For if the truth of God abounded through my lies unto glory; why yet am I also judge as a sinner (Rom 3:17)How many of us are opportunists, trying to take advantage of a situation or people in order to make self gain never considering the detriment of such acts.
In this section, I wish to make us see Paul, out of zeal and passion to see people saved, was taking advantage of the situation, knowingly or unknowingly to him , he was acting against the will of God, equating God to an Idol made by hand.
Then Paul stool in the Mar’s hill and said Ye men of Athens. I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion (i.e. worship), I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you 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 Neither is worship with men’s hands, as though he needeth anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath and all things. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitations. That they should seek the Lord , if haply, might feel after Him and find Him though He be not far from every ne of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being; ascertain also of your own poets have said for we also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or stone graven by art and man’s device And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:22 – 30)
Many of us who read this section of the book of Acts will feel that Paul’s message to Athenians was correct. A closer look at the method of Paul to draw men to God was unscriptural. Though there were some truths in Paul’s message about God, but a closer look at the methodology of Paul was wrong. Romans 3:17 make us realize that the truth of God’s message can be passed across through lies. This is what Paul tried to achieve in his message to the Athenians. I believe that God will open the eye of our understanding to see the error in what Paul was trying to do.
Paul in his missionary journeys came to Athens and he was to wait for Silas and Timothy to join him. Act17:15 – 16 While waiting, he noticed the trend and lifestyle of the Athenians, they were given over to idol worship. This motivated him to start to witness to people of Athens In the course of his defense, he was brought before a court called Areopagus to give a defense of the new doctrine he was preaching to the Athenians.
Then Paul started his discourse and said in Act17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you It is important that we pulse and meditate on the saying of Paul, and not be carried away by much rhetoric of Paul. Paul is a very zealous man, his earnest desire was to see all men come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus, He was ready to use all means available to draw men to God
And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gin the Jews; to them that are under the law, that I might gain them are under the Law; To them that are without law, as without law (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ) To the weak became I as weak, that I might the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.(I Corinthians 9:21-22).
Paul in his bid to save men by all means, I believe committed this error associating and equating God with idols which the Athenians set up, in order to persuade them to give up idolatry to serve the living God. Now I want us to see the error Paul committed
Paul knew that Athenians were given over to idolatry Act 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.(Act 17:16). How come the same people who were serving idols could at the same time be serving the true God? Look at the statement of Paul again For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion (i.e. worship), I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you Paul was invariably saying that the Athenians were worshipping God but now ignorantly. Paul, if they are worshipping God, I don’t think you need to preach or persuade them to know Him again
. For the custom of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but they speak not: they must needs to borne because they cannot go. They cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great and thy name is great in might Who would not fear thee, O king of nations? For to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto Thee(Jeremiah 10:3-7)
To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him The workman melteth a graven image and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth chains. He that is so improverish that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot: he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved? Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitant thereof are as grasshopper: that stretcheth out the heaven as curtain, and spreadeth them out as tent to dwell in:(Isaiah 40:18-21)
To whom then will ye liken me or shall be equal saith the Holy one(Isaiah 40:25)
In the verses considered Jeremiah 10:3-7 and Isaiah 40:18-20, the debate was who can be compared with the Lord, is it the graven image that has to be made by human hand, that has to carried about and that cannot speak. The two authors Isaiah and Jeremiah had one consensus that God cannot be compared with graven image. So also Paul should not try to compare or equate God with the graven image the Athenian setup to worship.
2. The Athenian did actually set up an image that they were worshipping, let us consider the statement of Paul again For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you (Act 17:23)
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or stone graven by art and man’s device (Act 17:29)
The word devotion and altar is the keyword to consider, it is synonymous to worship and place of worship. The Athenians were worshiping an object on which the inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD was written. In verse 29, we notice that Athenians did actually setup an image for Paul to be saying to the Athenians that they ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or stone graven by art and man’s device. Whatever image or object the Athenians did setup, it is wrong for Paul to ascribe the Unknown God inscription to the True and Living God
3. The people of Athens never knew God before or God has never revealed Himself to them except to the nation of Israel. Hear the word that the LORD hath spoken against you. O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying.
You only have I known of all family of the earth: therefore I will punish you for your all iniquities (Amos 3:1-2)
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:8,9)
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God and promises Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen (Romans9:4-5)
All the Gentile’s nations including Athens never knew God; they were without God and Christ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at time ye were without Christ , being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise , having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:11-12)
Jesus attested to this while discussing with the Samaritan woman at the well Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem or worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews (John 4:21-22)
Paul the Apostle knew all this facts yet was preaching that the Unknown God was the True God the Athenians were worshiping ignorantly. The Athenian never knew God even from their statements we can see that.
Then certain philosopher of the Epicureans and of the Stoick, encountered him. And some said, what will this babbler say? Other some, He seemeth to a be setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus, saying May we know what is this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean (Acts 17:18-20)
4. Paul committed error equating God with graven image. Let us consider the statement of Paul again For as I passed by, and beheld your devotion, I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you (Act17:23)
What Paul implies from this statement that worship of the Athenians was onto God, and the object of their worship is God, whom they are ignorantly worshiping. There is something wrong with this statement. God is a Spirit (John 4:24) and also Invisible (Heb 11:27) not an object which is being setup by people to worship.
And God spake all these words, saying I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth Thou shalt not bow thyself to them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy God am a Jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.(Exodus 20:1-5)
Idolatry deals with setting up an image for the sole purpose to offer worship and sacrifice. God frown at idolatry, this was a major problem God had with the nation of Israel.
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female The likeness of any beast that is on earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: (Deut 4:12-16)
The Athenians have setup an image to worship, this contradict the laws of God, who warns the Children of Israel that they should not make any graven image for themselves for they saw no similitude when He spoke to them at Mount Horeb. So Paul saying the unknown God whom the Athenians were worshipping ignorantly is the True God is error. God cannot be equated to graven image made with hands. (Jeremiah 10:3-7, Isaiah 40:25)
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