Lessons From Acts – Lesson 28
Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica, and went to the Synagogue and reasoned with them out of the Old Testament scriptures.
Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
I did not highlight last week that Paul told them that Christ must needs have suffered and died. You can’t rise from the dead unless you die.
Jesus had to die. There was no other way. Many religious people deny this. Others ignore it.
I have heard some unbelievers argue against this. One argument was that since God can do whatever He wants, then He could have made another way. It was an unreasonable argument against the fact that Jesus had to die.
Others want a way into heaven that does not involve the suffering and blood of Jesus.
But there was no other way.
From the very beginning God told man what the rules are. The wages of sin is death. Adam don’t eat of this one tree. God made it easy. Only one rule and only about one tree.
It could not be disobeyed by accident. It was not complicated. Just do not eat of that tree. And if you do, the wages, what you earn by that sin is death.
God is loving and merciful but He also is just and He must do what He says. He is faithful to His word.
Sin can only be paid for by death. The wages of sin is death. So for man to go to heaven the penalty of sin must be paid. So someone had to pay that. Someone had to die.
Man has no power to pay that penalty for everyone. If man wants to pay it for himself, he can’t. All he can do is spend an eternity in hell paying for it by eternally dying. But since he can’t ever pay it off he will be forever dying.
The only death that would pay the wages of sin for everyone is the death of the sinless, holy, God the Son.
The Just dying for the unjust. The creator dying for the man He created. The death of a man and the blood of man is powerless. It achieves nothing in salvation for anyone.
The death of Jesus and His blood is completely different. His death and His blood paid for it all and immediately. When Jesus said it is finished and then died. The debt was paid.
It was not being paid for over the next 3 days. He had other reasons to stay dead for 3 days.
It is important to remember it was the not quantity of the blood that was shed, it was the quality. It was Jesus’ blood. It was not how long He stayed dead that did die. It was not how many hours on the clock that made any difference.
It was who it was that died that made all the difference.
And then He could not stay dead. He also had to rise showing that the debt was paid. It was impossible for death to hold Him.
Paul went over these types of truths for 3 Saturdays. Paul was not an entertainment preacher. He would have went over and used a large volume of scripture over 3 weeks.
Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead
I believe Paul would have included Adam and his sin in the explanation of why Christ had to die and rise again. I believe Paul would have also used many other sections of scripture like Isaiah chapter 53.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
After 3 weeks of this a great multitude believed. Once again in scripture it is being pointed out that it takes some time for most people to get saved. For most people it takes some seed planted and then watered and watered again.
They need to have their questions answered and be showed the truth. Some of them over and over again. They have to think about it and God has to work on them.
When someone does hear and get saved right away if you take a deeper look you will find that God had been working beforehand. I will admit there probably are some exceptions out there. If there are, they are very rare.
Christ must needs have suffered. And that is because of man’s sin. So the fact that man is a sinner hast to be included in the giving of the gospel.
It is not a side issue. You can’t skip that. I had a Sunday school teacher once who stood up and in his lesson taught that he believes you will get more people saved if you only present the love of God and leave sin out of the presentation.
I could not believe what I was hearing. You can’t leave that out. I forget who said it, “You can’t get a man saved unless you first get him lost.”
Of course the man is already lost, but what that saying means is that you have to get him first to realize that he is lost. So Paul did all of that and he spent 3 weeks using scripture to show all of this and a great multitude got saved.
It took time and the Word of God and more of the Word of God and more of the Word of God.
It is important to understand this. It is important because we need to keep this in mind in how we go about our work. And we do. When we mail the Gospel out we put in a lot of the word of God.
Both foundational truths about what Jesus taught and Bible truths and also the plan of Salvation. And we don’t expect someone who has never heard to immediately get saved.
And we keep this in mind with the digital efforts. We will put out all kinds of Bible truth, and put out that man is a sinner and the teachings of Jesus and the gospel.
Just put it out and put it out and put it out. Plant seeds, and send truth, and let God work in the lives and hearts of people.
This truth of how it takes a lot of the Word of God and time is also important to understand if we are going to understand what happens to Paul next in Athens.
Paul then got ran out of Thessalonica and then went to Berea and did the same thing.
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
They searched the scriptures daily, to see if those things that Paul said were true. That implies that Paul was teaching and they would search it out and then the next day Paul would teach more and they would search it out.
They searched the scriptures daily. So we see the same pattern. It is taking a lot of the Word of God.
The Woman at the well had the foundation of knowing about Jacob and some prophecy.
Lydia went on Saturdays to a place where prayer happened. Why not Synagogue. Their rules were that you had to have at least 10 families before you could start a synagogue. If they had less than 10 they would gather someplace and pray.
So Lydia had a foundation of Bible.
The Eunuch went to worship in Jerusalem and had a copy of Isaiah. He had a foundation. We see this pattern over and over.
We see the opposite in those that had no foundation. When Paul preached and the reaction was to sacrifice to their false gods. Paul was preaching the same message but they had no foundation to understand.
What about the jailer and his family. Well you have two choices on what to believe about that.
