24th Sunday after Trinity 2024

Father in heaven, firstly we pray for the children of this church, those that are in Messiah Kids and those that are in the service, Lord, we pray a blessing upon them, that they would know your love towards them, Lord, and that it would so move them by your spirit, that they would always know, never having a memory of not knowing, your love towards them.

We pray also for the leaders and the helpers in kids' ministry, and Lord, as we open up your word and look at the Apostle Paul in Athens, Lord, help us to be brave people, people that would, by your Holy Spirit, ask difficult questions about our own allegiances, about the idolatry in our own lives, not so that we would remain in shame, but that we would be liberated.

For freedom, you have set us free, that we would know that in a truer, deeper sense afresh this morning. We pray all of this in Christ's name. Amen.

If you don't have one of these scripture journals, feel free to grab one. Yep, there's still a pile at the back welcome table.

They're our gift to you. We like these because you can flip to the sermon text, and there's a

bunch of lines on the other side that you can take notes. It's a way that we pray that you'll dive deeper into God's word.

And if you are following along in one of these scripture journals, we're on page 102.

Now, Josiah read just starting from verse 22, but we'll be in verses 16 to the end of the chapter.

But before I get into that, a bit of a story. So in the fall of 2015, a very close friend of mine who worked on Parliament Hill helped out a local conservative candidate that was seeking to be an MP.

So if you remember, I think it was the end of the summer or the beginning of the fall, the writ dropped, the election cycle kicked into gear, and all of these lovely, loyal staffers were encouraged to give up weeks of their time without pay to candidate for, to canvas for a candidate that they may or may not have believed in.

It was an interesting thing. I never participated in any of this, but I had a good friend that did.

So by the time the election was called, my friend was fairly tired of politics.

He did not really have anything going on afterwards, so he decided to canvas for this MP, or at least this candidate that was trying to be an MP.

Job was to door knock. Go around day in, day out, knocking on doors. Strangers.

Pamphlet encouraging them to consider voting for this specific person.

Here's the problem. The riding was Ottawa Vanier. Now if you've lived in Ottawa for any amount of time, Ottawa Vanier is like the reddest of red ridings in all of Canada.

It's been around since the 30s. It has never not voted Liberal, and the big chunk of it that existed before voted Liberal from like the 1880s.

It's a liberal, it's like as strong as it can be.

But my friend is canvassing. Politically, this person's not there, doesn't really believe in the candidate, doesn't really believe in the platform,

nevertheless is going around knocking on doors.

Having more doors literally slammed in his face than invited in.

It was a terrible experience, one that we've laughed about since.

The ground wasn't exactly fertile for a blue flower to bloom.

Not only that, but my friend lacked this passion and belief needed to endure multiple weeks of such canvassing.

Hard soil, no zeal. Hard soil, no zeal.

Let's say one thing, that there's a connection why I bring this story up.

Sometimes evangelism can feel like that for us.

Hard soil, and if we're honest, a lack of zeal. No zeal.

There's a lot of connections and commonalities between evangelism and canvassing in an election.

And like I said, here in Ottawa in 2024, it feels a lot like being a conservative,

knocking on doors in Ottawa-Vanier in 2015.

Or 2025, whenever the next election is.

Hard soil, and no zeal.

So we come to the second half of Acts 17.

And the Apostle Paul's famous Mars Hill address.

The Areopagus is just to say it's the hill of Ares.

It's Mars Hill. It's the same thing.

And we see that the Athenians, in many ways, aren't much different than the citizens of Ottawa today.

In terms of their leanings, their desires, their proclivities, and most importantly for us this morning, their idolatry.

And friends, I am referring not just to people in Ottawa that are out there, but in here as well.

So here's the thing.

The beauty of a text like this, and the beauty of preaching through books of the Bible,

means that we are going to face some difficulty in the text that is going to attack our own sensibilities,

and expose our own hearts for being the idol factories that they are.

In our text, we'll also see that there is great hope in the gospel for the idol worshipers,

even those sitting beside you and who's speaking to you right now.

So, for the sake of breaking up the text, we'll break it up into three sections.

The first, we'll see that idolatry is evil and ubiquitous.

