"Preaching to a Pagan Culture, Pt.1 (Acts 17:16-34)" | 7/3/22
Acts 17:16-34 | 7/3/22 | Will DuVal
Can you think a time you were acutely aware of your FOREIGN-ness? While we were in divinity school together, my best friend’s fiance studied abroad in a remote, indigenous village in Peru. Halfway through her trip, she contracted an intestinal parasite from eating an infected guinea pig. Hoping it was just a bad case of food poisoning, she tried waiting it out, but only got sicker. By day 4 or 5, she was so dehydrated from the vomiting that she started hallucinating. So her host family decided it was time to take her to the local witch doctor. When she came to, she was buck-naked in a tub in the middle of the village square, with the whole tribe looking on, as the shaman shouted out incantations, attempting to exorcise an evil spirit from her. Fortunately she regained consciousness long enough to demand they take her to the nearest hospital.
The phrase “we’re not in Kansas anymore” comes to mind! Perhaps the example you thought of wasn’t quite that extreme, but I suspect we’ve ALL found ourselves in a social or cultural setting at some point where we felt like a total fish out of water. I certainly HOPE we have, because as we’ve seen especially over the last 2 weeks together in our study through the book of Acts, this world in which we live is NOT the place where you and I as adopted children of GOD are supposed to feel most at home. If we are truly born again, that means we are now citizens of HEAVEN (Phil 3:20), which makes us “strangers and exiles [here] on the earth” (Heb 11:13). And yet, we have ALSO been commissioned now as ambassadors, to represent that better world to which we’re headed so as to reach this broken one in which we still remain. Jesus said, “be my witnesses… to the END of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The problem is: sometimes that means trying to reach folks - even in our own backyards! right across the street… - who, when it comes to worldview issues, SEEM like they might as well be speaking a totally foreign language; the cultural chasm sometimes feels that wide.
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Imagine trying to take the gospel - the good news of Jesus; the God-man who lived the perfect life we couldn’t, died the death we deserved in our place to take our sin upon Himself, and then rose from the dead to give us new, eternal life in Him - imagine trying to explain to and then persuade of THAT gospel, a society where some folks don’t believe in ANY God - they just want to have FUN, others think that as long as you try and be a good person, surely it’ll all work out in the end, and the rest of society worships FALSE gods; they may be plenty religious, but it’s definitely not the religion of the BIBLE.
Well, I think that’s exactly the situation in which you and I find ourselves this morning, and it just so happens, that was exactly the situation that the apostle PAUL found himself in here in Acts ch17, where we pick up his story this morning, in v16, if you want to begin turning there in your Bibles. And it’s a good thing Paul already walked this road ahead of us, because he’s gonna offer us SIXTEEN - count them: 16! - pieces of advice here, for preaching to a PAGAN culture. And if you took one look at your bulletin this morning and laughed and thought, “There’s no WAY that Will is gonna make it all the way through 16 points in 45 minutes!”, then congratulations: I guess you know me better than I do; God willing, we’ll make it through the first EIGHT of Paul’s points this morning, and finish the last 8 next week.
But please note: I use the word “pagan” here in the title because it can refer to those who “observe a polytheistic religion, [such] as the ancient Romans and Greeks” of Paul’s day, OR, it can simply refer to “a person who is not a Christian,” especially, “an irreligious or hedonistic person” (dictionary.com), as in our OWN day. But in either case, our calling today is the same as Paul’s was in his day: reaching a thoroughly pagan culture with the love and truth of Christ. So how do we do it? Let’s find out.
I invite you to stand with me (we’ll read the whole passage both weeks)… Acts 17:16-34
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, [for Silas and Timothy, that is; you remember last week when we left off, Paul had to flee from Berea because the Jewish leaders from Thessalonica had tracked him down there and were trying to put an end to this Paul heretic once and for all. But he narrowly escaped to Athens, and now he’s waiting for Silas and Timothy to come rejoin him there on this second missionary journey. But while Paul’s waiting…] his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities” - because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” This is the word of the Lord…
If we’re even gonna have a CHANCE of reaching a pagan world - whether it be Athens of 2,000 years ago, or America of today - with the hope of the gospel, then we’ve gotta do SIXTEEN things (8 this morning, and 8 we’ll save for next Sunday):
#1 - We must Be UPSET. (v16)
The only reason Paul has ANY ministry to these Athenians is because he gets UPSET, v16: ”provoked”, “deeply distressed”; the Greek word is parox-UN-o from which we get our word “PAR-ox-ism” - as in a seizure or spasm. It’s the same word used frequently in the Greek translation of the OLD Testament to describe GOD’S reaction to Israel’s idolatry: they were constantly “provoking” God’s anger and His jealous LOVE.
