Verse: Acts 17: 1-2, 22-23
1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures…
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.
Devotional Thoughts:
I find it really interesting to see how Christians witnessed in the book of Acts. Paul was a master evangelist, and you see him at work in this passage. Notice what he does.
– Paul focuses on going where the people he’s trying to reach are.
He’s going into the synagogue, into the marketplace, and eventually gets an audience with some of the wise men and philosophers of Athens.
– Paul is not interested in changing the message of the gospel. What he is doing is removing barriers to the gospel instead of placing them.
If Paul had walked into the synagogue talking to the Jews about Jesus, they’re not going to listen. Then again, if he’d walked in and started talking to the Greeks about the Scriptures, they’re likely going to discredit it.
– Paul customizes his approach based on who he’s trying to win to Jesus.
With the Jews, he starts with the Scriptures. With the men of Athens, he starts with their own idols and even transitions to their own literary history.
We must understand this – the message doesn’t change, but the methods do.
Points to Ponder:
One thing we tend to do as we grow as Christians or the longer that we go to church is that we begin to live in our holy huddles. We go to church, make friends with Christians at work, and what happens is, from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, we’ve been talking with other Christians all day. We need to integrate ourselves into the lives of others.
So how are you doing this? How are you being a Great Commission Christian? How are you trying to intentionally remove barriers and reach unbelievers?
You say, “Well I’m not that much of a people-person. I don’t know if I’m comfortable doing those types of thing.”
And to you I say, join the club. This is stepping out of all of our comfort zones. This kind of thing can be nerve-wracking. But think about Paul. Are we going to be selfish with our lives or selfless?
So imitate Paul here. Go to where the unbelievers are, remove barriers, customize your approach.
Be a friend. Just get to know people. And don’t get the idea that you’ve got to meet someone, get to know them, share the gospel, and lead them in the Lord’s prayer the first time you meet them. So many times we think of evangelism as needing to bring someone to a moment of decision to accept Jesus right then. That’s not necessarily true.
People usually need several first downs before they get to the touchdown of accepting Jesus. So be there for that unbeliever, let them know you care about them, genuinely talk about deeper things – things going on in their lives and in your life. Invite them to church. Yes, eventually the goal is to lead them to accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but this usually happens in steps. But we need to put effort forth to make that eventually happen.
Who can you talk to today?
