Acts 17 - Introduction

THE BOOK OF ACTS. CHAPTER 17a

OUTLINE AND COMMENTARY. MARK DUNAGAN

I. OUTLINE OF chapter Acts 17:1-15

THE BOOK OF ACTS. CHAPTER 17b

I. OUTLINE OF chapter Acts 17:16-34

I. Paul In Thessalonica: Acts 17:1-10

II. Paul Among The Bereans: Acts 17:10-13

III. Paul Among The Athenians: Acts 17:14-34"There is something enthralling about Paul in Athens, the great Christian apostle amid the glories of ancient Greece. Of course he had known about Athens since his boyhood. Everybody knew about Athens. Athens had been the foremost Greek city-state since the fifth century B.C. Even after its incorporation into the Roman Empire, it retained. proud intellectual independence. It boasted of its rich philosophical tradition inherited from Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. What should be the reaction of. Christian who visits or lives in. city which is dominated by. non-Christian ideology or religion,. city which may be aesthetically magnificent and culturally sophisticated, but morally decadent and spiritually deceived or dead?" (Stott p. 276). "Athens, although she had long since lost her political eminence of an earlier day, continued to represent the highest level of culture attained in classical antiquity. In all fields Athens retained unchallenged prestige. In consideration of her splendid past, the Romans left Athens free to carry on her own institutions as. free and allied city within the Roman Empire" (Bruce pp. 348-349). From Paul's presence in Athens we learn. very valuable lesson. Culture (including sculpture, literature, oratory, philosophy, and art) cannot make us right with God, even in. highly advanced culture. The cultured Athenians found themselves just as lost as the barbarians which they despised.