And that the thing- Paul’s distress here is TWO-fold: first, he is righteously angered for God’s glory. Paul knows the whole reason any of us are HERE is to bring God glory. And yet as he walks around Athens, he sees that glory being ROBBED and given to lifeless statues instead. So he’s outraged.
But this word “provoked” connotes MORE than just anger; “upset” really is a good translation, because as much as Paul is impassioned for God’s glory, he is also heart-broken for these lost Athenians.
Imagine you traveled back in time to 7:30am, September 11th, 2001, and you were standing just outside the entrance to the World Trade Center buildings, as employees were clocking in for what they thought would be just another day of work. Imagine the sense of urgency you would feel, trying to convince them NOT to enter. And imagine the HEART-break you would feel, every time one of them looked at you like you were crazy, and walked in right past you anyway.
For the Christian, this hypothetical isn’t hyperbolic. The people passing Paul in the marketplace to turn into the Parthenon, or the Erechtheion, or any ONE of the more than 20 pagan temples Athens was famous for, they were in no less danger - spiritual, ETERNAL danger - than the folks entering the twin towers on 9/11.
So too, the folks today passing you and I on their way to the mall, to worship at the altar of greed. Or the Cardinals game, to worship at the altar of sports. Or maybe just on their way HOME, to worship at the altar of FAMILY. Tim Keller rightly identifies “idolatry” as “a good thing becoming the ULTIMATE thing”, and John Calvin rightly diagnosed our hearts as “idol factories”. Even a cursory glance around our society reveals an almost innumerable list of lesser, created things that we have deified to a position intended only for the Creator.
The idol of WORK,
The idol of LOVE,
the idol of SEX,
the idol of COMFORT,
the idol of “LIKES”,
The idol of SELF!
But God says, “You shall have no other gods before ME” (Ex 20:3). Disobedience is disrespectful to Him, and dangerous to US. So when you and I see someone living for something other than God, it ought to “provoke” us, it ought to upset us, even enough to speak up, as Paul does.
#2 - We must Be RESPONSIVE. (v17)
Paul speaks up, v17, and “he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews… and in the marketplace… [with the Greeks]”.
In order to evangelize effectively, we must recognize our specific audience, and then respond accordingly. How you respond - “reason” - with one person may not work with another person. The text differentiates here between Paul’s evangelism to the JEWS vs. the Gentiles - where and how he went about it was different. His sermon here at the END of ch17 to a predominantly pagan crowd is gonna be very different from his sermons back at the beginning of ch17 to the JEWISH crowds in Thessalonica and Berea. Because Paul was a master at contextualizing the gospel.
And what is his context here? His crowd? V18: “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers”. Now, the Epicureans said, “Follow your GUT”. Pleasure is king. Enjoy life.
The Stoics said, “Follow your HEAD.” Virtue is king. Endure life.
JESUS says, “Follow ME.” I am your King; come to me for ETERNAL life.
See, Paul’s got a tough job here trying to reach such different camps of people. The Epicureans were basically agnostic hedonists (Bock, 561). They were indifferent to the gods, because they viewed the gods as indifferent to US, so they reasoned that the best use of our time here on earth is to simply try and make the most of it: “YOLO - you only live once; so live it up!”
The Stoics, on the other hand, viewed life’s purpose as the pursuit of virtue. They were less agnostic - they believed in a transcendent, cosmic Force (sorta Deistic; sorta Pantheistic) - but the important thing was living in conformity to that Life Force, by being virtuous - wise, just, courageous, and temperate.
Finally, in v22, these philosophers are gonna give Paul a wider audience with the common Athenians as well, who were just your run-of-the-mill polytheists. They believed in a sun god, who rode his chariot across the sky every morning, a fertility goddess, who determined whether or not you got pregnant, etc. So people would worship at their various temples, make them offerings, to try and appease the gods, even manipulate them into doing their bidding. Basically, it was the religion of most Americans today: moralistic therapeutic deism; “I know God is probably too busy for me, but if I just live ethically enough to at least keep Him from getting too disappointed in me, then hopefully he’ll come through when I really need Him.” That’s what most of our neighbors basically believe.
