Acts 17:22-34
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with
To an Unknown God
written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this ‘unknown god.’
“He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. He is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need anything. Instead, he himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have. From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us. ‘In him we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have also said, ‘We are his children.’
“Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people. In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead.”
They heard Paul talk about the dead being raised. Some of them made fun of this idea. But others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” So Paul left the meeting of the Areopagus. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed in Jesus. Dionysius was one of them. He was a member of the Areopagus. A woman named Damaris also became a believer. And so did some others.
Acts 18:1-8
Paul Goes to Corinth
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, who was a native of Pontus. Aquila had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. The emperor Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla. They were tentmakers, just as he was. So he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath day he went to the synagogue. He was trying to get both Jews and Greeks to believe in the Lord.
Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia. Then Paul spent all his time preaching. He was a witness to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But they opposed Paul. They treated him badly. So he shook out his clothes in protest. Then he said to them, “God’s judgment against you will be your own fault! Don’t blame me for it! From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house next door. It was the house of Titius Justus, a man who worshiped God. Crispus was the synagogue leader. He and everyone living in his house came to believe in the Lord. Many others who lived in Corinth heard Paul. They too believed and were baptized.
