Paul went to Athens, Greece preaching the gospel to whoever would listen, as we read in Acts 17. These were Greek, gentile, people who did not know the true God. They had lots of gods and a different god for all aspects of life. When they needed a god to worship, they created an image out of wood or stone.
"Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you."
Paul uses this opportunity to teach them about the "Unknown God" that they had an altar for, but really didn't worship it as the true God. Then Paul goes on to tell them a lot about the characteristics of God:
Acts 17:24-29New International Version (NIV)
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 human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[a] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[b]
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 human design and skill.
The people there in Athens were religious, but they were totally confused about the true nature of God. And such could be said for many people today. There are a lot of people who are "religious" but who don't know the true God. And God loves everyone, but He is going to reward those who are His true followers.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
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