Pre-Lent 1 - February 9, 2020 - Acts 17:22-31

A Message for Modern Ears

1. Substance that dates to the beginning

2. Subjectivity checked by truth 

Acts 17:22-31 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (ESV)

As I was driving this week, I happened to have a strange intersection of cultures in a sort of way. On the radio, I was listening to two commentators as they explained a current scandal in major league baseball. The Houston Astros, who won the World Series in 2017, were recently ousted as sign stealers. This means they were communicating in some way during games to give their players a heads up on the opponent’s plan, even down to the kind of pitches that were about to be thrown. When you know the other team’s signs, you can figure this out. The problem is that it’s illegal to communicate it in the game. Word is that some Astros players in the dugout would bang on a metal garbage can to indicate one sign. Some of the players were even wearing special devices under their jerseys that would shock them when a certain sign was indicated. As you can imagine, it has caused a great deal of controversy.

In an interview this week, the Astros manager was asked if this scandal cast doubt on their validity as champs in 2017. His answer was that "It's a fair question," and his assessment was that "And I think everyone's going to have to draw their own conclusion." The radio hosts were blasting this manager for giving such a generic answer. In their mind, it’s no question that there should be doubt on their entire season and whether or not they should be viewed as champions. But according to the manager, at least in his literal reply, it was a matter for each person to decide for themselves.

So, I’m listening to this conversation, where this manager is explaining how it’s a matter of subjectivity to decide if cheating took place, and I notice a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. The sticker simply reads, Peace, Tolerance, Love, Empathy, Wisdom, Kindness, in a single column. Here’s where it dawned on me – what a strange intersection of cultures we see in America today. You can have someone arguing that each person needs to draw their own conclusion and at the same time be looking at a message of straight up truths that are not subject to change. This summarizes part of the spiritual conundrum we have in our nation. We recognize the existence of virtues that should not change across generations, cultures, races, or any other demographic of people. Yet, at the very same time there is an insistence in our culture that each person must draw their own conclusions – even in the most moral of matters. In reality – you can’t have both at the same time. Not only will it lead to complete obtuseness and confusion – something we are keen to in America – it also has no room for the existence of singular truth from God.

The Athenians were in a similar position in their culture. While Paul happened to be in Athens, without even the intention to preach, God created an opportunity. When Paul entered the Areopagus, a building dedicated to religious practice and dialogue, named after the Greek god Ares, this altar to the unknown god piqued his interest. What this told Paul was that the Athenians were attempting to do what do many in our day continue to try – standing for what’s right, but also letting everyone come to their own conclusions.

The Athenians were pluralistic in their religion, which means that they believed in multiple gods who served multiple purposes. However, this last altar was a “catch all” technique more than anything else. Just in case the Athenians missed anything with the specific shrines they had, they added one more – to the unknown god. By doing this, the Athenians proved to poke a hole in their pluralistic thought – as Paul said, the true God is not shaped by man’s hands or ideas, and He certainly isn’t contained in man’s buildings or shrines. Most importantly, God does not need man to serve Him. Yet, this last altar was also proof that the Athenians knew all these things already, because the real reason they wanted an altar to the unknown God is because they knew there was more out there.

Paul testified to the simple fact that even the Greek poets knew this truth. In one of those rare moments, we have a secular writing quoted in the Holy Scriptures. Paul made this reality known in other places too, telling the Romans that God wrote His law on all peoples’ hearts. All creation has an inward knowledge of God’s existence, and through their conscience, a beginner’s understanding of the impact of God’s commands. In his dialogue to the Athenians, Paul gets to the purpose of all this - that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.

This is why we have bumper stickers that say Peace, Love, Tolerance, Wisdom, etc. This is why radio hosts call out a baseball coach when he’s purposely vague in a clear issue of cheating. This is why your emotions get stoked when you feel mistreated or when you see the guilty getting off. You know there is truth in the world. You know it exists. You know there are unchangeable principles that do not depend on a person’s feelings, beliefs, upbringing, social status, or any other factor. You know this because God created you that way – this is the substance that dates to the beginning – the beginning of your life and the beginning of all creation – God designed it into humanity so that they would seek Him.

