Culturally Relevant, not Culturally Aligned

Sunday, June 16th, 2024

Followup from Last Lesson

Last week’s question: How have you shifted your approach to scripture, and taken more personal ownership in studying it for yourself? [Give people an opportunity to share what they did and how it went.]

Introductory information

Paul, Silas, and Timothy are traveling on Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (see map)

Luke seems to have joined them in Troas and but then stayed behind in Philippi (Acts 20:5-6)

The rest of them had traveled on to Thessalonica and then to Berea

After some non-believing Jews from Thessalonica followed them to Berea and started causing trouble, they sent Paul away to Athens, who waited there for Silas and Timothy to follow.

READ

Question to consider as we read:

What does it mean to be culturally relevant?

Acts 17:16–34 CSB

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?” Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities”—because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting? 20 Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new. 22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. 23 For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. 25 Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. 26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is 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 also his offspring.’ 29 Since, then, we are God’s offspring, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination. 30 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.” 33 So Paul left their presence. 34 However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

EXAMINE

What are the key points in this passage?

#1 | Paul’s heart was stirred into action by what he saw in the culture

The people were not just ignorant of the true God - they were enslaved to demonic influence

Acts 17:16 “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols.”

While the false gods and idols were nothing in themselves, the power of those religions came from demons - so the people were actually worshipping demons while thinking it was someone like Zeus, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 10:19-20)

The cultural effects of demon-worship effected everyone, so Paul ministered in both directions: Jews and Gentiles simultaneously

Acts 17:17 “So he reasoned in the synagogue... as well as in the marketplace every day...”

Spending time debating and discussing with both groups of people would have also given him a more complete understanding of the culture

#2 | What we see next is Paul preaching in a way that was culturally relevant

He took the time to understand the culture and the way people were thinking (1)

Acts 17:22–23 “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious… I even found an altar on which was inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’

Paul had figured out what they valued and found an opening for the Gospel in their acknowledgement that there was a God they didn’t know

He used references they could understand and relate to

Acts 17:23 “...Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

Paul had learned that this culture loved to debate and hear new things - so that’s how he started his sermon

He didn’t argue from the scripture the way he always did with a Jewish crowd

Although if you look closely, you can see how he is pulling from the scripture, without directly quoting and referencing it

He pointed out specifically where they were getting it wrong (2)

Acts 17:24–26 “The God who made the world… does not live in shrines made by hands… Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything… From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.”

Paul isn’t just saying things about God that are generally true - he is specifically targeting and rebuking the way they thought about God, themselves, and religion

This is what it really means to preach in a way that is “culturally relevant”

He used their own words to prove his point

Acts 17:28–29 “For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29 Since, then, we are God’s offspring, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.”

Paul points out a statement from their culture that is on the right track, and uses it to build a bridge of understanding

Not only does this further prove his point that their idols are false, but it also sets them up to understand the nature of Jesus - He is nothing like an idol and He shares in our humanity

# 3 | The right way to be culturally relevant

The wrong way to be “culturally relevant” is to try and make the Gospel more appealing or less offensive (culturally aligning)

Remember that the Gospel is offensive by it’s very nature - 1 Corinthians 1:22–23 “For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.”

If we try to make the Gospel more pleasant sounding, sophisticated, or “modern” then we do not understand it’s power - Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”

Remember that the Gospel is simple - we don’t need to add to it to make it more effective

The right way to be “culturally relevant” is to make the Gospel more understandable

There is no one way to preach the Gospel that will be understandable to everyone.

You can translate the Gospel, without changing the Gospel.

Consider Paul’s personal practice in his letter to the church in Corinth - 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 “Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. 21 To those who are without the law, like one without the law—though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ—to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.”

APPLY

Explore and apply the passage with these questions:

[These questions must be focused, yet very open-ended. Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want to encourage everyone to share and explore the topics of the passage. You don’t have to ask all these questions. Sometimes a group may only get through one or two questions. Select the questions you think are right for the conversation. Then, as it comes time to wrap up, refocus the conversation to “land the plane.”]