It's evil and it's everywhere.

The second thing we'll see is that idolatry is deeply incoherent.

And then the third and final thing is that there is a great antidote and cure for idolatry.

So jump in the text with me.

We'll be in verse 16 for our first point.

Again, page 102.

It says this,

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens,

his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

So if you remember the past few weeks, great.

If you haven't or if you're visiting, a bit of a recap.

The apostle Paul and his companions have been traveling the second missionary journey.

And they have had success, but they have had a lot of opposition.

They have endured great hardships.

They have been embarrassed.

They have been wrongfully arrested.

They have been beaten.

They have been run out of town.

They have been attacked.

They've been subjected to mob violence.

And yet, the gospel message has continued to be fruitful wherever it has gone.

The previous section in verse 17 saw Paul in Thessalonica, which was the capital of Macedonia.

The mob came after him.

He went to Berea.

And now he was encouraged to essentially just take some time out, more or less, to recoup.

And now he is in Athens waiting for Timothy and Silas.

He's supposed to get a bit of R&R.

And he looks around.

And what does he see?

He sees the Athenian structures, the architecture.

Does he go visit museums, if there are museums, to look at the history of Socratic thought and Plato,

the pedigree of Athenian philosophy?

Does he think about, wow, democracy, it has taken root in Athens and it's going to spread across the world.

There's a lot to see in Athens.

But instead, what he sees is idolatry.

He can't help but see it.

The Apostle Paul is about the glory of God.

And when he sees things that don't just not stack up to the glory of God or give God glory,

but look to actively subvert God's glory, doesn't sit well with him.

His R&R will have to be put on pause.

And it says here in verse 16 that his spirit was provoked.

Now, it's a good word, I suppose.

The original language has this image of the word provoked, has this image of his spirit seizuring.

The best I could think of it is if you had like a big gut punch.

You feel kind of sick to your stomach over something that is just troubling you.

It's something that just rattles your cage.

It's difficult.

It's not like, oh, that's unfortunate, idols.

Too bad for them.

His very spirit is seizuring.

He is a giant gut punch.

He sees idols everywhere.

He sees shrines everywhere.

He sees temples everywhere.

And what Paul notices, again, isn't the architecture.

It's not the philosophy.

It's not democracy.

It's not any of these things.

But he sees the true beating heart of this city.

More than anything else, the true measure of a city is not the things it has or the reputation it boasts of, but the gods it worships.

That's the true beating heart of the city.

That's the true beating heart of you and I.

What is it that the city of Athens worships?

And it is not the one true living God, but a plethora of gods.

In a place like Athens, those idols were obvious to the naked eye.

Like I mentioned, temples everywhere.

A few centuries before Paul arrived, the philosopher Xenophon, he said Athens was one great altar, one great sacrifice.

Nothing had changed in the centuries after that quote.

It was also said of Athens, there were more gods than there were people.

It was obvious.

You saw everything.

The worship of Ares or Mars, Nike, Zeus, Caesar himself, Athena.

Not to mention the household gods, the family gods that were worshipped.

They're obvious.

But here's the thing about idols.

They're not merely shrines.

They're not merely what goes on in temples.

They're not merely statues to pagan gods.

But it describes anything, any person, anything that a human being puts eternal hope in.

Anything that promises genuine and true prosperity and requires quite the sacrifice in return.

The late J.I. Packer, if you've been around an evangelical church, you've likely heard of his name.

He was Annex-Own.

He was a part of our denomination before he passed away.

And he said this of idolatry in his Knowing God book.

This is his famous book.

He says this,

Idolatry, quote, quote,

Idolatry is any practice that honors and serves any creative thing as a god.

It is not only the adoration of images and false deities,

but also the worship of what ought to be used and the use of what ought to be worshipped.

You catch that last bit there.

Dr. Packer, he talks about idolatry being a perversion and an inverse of the way God has designed humanity to worship and to enjoy him.

He says this, that worship is, where does it say this here, that worship is the things, is to worship, sorry,

the worship of what ought to be used and the use of what ought to be worshipped.

So what does idolatry do?

It upends the created order.

It turns everything upside down.

