Howdy. And a quick reminder to all the confirmation
students to make sure you're doing your sermon
notes. So, I know, pastors gotta start checking
those, there you go. You know, every generation
develops its own little dictionary. Every age
invents words and phrases that reveal what people
fear, what they value, what they long for, what
they worship. Now, I barely managed to squeeze
into the beginning of millennials. I'm kind of
like right there in between them and everything.
But most of my friends are millennials, so I'm
kind of stuck with them. But you know, millennials,
they gave us a lot of fun ones. Good vibes only,
definitely a millennial phrase. Emotional support
coffee shops. Yeah, absolutely you get your well
-being from Starbucks turning every personality
into a Harry Potter Hogwarts house Don't lie.
You know which one you're a part of I'm a Gryffindor.
Okay, and of course Adulting they took the word
and made it a verb who would have thought everything's
a verb now. I don't even But you know, it's easy
then for Millennials to turn brunch into a therapy
session with avocado toast in under six minutes
You know But millennials can't have all the fun.
Gen Z came along. And they can diagnose emotional
boundaries faster than WebMD. They came up with
things like protect your peace. That's toxic.
Main character energy, and I'm setting boundaries.
Okay? And let's be honest, though. Gen Z did
not end it. Gen Alpha. Yes, there's a Gen Alpha.
There is a Gen Beta starting up soon, too, by
the way. Gen Alpha arrived speaking what sounds
less like English and more like someone dropped
a smartphone into a blender. Riz. What in the
world? Riz. Sigma and then Skibity. I don't even
know what skivity means. I don't think anybody
who even says it knows what skivity means. I
think it's literally not supposed to mean anything.
That's what we have to work with people. But
before we laugh too hard, older generations had
their own versions, too. What was it, the 60s
and the 70s, when we got find yourself and go
with the flow and peace and love and do your
own thing? But even more than that... Christians
love to come up with phrases that nobody in the
world understands outside of our little ecosystem.
I'm just waiting for a hedge of protection. The
Lord laid it on my heart. Traveling mercies to
you all. I plead the blood of Jesus and God won't
give you more than you can handle. Which for
the record is not actually in the Bible. I know,
I know. At least one person, every time, at least
one person. You know, every group, they develop
these phrases, and it shows how they see the
world. And today, when we're looking at the book
of Acts, Athens has its own vocabulary, too.
Because Paul walks into Athens, and he walks
into a city overflowing with different ideas.
And the more that you study Athens, the more
you realize Athens is not all that strange. Athens
is like us. Paul enters there and he sees idols
everywhere. Luke says Paul is deeply distressed,
but notice what Paul does not do. Paul does not
begin screaming at all the strangers. He does
not start with a top 10 reasons why Athens is
going to Hades. He doesn't end up coming to the
marketplace with a sermon series telling everybody
what idiots they truly are. Instead, he observes.
He listens. He reasons. And what does he do?
He does this in the marketplace. The Agora. Now,
the Agora was not merely a shopping center. It
was a marketplace, a courthouse, a debate hall,
a networking center, a political square, an educational
hub. Imagine... If a university campus, a courthouse,
a farmer's market, a social media, a coffee shop,
and a podcast studio all collided into a noisy
marble covered intersection, that was Athens.
That was the Agora. And in that marketplace,
Paul finds two groups of people, the Epicureans
and the Stoics. Now just before we go any further,
let's clear up two misunderstandings. Number
one, epicurean does not mean someone who shops
at an expensive organic grocery store discussing
artisan cheese while sipping imported sparkling
water. You know who you are. And stoic does not
mean someone with absolutely no emotions staring
into the distance like a human cinder block.
These philosophies are deeper than mere caricatures.
Epicureanism comes from Epicurus, and contrary
to popular assumption, they were not focused
on reckless pleasure. They were not saying party
hard, because nothing matters. Epicureans actually
believed that the goal of life was tranquility.
Freedom from fear, from anxiety, from pain. Sounds
actually kind of good. Their highest good was
pleasure, but pleasure for them meant peace,
calm, simplicity, an absence of distress. They
believed that if the gods existed, that they
were distant and uninvolved with the world. No
judgment, no interruptions, no resurrection,
no accountability. So the goal for them became
to protect your peace. Sound familiar? Modern
Epicureanism would sound like, cut out the negativity.
Protect your peace. Do what makes you happy.
I just want a quiet life. Life is about experiences,
and my personal favorite, I'm spiritual, not
religious. To be fair though, some of what they
would say would resonate with us. Friendship
matters, gratitude, simplicity can be healthy,
needless anxiety would destroy us, sure. But
Jesus never said, blessed are the comfortable.
