Prove It!

1:09For the past 18 months, we've been studying the book of Romans, and the past couple of weeks have been looking at Romans 15. And in Romans 15, Paul talks about the godly pride that he has in fulfilling his ministry, that is, in evangelizing and planting churches among unreached people. And in the chapter, he talks about the godly ambition. that he has to continue doing that work, to go plant more churches among unreached people. And so on this Easter Sunday, I thought it would be good for us to take a moment and consider an example from the book of Acts where Paul does this very thing, evangelizing and planting churches among unreached people.

1:53And so today we're going to be looking at one of my favorite chapters in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 17. Now let me give you the backstory here. Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy, have been moving down this region that we know as Greece. And they preached in Thessalonica. They got chased out of there by some Jews who were angry about the large crowds that were coming to hear about the resurrection. And so they went down to the next town called Berea, and they preached there. And people came to faith in Christ in Berea. And then Paul gets chased out of Berea, and he goes down to Athens, and he's waiting for Silas and Timothy to come and meet him there.

2:30And while Paul is waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, Luke, the author of Acts, notes that Paul's spirit was provoked because the city was full of idols. Now, Athens, like most major cities in world history, was pluralistic. That is, there were lots of different religions, lots of different gods that were worshipped. And so every day, Paul reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue, and then he went out to the marketplace to talk to the Jews. Gentiles explaining and proving that Jesus is the Christ, that it was necessary for him to come and live a perfect life, to die on the cross in our place for our sins, and to rise again from the dead. And as he's doing this, one day some philosophers hear him preaching.

3:21And these philosophers invite him to come and preach at the Areopagus. As you may know, Aries, the god of war, the Areopagus, right? This is known as Mars Hill. Mars and Aries are the same god in Greek and Roman mythology. And so they invite him to come to this very prominent place where all of these debates go down. And that's where we pick up the story this morning. And one truth that really stands out in the text today is that Christianity is an evidence-based religion.

3:56Christianity is an evidence-based religion. Contrary to what you may have heard or what others may say, Christianity does not ask you for blind faith. It is an evidence-based religion. And here's what I mean by that. When it comes to nearly every other religion on planet Earth, what is happening is people are being asked to exercise blind faith in the testimony of one person. So why should we believe that the Quran? Is true? Because Muhammad said so.

4:36Why should we believe the Book of Mormon is true? Because Joseph Smith said so. Why should we believe that the Bhavod Gita is true? Because Lord Krishna said so. But why should we believe that the Bible is true? Because Jesus rose from the dead. That's a very different answer than those other religions. Ultimately, Christianity believes the Bible is true because Jesus rose from the dead. And what does the Bible teach us? The Bible teaches us everything that we need to know about God, about our world and what went wrong with it, about ourselves and what is wrong with us, and most importantly, about what God has done to make everything right again.

5:30The Bible teaches us that all people are religious and that all people must repent. And we believe those things are true because Jesus affirmed them. And we believe Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead. And so here's what we're going to learn this morning in Acts chapter 17. Jesus's resurrection proves that religious people must repent. And here's how we'll break that text. Into three truths. All people are religious. All people must repent, and all people must respond.

6:11So let's begin with that first truth. All people are religious. Join me in verse 22 there. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. So as Paul is walking around the city of Athens, he perceives that they are very religious.

6:49And you did not have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that out. That's because the city was absolutely filled with idols. It has been said that in the first century, there were 10,000 inhabitants in Athens and 30,000 idols. Three idols for every citizen in town. Petronius quipped that it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens. So as Paul walked through the city, there are temples everywhere, there are statues everywhere, all devoted to the worship of different gods and goddesses. There is even this altar with the inscription to the unknown God.

7:36These people are so religious that they don't want to risk offending a God that they don't even know anything about. And by observing the objects of their worship, Paul concludes that in every way the Athenians are very religious. But, friends, here's the truth: all people are religious. Even people who don't consider themselves to be religious are religious. Many modern people hear about places like first-century Athens and they think to themselves, you know, people used to be religious, but we know better now.

8:19That attitude is common today, that our ancestors, our forefathers, were religious because they just didn't know any better. But what is religion? What does it mean to be religious? Take a look at this definition. Religion is a structured system of beliefs, practices, and ethical values that help individuals understand existence and find meaning. Think about that. If religion is a structured system of Of beliefs, practices, and ethical values that help individuals understand existence and find meaning, then all people are religious.

