Embark on a transformative exploration of faith and truth as we unwrap the cultural and spiritual significance of Paul's encounter with the Athenians at Mars Hill. This episode, rich with historical context and biblical insight, promises to enlighten you on the convergence of Greek mythology and Christianity, and the 'unknown God' revered by ancient philosophers. We extend our deepest gratitude to our dedicated listeners and share the remarkable journey of an artist whose spiritual metamorphosis is nothing short of awe-inspiring—a tale that mirrors our own path to uncovering divine truths in a world cluttered with subjective beliefs.
With a blend of reverence and critical thought, we probe the delicate interplay of truth and personal conviction, scrutinizing the synchronization of pagan customs with Christian traditions. The discussion threads through the persecution faced by apostle Paul, drawing stark parallels to the challenges predicted for today's steadfast believers. We also introduce a riveting book series that ventures into the oft-overlooked realm of spiritual warfare, as vividly portrayed in Scripture. As we close, we leave you with a potent reminder of the power of words—to choose them wisely, speak them kindly, and let them echo with love and grace as we continue this shared spiritual odyssey.
Embark on a transformative exploration of faith and truth as we unwrap the cultural and spiritual significance of Paul's encounter with the Athenians at Mars Hill. This episode, rich with historical context and biblical insight, promises to enlighten you on the convergence of Greek mythology and Christianity, and the 'unknown God' revered by ancient philosophers. We extend our deepest gratitude to our dedicated listeners and share the remarkable journey of an artist whose spiritual metamorphosis is nothing short of awe-inspiring—a tale that mirrors our own path to uncovering divine truths in a world cluttered with subjective beliefs.
With a blend of reverence and critical thought, we probe the delicate interplay of truth and personal conviction, scrutinizing the synchronization of pagan customs with Christian traditions. The discussion threads through the persecution faced by apostle Paul, drawing stark parallels to the challenges predicted for today's steadfast believers. We also introduce a riveting book series that ventures into the oft-overlooked realm of spiritual warfare, as vividly portrayed in Scripture. As we close, we leave you with a potent reminder of the power of words—to choose them wisely, speak them kindly, and let them echo with love and grace as we continue this shared spiritual odyssey.
Speaker 1:
Hello everybody and welcome to today's episode of Walk With Me. I am your host, jj. It's so good to have each and every one of you with us today. I'm so thankful for you listening to this podcast. You could be listening to any other podcast or doing anything else, but you've decided to take a few moments to listen to this podcast. I am eternally grateful for that. I'm grateful for each and every one of you who like to share and send me questions. Now that I'm thinking about it, if you have questions, send them to walkwithmebiblestudy at gmailcom. Walkwithmebiblestudy at gmailcom. Thank you so much for the sponsors. Thank you to our.
Speaker 1:
He's got a new album out. He's got a new album out and it's called the category. I guess you would be like Drill Gospel, which, I have to admit, I wasn't too fond of for the first eight seconds. Then after that I started liking it. It was pretty good and he's always been very talented. Just watching his growth and progression and his walk towards Jesus, it's an amazing thing just watching this happen. He's got some powerful testimonies too about what God has brought him through. Also, my other sponsor, squisipiation. We are going to be in the process of moving, so when we go live, we'll be able to show you some of the products that she's offering. Thank you so much for that. Thank you to each and every one of you for joining us.
Speaker 1:
Now we are going to talk about some other things. We're going to talk about some other things. We're going to continue our discussion from last week about Paul, because Paul, as we left off, paul was standing on Mars Hill in Athens, and if you know about Mars, you know about the Greeks, then you know that they worshiped, you know they had their own set of God, they had their own set of beliefs. You had Mars, you had Zeus and you had the other, a lot of other different Aphrodite, and they all were meant to celebrate different aspects of their lives. But Mars was standing here or, I'm sorry, paul was standing here on Mars Hill and he was saying man, and these were people who had, in theory, transitioned to Christianity. And let's just put this on our brains here While Paul was evangelizing, he always came across different churches that had been started and the problem with some of these churches. Well, let's just read about it. So Paul was standing in Athens, on Mars Hill, and he said we're talking about Acts, chapter 17.
Speaker 1:
I remember that the book of Acts is where the church had started. The only other time the church was mentioned prior to that was when Jesus was talking to people. Before that, the church did not exist. After that, romans, through Jude, was all letters to churches. So in the book of Acts is where churches were started. So in Acts, chapter 17. In verse 22, paul says Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said you, men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. Now, why would he say that? Now he's actually talking. He's not talking to people who had not come to Jesus. He was actually talking to a church that had been established.