Jesus would say, take up your cross and follow
me. Epicureanism would be about, how do I avoid
suffering? Jesus would say, how do I love faithfully
in the midst of suffering? It's not the same
destination. So if Epicureanism is about protecting
ourselves from pain, Stoicism would be like strengthening
ourselves against pain. Founded by Zeno of Sidium.
Yes, real names. And Marcus Aurelius and Seneca
the Younger. Stoicism taught that peace was about
mastering your inner life. Wisdom, courage, justice,
temperance, self -control, resilience. Sounds
almost like fruits of the spirit for a moment.
You focus on what you can control. Your choices,
your reactions, your character. You accept what
you cannot control. Fate, suffering, circumstances,
other people. Sounds almost like a serenity prayer,
right? Modern stoicism is everywhere today. Productivity
podcasts, leadership coaching, resilience training,
military language, self -help culture, phrases
like control what you can control, protect your
energy, stay disciplined, don't let emotions
control you, and my favorite, it is what it is.
While the ancients may have carried scrolls,
Modern Stoics today would have motivational podcasts
and water bottles with new logos. There are things
we appreciate like discipline, perseverance,
endurance, and self -control. But Christianity
parts ways when Stoicism sees that we can save
ourselves. Their answer may be, I must become
strong enough. Our answer is Christ meets us
in our weakness. The gospel is not you finally
became emotionally disciplined enough. The gospel
is while we were still weak, Christ died for
the ungodly, sinners like us. By the way, one
thing we should understand about them is that
these are not people that were merely bowing
in front of statues thinking this chunk of marble
is my god. Their gods and their heroes embodied
their ideals. Athena, wisdom. Aries, strength.
Aphrodite, beauty. Nike, triumph. Yes, your shoe
was a god. Zeus, representing power and authority.
The statues were visions of a good life. In other
words, their worship was about values, aspirations,
and identities. See, modern people, we may not
bow down before statues either, but we absolutely
build identities around our ideals. Success,
beauty, freedom, pleasure, power, productivity,
control. Our idols are often psychological before
they are physical. We create images of the kind
of person that we think will save us. Now, here's
what's fascinating. Paul sees all of these false
ideas that are there, but he doesn't begin by
mocking them. He goes in and he says, men of
Athens, I perceive that in every way you are
very religious. And then he notices an altar
to an unknown God. And instead of starting off
by saying, oh, you're so stupid, you worship
a God you don't even know about. Instead, he
uses it as a bridge. Paul starts where they are.
And that's important. Because he doesn't affirm
that pagan worship is true. But he recognizes
that underneath it, there's a genuine longing.
Human beings are searching. And Paul does something
astonishing. He actually quotes their crazy phrases.
He quotes the pagan philosophers and poets. Paul
says, in him we live and move and have our being.
That was probably from Epimenides, one of their
philosophers. Originally, not about the God of
Israel, it was about Zeus. Paul also says we
are indeed his offspring, and he's quoting Eratos,
definitely talking about Zeus, but echoing Stoicism.
See, Paul is not saying Zeus and the God of Israel
are the same. He's doing something much deeper.
He's saying even your own poets recognize the
fragments of truth. that went beyond you. Paul
takes the language that they used for the false
gods and he redirects it. He aims it for the
true God revealed in Christ. See, it's almost
like Paul is saying, you've been looking for
love in all the wrong places, searching for love
in too many faces. But you know, something in
your own hearts already suspects what is real.
And that's why Paul begins with understanding
rather than ridiculing. He recognizes that even
the distorted longings reveal our need for God.
So compare this, though, to Stephen last week.
Very different feel. Stephen was fiery, sharp,
prophetic. Why? Because Stephen is not speaking
to the pagans who have never known God. Stephen
is speaking to the temple leaders, the Scripture
trained people, the covenant people, the ones
who already knew the law and the prophets. Their
issue was different. Paul was talking to the
spiritual seekers. Stephen is talking to the
ones resisting what God was saying to them. Think
about it this way. Could you imagine Gordon Ramsay
coming into McDonald's and snatching the fries
out of someone's hand saying, you put too much
ketchup on there? Well, of course not. I mean,
there's no TV show for it. But also, Gordon Ramsay
critiques chefs. Why? Because the chefs are the
ones claiming, I know how to do this. They're
presenting themselves as professionals. Or could
you imagine Simon Cowell stopping a stranger
at karaoke and saying, your singing voice lacks
range. Never with me, but still. It would be
absurd, wouldn't it? His criticism, it exists
because people are standing up and saying, I
need a record deal because I can sing. And that's
the difference between Paul and Athens and Stephen
before the religious leaders. Paul is speaking
to people who are searching for God. Stephen
is speaking to the people who claim they already
know him. Accountability rises with revelation.
