From Athens to L.A.
January 15th, 2008
(By John MacArthur)
As a pastor in Southern California, I have the blessed privilege of mining the truth from God’s Word every week of my life. Doing that in Los Angeles only makes it more interesting, if for no other reason than the tremendous diversity of people, culture, and language here. When we take the gospel to our city, it’s amazing to watch God’s Word transcend the culture—and every false religion—to change lives. The message of salvation in Christ truly knows no hindrance.
If you think evangelism is a somewhat arduous task in that environment, you’re right. We face a culture that has rejected absolute truth and now considers it stylish to openly embrace and encourage degrading passions. The ecumenical, syncretistic spirit of the age recoils in horror at the exclusive claims of Christ. And popular, evangelical seeker-sensitive churches only make the task more difficult by refusing to confront sin in an effort to make the “unchurched” sinner comfortable.
Preaching today is clearly out of season (2 Tim. 4:2) and evangelism is difficult, but that’s nothing new. Paul faced worse challenges in his day. He faced an increasingly anti-Christian culture—there was no spirit of tolerance to shield believers from hostility. Still, he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ–a hard, uncompromising message of repentance. That is best illustrated in Acts 17:16–34 where Paul faced one of the most intellectually erudite and morally corrupt audiences ever—the philosophers on Mars Hill.
The Situation (Acts 17:16–21): Paul came to Athens after being forced to flee Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17:1–15). Athens was the heart of Greek culture and thought, renowned for its art and philosophy and some of the most famous philosophers. The founders of two dominant philosophies, Epicurus (Epicureanism) and Zeno (Stoicism), had taught in Athens.
Athens was also the home of almost every man-made god in existence. The pagan writer Petronius once said it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man. In fact it was Athenian idolatry that drove Paul to preach the gospel in Athens—such idolatry offended him to the core (v. 16). In customary fashion, he marched directly to the local synagogue and was reasoning from the Scriptures (cf. v. 2) “with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present” (v. 17).
Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers heard Paul’s message in the market place and brought him to the Areopagus on Mars Hill before some of the most astute philosophers in Athens. They had no interest in the gospel; Paul was simply a novelty to them. They set him in their midst as a specimen that would amuse their interest in “telling or hearing something new” (v. 21). That’s the setting for Paul’s message and method for confronting a godless culture.
The Method (Acts 17:22–34): Paul spoke his message to an indifferent and arrogant audience, like many to whom you and I speak today. As we look at how Paul preached to the philosophers, you’ll see three essential elements of an effective message to confront our post-Christian culture with the truth.
First, tell them that God is (vv. 22–23). Here’s Paul’s first point: “You are ignorant and I’m going to give you the truth.” Try recommending that opening line at an evangelism conference. Some people think Paul commended their religiosity when he mentioned their many objects of worship. He wasn’t commending them at all—their idols infuriated him (v. 16). Rather, he started with a given: all men are innately religious. All men are created to be worshipers—they either worship God or something else, but everyone worships something. The Athenians were no different.
Externally, God has given witness about Himself through what He created: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Ps. 19:1). Internally, according to Romans 1:19: “that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” They have an innate sense of the true God of the Bible, His standards are written on their hearts, and their consciences hold them accountable (Rom. 2:14–15). But because of sin, they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). They willfully reject what they know to be true and choose instead to worship in ignorance.
Second, tell them who God is (vv. 24–29). This is Paul’s lesson to the ignorant about the unknown God. This is Theology 101. It’s ironic that Paul was teaching the ABCs of theology to those who were known worldwide as supreme intellectuals. It proves the truth of 1 Corinthians 1:25: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Here are five things ignorant, rebellious men need to know about the “Unknown God.”
God is the Creator. Verse 24a: He “made the world and all things in it.” In Paul’s day and ours, the truth makes no room for men’s opinions regarding origins.
God is the Ruler. Verse 24b: “He is Lord of heaven and earth [and] does not dwell in temples made with hands.” It logically follows that if God is the Creator, He is also the rightful Ruler of what He created. And if He is Creator and Ruler, He doesn’t live in what His creatures have made.
God is the Giver. Verse 25: “He [is not] served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” Far from needing anything from men, the Creator “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45).
God is the Controller. Verse 26: “He made from one man every nation of mankind … having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” That statement was a blow to the national pride of the Greeks, who scornfully referred to non-Greeks as “barbarians.” Nonetheless, God controls the affairs and destinies of men and nations.
God is the Revealer. Verses 27–29: Men should “seek God…He is not far from each one of us…Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like [anything] formed by the art and thought of man.” God, by creating, ruling, giving, and controlling all things, has clearly revealed Himself in what He has made—men are truly without excuse (Rom. 1:20).
Third, tell them what God says (vv. 30–31). Paul’s evangelism method ends with a simple, powerful point: tell them to repent or be judged. In the past, God was patient. But a day is coming when He will judge the world through Jesus Christ. God gave sufficient proof of the truth of His Word in the resurrection of His Son—He holds all men accountable to that evidence. His grace in the past and His wrath in the future require repentance in the present. As Paul said elsewhere, “Now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’” (2 Cor. 6:2). That message isn’t popular today, but then again, it has never been popular. “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer…so Paul went out of their midst” (v. 32–33).
