnestness, which resulted in self-sufficiency and pride.

You see, whether it was people who would be considered religious or irreligious; whether it was people who were engaged in a philosophy of life that was driven by pleasure or by morality; whether it was people who believed in a multitude of gods or who believed that if there was a god, god was a disengaged and disinterested god; Paul recognized the reality that everyone worships something. And because of that reality, Paul desired to engage in a conversation and dialogue, not a fiery and judgmental debate that compared and contrasted what they worshipped to who Paul worshipped.

Luke tells us that as Paul engaged in these conversations and dialogues, “Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" In other words, some philosophers were minimizing the message of the gospel and Paul by basically saying ““What does this guy who makes his living by making up his own religion from pieces of other religions want to say”. Others, however, had a much different view:  "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities," For other philosophers, they were having a hard time wrapping their mind around the message of the gospel and its message that Jesus was God who became man in order to die and be raised from death never to die again.

And as a result of these philosophers who were either minimizing of having difficulty understanding the message of the gospel that Paul was proclaiming, Luke tells us that Paul was brought to the Areopagus. Now the Areopagus was the place in Athens where the leading religious and educational experts would meet and evaluate the philosophical and educational positions that were being communicated by people.

But did you notice that Paul was invited to speak at the Areopagus? In other words, even though these philosophers did not buy the message of the gospel, how Paul engaged people with the message of the gospel gave him further opportunities to share the message of the gospel. Paul joined in the conversations that others were already having in such a way that gave him the opportunity to engage in those conversations instead of simply attempting to force his conversation on others.

And the reason why they were having those conversations; the reason why Paul could have the opportunity to engage in those conversations is because everybody worships something.

Friday, we will see Luke reveal for us what happened as the conversation between Paul and the leading religious and educational experts...