Act 17 - The gods of religion VS. the God You Can KNOW!!! Paul's Strategy For Evangelism! What Is Ours?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Acts 17 

In Thessalonica

They came to Thessalonica: This was an important port city, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) and a three-day walk from Philippi. Modern Thessalonika is still a large, thriving city. - Guzik

As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and note he "reasoned" with them why Jesus was and is the Messiah. We call this "apologetics" today. Paul tells us to be prepared to give an "answer" for the faith we have and to do so with gentleness and respect. We don't cram the gospel down people's throat, but simply present the truth of the Gospel and let God do the rest. 

The result was both Jews and Gentiles came to faith in Jesus. It worked. Also a few "prominent women". Again, we see the important role women played in the early church. 

These, like the women in the Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:50), had probably come previously under Jewish influence. Here, However, they were attracted by the higher teaching of the Apostles. - Bible Hub

Once again although some Jews welcomed Paul and Silas and accepted the gospel, others like Jason stirred up the Jews saying these men had caused trouble in other places, and now they had come here to do it there. They cited that these men were defying Caesar by claiming there was another king, the one called Jesus. This is the same charge they levelled against Jesus to the Roman authorities to try and get him killed. Paul and Silas escaped, though Jason was arrested but let go after he posted bond. 

Here is an interesting perspective on how this might apply today. 

God willing and blessing, people would say such things about the effectiveness of Christians today. One might say that Jesus did not come only to be our teacher, but to turn our world upside-down. Jesus turns the thinking and the power structures of this world around. - Guzik

In Berea

In Berea they experienced even more success, as they Bereans more receptive to the gospel. What was the difference? They examined the scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas said was true. If we know scripture, we can quickly spot the truth from a lie. Note, they examined the scriptures daily. This is why I write the daily bread, hoping you will see the value in reading scripture daily. Their is no magical method. As the Nike Ad said, "Just do it!

Once again, not only the Jews came to faith, but also Gentiles. It is also mentioned that a number of "prominent Greek women" came to faith.  Do you see the pattern here? Also, the Gentiles were in the synagogues, so they had the chance to hear Paul preach. God had prepared them in advance, just like he is preparing people in advance to come to our churches and hear the gospel. We better preach it!

The Jews from Thessalonica followed Paul and continued to cause trouble for he and his companions. At that point, they escorted Paul to Athens, but Timothy and Silas stayed behind to continue to encourage and teach the Berean believers. Note that sometimes we need to split up from deep relationships to further the gospel. This is never easy because of the relational bonds we develop in mission together is very special. 

In Athens

When Paul got to Athens, he used a different strategy, when he saw all of the idolatry in the city. 

As Paul sailed to Athens from the sea near Berea, he came to a city he had probably never been to before, and like any tourist, he was ready to be impressed by this famous and historic city – which, hundreds of years before, was one of the most glorious and important cities in the world. But when Paul toured Athens, he was only depressed by the magnitude of the idolatry he saw all around. - Guzik

In the marketplace he ran into some Greek philosophers who wondered what he was "babbling" about. Of course, we, know he was preaching the gospel that Jesus is the Messiah, and also how Jesus was raised from the dead. Others said he was preaching about "foreign gods". But they were curious nonetheless. When we preach the gospel some will reject it, but some will want to hear more. This is how the Holy Spirit works!

The two philosophical groups were the "Epicureans", who lived by the philosophy of "live, love, and eat". Basically following a life ruled by pleasure with a nod to the gods.  And, the "Stoics", who believed that by disassociating with worldly pleasures, they could appease the gods. They placed a high emphasis on personal morality not too different than the "legalism" and "works righteousness" that seeps into the church today. 

So he went into the "Areogapus" to speak to them. It was also called "Mars Hill". There is a big church by that name in Grand Rapids, MI (where my family is from and I grew up) led by Rob Bell. There was also another big Mars Hill church in Seattle led by Mark Driscoll. 

Paul starts by recognizing that they had a statue dedicated to "an unknown god". The leaders wanted to make sure they would appease all the "gods", so they even made a statue to this god to make sure they were covered. LOL.

So Paul's basic message told them about the God they "could KNOW". So the Athenians were "religious" but they didn't KNOW God! Meaning they didn't know who or what they were worshipping. Then he proceeds to tell them about the God they could Know, and how he created everything they saw in creation. He gave life and breath to every nation and every tongue. Importantly God's overarching purpose was, 

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.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Note he even quotes their own poets. Paul was giving them the truth they were searching and thirsting for. What a strategy to reach people who are seeking by following various religions but never FIND the God they can KNOW!

He preached that in the past God was merciful, because he wants everyone to repent and come to know him. He also shared with them that there would be a day of judgment. The proof, Jesus raised from the dead and will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

Again the physical and bodily resurrection is the linchpin of Christianity that holds it all together. It proves that everything Jesus said was and is true! This happens every time we preach the gospel some reject it, some want to hear more, and some came to faith in Jesus, including once again some prominent men and women.

The results at the Areopagus seemed small, yet some did believe. Among those believing were a man named Dionysius (who must have been a regular participant at the Areopagus) and a woman named Damaris. - Guzik

The question for us today is are we using Paul's evangelism strategy of preaching both in the synagogue (the church) and out into the marketplace? Most churches focus only on preaching where it is comfortable ... in the church!