Sermon
A Special Easter Message
March 31, 2002
Pastor Donald Sheley

When we as pastors come to Easter Sunday, there are two areas that we normally go to in the Scriptures for our sermon text. One happens to be, of course, in the closing verses of the Gospels, for there is the story of Christ's death and resurrection. And many times we find our sermon material in the Gospels. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 15, he gave a tremendous argument for the validity of the resurrection, and many times we turn there to that great passage. If Christ had not risen then we would all be in our sins he said.

But I'd like to go to a different passage today. In recent days I've been traveling with Paul through the book of Acts, and we've come in our journey to the city of Athens. It's a pagan city, and if you'd like to join me in our journey it's found in your pew Bible on page 747. And if you're using your personal Bible it's Acts chapter 17. Paul in his missionary journey has been hurried out of the city of Berea and they've taken him on to Athens, and we find in verse 16 of Acts chapter 17: Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean." For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaimed to you: "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our beginning, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter."

Paul, the great apostle, walks into the pagan city of Athens. He's got a message. A message most likely they've never heard because this is probably the first Christian message ever preached in pagan Athens. He's got an audience of some Epicurean and some Stoic philosophers, because Athens was filled with philosophers. The Scriptures said all they did all day long was sit around and talk to each other about their philosophies. That was the occupation of the city of Athens.

When they heard that Paul was talking about Jesus and the resurrection they called him a babbler, inferring that there was possibly something mentally wrong with him. Because he was talking about the resurrection, or coming back from the dead, something every philosopher considered to be an absurdity, they thought him to be somewhat mentally problematic, because he was talking about an absurdity that they as philosophers felt could never take place.

And others said, no, he's a proclaimer of false gods, but he's interesting enough. Let's invite him to take him up to the top of Mars Hill, right there on the top of the platform, where all the great philosophers espouse their philosophy. Let's take Paul up there and we'll let him talk to all of us. Let's listen a little bit more. And so what we have here today is the record of a Christian sermon in a pagan city. And interestingly enough, it all came about because his subject was the Christ and the resurrection.

Now what we are going to do, in the brief time we have today, let's break his sermon down. He's a brilliant preacher and he breaks his sermon into various points, so take your Bible along with me. Here's where he starts in his introduction, he said, I was passing through your city. And he said the thing that provoked my spirit was that I saw all of these idols, and these altars, and these temples to all kinds of gods, but he said the one that caught my eye was one of your altars had the inscription on it: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Then he starts -- the God you do not know I am going to tell you about Him. Isn't that a good way to start a sermon? And I'm sure now the philosophers are ready to listen. The first thing he says, point 1: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. The first thing he starts with is the doctrine of God. He is saying, the God you do not know is the God who created this beautiful world and flung it into space; all of the stars and all of the planets. Men, you don't even know the creator God who made our world possible. The God you do not know is the creator God.

Now this stopped some of the philosophers because in ancient Greek philosophy the point was this world never was created it has always been, so there's no need to even try to explain a creation story because the world has always been. And these philosophers all of a sudden are hit with the truth, that's not so. Out of nothing God created the heavens and the earth, and this creator God is the God you don't even know anything about.

Then he goes on in his sermon, and you're not going to put Him into little temples, and you're not going to compress Him into little idols. He's too big for that. The God who created the world is the God eternal, the God Almighty, and you don't put Him in any small confines because the earth and the sky and the heavens are filled with Him. So don't reduce Him to a little idol, and don't think He can live in a man-made temple.

Then he moves to his next point. He says, nor is He worshiped with men's hands as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. Now we're reading this from the English translation. If we were reading this from the original language the implied is, the ancient supreme God of the Greeks was Zeus, and Zeus was considered to be the source of life. And what this babbler is saying is you've got it all wrong. The God you do not know, the God who created heaven and earth, He's the source of life. You've missed it.

And now their philosophies, ancient, are beginning to fall apart. They didn't think there was a creation. Old Paul said, yes, the God you don't know is the God who created this beautiful world. And the God that you know nothing about is the God who gives life. He's the very source of life. I think by now the old philosophers are really getting quiet because this babbler has got their attention.