In the first half of Acts 17, last week, you would have remembered that one of the accusations against Paul

was that he and his companions were turning the world upside down.

That's very apt.

It's a very apt thing that Luke, the biographer of Acts, records.

It is to take God and use him and the things, wealth, beauty, reputation, whatever it may be, social connections,

things that are good but are just tools or aspects of life and elevate them to be worshipped.

It is the complete upending of God's created order.

It is also a failure to understand that life and everything in it has a reason for its creation

and a purpose or a direction to where it is headed,

namely the worship and eternal glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This opens us up to the reality that we are worshippers, whether we like it or not.

We cannot not worship.

We just cannot.

It is something that is baked into our very DNA.

We will find something to worship.

There are no true atheists, non-worshippers.

Everybody is a worshipper.

We are created to worship, created to know the sacred and transcendent triune God.

But here's the thing, and to give him glory, of course, but here's the thing.

Sin enters the human reality.

Our disposition to worship does not change, but our object of worship changes in a huge way.

And we make gods out of little things, not the one eternal triune God.

Therefore, idolatry is incredibly disrespectful and dishonoring to the glory and renown of the one true God.

But it's also incredibly destructive and disastrous to all who practice it.

Because we are putting eternal hope and joy and security in things that cannot produce those things,

and we are cutting ourselves off from the only true source of life itself.

So Athens worshipped idols, physical carvings, gilded things in shrines, in temples, in their own homes.

But as we just saw, idols can be anything.

So how about Ottawa?

If the true gauge or the beating heart of the city is what it worships, what does this city worship?

What do we worship?

What are our gods?

Let's say this.

I mean, there's a million people in Ottawa.

How many countries are represented in this city?

Dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens.

So I want to be careful to not brush a million plus people with one brush stroke.

But I'll throw out a few ideas in terms of how we are idolaters.

In suburban Ottawa, Kanata, Stitzville, parts of Barhaven, we are rife with false gods.

Here are a few of them.

Our identity, especially in this city, our identity.

We want to be put together people.

We want a good reputation.

Money, therefore, can easily, all too easily become an idol.

We don't see money as a tool, but as a master.

Status in work.

Promotions, raises, better titles.

Our status among our peers, our comfort.

I said our good reputation.

Pleasure and sex.

Living through our children.

Our free time.

The list goes on and on.

These are just a few things.

Here's one for me.

Okay?

I'll share with you one of my default bits of Daniel idolatry.

Maybe you want to share it with me after one of yours.

Or not.

That's totally fine.

I really enjoy being a pastor.

I really do.

I love it.

It's hard work.

But it's good.

It's wonderful.

It's fun.

But here's where it becomes an idol for me.

Okay?

I'm a pastor primarily to help people, and myself, but to help people, to help you glorify and worship God.

To become more like Christ.

To know God's word in deeper ways.

To trust in him.

But if I'm honest, what I really like, what really kind of gets me happy and scratches my itch, is being seen as a wise person.

Or to be really liked.

Or to be sought after.

Because, my goodness, there's a problem, and maybe Daniel can fix it.

I kid you not.

I'm dead serious in this.

And all of a sudden, this shepherding role, this pastoring role, which is not mine.

It is Christ.

I'm an under-shepherd.

I am a servant.

It becomes the platform for my own pride to flourish.

And my own reputation to grow.

And my own love of self to blossom and bloom.

See how anything can be idolatrous.

I appreciate your prayers, by the way.

I genuinely would.

Be honest with yourself.

What are the good things?

The great things in your life that you have put a bit too much hope in.

Or you have not seen them as things to be used, or tools to be had, or just nice things that are a part of your life,

but have become gods that you're willing to sacrifice for.

Be honest.

Be terribly honest.

And ask the Lord to, by his Spirit, open your eyes and reveal the truth to you.

And you might feel ashamed.

You might feel the weight of it.

But this wonderful reality of seeing life for what it truly is will lead us to renounce them and to repent.

And we'll see about repentance at the end.

It's one of the antidotes for idolatry.

But it will be the beginning of you worshipping God rightly.

I mentioned before about the human heart being an idol factory.

John Calvin says this,

The human heart is a perpetual idol factory.

