The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1916-07-14
LESSON FOR JULY IS
PAUL AT ATHENS.

49, " A1sA'' ~
with. Athens has always epitomized
tho acme of inteIleCtualism, culture,
Art, aud osthettc accomplishment.
Driven from Nvrca and alone, Paul fed
to the coast and taking ship crossed
over to the IhessAlouian peninsula
Entering the city no beholds its stat.
nary, meets tia philosophers and views
Its moral degradation and It's myriad
manifestations Of hoathenism. Out
wardly cultured, mOlding the thought
Of the world, yet It passed from It's
pinnacle Of power because It knew not
God. Paul saw the pantheism OF tho
cultured StOtcs and the Epicureans.
who because Of their distant and but
little concerned gods, enjoyed tho
pleasure OF wealth and ease.
!. Paul Brought to Trial wv. 16-21l.
Such sights stirred the spirit Of Paul,
The marvel Is how Indifferent we may
become In tho presence OF the great
spiritual poverty Of our time. His
spirit stirred within him. when he saw
the city crowded with idols. Az Paul
followed his custom and began his
preaching In the synagogue he also
took advantage OF the opportunity to
do open-air work In the market place.
Here n small group and there another.
This he did daily until tho teachers
". 1Sl began to take knowledge OF
his presence In their city. Some In
,antny,pt n,1t,l h{..x - gbntLJn 81. ,rllIa
others concluded that he represented
some new religion, though he set be-
fore them tho same message of saliva
ton In Jesus Christ which had caused
such remarkable results elsewhere.
That they might hear him more fully
and without the interruption of the
mart of trade. Paul Is taken to the
Areopagus, or Mars Hill, where from
time immemorial tho greatest Grim
inals had been sentenced and the most
solemn questions Of religion set
tied. ..,..
n. The Unknown Made Known, wv.
1920. Such idle speculation ". an
was OF no value to the Athenians. This
Paul knew, yet he began his address
In a most conciliatory manne ". 20
r.. W. He would win their favorable
attention before he called them to re-
pentance. Keenly observant, Paul had
seen among the many inscriptions n
TO the unknown God" and this ono
whom In ignorance they %worshiped, he
would set forth. Many today are In
blindness, seeking to know God when
he has already been made manifest ito
be seem. John 1:1S; John $40; John
1870; II Cor. 4:6.) II Is mans "
fault II he does not know God (Rom.
l:20-22, rs; II Cor. 4:4), and no knowl.
edge is more important & l7:3),
Paul's opening words In veTs~ a were
but to seize a %well-known object Of
their street decoration and discussions
and with 1t to lead on to the great
truth he yearned to have them compre-
bend. This caught the philosophers
as we'll as the idle curious. God Is not
a philosophic conception Of the mind.
He cannot be confined to temples
made with hands nor does he need the
services of our hands, seeing he Gre
ated all things and giveth to all things
life. Paul's next point was that He
hath made Of one every nation OF
men," As yet how little men really
believe that truth--witness the Euro
pean conflict and the economic, racial
and social differences Of this land.
Negro segregation and Asiatic exclu-
sion are but illustrations Of our sepa-
ration from the teaching Of the BROTH
erhood of man. But this brotherhood
Is not alone for altruistic service but
that they should seek Cod" This
was his great and glorious purpose In
creating the nations OF the earth, in
setting the seasons In motion, to min
lister to their needs, and in appointing
the bounds OF their habitations; yct
how far man has departed from that
ideal (Rom. 1929. It Ia Of the high
est Importance that men should seek
God and no Ia not difficult to find for
those who SEX him (Jer. 29:13). The
souls Of men are not satisfied without
him. Witness the mad rush after
pleasure and the restless desire to pos
sess the things Of time and sense and
which perish with the using. Paul
displays his university training by
quoting and approving the Greek poet
Aratus ". 49, However, while all
men are the offspring Of (created by
God, yet they are not all truly his chill.
dren John 8:44, AZ; l John $40; Math.
1898; Gal. 4:4.6; Heb. 1888: Eph.
49,. Only such are children as have
received Jesus Christ John 1:12 r.
W. All those who are led by his
Spirit are the sons OF Cod IRON.
S:14; Gal. 1925 r. W.
~. What the Athenians Lacked
wv. 3O-34). Thus far Paul's auditors
must have foIh wed him keenly, and
It was tho goal toward which he
had been driving SO relentlessly. Such
sublime conceptions, keen logic and
quotations from their writer's won
their attention. He then delivered q
keen thrust at this. the Psychological
moment" by calling upon them to re-
pent." The Athenians lacked a realiz-
Ing sense of the personality Of Cod
that man could have personal and In.
innate relations with God or that .
man could or had risen from the
dead.
All men everywhere are called to
repentance and the time Is now"
The reason for this call is because
"he hath appointed a day In which
he win Judge the inhabited earth"
The assurance that he will 30 Judge
oil their sins by the man whom he
has elected is in that "He hath raised
Elm from the dead" ". 81.