They could be an example of an exception. Or they could have had a foundation but we were not told about it.
I tend to believe that they had a foundation as well. And the reason I believe that is because of what Jesus taught.
Joh 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
Joh 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Jesus taught that this is the way it works. One man goes out and sows the seed. He plants. He lays a foundation. And then another man comes later. It takes time.
And the second man wins them to Christ. One sows and another reaps.
Since that is the way that Jesus said it works, then I believe that the jailer also had some seeds planted by someone else earlier.
We see it over and over. We seen it in Thessalonica, and in Berea.
And then unbelieving Jews from Thessalonica hear about it and come to Berea and cause so much trouble that Paul has to get out of town fast.
The reason I believe the out of town fast part is how Paul gets separated from Silas and Timotheus.
Remember Paul said he wanted to take Timotheus with them and then we have not heard anything about him since. Here we find out that Timotheus did go. And him and Silas get separated from Paul.
Acts 17:14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
Acts 17:15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Paul gets on the ship to Athens but sends a commandment for Silas and Timotheus to come with all speed. Not a suggestion. But a commandment.
And don’t dilly dally. With all speed. Well why not just wait for them at the dock and then take the next boat? This is why I believe that Paul had to get out of town fast. It was too dangerous to wait for Silas.
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
We get de-sensitized to sin. It is all around us. Our society is mostly also wholly given to idolatry. It is of a different type than Athens. In Athens it was actual statues of false gods.
In America it is the idols of greed, and power, and lust, and entertainment, and the list goes on and on.
If Paul could visit America today, I think his reaction would be somewhat similar. His spirit was stirred in him. And of course that is not in a good positive way. He was burdened by what he saw.
The thousands and thousands of souls headed to hell and totally oblivious to the truth.
So while he waits for Silas and Timotheus to catch up he does what he normally did. Start with the Jews in the synagogue who have a foundation of bible truth. And then when the synagogue is not meeting talk to anyone who would listen.
Acts 17:17 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.
Every day. Daily. So each and every day Paul is planting seeds. Putting layer upon layer, building a foundation with at least a few people.
Acts 17:18 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.
Acts 17:19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
So the educated Greek elite hear of Paul preaching. And they invite him to speak. And notice the terms they use and how they talk here.
What will this babbler say. He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods. They said this because Paul is preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
It is being made very clear here that they have zero foundation. They know zero of the Word of God. No seed has been planted with these elites. They have no background or foundation to be able to understand what Paul is preaching.
Acts 17:20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
Acts 17:21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
It becomes very clear to Paul that they have zero knowledge. They have no foundation of truth. So what does Paul start off with. How does he respond.
Will he start off quoting Isaiah chapter 53? No. That would not do any good.
Acts 17:22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
1st Paul calls them out on being too superstitious. And gives them an example.
Acts 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Paul then lays the seed that there is a true God. And the God I preach is the creator of everything. The Lord of heaven.
Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
After planting the seed that there is a true creator God that can be known, he plants the seed that the true God is not worshiped with anything that man made.
Of course this is in reference to their sin of worshipping false gods with statues and temples.
Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Again the seed of creation. Here specifically that it is his God that gives life to all things.
Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
And the seed that God is on the throne and He determines the times and bounds.
And then the seed that they can seek this God and find him.
Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
The seed that God wants to be found.
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
Another seed against their false god worship thru idols.
Now comes the seed that they must repent.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Acts 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
Paul finishes with you must repent and how Jesus died and was raise again.
There are two reactions from this crowd of elites that had no foundation of Bible truth.
One group mocks. The second group said we will hear thee again later. The first group rejected the seed. The second group did not get saved that day but they did not reject the seed.
Acts 17:33 So Paul departed from among them.
So Paul departed from that group. But remember Paul had been working the markets day after day and planting seeds, and he had been working in the synagogue with those that did have a foundation of bible truth.
And that explains verse 34.
Acts 17:34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Over and over again it is shown to us in the Bible. The seed must be planted, and it takes time.
And it takes the Word of God and more of the Word of God and more of it. The largest percentage of people will rejected it, even mock it. Others will not and will accept the seed.
And later it will bear fruit and people will get saved. This is the way it works. We should not expect it to work any other way.
I have ran into many people who do expect it to work different. That is not biblical and they eventually just end up frustrated and disappointed.
Most of America has very little Bible knowledge.
Most of the countries that we are boosting God’s Word into have even less. Many of them have been dominated by Atheism, or the Greek Orthodox or Catholics.
The Greek Orthodox and Catholics do not encourage their people to read the Bible. They concentrate on show and rituals and a whole bunch of unbiblical teaching.
Understanding this is why what I boost into those countries is a mix of all kinds of Bible truth as well as foundational truths about what Jesus taught. Things that show they are a sinner. And that Jesus offers mercy and forgiveness.
We are concentrating on planting seeds and laying a foundation. Later after we have some seeds planted we will get to putting out some longer straight detailed how to be saved presentations.
I believe that we are doing it correctly and I believe that it will make a difference over time for eternity.