It is in man's nature to idolize, and the mind begets an idol, and the hand gives it birth.

Anything, anything we can think of, we can make into an idol.

So you see that idolatry is terribly evil, and it's everywhere.

So as we return to our text, we understand why Paul was so provoked within his spirit.

He is provoked not for his own glory, but for the glory befitting the Lord,

and for the salvation of the Athenian people.

He sees the idol worship, and it is just seizuring his spirit.

It's giving him a gut punch.

These are the people that God loves but are confused,

even though they boast incredible philosophical clarity.

These are the people even that are terribly weak, though they boast incredible strength.

And this leads the Apostle Paul to action.

And in doing so, we will see, this is the second point,

that idolatry is terribly incoherent.

Look with me, verses 17 to 21, and we'll read the whole section here.

So he reasoned, this is the Apostle Paul,

in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons,

and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him.

And some said, what does this babbler wish to say?

Others said, he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities,

because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus or Mars Hill, saying,

may we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting.

For you bring some strange things to our ears.

We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean.

Verse 21,

now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there

would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

Paul doesn't stand idly by.

He sees the idolatry,

and like I said, he doesn't say,

that's tough, I need my rest.

He jumps right into it.

He is provoked

to both compassion for the Athenians,

and like I mentioned,

to provoke to see the Lord's name

be lifted high.

And he reasons everywhere.

He is with the Jews and the devout people,

which are like Jewish proselytites

in the synagogue.

He is in the marketplace with passerbys,

and now he is sparring

with some of the main philosophers of the day

that seem to be mocking him

and definitely are misunderstanding

what he is saying

and what he is purporting to believe.

So some of the mocking philosophers

were the Epicureans and the Stoics.

They called Paul a babbler.

And this is, again, this is where it's tough.

I mean, I am no Greek scholar,

but it's helpful to dig deep

into some of the commentaries

with the original language.

It doesn't grasp what is being said

in the Greek.

The word, the babbler,

is this word that's used only here

in all of Greek literature,

Bible or not,

and it's describing a bird

that is pecking at and picking up seeds.

And the idea behind it is

Paul is this kind of bespoke spiritualist.

He has a few ideas.

He's believed a few different things.

He's kind of amalgamated

a bunch of different spiritualities

and philosophies.

It's all half-baked.

What he's purporting to preach

is just a bunch of garbage.

It's kind of like getting all of your spiritual

and philosophical fix from TikTok

and kind of like boiling it down

and saying,

I know the secrets of the universe.

That's what they're essentially accusing him of.

He is a babbler,

but really he is a half-baked,

like wannabe philosopher, spiritualist.

He ought not to be listened to.

He's being mocked.

The Apostle Paul.

He's also accused of introducing foreign gods,

and that's an interesting thing.

Some philosophers think,

it says here he's accused of this

because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection

as if Jesus was one God

and the resurrection was another God.

Interesting food for thought.

Nevertheless, he is being misunderstood and belittled.

And what he doesn't do,

he doesn't defend himself.

In other parts of scripture,

he will talk about his own reputation

and his own credentials,

but even there,

it's always,

whenever Paul does it,

it's always for the sake of proclaiming the glory of God.

Here, he doesn't push back against them and say,

what are you talking about?

Do you know who I've studied under?

Do you know the type of pedigree I have?

He doesn't say anything.

Instead,

he takes the opportunity afforded to him

to, again,

reason and proclaim the truth of scripture.

And in doing so,

this is the genius of this,

and we're not going to jump into it too, too much,

but the apostle Paul both commends their philosophy,

but also condemns it

in one sermon.

So what are those beliefs?

What are those beliefs that he condemns

and commends?

So we have two examples,

the Epicureans and the Stoics.

I mean,

we have people that are like

chin deep in philosophy in this congregation.

You can seek them out

and get more of a background

on both of these philosophies after the service.

But in short,

the prevailing philosophies,

if we're going to combine them together,

from Epicureanism,

there was a high value

of pleasure and escapism.

Chance,

self-sufficiency,

reason,

endurance,

and those latter three

were from the Stoics.

