TOO SUPERSTITIOUS!
Acts 17:22-30
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens
23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN God . Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
24 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;
25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Today is Friday the 13th and a day that many think brings bad luck. The Athenians erected monuments and statues to all their many gods and, just to be safe, erected one TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Paul addressed the assembled men and told them they were too superstitious. The Greek root word is deilos which means “full of dread.” Paul went on to explain this Unknown God.
He is creator of all things (v.24) and cannot be contained by the things He has maid. He needs nothing that man might think to offer Him. We are powerless to give God anything that He doesn’t already have.
He is the giver of life to all living things. Their dread caused them to view their gods as mischief makers and dealers in death. Their gods, in their minds, were powerful malcontents that needed constantly to be appeased. The true God, the one you do not know, is the source of life and all good things.
He is God of all nations and tongues and races. He does not restrict himself to just you Athenians. He is, therefore, a missionary God. No nation can lay claim to Him exclusively. Because He is the only way of salvation it is the obligation of those who know Him to take the truth to those who are ignorant of Him.
He is willing to forgive your former ignorance (v.30) but now requires you to repent. This is still true. God wants us to abandon our superstitions and our dread and trust Him.
Dear Lord, let us not be swept up in the superstition of the day. Let us rely upon the truth of your Word. AMEN
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