"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you ... And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them" (Acts 17:22,23,32-34).
As
the Apostle Paul passed by, he noticed a group of people having religious
devotions. Paul noticed that they had inscribed the words, "To The Unknown
God" on their alter. Paul shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. Some
mocked. Others wanted to debate. But the Bible says that certain men CLAVE
UNTO HIM. The Greek word for "clave" is kollaw and means "to glue."
Certain men under the voice of Paul's preaching were glued to what he was
saying.
This is an interesting Scripture. Whenever the truth of God's Word is preached, there will be always be scoffers and mockers; but there's also that small handful of people who listen and believe. Paul likely didn't know who the people were that hinged on every word he said; but they were helped by his preaching nonetheless. I find it encouraging that amongst the mockers, certain men clave to Paul and believed his message.
Today in the 21st century there
are many naysayers... Knowing this first, that there shall come in
the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where
is the promise of his coming? (2nd Peter 3:3,4). We often hear
people saying that religion is just a means of controlling people, and that
the Bible is a fairy tale and that Jesus is not the way to Heaven. Yet, such
skeptics have no credible evidence to support their claims. Only a fool
would deny that the Bible is God's Word in lieu of such overwhelming
archaeological and historical evidence to support It's authenticity.
Freemasons Also Worship an "UNKNOWN GOD"
Freemasons claim that no one really knows who God is. So they choose to treat the matter delicately and simply refer to God as THE GREAT ARCHITECT.
The problem is that the Bible plainly tells us WHO God is... Jesus Christ!!! The Bible states in John 10:33, The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus claimed to be God... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8). Jesus proclaimed in John 14:1, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. We read in Mark 2:5-7, When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? Jesus forgave sin as only God can do because He was God incarnate, i.e., the Godhead in the flesh. Colossians 2:9 states... For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Amen! Jesus is Almighty God.
Thus, Freemasonry is of the Devil.
Allah is NOT God. Buddha is NOT God. Maitreya is NOT God. Michael is NOT
Jesus.
Let's Go Soulwinning!
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
Our labors are never in vain in the Lord... Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord (1st Corinthians 15:58). I'm sure the Apostle Paul felt like he had wasted his time talking to these people, because some of them were mocking him and others wanted him to come back and debate... Howbeit certain men clave unto him. What a precious statement from the Scriptures!
I wrote this article primarily to encourage believers who love Jesus to increase their soulwinning efforts. There's always someone in any crowd who is hungry for the truth, who needs to hear what we have to say from the Word of God. God said that His Word is like a fire and a hammer... Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29). The best method of soulwinning is to simple preach the Word. God doesn't need our eloquent speeches or businesslike tactics to get people saved... For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). 1st Peter 1:21-23 teaches that the Word of God is the SEED by which a person is born-again; and nothing else.
Thus, anyone can be a soulwinner simply by presenting the good news of Jesus Christ from the Word of God to lost sinners. In acts 17:27 Paul told them to, seek the Lord. This is the ONLY way to find salvation... Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). There are many people today searching for the truth; but all they see are religious people fighting amongst themselves, religious hypocrisy and greedy televangelists. People need to hear the Truth of God's Word; but few ministers preach the Word of God anymore. We don't hear much preaching nowadays about repentance, hellfire and judgment. In Acts 17:30 Paul preached repentance and in verse 31 judgment... Howbeit certain men clave unto him.