What pressures do we face when preaching the Gospel?

What is some common “Christianese” that is unhelpful, and how can we translate it?

Who are you going to translate the Gospel to this week?

Where we want to “land the plane”

We must do our “homework” and thoughtfully “translate” the Gospel to the people around us. But we must to preach the Gospel in a way that is culturally relevant, but not culturally aligning.

REFLECT

Prayer Points for Today

Ask the Lord to give us the words to “translate” the Gospel to others, in way that “turns the light bulb on” for them.

Devotional Question for the Week

In order to translate the Gospel to a person, you will need to understand them. In order to do that, you will have to be an excellent listener. How do you need to grow in your listening skills?

FOOTNOTES

Paul began wisely by acknowledging they were very religious. These two words translate the Greek deisidaimonesterous from deidō (“to fear or revere”), daimōn (“deities, evil spirits”), and stereos (“firm, hard”). The idea is that the Athenians were firm and rigid in their reverencing of their deities. This was a carefully chosen word. Hearing it, the men of Athens would have thought of their deities or gods. But Paul subtly implied that their deities were evil spirits or demons, not gods. Behind idols are demons (cf. comments on 16:16). Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 403.

Because God made everything, He is supreme over all—the Lord of heaven and earth (cf. 14:15; cf. Ps. 24:1). Such a great God does not live in humanly constructed temples, as the Athenians assumed their Greek gods did (cf. Stephen’s words in Acts 7:48–50). 17:25. God is above human temples, but He is also self-sufficient and is not sustained by human provisions. This truth would appeal to the Epicureans who believed that what god or gods existed were above human events. The last part of the verse, dealing with God’s providing people with life (cf. v. 28) and material needs (cf. 14:17), suited the Stoic philosophy of aligning their lives with the “Purpose” of the Cosmos. Paul was thus beginning where his listeners were and was leading them from their inadequate concepts of the truth. 17:26. From one man refers back to Adam. This would be a blow to Athenian pride; they were sourced in the same original Creation as everyone else! One purpose of this Creation was to populate the planet (Gen. 1:28). This sovereign God has omnipotently decreed the history (the times) and boundaries (the exact places) for the nations (cf. Deut. 32:8). Greece was not the only nation on earth! Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 403.

Epicureans and Stoics. The primary antagonists of Paul in the agora were the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The Epicureans, who followed Epicurus (341–270 B.C.), said the chief end of man was pleasure and happiness. This pleasure, they believed, is attained by avoiding excesses and the fear of death, by seeking tranquility and freedom from pain, and by loving mankind. They believed that if gods exist they do not become involved in human events. The Stoics, on the other hand, were followers of Zeno (ca. 320=ca. 250 B.C.) and got their name from the painted portico or stoa, where he traditionally taught in Athens. Pantheistic in their view, they felt a great “Purpose” was directing history. Man’s responsibility was to fit himself and align himself with this Purpose through tragedy and triumph. Quite obviously this outlook, while it produced certain noble qualities, also resulted in inordinate pride and self-sufficiency. When these philosophers encountered Paul, they began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, What is this babbler trying to say? “Dispute” is syneballon (lit., “to throw with,” i.e., to toss ideas back and forth). This differs slightly from what Paul did in the synagogues. There he reasoned (dielegeto, “discussed, conversed,” v. 17; cf. the same word in v. 2; 18:4, 19; 19:8). The word translated “babbler” is spermologos (lit., “seed-picker”). It described someone who, like a bird picking up seeds, took some learning here and some there and then passed it off as his own. Others remarked, He seems to be advocating foreign gods. This response was due to their inability to grasp Paul’s doctrine of Christ and the Resurrection; it was totally foreign to their thinking (cf. 17:31–32). Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 402–403.