Speaker 1:
Oh, also, before I forget, when we talk about the scriptures, sometimes I might give a scripture, I might give a scripture, a passage. It's always important If I or anyone gives you a verse, always read a verse or two above and a verse or two below, because the context is key. I can tell you, or anyone can tell you, anything that they want to tell you. Whether it's truth or lie, they take something out of context. So this is important If somebody gives you a scripture, even if you go to church and you read their scripture, write it down and go home and read that entire chapter to make sure you're being told the truth. I don't generally say it this forcefully, I guess, but trust me, some recent things I've heard you're like wait, what did you just say? Anyway, but remember verse two above. Verse 2 below will preferably be the full chapter. So here we are now.
Speaker 1:
We're talking about Paul in the 17th chapter of Acts, and Paul was preaching a God, a one God message, one God that self-exists, one God that gives life, supports life, issues judgment, does everything that these Grecian gods and other pagan gods too, that all these gods did their one little thing. You had one god of war, you had one god of thunder, you had one god of life, you had one god of sexual desire, and you had all these little gods doing all these little different things, but all was preaching one God. Hey, listen, there's this one God that's speaking to all these gods, speaking to all these things. You think it's the other gods. So we're going to keep reading Acts, chapter 17, 23-26. Acts, chapter 17, 23-26.
Speaker 1:
For as I passed by, I beheld your devotion and found it also with me in Scripture to the unknown God which, as Paul's here, they're actually recognizing the fact that there's a different God out there than the ones that they were worshiping. So let's continue. Whom you therefore ignorantly worship? Him. I declare unto you God that made the world and all things therein. Seeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, as well as nine temples made of hands, he does worship with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life all breath, all things, and hath made one blood of all nations of man for as well as all the faith of the earth, and have determined the time for appointment and the bonds of their habitation. Basically, he's saying that and this is also. Let me, just because I don't want to lose the thought a lot of people who talk against church kind of use the scripture but they're taking it out of context.
Speaker 1:
The first verse says Neither see worship with men's hands and dwelleth not in the temple made with hands. That part they literally take like part of two scriptures and put them together and make a scripture. That's why you can never find it when somebody asks you. So what Paul is saying here? You have these altars dedicated to their own little god and you've got this one altar. That is nothing but this unknown god, which is actually the god. You don't know it, but you worship him and you don't know how you worship him.
Speaker 1:
So let's continue In Isaiah. It talks about in 46 and 9, remember the former thing it's called for I am God and there is none else. I am God. There is none like me Declaring the end from the beginning and the end from the end, things good that are not yet come. And my counsel is the same and I will give all my flesh. Now this is still the same God. Now Isaiah is talking about God and how God came from. There was no beginning to God. He is the beginning. There is no God that supports him, like you talk about the son of Zeus. There's no support system. God is the support system.
Speaker 1:
And so what was happening was these new churches in Athens trying to bring their idol worship into their Christian world, and you see a lot of this today. You see a lot of it and I hesitate to say you know what, the opposite of what I said. You see some people walking around with these stars. You know what I'm talking about, not the six-pointed one, the five-pointed one. They bring that from the world into their church and then they propagate it as part of their worship. But they're bringing or you start talking about hey, throw salt over your shoulder, that's a superstition. They're bringing these things that was part of the old worship system into their Christianity and God is not allowing that. God does not want that. You are a new creature when you were born again. You are a new creature. Even your old belief systems are gone, and this is part of what started getting Paul in trouble. And this is part of what started getting Paul in trouble.
Speaker 1:
And this was the name of the, the name of the podcast, the title of the podcast Truth and Consequences, because Paul began to expose the fact that people were bringing in their external lies or their external worship systems, their external lines or their external worship systems, their external belief systems, into Christianity, and it just doesn't fit with Christianity. I mean putting your hat on the table as superstition. I can think of a whole black hat crossing your path. Those are all two traditions based in for lack of a better term witchcraft, and these things are very prominent in a lot of churches that don't know any better. So this is what Paul was doing. Hey, man, listen, you don't even know what you're doing. Right now. There is no unknown God. If you are born again, you know God. You have the Holy Spirit. You know God. If you were baptized in the name of God, you know God.
Speaker 1:
So, and Paul started getting in trouble by saying these things and the next thing, you know, paul was in prison. But that didn't stop him. And the reason why Paul was in prison is not because he went out and stole from the CBS. He did not go out and, you know, rip something down. That was offensive. What he did was he spoke the truth.
