Have you ever wondered if it is all worth it? This work that our God has given us; this great commission as we call it, to go and make disciples of all nations, have you ever wondered if it is worth all the effort and energy? I wonder if Paul, “Mr. go and make disciples” himself, ever wondered if it was all worth it. In the section of God’s word that is before us today we are going to take a look at the effort and energy saint Paul exerted to make disciples in the city of Athens. What you are going to see is, at the end of the day, after a considerable amount of effort and energy by one of the greatest missionaries of all time, only Dionysius and Damaris are named as converts. Two people out of an entire city! I know this makes me sound cold, but it kind of makes me wonder, is it worth it? Why don’t you be the judge.
Paul’s evangelism efforts are recorded for us in Acts 17:16-34. There we find Paul in the city of Athens. The city of Athens was once the crown jewel of Greece. Athens was the great center for politics, art, literature, and philosophy. Democracy comes from Athens, the Parthenon was and still is in Athens, philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all called Athens home. But in Paul’s day the crown jewel of Greece had lost some of her luster. That did not, however, prevent would-be-philosophers from filling her streets.
There were some who studied the philosophy of Epicurus, who taught that the gods were not interested in the affairs of men and that there is no afterlife in which we will be called accountable for our actions. Therefore, the Epicureans, as they were known, subscribed to a philosophy of hedonistic pleasure. “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” was the mindset of the Epicurean philosopher. In contrast to the Epicurean philosophers were those who studied the philosophy of Zeno. Zeno taught that in order for one to be truly at peace they must not be controlled by the desires of pleasures, fear, or pain. The followers of Zeno, known as Stoics, subscribed to a philosophy of discipline and self-control. If the Stoics were characters on the old television show Star Trek, they would be from Vulcan.
It seems Athens was accepting of philosophies from all ends of the spectrum. One might therefore assume that they would be open to hearing what a guy like Paul had to say, but that assumption would be false. When they heard Paul sharing the good news of Jesus’ death that paid for their sins and His resurrection that proclaimed their salvation, the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with Paul, and not in a search for wisdom sort of way. They called Paul names. Luke tells us “18 Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” They called Paul a babbler. In our modern slang they might say Paul was a bird-brain; someone who was incapable of coherent thought and lacked the ability to understand reason. I suspect with the intent of making Paul look foolish, they asked him if he would be willing to explain his “new teaching” at the Areopagus.
The Areopagus was the most respected institution in Athens. It was once the supreme court of sorts for all of Greece. Now it was a place where philosophers gathered to discuss morals and religion. Luke tells us, “21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)” The Areopagus was where smart people went to have smart conversations about smart things. It was a natural place to bring a preacher like Paul.
Seizing the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with the crowd of people gathered around him Paul “22 stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.” This is a brilliant introduction. Notice, unlike the Epicurean and Stoic Philosophers Paul does not resort to name calling. Paul knows name calling isn’t the best way to convert people to the faith. Rather, Paul compliments them on what we might call their spirituality. Paul recognizes that the philosophers of Athens have a natural knowledge of God. He meets them where they are at before he leads them to where they need to be. It is, as I said, a brilliant introduction, and it only gets better from here.
Standing in the shadow of the Parthenon, the massive temple built for Athena the patron goddess of Athens, Paul tells the philosophers of Athens about the greatness of the UNKNOWN GOD. He tells them, “24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.” Surrounded by the stone statues of disinterested deities, Paul tells the philosophers of Athens about the goodness of the UNKNOWN GOD. He tells them, the UNKNOWN GOD “…25 gives all men life and breath and everything else. Aware of the political instability of the city, Paul tells the philosophers of Athens about the governance of the UNKNOWN GOD. He tells them, “26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” Then finally, proving that he is not some bird-brained babbler Paul quotes from two of their own poets in order to tell the philosophers of Athens about the grace of the UNKNOWN GOD. He tells them, “28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
If there is such a thing as being “in the zone” for preachers, then Paul is in the center of that zone. His explanation of the UNKNOWN GOD to the philosophers of Athens is powerful and persuasive. The only concern now was, would there be enough water in the Ilisos river to baptize the thousands of converts there were sure to be.