So imagine trying to share the gospel with Hugh Heffner, Jordan Peterson, and your next door neighbor all at the same time. That’s a tall task! But Paul’s up to the challenge. As he would later write, “ I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Cor 9:22) Paul won’t save them all here, but he will reach some. Because he knew how to recognize different listeners, and reason with each accordingly.
#3 - We must Be UNDETERRED. (v18)
Paul is initially met with not one, but TWO types of poor responses to his gospel message, in v18: MOCKERY and MISUNDERSTANDING.
“some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities” - because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.”
Some just called him NAMES - this guy’s a LOONY! full of tall-tales - others were just confused - apparently they thought he was a fellow polytheist, who worshiped gods they’d never HEARD of: Jesus and Anastasis; that’s the Greek word for “resurrection”; they mistook it for a second GOD that Paul was endorsing. And yet, Paul was undeterred.
Brothers and sisters, we should expect to be mocked and misunderstood by our surrounding, pagan culture. God’s word says that God’s wisdom is considered “foolishness” by the world (1 Cor 1:18).
“Do you actually believe - not just believe; you’ve centered your entire LIFE around - some guy who lived 2,000 years ago who allegedly rose from the DEAD?!”
“You actually believe in a whole SPIRIT world, angels and demons? Do you believe in fairies & ghosts, and Santa & the Easter Bunny too?!” MOCKERY.
“You’re telling me you actually believe in some invisible, all-powerful God who’s supposedly GOOD and calling the shots around here, but THIS is the best He can do?! He hasn’t gotten around to curing cancer yet, or dementia, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but I’m supposed to give up my Sundays to go worship HIM; I don’t THINK so!”
That’s a MISUNDERSTANDING. Of both how God works in the world, as well as what God’s ultimate purpose is for the world (not our happiness, but our holiness).
But we should expect it, and therefore we should remain undeterred when we encounter it.
4) We should Be READY. (vv19-20)
Ready to POUNCE at the opportunity to share the gospel. Despite their mockery and misunderstanding, we hear “they took [Paul] and brought him to the Areopagus, saying” ‘Tell us MORE’. Are they just putting him on? Looking for a good laugh at Paul’s expense? It makes no difference to HIM! There’s no such thing as a BAD opportunity to talk about Jesus, so he jumps at the chance!
He follows them to the Areopagus, literally, the “Hill of Ares”, the Greek god of war, whose temple was built there; and who corresponded to the Roman god Mars, hence the nickname “Mars Hill”. But Paul must be all the MORE ready and enthusiastic about this invite because this was the very CENTER of public life in ancient Athens. We don’t really have a “town square” in modern cities these days, where everyone converges and interacts with one another; life has become so compartmentalized and commodified, you can live your whole LIFE without ever even stepping foot outside your house, as we’ve all become painfully aware in recent years.
But I might argue that the closest thing we have to a “public square” like this anymore is SOCIAL MEDIA. And for ALL of its problems and pitfalls, I think this may be the strongest argument FOR Christians being on social media, and using it, wisely. Where else do you have the opportunity to share the gospel with dozens, maybe hundreds of unbelievers (depending on Zuckerberg’s algorithms), all at once like Paul here? I don’t know about you - maybe I just need to hang out in WAY bigger groups of WAY more non-Christians - but social media sure seems like the best outlet that actually affords me that opportunity.
But brothers and sisters: we have to TAKE it! Seize it! I don’t wanna press this TOO hard, but I will offer it up for your own self-examination: IF you’re on social media, and you have been completely SILENT the past 10 days in the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic decision for life on June 24th, then what are you really doing on social media anyway? Because I can PROMISE many of your non-Christian FRIENDS haven’t been silent. And I can ALSO promise you’re not moving the needle by sharing pictures of your cute new kitty or whatever you cooked for DINNER last night. The world doesn’t need your FRIENDSHIP; they need the GOSPEL. And many of us have forsaken the latter in the name of the former. Such that when God tosses us a SOFTBALL - one of my friends just RAGING against, or perhaps DISTRAUGHT by this judicial decision - and we click “Comment”... then decide, “Eh, I’ll just send her a private message instead”; you pull up “Messages”, start typing… then decide, “Eh, I’ll just PRAY for her instead.” Friends, there’s nothing wrong with prayer; but when God tossed Paul a softball, a ready-made opportunity for sharing the gospel with people who clearly needed to hear it, he didn’t stay home and pray; he WENT! Field of Dreams evangelism doesn’t work anymore. “If you build it, they will come.” Just build bigger, cooler church buildings, fill them with more fun, relevant programs, and unbelievers will come to US”; NO, they won’t; we’ve got to go to THEM! (Tony Merida, “Lessons from Paul’s Visit to Athens” sermon)
And when we DO, and God provides us an opportunity to testify to the amazing news of what He’s done for us in the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, we must SEIZE it.