Speaker 1:
And what we will learn is that when people have created power systems, the truth is often very threatening to them. And it's not let me quantify that, because that was sort of a general statement and it's not the fact that the truth is threatening to them, it's that the truth is threatening their power. And once you threaten someone's power, they will do anything necessary to get you taken out. That's why the disciples were killed, the original twelve, yeah, that's why they were threatening power. They were talking about Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus went to the prophet, because he was threatening the Sanhedrin power, the Pharisees' power. Evil, wicked people do not like their power threatened and they will do what it takes to get rid of you. Now, that's why it's important, if you are speaking the truth, make sure you are speaking the entire truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Not what somebody told you, not what you feel it's got to be the truth. But how do you know it's the truth? Because the truth bears itself out. There is no. It boils all the way down to the common denominator. It's not wishy-washy. A lot of times it goes against what people have preconceived notions of.
Speaker 1:
Now, paul wrote a lot of these letters, the letters that we talked about Romans through Jude, except the ones that Peter wrote. Paul's letters were written. Most of them were written while he was awaiting trial. Back then there was no such thing as go in and make bail and we were on pretrial release. No, no, no. You went in jail and you stayed in jail until you were pretty much convicted, because if you got arrested, that was pretty much it. You got convicted.
Speaker 1:
There's no such thing as a fair trial. We've gotten very comfortable with the idea of a fair trial, but we've seen lately how this whole thing of fair trial is not necessarily a real thing. All you need is a couple people to lie against you, and that makes the case. So you've got to be very careful, and if you're telling the truth, make sure it's the whole truth and nothing but the case. So you got to be very careful, and if you're telling the truth, make sure it's the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Speaker 1:
1 Timothy and this is where I'm sorry. 2 Timothy is where Paul finally has accepted his coming faith. 2 Timothy 4, 6-8. For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid unto me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me that day, not to me only, but to all them that love this appearance. Now you might say to me well, jj, how do you know all this? Well, that's what faith is concerned with, that's what faith is consisting of.
Speaker 1:
You can't, if you have, to understand that when you are teaching exactly the way God teaches it to you, not what JJ teaching. Forget about JJ, forget about Pastor, deacon, doctor, whatever the Bible is going to tell you, the Bible is the rule. Now, if I'm teaching you something that is not in the Bible. If I am teaching you something that is not in the Bible, feel free to ignore it. Matter of fact, feel free to never listen to this podcast again, because I am in fact leading you astray. If I'm teaching you something that's not in the Bible and I don't even know why I said I am in fact leading you astray I'm teaching you something that's not right. I don't even know why I said leading you astray, but I'm lying to you. I'm lying to you and, therefore, if you are understanding that this is why it's very important when I tell you Verses to above, verses to below, because I cannot, I cannot stress enough how many people are Vowedly, sincerely and ignorantly, unknowinglyingly teaching love.
Speaker 1:
Some very good people, people who are not doing this out of fear to listen, but people who literally believe a lie and are teaching that lie because they really believe it and not, and not understanding that this is not true. For instance and we're going to get back to the superstitious thing in a minute, all that stuff, we can talk about it For instance, this whole Trinitarian thing. There are very good, awesome people who are not Christian simply because they believe that there are three gods, no matter how many times the Bible tells you I am one. We just read Isaiah. We just read it. We just read it. Let's go back to it, isaiah 46.9. I am God, not we are God and there is none else. I am God, there is none like me. This is all singular context here. But there are people who will literally argue you down that there is a Trinity. And again, they're not doing it out of the spirit of maliciousness, they're not doing it because they don't like it, they just really believe it.
Speaker 1:
And I say all that to say if you think you are telling the truth, make sure that what you consider to be truth is actually truth. At some point. We have gotten into this whole thing about your truth, my truth, and I'm not sure where that came from. Only the spirit of lies could have been introduced to me, only the spirit of lies could have this small subjective truth to this world. Because there is only the truth. And then there's everything else. And the truth doesn't matter if JJ likes it, if you like it, if that's a decent doctor, so-and-so likes it, it doesn't matter. The truth is the truth and it doesn't matter. Be true. And it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it doesn't matter how you're feeling, it doesn't matter what grandma told you. It doesn't matter what grandpa told you. My uncle was a very good man. He was a good man. He taught me a lot about being a man. But If he says something that went against the word of God, he is not telling the truth, and that's just how it is.