The more light that someone receives, the more
serious their rejection. must be taken. The distinction
matters because Christians, honestly, sometimes
we become furious at unbelievers when they're
just acting like unbelievers. Why would people
without the Spirit of God be following after
Jesus? Why would we expect people who do not
know Jesus to already think like disciples? Paul
doesn't walk into Athens expecting the pagans
to sound like the rabbis. When Jesus says if
you love me keep my commandments He promises
I will send you the helper Because the spirit
is not primarily given so that Christians can
win arguments and dominate culture wars and mock
the outsiders and become the prosecutors of all
the other religions The spirit is there to form
disciples The word of God tells us that the spirit
is to produce obedience repentance, humility,
love, patience, Christlikeness. The Spirit changes
us. The Spirit changes us. Maybe that explains
something. Because sometimes people wonder, Pastor,
why do you spend more time criticizing and correcting
Christians than criticizing the world? Yup. Because
the church... is the community that already knows
Christ. I do not expect, I will not expect, I
cannot expect the world to follow a Savior that
they don't know yet. But Christians are called
to grow in repentance, maturity, humility, and
obedience. That's you. And correction within
the church. It's not about hatred. It's family
language. Covenant language. Respect language.
If we correct our children, but not random strangers
in a grocery store, it's not because we hate
our children and love some strangers. It's because
those children belong to us. And frankly, that
applies to pastors too. Two ways. Why is pastor
always harder on Christians than the rest of
the world? Because the rest of the world hasn't
taken the name of Jesus and become his disciples.
Pastors will correct you, will tell you when
something is wrong, because we love and respect
you. And the church needs to hold each other
accountable. But it works the other way too.
Pastors also need accountability. We also need
repentance. Pastors also need humility. Correction
is not showing that we are enemies. Correction
is proof that we're actually on the same team.
Epicureans may have wanted peace. Stoics may
have wanted strength. Athens wanted meaning.
But so do we. Some people spend their lives trying
to avoid pain. Some try to spend their lives
trying to master themselves. But the Gospel is
not just about emotional management. It's not
about self -optimization. It's not about being
disciplined enough or calm enough. It's that
the unknown God has made Himself known through
Jesus Christ. It's not just about enduring the
world or escaping it. It's that God entered the
world. Jesus suffered. Jesus died. And Jesus
rose. See the answer is not detachment. It's
not comfort. It's not self mastery the answer
is Jesus Perhaps one of the hardest things for
us as Christians to admit is that we do not always
behave like Paul in Athens We are sometimes acting
like rival philosophers in the marketplace trying
to score points with everyone else like us There
have been moments when Christians became known
more for mockery than understanding, more for
outreach than wisdom, more for humiliation than
truth. And let's be honest, there are voices
that Christians have celebrated precisely because
they were willing to attack the culture loudly.
But a difficult question remains. Are we equally
willing to examine ourselves? Are we equally
willing to confess when we have distorted the
truth? When we have repeated things that we didn't
verify? When we have shared an outrage before
seeking understanding? When we took words out
of context because they fit the narrative we
wanted better? The Spirit does not lead Christians
into arrogance that is disguised as certainty.
It is leading us into truth. And truth requires
humility. Patience. The courage to say, I was
wrong. Repentance is not about humiliation. It's
the freedom in humility. Repentance means we
do not have to spend our lives defending every
mistake that we've ever made. Grace means our
identity is not built on hoping we were always
right. Our identity is built on Christ. So we
should be the first ones. The first ones honest
enough to apologize. To listen carefully to seek
context to resist twisting words to reject gossip
to admit when anger was our self -righteousness
Because the spirit is not forming a people obsessed
with winning arguments The spirit is forming
a people who look like Jesus When the world grows
more divided the answer is not well, I can do
it even better The answer is deeper faithfulness
honesty repentance you see the people of Athens
they offered ways to try to deal with death and
fear and suffering they were searching through
all their idols and philosophies and frankly
we do the same but the gospel declares that peace
is not found in protecting ourselves peace is
found in the one who never protected himself
It's not self -mastery. It's not always being
right. It's being found in the crucified and
risen Jesus. The unknown God who has made Himself
known. And He does not just invite us so that
we can win debates. He invites us to repentance,
to grace, to truth, to transformation. So may
the Spirit continue to be at work in us, teaching,
correcting, comforting, convicting, forgiving,
and reshaping us into the likeness of Christ.
Thanks be to God.