第十七章

22 保羅站在亞略巴古當中，說：眾位雅典人哪，我看你們凡事很敬畏鬼神。 23 我遊行的時候，觀看你們所敬拜的，遇見一座壇，上面寫著未識之神。你們所不認識而敬拜的，我現在告訴你們。 24 創造宇宙和其中萬物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿， 25 也不用人手服事，好像缺少甚麼；自己倒將生命、氣息、萬物，賜給萬人。 26 他從一本（有古卷作血脈）造出萬族的人，住在全地上，並且預先定準他們的年限和所住的疆界， 27 要叫他們尋求神，或者可以揣摩而得，其實他離我們各人不遠； 28 我們生活、動作、存留，都在乎他。就如你們作詩的，有人說：我們也是他所生的。 29 我們既是神所生的，就不當以為神的神性像人用手藝、心思所雕刻的金、銀、石。 30 世人蒙昧無知的時候，神並不監察，如今卻吩咐各處的人都要悔改。 31 因為他已經定了日子，要藉著他所設立的人按公義審判天下，並且叫他從死裡復活，給萬人作可信的憑據。

默想     

1. 保羅在亞略巴谷山的講章，以希臘人明白的事例來開始，為獨一真正的神建立論據。雅典人設立名為「未識之神」一個偶像，因他們唯恐因少拜這神而失去祝福或受到懲罰。保羅以此「未識之神」打開與雅典人的溝通之門，用此作為切入點，見證獨一的真神（22-23節）。接著他從他們對神虔誠的觀點，引用希臘詩人的詞句，建立共同立場，詳述神是宇宙萬物和人類的創造者，因此我們最終都要向祂交待；將金、銀、寶石所做的偶像當作神是無知的（24-29節）。最後，保羅強調神使耶穌從死裡復活，要證明將有審判日的來到，且基督將憑公義審判世人（30-31節）。
2. 今天的社會絕大部分人仍然未認識神，我是否學習好如何向人介紹基督，並清楚說明耶穌基督為全人類所成就的救恩？求神幫助我效法保羅：運用例子、建立共同立場，引導人作出決定，接受基督。

 

禱告與筆錄：

繼續安靜在神面前，與神對話，並聆聽祂對我說的話。將心中的思想（心得），或是與神的禱告，記錄在“靈程筆記”簿上面。

 

Chapter 17

²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.  ²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’  ²⁹“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. ³⁰In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Meditation

1. Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Areopagus) began by drawing on pagan Greek poets to establish a point of contact, and then went on to proclaim God’s truth.  Paul had caught glimpses of God’s truth in the religion and culture of those people but knew that they needed to be pointed to the one who says “I am the truth”. So Paul’s quotes connected him with the Athenians and set the stage for his teaching.  That message directly confronted the worldview of his listeners.  God is the Creator of the world.  God is the Creator of all men, and all are responsible to Him. It is ignorant to think of the divine Being in terms of gold, silver, or stone idols.  A day of judgment is coming, and the proof is that God has raised Jesus from the dead.  And He will judge one day.
2. 2.        Majority of the people today still doesn’t know the true God.  Am I equipped to share the gospel effectively and clearly?  Have I studied the culture that surrounds me, asking God to help me see those glimpses of truth that I can use to begin conversations with others around life, meaning, and ultimately God?  Ask God’s help to be prepared to be His witness to unbelieving folks around me.

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the 2011 “Spiritual Journal” book.