I mentioned earlier that Paul’s method was effective, and it is. Look at verse 34: “But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” It was effective to save those whom God chose to save. Paul was faithful to proclaim the truth. He left the results to God.
From Athens to Los Angeles, first century to twenty-first century and everywhere in between, repentance may not be popular, but it’s still the gospel. Teach this post-Christian culture about God and then command repentance. That’s the only message we have; without it, no one would be saved.
Amen! Praise God for the Truth!!
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Prayer:
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20) For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
We truly are in a post-Christian culture. Certain assumptions that would have held true forty or fifty years ago no longer apply. People, in general, are no longer guided in their morality by Christian ethics.
Multiculturalism, the now prevailing philosophical system, teaches equal acceptance of people, morals and ideas regardless of their relevance to truth or the degree to which they verge on absurdity. Christianity has always taught equal tolerance to that which opposed the absolute truth of God and His Word. But this significant shift to equal acceptance has had detrimental and corrosive consequences for the moral fiber which once held our society together.
Let us pray the Lord will restore us once more.
Thank you for this wonderful insight!
“His grace in the past and His wrath in the future require repentance in the present.” Could it be any simpler than this?
“His grace in the past and His wrath in the future require repentance in the present.” Could it be any simpler than this?”
It is simple, but sin is what makes it hard for man to enter in by the narrow gate, and that is because he loves it.
The are truths that transform.
Sorry, “These are truths that transform”
Just some exegetical observations about Acts 17…
1) Paul spend almost the entire passage discussing the nature of God and Christ.
* vs 24 - creator
* vs 24 - does not dwell in manmade temples
* vs 25 - not worshipped with man’s hands
* vs 26 - made men and set their boundaries
* vs 27 - He’s not far from each of us
* vs 28 - we live and move because of Him
* vs 29 - idols are not appropriate to represent Him
* vs 31 - The Man (Christ) will judge the world
2) Therefore, it appears the word repent in vs 30 is not talking about a change of mind about sin, but a change of mind and reconsideration of one’s view about God and His Son.
3) Also in vs 34 the emphasis is on their “belief”. Belief about what, about the nature of God and this “Man” that Paul has just presented them with. Thus tying in well to Christ’s many, many exhortations to “believe on Him” for eternal life.
Just a thought….
Yikes, I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but I’m about to correct one of my heroes in the faith, Pastor John MacArthur.
(Short pause while I go splash cold water in my face and make sure I really want to do this.)
If I might, I’d suggest that your third step is not complete enough.
You said that Paul told them to “repent or be judged” and I agree wholeheartedly, but I believe there is a key missing step before that.
It makes no sense to an unbeliever to “repent” if he or she does not understand what he is repenting from. Repentance from sin presumes that the sinner understand that he or she is a vile sinner. So before we can get to the point where we explain “repent or be judged” we must explain what we are being judged for. We must explain to the person that he has broken the law of God, or else repentance and judgment will be meaningless.
Paul did this in Acts 17 when he spoke of their idolatry. He in essence told them that they have violated the first and second of the Ten Commandments.
Think of it this way… If I unexpectedly pulled my 8-year-old daughter from her playtime and told her that she must go to her room, I would indeed be guilty of being unreasonable. She was having a great time playing. Why did her grumpy father pull her out and send her to her room? Makes no sense!
But if I pull her aside and explain, “Daughter, because you have shoved your baby sister, stole your brother’s toy, and wrote on the walls with crayon, you have lost your playtime privileges and you will go to your room to await further consequences,” now my actions are reasonable and make sense. Only after the offender is presented with the allegations against him or her, does it make sense that he or she is in danger of consequences.
Paul knew this. This is the same Apostle who said “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). The Law humbles the sinner to show his need for grace. Otherwise grace makes no sense.
He also said, “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient” (1 Timothy 1:7-8). Paul said the Law is good, and he tells us who the Law is for - it’s not for Christians, but it’s for non-Christians. He even goes on to list a bunch of specific sins.
Paul said, “Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Romans 7:7). He was saying, in effect, that without the Commandments, he wouldn’t have realized that he was a sinner.
And great Christian men have understood this throughout church history.
Luther said, “The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God’s Law and show the nature of sin.”
Charles Spurgeon said, “I do not believe that any man can preach the gospel who does not preach the Law.”
Spurgeon also said, “Lower the Law and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt; this is a very serious loss to the sinner rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary when you have set aside the Law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ… They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy Law. Therefore the Law serves a most necessary purpose, and it must not be removed from its place.”
Before Paul told the Athenians to repent, he showed them their idolatry, that they broke the 1st and 2nd commandments, and we ought to do the same.
So let’s tell the world to repent, but we must first prepare the heart for grace by using the “schoolmaster” that God has given us. The Law of God must be used to show that the sinner has violated God’s standard. Otherwise telling them about judgment is unreasonable.
If a person does not realize that they have actually broken God’ law, then telling them to repent will either confuse them, or worse, end in a shallow “profession of faith” with no repentance, which is a recipe for a false conversion and religious hypocrisy.