So we have an interesting bit

of kind of conflicting

but coherent to each other philosophies

that both say,

listen,

there is no God.

Well,

maybe there's a God

but he's so far and distant

so listen,

there's no life to come.

Let's just enjoy it for what it is.

And then this other group,

they're saying,

hard work,

rationality,

personal responsibility,

mental resilience.

This is what we are going to rely on.

Again,

maybe there's a God,

maybe there's not a God.

Who cares?

This is the life we have.

So we have these two philosophies

that essentially reject God,

focus on this life

in different ways,

and yet at the same time,

there's this plethora of gods

for all sorts of different beliefs

that you sacrifice to

for various things.

It's a big giant philosophical

and religious soup.

And there's a giant incoherence

within it.

There is no one truth

that creates a framework

by which you can be certain

that you can have true joy

and true meaning

and true purpose

and also have an assurance

that the life to come

is even there,

let alone a life

that has, again,

purpose and meaning

and truth and joy.

There's some rightly held beliefs,

but overall,

a giant soup of inconsistency

and incoherence.

I would say there's

a similar situation here in Ottawa

with affluence comes

an overemphasis on self-sufficiency

and an overindulgence

also in pleasure

and leisure

that can take the form

of escapism.

The here and now,

here in our day,

by and large,

again,

broad brushstrokes,

the here and now

is emphasized

while eternity

is either ignored

or denied.

Very interesting

that,

that like the Athenians,

the afterlife

is just a maybe

at best.

There's a claim here

in Ottawa

of self-sufficiency,

but if we're honest,

we can't live

without our phones.

We are,

we fancy ourselves

as resilient

until a gadget breaks

or a sickness hits

or a bad interaction

with a co-worker happens.

This week,

I tell you,

I've shared this

with a couple people,

we had like

two or three nights

where there was

minimal sleep

and my self-resiliency

went out the window.

We've been sleeping

really good.

We have younger kids,

but they sleep

through the night

fairly well.

We had our little guy,

he's not here

this morning,

he was up coughing

like two nights

in a row.

Christine and I,

we had maybe

an hour and a half

straight of sleep.

So interesting

how self-resiliency

disappears

when you're tired.

like we just discussed,

friends,

we are worshipful people

with the idolatry

in our own lives.

So here we are,

people that

are also

kind of confused

and incoherent

in our belief system.

We do have

a very similar

philosophical

and religious

soup.

So,

sharing the gospel.

Hard soil,

lack of zeal.

The hard soil,

I think,

is always going to exist.

Okay?

It's just

the reality of it.

We scatter seed

as the

parable

that Jesus

shares

about the

different kinds

of soil.

And where it lands,

it's not up to us.

But the zeal,

and I say zeal

because

obedience

can only be

a motivating factor

for so much.

And even compassion

can only be

a motivating factor

for so much.

But a zeal

for the glory of God

is like the highest

form of motivation.

Why do we lack

such zeal

when it comes

to sharing our faith?

Because,

like I've shared

and maybe you've

been thinking about,

we are more

Athenian

in our

religious proclivities

than we'd like

to admit.

We find

a small view

of,

we find that

we have a small view

of the glory of God

and a big view

of our own importance.

We make much

of the here

and now

and little

of eternity.

We're fine

if God's

name

and his glory

gets tarnished

or disrespected

or dishonored.

but if our name

gets dragged

through the mud

just a bit,

we will turn

heaven and earth

upside down.

So how do we

move past this?

How do we find

coherence?

How do we find

consistency?

How do we find

truth?

Where is the

antidote for

the idolatry

in our own lives

but also

so that we can

then proclaim

this better message,

this better news

to those around us?

We find that

the antidote

for idolatry

is in the next

section,

verses 22 to 31.

This is what

Josiah read

and it is

an incredible

condensed

version

of

orthodox

theology.

The gospel

is woven

in there.

I'll just say

this.

Orthodox

theology

is a beautiful

thing

because it

leads us to

truth and it

allows us to

worship

in a proper

way before

the one true

God.

So read

with me

verses just

22 and 23.

We're going to

kind of go

through this

somewhat

quickly but

also fairly

methodically.