Well, that concern was, as you know, unfounded. Turns out there was more than enough water in the Ilisos river to baptize the converts. The philosophers of Athens heard Paul’s explanation of the UNKNOWN GOD and sneered. The message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of their sins and resurrected as the assurance of their salvation was foolishness to them. They told Paul they had more pressing matters to attend to but maybe they could talk more about this Jesus… some other time. After all of the effort and energy Paul exerted to convert the philosophers of Athens, Luke tells us, “34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.” That’s it, “a few”; only two that are named.
So, what do you think? Was it worth it? I ask the question not so much for Paul’s sake but for your own. You see, I know you are not trying to convert the philosophers of Athens. But you are trying to convert people like them. You are trying to explain the greatness of the UNKNOWN GOD to your children who have become distracted by the things of this world. You are trying to explain the goodness of the UNKNOWN GOD to your friends whose lives are full of tragedy and turmoil. You are trying to explain the governance of the UNKNOWN GOD to your coworkers who are worried about joining the 23 million Americans who are unemployed. You are trying to explain the grace of the UNKNOWN GOD to your neighbors who have learned the only way you get something, be it a mansion here on earth or there in heaven, is you have to work for it.
You are trying to convert people that are not all that different than the Philosophers of Athens. That is why, like Paul, you have exerted a considerable amount of effort and energy to make the UNKNOWN GOD known to them: phone calls, emails, text messages; conversations, discussions, arguments; prayers, prayers, prayers. You have exerted a lot of effort and energy trying to make the UNKNOWN GOD known to your children, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, but still the water levels of the Chattahoochee are more than enough to baptize all your converts. So, I ask one more time, if after all your effort and energy spent on your children, friends, coworkers, and neighbors all you get is “a few” who believe, is it worth it?
How do you think Dionysius and Damaris would answer that question? How do you think the two people, who before Paul spoke in the Areopagus, were completely ignorant of the greatness, goodness, governance, and grace of the UNKNOWN GOD would answer that question? After Dionysius and Damaris came to know the UNKNOWN GOD as Jesus Who suffered on the cross to pay for their sins and rose from the dead to proclaim their salvation, do you think they would say Paul’s efforts and energies exerted in the Areopagus were wasted!?
How do you think the angels in heaven would answer that question? How do you think they whose job it is to “guard you in all our ways”[1] would answer the question? How do you think they who were so eager to celebrate birth of our Savior that they ripped the skies of Bethlehem apart would answer that question? Jesus once told His disciples, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”[2] Do you think the angels who throw a party every time a person comes to faith would consider Paul’s efforts and energies exerted in the Areopagus wasted!?
How do you think The UNKNOWN GOD would answer that question? How do you think the Father that so loved the people of the world, both collectively and individually that He sent His one and only Son to be the substitute for those who have fallen short of the glory of God would answer that question? How do you think Jesus who shed His blood so that the debt of every sin of every sinner would be paid in full would answer that question? Do you think the Holy Spirit who inspired Luke to preserve a record of the conversion of Dionysius and Damaris in the Sacred Scriptures would consider Paul’s efforts and energies exerted in the Areopagus a waste!?
The effort and energy Paul exerted in the Areopagus were not wasted and neither are yours. I pray all your children, all your friends, all your coworkers, and all your neighbors come to know the UNKNOWN GOD as their Savior from sin, but even if only a few become followers and believe rest assured your efforts and energies are worth it. They are worth it to the Triune God. They are worth it to the hosts of heaven. They are worth it to the few who believe. So, keep calling, and emailing, and texting. Keep conversing, and discussing, and arguing. Keep praying and praying and praying. Exert your efforts and energies to make the UNKNOWN GOD known to your your children, your friends, your coworkers, and your neighbors confident that your efforts and energies are worth it. Amen
[1] Psalm 91:11
[2] Luke 15:10