09 August 2026 - Peter van Breda - To the Unknown God

Acts 17 brings Paul from the pressure of Thessalonica and Berea into Athens, one of the great old cities of the world, full of learning, temples, shrines, and idols. Paul sees a city brilliant in philosophy and architecture, but spiritually dark, a place where there were “more gods than men.” His spirit is provoked because Athens shows what happens when people made in the image of God worship and serve the created thing rather than the Creator.

Paul does not sit around while waiting for Silas and Timothy. Paul reasons in the synagogue with Jews and God-fearing Greeks, and then every day in the marketplace with whoever happens to be there. The marketplace is noisy, pagan, crowded with merchants, politicians, philosophers, and people pushing the latest ideas. Paul brings Jesus and the resurrection right into that space.

The Epicureans and Stoics hear Paul and call him a “babbler,” a seed picker, as if he is just gathering scraps of strange ideas. Yet they are intrigued enough to bring him to Mars Hill, the Areopagus, where Athens loves nothing more than hearing something new. Paul does not begin by insulting them. Paul begins where they are, with their altar “to the unknown god,” and says, “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

God had already put clues right under their nose. The old story of Epimenides, the plague, the sheep, and the nameless altars shows that Athens had a memory of needing rescue from an unknown God. Paul takes that history and points beyond sheep and sacrifices to the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, the appointed man whom God raised from the dead.

God is not trapped in temples made by human hands. God made the world and everything in it. God gives life and breath to all people. God determined appointed times and boundaries so that people would seek Him, reach out for Him, and find Him, though He is not far from each one.

Acts 17 presses the urgency of witness. God commands all people everywhere to repent because He has set a day to judge the world with justice. Paul’s courage in Athens calls the church in places like Seattle, Renton, Bellevue, and every workplace and family to live and speak as witnesses. God wastes no history, no placement, no experience, and no testimony when Christ is being made known.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Idols fill brilliant cities too Athens was not ignorant in the usual sense. Athens had learning, philosophy, architecture, and culture, but its heart was still empty because it worshiped everything except the living God. Human brilliance does not cure idolatry when Christ is not ruling the heart. Modern cities may not have little statues on every corner, but careers, technology, pleasure, control, and self still become gods. [60:12]
• 2. God is not far away Paul tells pagans that God arranged times and places so people would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him. That means divine sovereignty is not cold or distant, but near enough to put answers right under a person's nose. Loneliness, confusion, and spiritual darkness do not mean God has stepped away. The Creator who gives life and breath is still close enough to be found. [64:30]
• 3. Conscience must not be overridden Romans says even Gentiles show the work of the law written on their hearts, with conscience accusing or defending them. That inner twinge is not something to play games with or keep pushing past. A seared conscience becomes like something cauterized, no longer feeling what once warned and pleaded. The Holy Spirit gives even deeper help to the believer, guiding, correcting, and coming alongside as the paraclete. [66:35]
• 4. God wastes no history Paul’s moment on Mars Hill was not random, because God had already been at work in Athens long before Paul arrived. The nameless altars, the old plague story, and the place itself became a doorway for the gospel. God places people in families, workplaces, cities, and even difficult seasons with purpose. No part of a surrendered life has to be wasted when Christ uses it for His glory. [85:36]
• 5. Testimony speaks before arguments Witness does not always begin with a large Bible under the arm or a polished speech at work. A disciple’s life can testify before words ever come, because character, patience, and faithfulness make Christ visible. Personal testimony carries weight because it says, “where I once was and now am and where I’m headed.” The best tool is often a life that gives honest evidence of grace. [90:51]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:57] - Turning to Acts 17
• [50:04] - Paul Leaves Philippi and Thessalonica
• [51:08] - Berea Receives the Word
• [52:25] - Standing on Mars Hill
• [54:42] - Athens, Idols, and Gospel Urgency
• [57:49] - Athens as a Center of Philosophy
• [60:12] - Human Brilliance and Idolatry
• [62:09] - Paul Reasons in the Marketplace
• [63:33] - Those Who Have Never Heard
• [69:25] - Epicureans, Stoics, and Mars Hill
• [77:18] - A Demonized City and False Worship
• [80:04] - The Altar to the Unknown God
• [85:36] - God Wastes No History
• [90:04] - Faithful Witness and Testimony

Bible Reading

Acts 17:16-34
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, 'What does this babbler wish to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities'—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.' Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: "To the unknown god." What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being'" as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'” Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.' Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, 'We will hear you again about this.' So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” [47:57]

Romans 1:19-20
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” [01:05:09]

Romans 2:14-15
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” [01:06:15]

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” [01:07:49]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 17, what two main places did Paul go to reason with people in Athens, and what does that show about how he spent his time while waiting? [01:02:09]
2. What details in Acts 17 show what kind of city Athens was spiritually and intellectually? Think about the idols, the philosophers, and the hunger for “something new.” [01:16:18]
3. When Paul stood at the Areopagus, what did he use as his starting point for speaking to the Athenians, and how did he move from their altar to the truth about God? [01:20:04]
4. According to Romans 1:19-20 and Romans 2:14-15, what clues has God given people about Himself, even when they do not have the Scriptures? [01:05:09]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul was deeply troubled by a city full of idols, yet he did not withdraw from it. What does that suggest about how believers should respond to a culture that is brilliant, busy, and spiritually confused? [01:00:12]
2. Paul begins with the Athenians’ altar to the unknown god instead of starting with an attack. What does that show about wise gospel witness in a setting where people do not yet know biblical truth? [01:23:53]
3. Acts 17 says God determined people’s times and boundaries so that they would seek Him, and that He is not far from each one of us. How should that shape the way a person thinks about where they live, work, and the people around them? [01:27:27]
4. Paul ends with repentance, judgment, and the resurrection of Jesus. Why is it important that Christian witness does not stop with general ideas about God, but comes all the way to Christ and His resurrection? [01:25:03]

Application questions

1. Athens was full of visible idols, but modern idols often look like career, comfort, technology, control, pleasure, or self. Which of those tends to compete most for the heart right now, and how can that be recognized honestly? [01:01:13]
2. Paul reasoned in the marketplace every day with whoever happened to be there. What is the “marketplace” in everyday life right now—workplace, school, neighborhood, gym, family circle, online spaces—and where might there be an opening for a faithful conversation about Christ? [01:02:24]
3. God is not far away. For someone carrying loneliness, confusion, or spiritual weariness, what would it look like this week to reach out for Him instead of assuming He is distant? [01:24:30]
4. Conscience is a gift and should not be overridden. Is there any area where the inner warning has been getting quieter because it has been ignored? What would repentance and obedience look like in that area now? [01:06:35]
5. God wastes no history and no placement. How might present circumstances—family situation, job, hardship, past pain, or even a long season of waiting—become part of God’s purpose to make Christ known? [01:25:36]
6. Not every response to the gospel will be warm. Some will mock, some will delay, and some will believe. How can a person stay steady and loving when witness is met with indifference or resistance? [01:30:04]
7. Sometimes testimony speaks before arguments. What part of personal testimony could be shared naturally with someone else: where life once was, what Christ has done, or where hope is now? [01:32:26]