Athens!

Updated from J.C. Ryle's sermon, "Athens!"

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Acts 17:16, "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols."

There stood the Apostle Paul, not in a quiet village or peaceful field, but in the intellectual capital of the world--the glittering city of Athens. The city of marble, of art, of philosophy, of beauty--and of spiritual blindness. Everywhere he looked, idols filled the streets: gods of stone, altars to the unknown god, beauty without truth, philosophy without grace. Athens--the eye of Greece--was blind to the living God. And as Paul stood there, he was greatly distressed.

Beloved, we live today in another kind of Athens. The temples are digital now, the idols are more polished, the worshipers are more self-assured--but the idolatry is the same! We worship intellect, pleasure, pride, position, comfort, lust, and self. We, too, are surrounded by a world wholly given to idolatry!

What Paul SAW
Paul saw a city full of idols--beautiful, educated, but utterly lost. He saw humanity's best efforts to reach God by philosophy, art, and culture--and all failing. "The world by wisdom knew not God" (1 Corinthians 1:21). Without Scripture, even Athens--the very summit of human reason--bowed to wood and stone.

Man may ascend to the heights of intellect--and yet be sunk in the depths of sin! Athens teaches us that culture cannot cure the corruption of the heart; and beauty cannot banish spiritual blindness. Without the light of Scripture, the wisest mind gropes like a blind man in the dark.

What Paul FELT
Paul was not impressed, but troubled--deeply, painfully troubled. His heart burned with holy sorrow at the sight of perishing souls; with holy indignation at the sight of God's glory robbed by idols; and with holy zeal for the name of Christ.

How unlike the apathy of our own culture! Too many see sin--and shrug. Too many gaze upon the spiritual ruins of our cities, and feel nothing. Paul's compassion, his grief for the lost, his yearning for the glory of Jesus--these are some of the true marks of a Christian. If we can see a world enslaved by false gods: money, pleasure, success--and not feel sorrow, then our hearts are colder than marble and harder than Athens' idols.

When Jesus viewed Jerusalem, "He beheld the city and wept over it."

When Paul stood before Athens, "he was greatly distressed!"   

When we stand before our own perishing cities--what do we feel?

What Paul DID
Paul did not sigh, and move on. He spoke. He went to the marketplace and reasoned daily with whoever would listen. He stood upon Mars Hill and proclaimed--not philosophy, nor speculation--but Jesus and the resurrection.

Oh, the power and simplicity of that message! Jesus--the Son of God who lived, died, and rose again. The cross that reconciles, the blood that cleanses, the grave that is empty. Athens had many gods, but never a God who died for sinners and rose to give them eternal life.

Let us learn from Paul's example. We will not win the world by blending in with it--but by lifting up Jesus before it. We will not reclaim our own "Athens" with entertainment, nor with argument alone--but with the gospel of grace.

What WE must do
Christian, open your eyes--our modern Athens stands before you. Its idols are not carved in marble, but in minds and hearts. Its altars are careers, comfort, and pleasure. And like Paul, we must be greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols!

Let us see the world as the apostle Paul did--full of blind souls in need of gospel light. Let us feel the weight of lostness as the apostle Paul did--the glory of Christ dishonored. Let us act as the apostle Paul did--pray, speak, and go.

Paul stood alone in Athens, but he was not truly alone--for Jesus was with him. And from that single voice, the gospel spread through the empire!

One man, one message, one Savior--and the idols trembled.