Look at his next point in his sermon. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth. Now that got to them real quick, because the ancient attitude of the Greek was they were the supreme. Everybody else was a barbarian. They were the intellectuals. They were the brilliant people. What Paul is simply saying is you've got it wrong. All of God's creation are considered important before Him. Out of one blood, out of Adam, all man was created.

Then he says, and, speaking of the nations, has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings. The God who created the world, the God who is the source of life, is the God who controls history. If, again, we were reading this from the original language the implied is that kingdoms rise and fall, nations come and go, and history takes its junctures, some of them more important than others, and all of this is under the control of the God you don't know. He's the God of history. It's His story.

When you think -- we live in a world; we watch history march by. We've lived through 9/11. We see so much taking place. The fact still remains, the God of eternity predetermines the boundaries of time, the junctures of history, and the limitations of nations. I'm glad to know that today, because again we've moved through another turbulent time, or we're in the midst of it today, as nations strain with tremendous tension in the Middle East. And if things don't change it could erupt into something so very, very tragic.

When you understand Bible prophecy we know one thing, and that is, the final battle of the ages known as the battle of Armageddon will be fought in the fields of Megiddo just north of Jerusalem. We know that. And it might be that the God eternal is already in preparation for another great juncture in human history. I'm not an alarmist, in fact, my heart is at peace because the God of history is my heavenly Father. And no matter what happens I know I'm under His care. Paul is saying to those philosophers, the God you don't know is the God who has everything in control; He's the God of history.

Let's follow his sermon to his next point. Verse 27 says, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us. Now this really has got their attention because Greek philosophy taught that God had removed Himself so far away from the world and humankind that He had no personal interest in mankind. He wasn't a personal God. Now this babbler is saying this God you don't know is a God very close to you, so near.

Paul said, the word of faith is nigh us even in our mouth and our heart. If we will confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved. Jeremiah, the ancient prophet, said God is near at hand. He fills the earth with His presence. Well that's news to those philosophers who thought that God had abandoned His creation and His people that He had made. Now, the babbler says this God is very near. All you've got to do is call for Him. We've found that to be true in our faith, haven't we? When we really opened our heart and said, God, I need You. We realize how close He really is.

Let's go to Paul's next point. He says, for in Him we live and move and have our beginning, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Paul is a very brilliant man. He understood Greek philosophy. So he reached back into the ancient writings of the pagan poets and he pulled out one line, and he adapted it to Christian theology. That line was: in Him we live and we move and we have our being. What Paul is saying, that's true. God is not only the source of life, but everything we are and everything we hope to be is wrapped up in Him and our relationship to Him. It's in Him we have life.

Then he moves on. Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. It still bothered him. He's still provoked in his spirit because he had seen all of those idols. He said, I come back one more time -- the God that you don't know is the God that's supreme. Don't put Him back in a temple made with human hands.

Then his next point says: Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. What he is saying is this, God has overlooked the ignorance of men prior to the revelation of Himself in the person of Christ, but now that Christ has come; because remember, that's his subject, the Christ who rose from the dead. Now that Christ is here and God has revealed Himself to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh, it's time know you turn from your paganism, he's saying to these philosophers, and you repent.

What does it mean to repent? It means to simply -- that heart that has walked away from truth, turn backwards and open your heart to truth. That heart that has walked away from God, when we repent we turn and we come to God and we see His forgiveness and His love, and we worship Him. He's saying, it's time, all of this ignorance that's displayed in all of these idols and these temples and these alters; Jesus Christ has come, God in human flesh, and it's time you turn from your heathenism and put your trust in a living God. Now remember, this is preached to pagans

Look at how he wraps it up. He's getting ready now to end his sermon. And the reason why God demands of you to change and repent is because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Now this is the solemn side of Easter.

Follow Paul's logic -- as true as it is, historically factual, that that tomb was empty and Christ rose from the dead; Paul is saying as sure as there's an empty tomb, there will be an eternal judgment. He puts them into contrast. What he's saying is you may not have stood before that opened tomb, but the day will come when all men will stand before the God who is the judge of the universe. What a solemn way to end a resurrection sermon.

