Questions, Periods, and Exclamation Points

(Acts 17:1-34) Our generation has more information available than ever, and yet there seems to be such a lack of truth. Every question must be brought to the Giver of truth! Today we look at three treatments of truth. How do we treat the truth? (0937250210) ----more----

Finding Truth in the Information Age

This generation is a generation that has more information than any generation in history. We have more access to facts and to stories and to news at our fingertips than our grandparents ever could have imagined. This is an age where people know much and yet have more questions than they've ever had.

Isn't it ironic that we have so much information, and yet there seems to be such a dearth of truth. Our age is an age of questions. People are asking so many things. And knowing the answers to the questions, or at least where to find the answers to the questions, is absolutely vital for a believer. One of the worst answers you can give to someone when they start asking serious questions about spiritual truth, and eternity, and God is to answer this way, or even to say, "Someone else said." It'd be much better to say the Bible, which is the word of God teaches. So in the end, we must come back to this. What does the Bible say? What does God have to say about it? 

The Foundation of Our Study

We're beginning a brand new series of studies today on what the Bible says about a whole host of doctrinal issues and current issues. I'm very excited about this series, and I want to tell you right up front that before we give our opinion on anything, we must first lay the Bible foundation. We must begin with what thus saith the Lord. And then the application can grow out of that.

Now though this is somewhat a topical series, I want you to know that we're going to deal with it. In a way that is expository. I mean by that, we're going to dig into the Word of God. We're going to let God speak for Himself. And today, I want to lay a little foundation for this series on what the Bible says by talking to you about three treatments of the truth.

Three Treatments of the Truth: Thessalonica

In Acts chapter number 17, the Apostle Paul is preaching, he's teaching the truth, and it's recorded for us that he's in three distinct cities. Now these three cities represent really three receptions or responses to the truth. In Acts chapter 17, beginning in verse number 1, he comes to a city known as Thessalonica.

Thessalonica, of course, will be famous in history to Christians because there are two books of our New Testament written to the church at Thessalonica. And the Bible says in verse two that Paul, as his manner was went in unto them and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead. And that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. What a wonderful verse. In other words, he got right to the heart of the matter, and the heart of all of it is the person and work of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is not who he says he is, nothing else matters. What you believe about the living word is directly connected to what you believe about the written word.

Their response in verse 4 says, And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort. And gathered a company, set all the city on an uproar and assaulted the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people.

They literally are going to bring such persecution that the believers in Thessalonica have to sneak Paul and his missionary team out of town, undercover of darkness to spare their life. So in Thessalonica, you have a group of people who believe, but you have a large segment of people that not only do not believe, they don't want anybody else to hear the truth.

I call them the Thessalonican thieves. Because they wanted to steal the truth from others. In our current day, we have a lot of Thessalonican thieves. Not only do they not want to believe, not only are they not willing to obey the word of God, they don't want anybody else to have it either. And so they speak against God, and they speak against the truth.

It's almost comical, if it wasn't so sad, that many of those who profess they don't even believe in God spend a whole lot of energy and time Trying to prove he does not exist. And arguing against his existence. If he doesn't believe that there is a God, what difference does it make? Why even argue against it?

The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And you're gonna deal with Thessalonican thieves in this generation. who are trying to steal the seed of truth out of the hearts and minds of people. Let's go to the end of the chapter, because I want to finish our study today with the second church, not the third.

Three Treatments of the Truth: Athens

The third church that's found in Acts 17 is the beginning of the church, at least, in Athens. You'll remember that Athens was a very secular city. It was a culture that was filled with false religion. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul stands up on Mars Hill in Acts chapter 17 and verse 22, and he says, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

That sounds like our world, doesn't it? Full of superstition. Full of people who profess to be spiritual, but they don't even know the spirit of truth. And then in verse 23, the Apostle Paul says, For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you.

Oh, what a beautiful truth. He goes right on to preach to them the God that they needed to know. I would tell you that our world today is searching for the unknown God. Aren't you glad you know him? And if you know him, it's your responsibility to make him known. He begins with the Creator, and he comes all the way up to Christ.

And the Bible says in verse 32, And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. And others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them, howbeit certain men claimed unto him and believed. Among the witch was Dionysius, the Areopagite. And a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Are you noticing a pattern? That in every place where truth is given, some people receive and some do not. I call these people in Athens the Athenian Academia. And I'll tell you why. Because the Bible says here in Acts chapter 17 that they spend all of their time in either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Oh, I believe novelty is the scourge of our day. Everybody wants something new. And the truth is not new. It may be heard for the first time, it is perennially fresh, but it's not new. It's eternal. It's connected to the God of truth who has always been. So you've got the Thessalonican thieves who are trying to steal truth away from others and then you've got the Athenian academia.

Who just want to talk about it. They want to reason and philosophize and argue and debate, but they never arrive anywhere.

Three Treatments of the Truth: Berea

And then we come to the church, the city that's sandwiched between the two, and that's Berea. The Bible says in verse number 10 of Acts 17, And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea, who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica. And that they receive the word with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so we've got the festival, ni and Thieves who want to steal the truth from others because they don't believe we have the Athenian academia who make it all intellectual and they want to reason and talk about lots of things.

But many of them never came to the knowledge of the truth because they really weren't searching for answers. They just enjoyed talking about the questions. But here we have the great response. We have what we call the Berean believers. They wanted to receive the truth. They wanted to know the truth. I wonder, do you want to know the truth? If you do, you must do exactly what they did in Berea. You must search the scriptures daily. 

Seeking and Sharing the Truth

That's really what this broadcast is all about. Encouraging people to study the Word of God. To find out what the Bible says. For In the words of Acts 17 verse 11, whether those things were so you see only when you've settled that in your own heart and mind.

Can you speak with confidence when others ask you questions? I wonder today, do you really want to know the truth? And when you hear it, how will you respond to it? For a Christian, your faith should not be full of question marks. It should be full of periods and exclamation points, repeating what other people have said about the Bible is not enough. We must know the biblical reason behind what we believe.

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