Berea and Athens
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as poor lost sinners, will become wise unto salvation; but those who
come as distinguished men, extolling their own wisdom, will fail of
receiving the light and knowledge that He alone can give.
Thus Paul met the paganism of his day. His labors in Athens were
not wholly in vain. Dionysius, one of the most prominent citizens, and
some others, accepted the gospel message and united themselves fully
with the believers.
Inspiration has given us this glance into the life of the Athenians,
who, with all their knowledge, refinement, and art, were yet sunken
in vice, that it might be seen how God, through His servant, rebuked
idolatry and the sins of a proud, self-sufficient people. The words of
the apostle, and the description of his attitude and surroundings, as
traced by the pen of inspiration, were to be handed down to all coming
generations, bearing witness of his unshaken confidence, his courage
in loneliness and adversity, and the victory he gained for Christianity
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in the very heart of paganism.
Paul’s words contain a treasure of knowledge for the church. He
was in a position where he might easily have said that which would
have irritated his proud listeners and brought himself into difficulty.
Had his oration been a direct attack upon their gods and the great
men of the city, he would have been in danger of meeting the fate of
Socrates. But with a tact born of divine love, he carefully drew their
minds away from heathen deities, by revealing to them the true God,
who was to them unknown.
Today the truths of Scripture are to be brought before the great
men of the world in order that they may choose between obedience
to God’s law and allegiance to the prince of evil. God sets everlasting
truth before them—truth that will make them wise unto salvation, but
He does not force them to accept it. If they turn from it, He leaves
them to themselves, to be filled with the fruit of their own doings.
“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but
unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.” “God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things
of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.”
1 Corinthians