But at the same time, #5 - We must Be REALISTIC. (v21)
Paul pounced on the opportunity, DESPITE the fact that he KNEW, v21, that: “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” Paul knew full-well that the only reason MOST of them invited him to speak was that they were BORED and constantly looking for something, ANYTHING, NEW to fill their minds with. Speaking of social media, if THAT’s not a perfect description: “I’m bored; I wonder what’s NEW… [*scoll, scroll, scroll, scroll…]”
So I don’t think Paul is operating under any illusion here, when he accepts their invitation; I’m not sure he was expecting some mass REVIVAL on the Areopagus. Paul is realistic. He knows that many of them are mockers, misunderstanders… but He ALSO knows that it’s not HIS job to judge the relative LIKELIHOOD of his hearers coming to true saving faith, and then determine whether or not it’s worth his time and possible embarrassment; Paul’s job is simply to be obedient and to preach the gospel, and then let GOD take care of the rest.
Because Paul ALSO knew that while the Athenians wanted some new IDEA to mull over, what they NEEDED was new LIFE! New HEARTS, transformed by the power of the gospel! And despite Paul’s realism, all the evidence suggesting that his words would just fall on deaf ears, Paul nevertheless knew that “with God, ALL things are possible” (Matt 19:26).
#6 - We must Be WINSOME. (v22)
Winsome means “attractive, engaging, winning”. To be so charming as to win one over.
Look at how Paul opens his speech in v22: ““Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious”; he doesn’t say, “Hey DUMMIES, listen up!”. No, he says, “I can tell you all are sincerely, very RELIGIOUS”. That might be an insult today, but it was a COMPLIMENT back then. People liked thinking of themselves as “religious”. Devout. Pious. So Paul opens by buttering them up a little. “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
Commentator Darrell Bock notes (573): “Despite being aggravated by all the idolatry he sees around him, Paul manages to share the gospel with a [winsome] spirit. The Paul of Romans 1 who speaks of the sad state of society is still able to love and connect with that society [here] in Acts 17… Sometimes we Christians are so [MAD] at the state of our own society that all that comes through is the anger and not the love we are to have for our neighbors… Both message and tone are important in sharing the gospel.”
Brothers and sisters: we need to remember that every single ONE of us in this room was an unbeliever at some point in our lives, separated from God in our sin. And what won YOU over? Ultimately we know the Holy Spirit had to, but who in YOUR life did God use to get through to you? Show of hands - how many of you came to faith through the ministry of an angry soapbox preacher with a megaphone? How about through the ministry of a stern, disapproving Sunday school teacher? How many of you were converted by someone’s angry religious RANTS on Facebook?
Now let’s try flipping it: how many of you softened, and opened up to new life in Christ because of a kind, caring Sunday school teacher? A loving, patient parent? A sweet, sympathetic friend?
Our own, lived TESTIMONIES should be all the evidence we need for the importance of our TONE in sharing the gospel.
You know, Keller points out that for MOST of the last 300 years, since the Enlightenment, skeptics were mostly concerned with the question of whether or not Christianity was TRUE. But in the last 20 years or so, the bigger question has become whether or not Christianity is GOOD. Most people these days think truth’s all relative anyway; you’ve got your truth, I’ve got mine. They just wanna know if “our truth” is even GOOD truth; is it truth that’s worth WANTING to believe in? And the proof’s in the pudding; if we Christians are a bunch of JERKS - “if THAT’S the kind of people YOUR truth produces” - then they won’t want to touch Jesus with a 10-foot pole. But if we’re filled with the fruit of the SPIRIT - if we are “loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled” (Gal 5:22-23) - who’s NOT gonna want THAT?!