The apostle

Paul at

Mars Hill,

he will

both

commend and

condemn

the Athenian

people for

their idolatry

in four

big theological

ways.

He subverts

it in four

big theological

ways.

Verse 22

and then we'll

just jump into

it.

So verses 22

and 23

says this.

So Paul

standing in the

midst of the

Areopagus said,

Men of Athens,

I perceive that

in every way

you are very

religious.

This is a good

thing.

He is commending

them in them

thinking in a

religious way.

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.

Pause really

quickly.

He is finding

these cultural

bridges,

these religious

bridges,

and it's a

wonderful thing.

What Paul

isn't doing

here is he

isn't somehow

making a case

for a

pluralistic

religious view.

We'll see,

it'll be very

obvious what's

coming next,

is that he

is making a

case that

there is

one true

God and

there's one

true way

to worship

him and

it's through

Christ.

But what

he is not

saying here

is that

all roads

lead to

Rome.

So,

he's going

to lay out

some

orthodox

theology.

The first

truth,

verses 24

and 25,

that God

is the

creator and

sustainer of

all.

This is what

it says,

the God

who made

the world

and everything

in it,

being Lord

of heaven

and earth,

he does

not live

in temples

made by

man,

nor is he

served by

human hands

as though he

needed anything,

since he

himself gives

to all mankind

life and

breath and

everything.

If God

is the

creator and

sustainer of

all,

how on

earth can we

limit or

localize this

God?

creating a

statue that

is supposed

to represent

the God

who created

everything,

but we're

representing him

in the

very elements

that he

created himself?

He does

not need to

be fed by

our prayers

or alms

or cared

for.

He is not

dependent upon

us for

his sustenance.

Therefore,

the Apostle

Paul is

saying to

the Athenians,

the one true

God is

omniscient.

He is

all-powerful.

There is

no power

greater than

him.

In fact,

he is the

source of

all power.

He lacks

nothing.

He's

completely

self-sufficient.

Therefore,

it is

we who

need him.

And he

delights to

give us

what we

need.

He gives

us life

and breath

and everything.

This is who

this God

is.

He's

omniscient.

The second

thing,

verses 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.

There's a lot

to say here.

There's a lot

to say here,

but just to

say that the

Lord is

sovereign over

all.

There is no

power greater

than him.

He is,

again,

in need of

nothing.

He is sovereign

over all.

And this

doesn't mean

that in

his sovereignty

where he

has created

the world

and put

everything in

its place

and he

rules over

history,

that he is

somehow responsible

for evil

and tyranny

and the

despots that

have peppered

history throughout

the ages.

But it is to

say that he

is sovereign

over history.

He's sovereign

over the

rising and

falling of

nations.

And we

see that all

of this is

for the

purpose of

sinful and

bent humanity

so that we

can turn to

him and seek

his face.

It is not

that God is

far from us,

it is that we

are far from

him.

And he

is waiting

to be found

in Christ

Jesus.

Those in

humility who

throw themselves

at the mercy

and grace

of Christ,

he will be

found.

This is why

all roads do

not lead to

eternity with

God, but

only through

Christ.

It also means

that God must

reveal himself

to us.

And his

sovereignty means

that he is

able to do

just that.

So the third

truth, that we

are made in

God's image,

not the other

way around.

Look with me

here in

verses, the

second part of

verse 28 and

29.

For we are

indeed his

offspring.

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.

Once again,

we see that

idolatry

inverts this

created order.

We are made

in God's

image, which

means we are

in a sense

icons of

God.

Now, we

are deeply

marred and

tarnished by

sin, so

therefore we do

not reflect

God's glory

in the way

that God

has intended.

And a big

part of the

reason why we

don't reflect

God's glory is

that we try to

make God into

our own image.

Again, things

are inverted.

We try to make

an idol out of

God, a double

disrespect, for it

implies that God

can be captured in

an image made by

his creation, and

that we somehow

have the capacity

to capture that

image.

Finally, the

fourth thing,

verses 30 to

31, says

this, the

times of

ignorance God

overlooked, but

now he commands

all people

everywhere to

repent, because

he has fixed

the 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.

The fourth and

final bit of

theology Paul

preaches on is

that God is a

righteous and

judge, and

just judge.