9:10And that's because all people have a set of beliefs and practices and ethical values. All people have some way of making sense out of life in this world. All people are searching for meaning. So all people are religious. But in the end, most people are worshiping an unknown God, just like the Athenians. And that's because they are worshiping a God that they have created, or as Paul says in verse 29 here, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

9:54Now, when people form idols, they're essentially saying, Here is what I think God is like. Or they're saying, Here's what I want God to be like. In other words, it's an opinion, or it's wishful thinking. But what we need is for God to tell us who He is and what He is like. We need God to tell us the truth about our world and about ourselves, what went wrong, and how it can be made right again. In other words, friends, what we need is revelation from God, not opinions or wishful thinking from people. And revelation is exactly what Paul gives to the Athenians. Let's pick back up in the middle of verse 23 where we stopped.

10:48Paul says, What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, 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. 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, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.

11:36So in this address to the people of Athens, Paul confronts their wrong ideas about who God is and what he is like. The Athenians believed that there were thousands of gods and goddesses, so many that they did not even know them all. But Paul proclaims the Bible's teaching that there is one true God, the maker of heaven and earth. The Lord of all. The Athenians believe that gods and goddesses lived in temples made by human hands, and that they were served, their needs were met by priests and priestesses through sacrifices. But Paul proclaimed the Bible's teaching that God does not live in temples built by human hands and that he does not need anything from anyone. In fact, he gives to all of us life and breath and everything.

12:29The Athenians believe that human beings were formed by Prometheus, who made thousands and thousands of little clay figures, and Athena came and breathed life into them. But Paul proclaims the Bible's teaching that God made from one man every nation on earth, that he is sovereign over all things and in charge of all things, and that his hope is that people would feel their way toward him, would seek him and feel their way toward him like a person walking in a dark room and feeling around for a light switch.

13:08You see, the Athenians were very religious people. Their city was full of idols. The objects of their worship were everywhere. They had lots of ideas about the gods and the goddesses, what they were like, what they required. They were very religious people. But like so many people today, Their religion was founded on opinions and wishful thinking. Many people have theories about what God is like and about what God requires. But we do not need theories. We need answers.

13:49So, what we need is revelation from God. And thankfully, God reveals the truth about who he is and who we are and what is wrong with this world and what is wrong with us and what he has done about these things in Christ, in his word, the Bible. He has revealed these things to us. And in the Bible, we learn what we must do. Since all people are religious, what must we do? Here's our second truth. All people must repent. Let's pick up in the second half of verse 27 where we left off.

14:35Paul proclaims, yet he is actually not far from each one of us. 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. 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. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 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.

15:32So Paul begins this address by pointing out that the Athenians, like all people, are very religious. He confronts their wrong ideas about God, what he's like, what he requires, and then he helps them to understand the truth of God's revelation. But it's important to recognize here that the Athenians are not wrong about everything. There is truth, some truth at least, in nearly every religion and every philosophical system in this world. All truth is God's truth. So other people are not usually 100% wrong. And to prove that point, Paul quotes two Greek authors who wrote, in him we live and move and have our being.

16:17They said, we are indeed his offspring. That is true. And Paul affirms that these pagan authors are right. We are God's offspring. We do live and move and have our being. Our being in him. And since that's true, nobody should think that God, the divine being, is like gold or silver or stone. If we are indeed God's offspring, he can't be made of gold or silver or stone because those things don't produce offspring. And idols made from them are nothing more than images formed by the art and imagination of man.

16:58But friends, idolatry springs from ignorance. And since we were created to worship, we are religious by nature. We are going to find something to worship. We are all going to worship someone, somehow, in some way. It is impossible not to worship. And our worship, our religion, is going to be based in either ignorance or revelation. Those are the only two choices. So speaking the truth in love, Paul tells the Athenians, the times of ignorance God overlooked. In other words, God has been merciful and kind towards you. He has not treated you as your sins deserved. He has overlooked your offenses to this point. But now, Paul says, he commands all people everywhere to repent. That word repent means to turn, to change your mind, to stop going in one direction. And to go in a different direction. Paul says, all people everywhere, every person whose religion is based in ignorance, they are called to repent. Why must all people everywhere repent?

18:16Look again at verse 31. Paul testifies here: because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. Okay, so all people everywhere need to change their minds. They need to turn around from their opinions and wishful thinking and go in a different direction. And instead, they need to base their religion on revelation, on the truth that God has revealed about himself, because a day is coming. A day is coming when God who made the world and everything in it is going to judge all of us by this man he has appointed, Jesus Christ. Every person is going to be judged by God's perfect righteous standard, his law. And if we have not kept his law perfectly and completely every single day of our lives, then we have fallen short of his holy standard. And if we have fallen short of his holy standard, then we are going to be judged and found wanting. Look what Psalm 14 has to say: the Lord looks down from heaven on the heavens. The children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one.