#7 - We must Be INQUISITIVE. (v23a)
Paul continues in v23, by describing how “I passed along [exploring your city of Athens for the first time, as a new visitor] and I observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription…”.
DESPITE being upset, Paul didn’t walk through the marketplace with a sledgehammer in hand, smashing idols as he went. He didn’t picket and protest outside their temples. Instead, he went IN. He OBSERVED. He was CURIOUS. “Excuse me, I noticed this ceremonially bowl here at the entrance to this temple; what do your priests use THAT for?” “Hi, I couldn’t help but notice the inscription on this altar here; could you tell me more about this “unknown god”? Or, maybe you can’t; I guess that’s what makes him unknown to y’all… Silly question…”
But you know what, God can even use BAD questions to start GOOD, gospel conversations, can’t He? Don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself or offend someone else; most people LOVE the chance to talk about themselves, what they believe. As long as we’re showing genuine interest, like Paul here, in their world. Again, “People don’t care what you KNOW until they know that you CARE.” Even IF you’re inquiring with an ulterior motive! Even if - they may not realize it - you’re really on a FACT-finding mission for good conversation starters, opened doors for sharing about JESUS.
Many of us shy away from conversations about faith because we’re afraid we won’t have all the right answers to others’ questions. Perhaps we should start instead by focusing on whether or not we have the right questions, to draw others out and make a connection with them.
Lastly for this morning, #8 - We must Be CROSS-CULTURAL. (vv23b; 28)
Not only does Paul INQUIRE about the Athenian’s culture, he then looks to build BRIDGES between their worldview and his OWN, that will allow him to then translate the gospel into concepts and ideas that are gonna best resonate with them, based on where they’re coming from, what they’re familiar with. That’s what Paul’s gonna do NEXT week, in vv24-34; we’ll exposit his sermon proper, where he’s gonna TAKE all of this research he’s been doing on their Greek religious pantheon and praxis, and then TURN it into a relevant, engaging gospel presentation.
And we’re gonna see: interestingly, Paul doesn’t quote Scripture at all here on the Areopagus! Instead, he references the inscription on one of their pagan altars, and then he quotes two pagan philosophers: Epi-MEN-ides and A-ratus!
I wonder if our evangelism TODAY would be more effective if we did the same. If we crossed-cultures, and started with what was familiar to those we were trying to reach: “As some of your OWN poets have said…”
“In this world, it's just us / You know it's not the same as it was”
“I believe that was your poet Harry Styles; What do YOU think he’s singing about there?”
“Our scars can destroy us, even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us.” - “Here’s what I think your poet BATMAN was getting at, there…
This is cross-cultural evangelism. And it requires us to ENGAGE our culture, not fear and shun it. We shun SIN, and we don’t engage in the culture at the expense of our HOLINESS. But even the darkest of cultures - and Christians can lament America’s rapid secularization all we want, but we’re still nowhere NEAR the darkest of cultures out there - and even then, we can still catch glimpses of God’s common grace and light in even the DARKEST of cultures.
And next week, Paul’s gonna get truly CROSS-cultural, as he introduces the Athenians to the culture of the CROSS!
But as we conclude this morning, I want to give you one final BONUS “must” of effective evangelism! We must Be ENAMORED. (Mt 22:37 ““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart”)
Be in LOVE with Jesus! That’s the whole reason Paul does ANY of this. The only reason Paul is…
Upset about their sin,
Engaging of different people groups
Undeterred when he’s scorned
Ready to take any possible opportunity
Realistic, Winsome, Inquisitive, Cross-Cultural…
Is that he’s so enamored with JESUS!
And truthfully, we could spend not just a morning… not just a SECOND Sunday next week… we could hold a 13-week Sunday school class covering in depth EVERY possible, practical “how to” tip for evangelism - and there’s merit in that, so we HAVE done it, and will do so again some time in the future.
But frankly, all of those “how to”s combined aren’t worth the singular, all-important “WHY” of evangelism, and that is: love for JESUS. Cuz if you don’t love Jesus, you won’t really care about the tips or use them anyway. And if you DO love Jesus, you won’t really need them, cuz you’ll be so excited to share Him with others that you’ll get PLENTY of chances to learn as you go and refine your own “how to”s that work for you.
Church: may we love JESUS, and may we love introducing OTHERS to Him, and HIS love for them as well. Amen.