What did the Epicureans believe?
(Acts 17:10-34; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 2:2) Blog Dec. 3-9, 2023
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: Church members prepare for mission by praying, counseling together, organizing, & agreeing on a Bible-based plan. God works with them to fill his church with disciples who fellowship together and continually desire to learn more about God.
Starting in a Strange City
1. When arriving in a new city where did Paul first begin to work? Almost always Paul began his ministry in a new city where the Jews gathered for Sabbath worship (Acts 13:5, 14, 46; 14:1; 16:13; 17:1-2, 10, 17).
2. After fleeing Thessalonica and Berea, where was Paul taken? Brethren took Paul to Athens in Greece (Acts 17:15).
3. What was Athens like? Athens was a metropolis filled with intelligent, cultured heathen who loved to spend their time telling or hearing new things. It had numerous works of art & culture & numerous gods (Acts 17:16, 21).
4. What motivated Paul to reach out to the unreached in Athens? Paul was stirred in his spirit by the masses wholly given over to idolatry & any mission to the unreached should start with an overwhelming sense of the need of the people to be reached (Acts 17:16).
5. Besides the Jewish synagogue where else did Paul begin his labors in Athens? Paul also spoke in the marketplace to those who would listen, including some Epicureans & Stoics (Acts 17:17).
6. Who accompanied Paul as he ministered in Athens? Paul worked alone in Athens, having only God & angels at his side (Acts 17:15; 1 Thes. 3:1).
7. What did the Epicureans believe? The Epicureans were materialists who believed that matter was eternal & had no creator, that God did not become involved in the affairs of men, that natural law made thing happen, & that the chief end of man was the avoidance of pain (Acts 17:18; The MacArthur Study Bible).
8. What did the Stoics believe? The Stoics were pantheists who believed that God was a part of everything & could not have created himself. They believed in self-mastery & that the goal of man was to reach a place of indifference to pleasure or pain (Acts 17:18; The MacArthur Study Bible).
An Invitation to Speak
9. When invited to speak on Mars’ Hill how did Paul begin? Paul began by speaking of the gods of the Athenians & of one they worshipped ignorantly (Acts 17:22-23).
10. How did Paul’s opening statement on Mars Hill catch the attention of the Athenians? The Athenians prided themselves on their intelligence & Paul caught their attention by referring to their ignorance (Acts 17:22-23).
11. How did Paul next appeal to the Athenians’ desire to hear some new thing? Paul told them about the God of whom they were ignorant (Acts 17:24-25).
12. When approaching unchurched pagans with what subject did Paul begin? While not attacking their religion, Paul began with the obviousness of creation by which we are all surrounded (Acts 14:15; 17:24; Rom. 1:19-22).
13. How then did Paul demonstrate the uselessness of all the Greek temples surrounding Mars’ hill? Paul argued that if God made all things & is Lord of heaven & earth then he needs no manmade temple to dwell in nor gifts to sustain him (Acts 17:24-25).
14. Who was Paul quoting when he said, “dwelleth not in temples made with hands”? Paul was quoting Stephen, from whom he learned the gospel (Acts 7:48; 17:24).
How to Approach the Unchurched
15. What is Paul saying in Acts 17:26-27? Paul is saying that no race of men is superior & all societies, including Athens, have their time & space limits, so all should seek to know his God who is not far from any one of us (Acts 17:26-27).
16. What is Paul doing in Acts 17:27-28? Paul is using the Athenians own cup to give them a drink of truth, for he quotes phrases from their own poets showing that if we are God’s offspring then he cannot be an inanimate idol for we are living, moving beings (Acts 17:27-28).
17. To what crucial point does Paul return in verse 30? Paul again highlights the ignorance of the Athenians but offers them hope in repenting of their errors & embracing the God he presents (Acts 17:30).
18. Why is Paul so concerned that the Athenians embrace the true God? Paul tells the Athenians that the true God has assigned a future day in which Jesus will judge every one of them in accord with his standard of righteousness (Acts 17:31).
19. In what way is the resurrection of Jesus a proof of a future, investigative judgment? By resurrecting Jesus, God acknowledges that his work of salvation for all men is complete thus making necessary a final examination to demonstrate who has accepted this salvation & who has not (Acts 17:31; Rom. 4:25; 2 Cor. 5:10)..
20. Why did many of the Athenians mock Paul when he mentioned the resurrection of the dead? The Greeks believed in the natural immortality of the soul & that matter was not necessary to continued living (Acts 17:32; 2 Tim. 1:10).
21. What can we learn about reaching unchurched pagans from Paul’s experience in Athens? Upon arriving in a new city we should survey the territory; find those of like faith; speak of Jesus to those who will listen; accept any invitation to speak to a larger audience; begin with points on which there is agreement; & tactfully lead your hearers to understand sin, righteousness, & judgment to come (Acts 17:16-34; John 16:8; Rom. 1:19-22).