19:48In all of human history, God says there is not one who is seeking Him and doing what He has commanded. There is not one person who has met His holy and righteous standard. And that means that on the day of judgment, when we stand before Him to give an account for every action, every word we have spoken, every single thought we've ever had, we are going to be found wanting, and that day is sure to come. Look at what Jesus Himself said in Matthew chapter 16: For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

20:36So, friends, God has revealed that all people must repent. We must change our minds. We must turn around. We must go in a different direction than the direction we've been going because God has fixed a day on which we're all going to stand before him and give an account for our lives. But the question is, how do we know that's true? What is the Proof for that claim that we are all going to stand before God one day and give an account of our lives. Look at the end of verse 31.

21:11And of this he has given assurance by raising him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the proof that these things are true. Remember, every religious system is making claims about what is true. Every religious system offers beliefs and practices and ethical values to help you understand life and make sense of it. Why should you believe them? Why should you believe what any religion is telling you about those beliefs, practices, ethical values? Why should you believe what any religion is telling you about the meaning of life?

21:58It is as the kids say these days, source, trust me, bro. But Christianity is different. We believe that everything in the Bible is true because Jesus affirmed everything in the Bible. And we believe Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead according to hundreds and hundreds of eyewitness accounts. Look on the screen at 1 Corinthians 15. Paul declares, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

23:13So you see, all people must repent. And all people must repent because we're all going to stand before God on the day of judgment. And we know that's true because he revealed that to us and he confirmed that revelation by raising Jesus from the dead. All people are religious. All people must repent. And what that means, finally, is that all people must respond. And that's what we see in verses 32 through 34. Let's pick up there in verse 32.

23:57Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the Lord, Of the dead. Some mocked. But others said, We will hear you again about this. So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius, the Areopagite, and a woman named Daimaris, and others with them. So in these final verses, you see that when Paul proclaims the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection demands a response. When you hear about the resurrection of Christ, you will not walk away shrugging your shoulders and say, who cares? You will respond in one of three ways. You will reject it, you will research it, or you will repent.

24:52First, some people rejected the message of Jesus' resurrection. Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, note that when some heard of the resurrection, they mocked. They laughed. They made fun of Paul. They ultimately rejected his testimony that Jesus rose from the dead. And friends, maybe you've been there before in your life. Maybe you've been in a place where you have rejected the message of Jesus' resurrection. You might still be in that spot this morning. But how confident are you about that?

25:30Remember, Christianity is an evidence-based religion. It doesn't ask for blind faith. One of Jesus' closest friends, Thomas, demanded evidence when the other apostles came back and they said, We saw and spoke to and interacted with Jesus after he died and was buried. Look at what Thomas said to them: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

26:14Thomas did not say, if you guys make a compelling argument, if you show me the logic behind your claim, if you point me to some verses in the Old Testament, I might believe. Thomas said, if I do not actually, literally, physically put my fingers into the marks in his hands and place my hand into his side that was pierced with a spear, I will never believe. Eight days later, the disciples were all gathered together, and Jesus comes to them. And look at what he says to Thomas: Put your finger here.

27:00And see my hands, and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. So, you can reject the message of Jesus. Or, second, you can research the resurrection of Jesus. That's what happens with the second group. Luke notes that some said, We will hear you again about this. Something you need to understand is that first-century Greeks, they thought resurrection was not only impossible, they thought it was undesirable. So, most Jews believed in a resurrection, they believed in an afterlife, but most Greeks did not, they thought it was impossible and undesirable. And what I mean by that is they are under a platonic philosophical system that taught that all matter, all things in this world, including the human body, is inherently evil. So, the goal of the Greek philosophical system was to eventually die so that you could finally be released from the frailties and limitations of this inherently evil body.

28:15So, these people are saying, even if resurrection was possible, I don't want it. I don't want to be raised from the dead. But in spite of that, in spite of all of their bias against the resurrection, some People were open to Paul's message. They were willing to give it a fair hearing. They were like the Boreans, the place that Paul just came from right before he went to Athens. I want you to look at what Luke records about the Boreans.