Speaker 1:
And Paul being who Paul was, hey, I'm going to tell this to you too hard, but he knew that he was going to be executed for the things that he said. Why? First of all, jesus said you shall be killed in my name, and Christians all over the world, until certain other organizations got started, was routinely killed for just saying that they were Christians. Oh, and you just said, okay, what organization was that? That was the Catholic Church. When the Catholic Church got started by Constantine, they sort of did some sort of weird absorption where they basically swallowed what was left of the Christian Church and combined it with a bunch of pagan beliefs.
Speaker 1:
Now, we don't have time to get into all the pagan beliefs, but we'll talk about a lot of them, like bringing in the Christmas tree. This is a pagan celebration that the Catholic Church brought into on Christmas, when even putting Christmas in December is not biblical. How do you know that? Because in Israel Israel is right now In December it is cold and rainy and miserable. You are not going to have shepherds laying around outside of the ground. That's just how. That is so a lot of and that is so a lot of. And keep the money. Forgive me, sorry, there's no such thing.
Speaker 1:
So we got to be very careful about all the things that we bring in and when we speak truth, make sure it is true and not what somebody incorporated into like this big mix that's alive, I told somebody, is the truth and not what somebody incorporated into like this big mix. That's a lot. I told somebody a while back that the best truth, the best lie, the best lie has to reign as truth. Because it sounds real. It's a mix, it makes a little bit of sense, but then the more you think about it it doesn't make it. But you don't, you're not given time to think about it. Just hey, this is what you should believe and that's it. Yes, there's a god the father, god, the son, god, the holy spirit.
Speaker 1:
These three are separate, but there's somehow some joy. Oh, because that scripture says these three are one, but it says one. No, no, no, but they're like triune, like triune, like, oh, you mean like the like when the the Transformers and they have the unicorn and they have the three-faced thing. Yeah, yeah, kind of like that town. Because the Bible says him sits, and he sits on the throne Like one person, not they. So it's not making any sense.
Speaker 1:
Doctrine must be weighed against the Bible, all of it. Everything, I tell you, must be weighed against the Bible, not what somebody said. I don't care if I said't, care If I said. If what I said Contradicts the word of God In any way, I am the liar. The Bible says that every man be true and every word of God be true and every man alive. So we got to be very careful. But this is where Paul was at. Paul went down there and immediately angered the Greeks Because but this is where Paul was at Paul went down there and immediately Angered the Greeks Because he went in there and destroyed their worship system, therefore their power structure. And now he's in jail, he's in prison and he's going to trial, he's going to be convicted, he's going to be executed, just like that, and not because he was a criminal, but because he told them. And there is going to be a time and I said all that to say this there will be a time where true Christians will be facing the same level of persecution again.
Speaker 1:
The Bible says it. The Bible says it and I know, I know it is not pleasant to hear, it is not but in the book of Revelation it talks about how there's a bunch of people, a bunch of souls in heaven that were crucified or killed because of the name of Jesus Christ, nothing more than that name. And I can get into the demonic influences that go behind that, but we don't have the time for that. I would recommend just to kind of touch on the subject. There was a book series I can't remember the name of it right off the bat. There was a book series that kind of sparked my entire understanding of this. It was called understanding of this, the rest of the darkness, the beauty of the darkness, I can't say.
Speaker 1:
My suggestion is I want to say I would say listen to that or go and buy it, just kind of get an idea of the spiritual world that goes on in the background of what we see. And the Bible talks about it too, because you know, many times, especially like in the book of Job. The sons of God came by the sons of God. They meant angels, and God never had a conversation. The next thing, you know, it goes to the top. So I say all that and I know I'm kind of rambling, but here's the deal. Here's the deal.
Speaker 1:
The truth is the truth and sometimes, speaking the truth will be a constant, but we are not allowed to necessarily be silent about it. There's a whole difference of being obstinate, just being a complete legal parent with the truth. Don't do that. But if you come to the position where you have to choose the truth, choose the truth. Alright, that's going to do it for us today. We are out of time.
Speaker 1:
Thank you all so much for listening. Thank you so much for joining us. Next week we are going into some more things that happened Jesus was weeping over Jesus and we're going to talk about some more bigger than that the New Testament. Then we're going to get into that one credit book that everyone is afraid of, and that is Revelation. So stay tuned, stay tuned, stay tuned. Thank you so much. Thank you for liking and sharing. Thank you for telling other people that you love them, but please just tell people that you love them. You've been talking about being all cooperative, about being all cooperative, and sometimes that may be the only time I might hear that. Let's get this through, alright, god bless you all. God bless you all. God bless you.