You may be sitting here today and say, Pastor, I came to hear about life and joy and celebration. I didn't come to hear about judgment. The other side of the truth of the resurrection, Paul is saying, God validated all the rest of the doctrines of our Christian faith with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why on this beautiful day 2 billion people who reverence Christ are worshiping somewhere on this globe.

Paul is saying because it's a fact -- it's interesting, the fact of the resurrection is the most provable fact of ancient history. Now that's interesting, because even the skeptics, even the unbelievers, even the people who have a difficult time with the whole truth of the resurrection, there will never waste time trying to prove that tomb wasn't empty. Nobody has tried that. They will try to come up with a story as to why it was empty, and they'll give all of their explanations.

His disciples came and stole the body of Jesus away; that's the most favorite one, found in the Scriptures, but so foolish is that. Why would those frightened, fear-filled disciples want to go and tackle those Roman soldiers at the face of death for a body that has already been properly cared for under Jewish law and placed in a tomb? Why would they go around the world preaching a lie that they had created, and die for it? That's a foolish explanation as to why that tomb was empty.

The interesting thing is, again I say it, the most provable fact of ancient history is the fact that on Sunday morning the tomb was empty. Now here's Paul's point, the God you do not know is the God who's the creator God, the God who guides all the happenings of history, the God who's the very source of life, and the God who someday we'll stand before as our judge. Someday this will be our last Easter service, and it will not be a time in the sanctuary. The day will come when it is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment.

Just as sure as you sit here in the sanctuary on this beautiful March Sunday, just as sure as this is a fact of history, the day will come when all of us will stand before the righteous judge. You say, Pastor, I like the story of the empty tomb, but I don't like you talking about judgment. I understand that, but it's a part of the Christian doctrine. It's a part of the Christian message. God did love us so much that He sent His Son, and Jesus did die and come out of that tomb so we could forever live with Him, but if He's rejected and turned aside, then the day of judgment does come.

Now you say, what can change my fear of that? It's changed simply by putting our trust and faith in Christ, and receiving Him as Savior. We look forward to that day when time shall no longer be as Christian. The Bible tells us that heavens will open, Jesus will come, the saints will be raptured, and we shall forever be in His presence. That's a glorious day for us. Soon the journey will be over and our task of life will be finished, and we'll forever rejoice with Christ in heaven. That's a glorious truth to us as Christians.

So not only is the opened tomb a wonderful truth, but the truth is that on that day as we have received Him as Lord and Savior, we'll stand before Him and He'll say, well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. That's the full truth of the resurrection story.

It's interesting. The rest of the chapter tells us that they said no. Maybe we'll invite you to come back and talk to us further. The chapter ends, on that hill that day only two people believed him, and the Scriptures give us their names. And yet Paul was talking about a fact of history, provable, and rejected.

You're here today because you believe, but two-thirds of the world don't. That's why our choir sang today go tell it, the story of our wonderful Christ to whomever will listen. That's our challenge. Amen. Let's stand together, shall we?

Lord Jesus, we've had a wonderful time. The music has thrilled us. Our hearts are filled with joy and rejoicing today, but we're wise enough to realize the Christian message also includes a time when we'll stand before You. And my prayer is that every one of us here will hear Your wonderful words of welcome into Your eternal heaven.

Everyone's eyes are closed and your head is bowed. Just one more moment please. You say, Pastor, I came to church today and I was invited. A lot of what took place is strange to me. I don't understand it all. I don't question the fact and I'd never argue against the resurrection, but it is true that when you talk about the Day of Judgment that frightens me. And I want a heart that's at peace with God, so when this subject ever comes up again I won't have the fear. I'll know that my heart is right with God and I want to open my heart today to Christ. Every eye is closed. If that's your desire in your heart you just raise your hand and God will see it, then put it back down. You're saying, God, I really do open my life to You and my heart, and I want You to fill my life with Your presence.

Lord Jesus, You've viewed this scene, now I pray that You'll reveal Yourself and Your salvation to every person here who seeks, and may this be a glorious day of life, forgiveness, and hope. In Jesus name, and everybody said, amen. God bless you folks. God bless you.