28:43It says they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them, therefore, believed, and not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. So, friends, my appeal to you this morning is do not reject the message of Jesus. At the very least, agree to research the message of Jesus. Give it a fair hearing. At least be like Thomas and say, I will be convinced if I can be shown that Jesus is alive. So many people reject Christianity based on faulty second-hand information. Do not do that. Research the claims of Jesus and decide what you think about the resurrection of Jesus.

29:40And then the third and hopeful response this morning is to repent at the message of Jesus' resurrection. Luke notes in verse 34: But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Demaris. And others with them. For some of you, that's what I hope you will do on this Easter Sunday. You know, maybe at some point in your life, you rejected the message of Jesus, you were closed off to it. But for reasons that you cannot fully explain, this morning you are open to the message of Jesus. You are open to hearing what Paul has to say, what the biblical authors have to say. You are here, you are listening. God is inviting you this morning to repent, to turn, to change directions, and begin following Jesus. That offer is open to you today. Do not put it off. Don't put off a decision saying, I will handle that later, when I go to college, when I graduate from college, when I get married, when we have kids, we'll start going back to church. Don't put this decision off. God is coming to you this morning through the Holy Spirit and through these words of Scripture and inviting you to receive Jesus by faith.

31:10He is calling you to believe in his life, death, and resurrection in your place for your sins. He is calling you to receive a great gift, the most wonderful gift that's ever been offered, and that is the gift of eternal life. And so receive it this morning. Some of you have been researching Jesus. Jesus for a long time, maybe a really long time, but you haven't come to a decision yet. You haven't come to the point where you've said, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead.

31:42And maybe what's holding you back is you want 100% certainty that Jesus rose from the dead. But friends, Christianity is an evidence-based religion. It cannot offer you 100% certainty. The reason that scientists can't tell you that for sure the earth revolves around the sun is because that cannot finally be proven. They call it the heliocentric theory. So why do people believe the earth revolves around the sun? It's because all of the evidence points to that. In the same way, no Christian can make you 100% certain that Jesus rose from the dead. But friends, all of the evidence points to it. All of the evidence in Scripture, all of the testimonies of the disciples, all of the testimonies of millions of Christians around the world from every ethnic background, every socioeconomic background testifying together that Jesus did rise from the dead. So do your research, but don't use that as an excuse not to make a decision. Join us and believe as these people did.

33:01And for those of you, probably many in the room who are already believers, I hope that you are freshly encouraged in your faith this morning. At one point, we were just religious people worshiping an unknown God. So what happened to us? The same thing that happened to Paul. Look at Galatians chapter 1. Paul testifies, but when he, who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son to me.

33:41Friends, that is the testimony of every Christian. God has set us apart by his grace. He revealed his son Jesus to us. We heard the message of his life, death, and resurrection, and we believed. And because we believed, we enjoy eternal life now and forever. We enjoy peace with God. We enjoy reconciliation with him all because of what he has done for us. The resurrection is everything. The resurrection is everything. And we celebrate that resurrection today. Thank God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Let's pray.

34:45God, we celebrate the amazing news, the good news of the gospel, that Jesus came and lived and died and rose again for us. Thank you for your great love, God. You demonstrated it in Christ. While we were yet sinners, not after we cleaned ourselves up, not after we established a long enough track record of going to church and reading the Bible, not after we knew enough things about the Bible, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

35:36God, I pray for every child in this room who maybe has grown up in church hearing these same truths. I pray that today would be the day of salvation for them. That they would see that their good works, that their church attendance, that their family upbringing is not enough. Only Jesus is enough. Would you grant children saving faith this morning? God, I pray for college students who are with us today. Lord, would you help them? Those who are thinking that they can be saved maybe through knowledge, through philosophy, through understanding deep truths that are taught in the academy. Would you show them that philosophy cannot save? Only Christ can save. Grant college students saving faith.

36:42God, I pray for men in the room today. Men who don't want to admit that they need help, that they cannot deal with their sin, that they cannot deal with the consequences of sin. Would you grant men saving faith this morning? God, I pray for women in the room today. Women who are good people, who do many good things, but might be trusting in themselves that they are righteous. Would you give them saving faith today? God, we pray that today is a day of salvation, not because it's Easter Sunday, but because it is a new day to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, and it's always a great day to be salvation. Saved.

37:32So, Lord, we pray that you would reveal yourself through your word and your spirit, that you would grant saving faith, and that we would be able to celebrate eternal life being given to many people, not just in our church this morning, but in churches across our community and churches across the world, as Jesus and his resurrection are proclaimed. Thank you, Lord, for the good news of the gospel and for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's in his name that we pray. Amen.

38:07Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.