The one true

sovereign God has

made himself known

and therefore to

all, and therefore

his judgment is

universal.

It is completely

righteous, and it

will happen.

It's definitely

going to happen.

The day of

judgment is fixed.

It means no one

will be without

excuse.

It says here that

he commands all

to repent, all to

humbly throw

themselves at the

mercy of God in

Christ.

And by the way,

that might make

us feel very

uncomfortable, because

judgment is always

negative.

We don't want to

be judgy people.

That might be a

part of our own

kind of idolatry.

We want to be

liked by everybody,

so the idea of

being judgy will

make people not

like us.

We don't like it.

It's uncomfortable.

I get it.

I feel the same

way.

But understand

that the

Apostle Paul isn't

saying that God

is the judge of

all to scare the

Athenians into some

kind of submission,

but it is ultimately

good news, and it's

good news for us.

For those of us who

are facing judgment

because of sin,

because of the

brokenness in our own

life, because of the

things we have done in

the past, and as we

get older, that list

continues to grow.

Things we're ashamed

of, things that we'd

be happy would

disappear from

existence.

We have

affronted, we have

caused an affront to

the one true just

God, and his

judgment towards us is

just, but here's the

thing.

His judgment is sure,

but it has already

been poured out on

Jesus Christ, in our

place, on the

cross, that God has

made a way for us to

somehow survive his

just judgment because

somebody else took it

upon himself and paid

the penalty in our

place.

God is just, he is

just, but he is also

merciful.

And in Christ we see

this beautiful,

beautiful marriage

between justice and

mercy.

he will shower grace

upon grace for those

that are in Christ

Jesus.

So judgment

ultimately for those

in Jesus is not a

picture of damnation,

but a picture of

salvation.

What Paul is doing

here, he's completely

upending the Athenian

way of thinking, the

Athenian philosophy, the

Athenian religious

structures.

And he is saying that

there is a better way

and that there is true

worship to be had and to

be participated in.

And we start to see that

real, true, godly,

biblical theology, it

leads to real, true,

godly, and biblical

doxology, that is

worship.

I'll close with this.

Idolatry is abhorrent

because God is

untamable.

He cannot be

localized, he cannot be

manipulated, he cannot be

domesticated, there's no

kind of quid pro quo

with God.

I've done this for you,

you owe this to me.

We cannot create icons

of God, but here's the

thing.

God, the son of God,

becomes incarnate and he

takes upon himself human

flesh, perfectly

representing God, the

father, for he remained

God, but also perfectly

representing mankind

because he was fully man.

Therefore, Christ is the

ultimate and perfect icon

of God.

Not an idol, but an icon,

the perfect window for us

to see God, the father

almighty.

If you see the son, you

see the father.

If you know the son, you

know the father.

And why did he do this?

So that by faith, we would

become united with him

and enjoy a real, genuine,

eternal relationship with

almighty God.

No longer under the

subjugation and the

slavery of idol worship.

We can be free.

And if you are like me and

struggle with idolatry, if

you struggle with making

much of this life and

little of eternity, if you

struggle with zeal for God's

glory, friends, I will say

this, cast your eyes upon

Christ.

Think about him.

Dwell on him.

Ask him by his spirit to

rip apart the idolatry in

your life, to expose it for

what it is.

And friends, throw yourself

at the mercy of God

almighty.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you

for the Apostle Paul.

We thank you for his sermon

at the Areopagus at

Mars Hill.

We thank you that he did

not shy away from telling

the truth, that he didn't

love his life more than he

was about your glory.

Lord, he is a wonderful

example to us.

And by your spirit, Lord, we

want to be more and more

like him.

But Lord, actually, we want

to be more and more like

your blessed son, who

perfectly represented you,

who had no idols at all,

but he is the object of

our worship.

Lord, help us to be more

and more like Christ, to

gaze upon him, to trust in

him more, to value him

above all else, to trust in

him above and beyond.

And Lord, help us, again, by

your spirit, by faith, to

long for eternity with

Christ that begins in part

now, but will be in full in

the life to come.

We pray all of this in

Christ's name.

Amen.