God gave us ten commandments. Let’s use them! Paul used two with the Athenians. Jesus used six with the Rich Young Ruler. When you’re in your “Athens,” use as many as it takes to humble the person you’re speaking with. And if they’re not humble, then don’t tell them about repentance and faith. You’ll only help create a religious hypocrite, a so-called “Christian” without repentance, and we sadly have far too many of those already.
Mark, I think Paul did tell them what to repent of. As I mentioned above, he told them about who God was and who Christ was. The Athenians had a wrong view of who God really is. Paul corrected them. He was telling them to repent of their wrong view of God. I think John (MacArthur) makes a mistake, but not the one you mention. He defines repentance here as repenting of sin. I don’t see that in the text. Although the Athenians idolotry was sin, Paul was really telling them to recondiser their view of God and Christ.
Shawn,
We enter dangerous ground when we redefine repentance to mean “changing your mind about God,” or, said another way, giving up your bad Theology in exchange for good Theology.
Remember, the devil has great Theology (knows the right things about God) but has not repented. (James 2:19). If I understand what you’re saying, then your view does not harmonize with James 2:19.
Paul is clearly calling the Athenians to task for their idolatry (a sin), not just for their bad Theology (that they believe the wrong things about God.) It wasn’t just that the Athenians believed the wrong things about God, but they actively worshiped and served the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25).
True repentance is changing your mind and your will.
When we evangelize “our Athens,” it is not enough to have people change their view of God to an orthodox view, but we must help them to see that they are vile sinners in need of a Savior. Hallelujah - Jesus is that Savior! Repentance means having the right beliefs, (as you correctly say) but further, submitting to the True God.
MacArthur’s use of repentance is consistent with its New Testament uses elsewhere, and harmonizes well with the whole counsel of God.
Remember, the devil has great Theology (knows the right things about God) but has not repented. (James 2:19).
I don’t know that I would say that the devil has great Theology…he believes that God is one (James 2:19)…He probably doesn’t believe that God is just, merciful, holy, etc.
Doesn’t having right Theology presuppose knowing what God commands and that He has a right to require that we obey His commands?
The commandments are not arbitrary rules, but reveal yet another attribute of His nature. Paul was building the argument that God is and has the right to make requirements of the Athenians (and us), not just an object for intellectual gamesmanship.
Kevin and Mark,
How does the idea that obedience is a “condition” for salvation…as you seem to indicate…line up with the over 150 examples of faith being the only condition for eternal life in the New Testament?
My point is that conversion and obedience are two separate things. If it was so automatic, then why is so much of the NT written to encourage believers on to obedience and good works?
For example (without the references):
* Walk worthy…
* Put of the old man…
* Shall we continue in sin…
* etc.
Isn’t the reason we have all this teaching because obedience isn’t automatic? If not, then why all this teaching from Paul? If it’s automatic then there’s no need to exhort believers to live lives worthy of Christ.
To intertwine conversion and obedience is to add works as a condition to salvation.
I hold to the idea that conversion and discipleship are two distinct things. One is instantaneous and the other is a process.
My point also above is that the text does not support MacArthurs view of repentance. He writes it in a way as to repent of personal sin. I see and agree to the point that idolotry is sin….but Pauls point is that they would repent of their wrong view of God and Christ; which is much different than the indication of repenting from personal sin.
Mark…I believe a more dangerous ground is entered when a person tries to force their own theology on the text, instead of letting their theology flow from the text.
I heard MacArthur teach on John 3 at a Shepherd’s Conference several years ago. It was a great message, until his conclusion. He said, “And what did Jesus ask Nicodemus to do? He asked him to GIVE IT ALL UP!” I looked around at everyone nodding their heads and saying amen and wondered what version of the Bible they had. Mine said Jesus told him to “believe” on Him for eternal life; not give it all up.
Based on that comment and many like it in MacArthur’s books, I disagree that his view of repentance is in line with the rest of Scripture and that his view of faith/belief is either.
Another example of the wrong approach encouraged by Lordship thinking is found in Jesse Johnson’s article from a few days ago, “Practical steps for Evangelism”. In the section on explaining the Gospel he writes:
“And finally, tell them what a saving response looks like by challenging them to count the cost, deny themselves, and become a follower of Christ.”
How does this line up with the many examples of Jesus telling people to “believe on me for eternal life?” How does it line up with Pauls teaching of justification by “faith alone?” It doesn’t. To tell a person this is how to be justified is to put the entire requirement on them. They count the cost. They deny themselves. They follow Christ. Where is the message of faith, belief, trust in Christ? Where is the message of Grace? Where is the message of atonement?
It’s absent. I couldn’t believe it when I read that article and there was nothing mentioned about trusting Christ; in an article claiming to be about evangelism?
The only way to reconcile the two is to redefine “faith” to mean “faithfulness”.
This is a huge problem…
Just discovering reformation theology after 17years in Charismatic Chaos! Great teaching. Things have gotten so bad in England that the only answer really is the truth of the gospel. This apostate nation needs to hear the bad news in order for them to realise what the good news is really about. I am so thankful that there are brothers over the pond that are strident in the message.