If that is the case, then substance has a bearing on subjectivity. If truth exists, then it applies to my life whether I like it or not, or whether I want to believe it or not. And that means it is ultimately the most healthy thing for my life to learn, understand, and accept the truth. This was the dilemma for the Athenians. They longed for substance. They couldn’t ignore truth in their hearts. They knew what many today refuse to admit – that when you suppress the truth in favor of subjectivity you hurt yourself. But the Athenians also wanted to keep their subjectivity. They wanted to be able to choose. They wanted to tout multiple paths to enlightenment and meaning in life. They wanted to be purposely broad when asking the direct question that we all face. And Paul blew a fatal blow to their subjectivity.   

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

Just as the Athenians were not bashful about their altar to the unknown god, so they won’t worried about being call ignorant. This wasn’t a diss or put down by Paul. He was using ignorant in the proper sense of the word – simply one who does not have knowledge about a topic. The Athenians readily admitted that about themselves, it was carved into the stone of their own Areopagus.

Likewise, many today embrace their ignorance of God and His ways – of the one Man that God has sent and what that Man has accomplished. The actual word in the Greek is where the modern-day moniker of agnostic comes from. Agnostic is a popular label in our culture. People consider themselves mature and wise if they claim to be agnostic. Agnostics believe that a higher power exists, but it’s unknowable. It could be the God of the Bible, it could be the god of the Koran, it could be the gods of Rome or Greece, or it could be all of them in one – or none of them at all. Agnosticism is the breeding ground for religious pluralism and concluding that each person needs to decide truth for themselves.

But agnosticism is also the very mechanism that denies the deeper quest for meaning and knowledge that God created in us. We long for absolute truth. Even the most ardent subjectivist has shining moments where they take a stand for truth – where they use that same word Paul did – ought. Anytime you tell someone they ought to do this or believe that, you better have a deeper reason than just your opinion. God designed us to search for that better reason and we’ve found it in the gospel of Christ. The good news of Christ is uplifting, comforting, endearing, and more – but perhaps most of all we could say the gospel is truth. It is absolute truth. It doesn’t change depending on how you feel. It doesn’t shift so that you have it one day and not the next. It doesn’t fade from relevancy. It is rock solid truth that Jesus died for sinners and offers free forgiveness and eternal life – even for ignorant sinners at that.

You see, in a way we’re all agnostics in a basic sense. We lack definite knowledge about God. There are unknowns. We feel the longing that the Athenians felt. The only way to accept some truths of God is by faith, not our own knowledge. We’ve discussed that the last few weeks as we’ve talked about the nature of faith. Here’s the difference of faith though - As long as we hang on to our personal subjectivity – we stay agnostic. As soon as we trust and follow Christ – we gain the knowledge we lack. The truth of salvation in Christ busts the doors off our vain attempts to have it our way – to come to our own conclusions in matters that God has clearly spoken on.

The gospel truth has the same effect on the dirtiness of our consciences and the shame of our hearts. When we feel unworthy – Christ declares us valuable enough to die for. When we are told that there is no hope – darkness becomes light in Jesus as much as the opening of the grave! When Satan envelops us in the clutches of self-pleasure, lust, greed, selfishness, or any other vice – the gospel breaks those clutches and heals those wounds precisely because it is powerful truth. Isn’t that the shame of agnosticism – you end up denying the one Savior who gives meaning and fulfillment to everything you’re seeking. We may mourn the loss of personal subjectivity, but at its expense comes full knowledge, righteousness in Christ, healing and comfort on an eternal level, and true purpose leading to fulfillment in life. Without truth – the gospel, or any other word from God for that matter – in rendered useless.

This is a message for our modern ears. Many have been sold the false bills of goods, that when you experience need – of body, soul, mind, or heart – you need to come to your own conclusion. That’s a band aid on a broken bone. The heart that’s been murdered by sin needs more – it needs a resurrection, and deep down we all know that. You may think you’re way different than the ancient Athenians, or any other culture you can imagine – but you’re not. We all long for truth and until we get it we’re missing something vital. There are many things to cover up that void today but it’s still easily exposed, especially when complication and trial call upon us in life.

The word of God and hope in His Son, Jesus Christ, is the truth that all people need to move out of ignorance into the light of faith. It is a true “ought” proposition that stands on the merits of someone who is greater, stronger, and more loving than you. We need this truth today and every day. We need our modern ears to hear it and our modern hearts to believe it. Let us stop running to other solutions. Let us boldly proclaim and trust Christ in our words and actions. Let us be confident in knowing who He is and what He has done. Amen.