Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus
and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked
carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the
inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I
proclaim to you. Acts 17:22-23
Paul was extremely gifted
as an evangelist. Not only did he possess a deep and zealous faith which energized
him for long journeys, suffering, and persecution, he also had tremendous
ability to relate to different kinds of people. Paul was raised in Hellenistic
culture which enabled him to understand the worldview of the Gentiles. He was
also Jewish and received extensive schooling in the Jewish faith and
traditions. In other words, he was able to be all things to all people (cf. 1
Corinthians 9:19-23) in order to proclaim the gospel. When Paul was with a Jewish
audience he could use his vast knowledge of the Hebrew bible to make a
compelling case for Jesus. When he was among Gentiles he could refer to their
cultural and religious history to persuasively share what God was up to in the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
In Athens, Paul walks
around and sees shrines to many different gods. The shrine to the unknown god
in particular caught his attention. At some level, the Greeks were anxious that
the plethora of gods they worshipped was insufficient. They may not have known
what god was missing but they knew they may not be covering all their bases.
Paul speaks directly to their culture and tradition and tells them that the god
they do not know is the God made incarnate in Jesus. Paul connects to them from
where they are and then shares the gospel. Rather than having one great sermon
that gets delivered the same way to all people, he customizes the message for
those he is trying to reach.
Churches can learn a great
deal about connecting to people if they internalize Paul’s evangelism strategy.
Too often churches operate on the basis of a “come and see” mentality. They
expect new people to come and see them, and when they arrive the tacit message
is for new folks to assimilate and adapt to the existing group. Paul went to the
people and spoke their language and understood their culture. We need to bring
the church to the people and connect to them where they are rather than wait
and see approach. Paul was not always successful in reaching new people but he
faithfully went out and out and out sharing God’s love with all he met. In our
post-Christendom age we must recover this missional impulse. The church is not
a building that people come to. The church is God’s people (the body of Christ)
share God’s love in the world. May we go forth to meet God’s people!
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