Paul’s Example of Evangelism

I. Introduction

A. Mobilizing a missionary force in a world of many choices

B. We are all looking for something that will cut through the pain and brokenness of life

C. Coexist Blog

D. When do we realize that our hope of fixing the brokenness doesn’t lie within us? We find hope in Christ. This is the message that Paul brings to Athens who have put all their hope in the made-up deities of the pantheon rather than hoping in the one true and living God

II. Paul had a heart for lost people (16-17)

A. Explanation

1. In Athens, his spirit was provoked within him

a. Athens was known for their great philosophers – Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Zeno – All great philosophers, but coming from different pagan schools of thought

b. His spirit was provoked within him – It was stirring within him from grief due to their lost condition and desire to convert them

2. So, he reasoned

a. This is to talk through the issues to instruct or convince

b. In the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons

c. In the marketplace with those who happened to be there

d. Paul used reason and persuasion to tell others about Jesus and what He could do for them.

B. Application

1. Paul saw a city of people desperately trying to find the answers in the pantheon of their gods, but he knew what they were searching for would only be found in Jesus

2. Paul had a heart for lost people, and he looked for opportunities to talk to them about Jesus

3. He was angry and argumentative. He loved them so he reasoned with them

4. People argue and fight when they can’t convince others by reason –

5. If someone asked you about your faith, would you have enough knowledge about the subject to defend it or lead them to it?

6. We must have a heart for the lost and desire to tell them about Jesus

III. Paul’s message was Jesus and the resurrection (18)

A. Explanation

1. Epicureans and Stoics

a. Epicureans – Believed in pursuing pleasure as the purpose of life

b. Stoics – Sought peace by denying themselves feelings. Believed in a determined fate and must bear whatever comes along without emotion

2. They looked down upon Paul – They referred to him as a babbler. This word in Greek means a seed picker. It referred to one who picked up little pieces of philosophy and restated them as their own

3. But Paul did have a new message unlike any other in Athens. He brought them the message of Jesus and the resurrection – That Jesus had died and arose from the grave. This would have been unusual, but it proved the divinity of Christ, a man.

B. Application

1. The death, burial, and resurrection are the heart of the gospel messages. It defines the purpose of Jesus. He was not a good teacher or a teacher of morals. He came to die for the sins of the world

2. It implies the lostness and sinfulness of man and the need for a Savior

3. We should share what a difference this makes in people’s lives

IV. Paul connected to where they were spiritually (19-23)

A. Explanation

1. They brought him to the Areopagus – This is the head of the academy in Athens. They have the right to allow Paul to spread this message or to shut it down

2. They spent their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new

3. He starts by talking about the religious nature of the people of Athens

4. He points out the one statue (Maybe more within the city) to an unknown God

a. This is a sign that the people long for God’s blessing and hope

b. It is also a recognition that they are fearful that there is one that is missed in the pantheon

c. They are seeking divine help for the brokenness in the world

5. Paul shows that this God that they are missing is the one true and living God who came into our world in the person of Jesus Christ – God came to them!

B. Application

1. What are people looking for today?

2. Who are they looking for to provide it?

3. What does that source lack?

4. The gospel is the answer

V. Paul preached Biblical truth (24-29)

A. Explanation

1. God is the creator

2. He serves and provides for us, not the other way around

3. He is sovereign over the kingdoms of the world – and all politics!

4. We made us; we did not make Him - He is not made in our image

B. Application

1. Our culture wants to dumb down the reality of who God is

2. We want a God who accepts us as we are and approves of our own sins

3. They wanted gods who would do their bidding and bless them at their will

4. We must not dumb down the gospel to meet people’s whims or desires

5. We preach the God who is both loving and who punishes sin

VI. Paul led them to faith and repentance (30-31)

A. Explanation

1. The times of ignorance – they could not identify the unknown God

2. Now, they had heard the truth about who Christ is – The only outcome should be repentance

3. He will bring judgment through a man whom He has appointed, Jesus

4. How do we know it is Him? We have been given assurance through the resurrection

5. Therefore, they must put their faith in the one God sent for this purpose and turn from their sin

B. Application

1. The only hope for people who have sinned is faith and repentance

2. Paul is calling on these Gentiles to repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus

VII. Conclusion

A. Some mocked, but some listened.

B. Some were saved – Dionysius the Areopagite, Damaris, and others

C. When we speak people are saved!

D. This world is like being in the desert. There are often mirages that give hope but do not give life. There are lots of ideas that provide hope, but don’t pay off with life and healing. Christ alone is our oasis

The Rescued Mountain Climber: Picture a climber hanging off the side of a steep cliff, with one hand slipping off the ledge. Their gear is broken, and they’re too far down to climb up on their own. Then a rescuer appears, lowering a rope, offering the only means of escape. This climber can’t rely on themselves; their only hope is to cling to that rope. This is like our relationship with Christ. Sin separated us from God, and no amount of effort on our part could bridge the gap. Christ came down, extended His hand, and He alone can lift us to safety. As Acts 4:12 reminds us, “There is no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved.”

COEXIST

I saw this bumper sticker on a car the other day that said "Coexist." Each letter was made to look like a symbol of a different religion. You have probably seen them as they tend to be fairly popular. What does it even mean? I suppose it means that people of different religions are supposed to simply get along with no questions asked. We are simply supposed to accept every other premise of truth as coequal to our own. I cannot imagine how we are to accept a truth so deep and profound as the exclusive gospel of Jesus Christ who died as a sacrificial, substitutionary atonement for my sin and set it alongside another faith that espouses a theology that we work our way to heaven or earn our place in heaven. These two ideas are logically contradictory.

I do believe that we are to love people of all faiths (and lack thereof). At the same time what Jesus did is too great to simply say, "well, Jesus is one of many ways to heaven." It is as though he suffered and died when he did not have to, seeing as how there might be other ways to heaven.

We need to profess Christ as truth. He, Himself, proclaimed, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) There is one truth of salvation and that is that we are sinners who have transgressed the law of God. God sent His own son to us to live a perfect life and to die a criminal’s death on a cross in order to become a perfect sacrifice that atones for our sin. This is the truth of salvation and no other claim can "coexist" with it.

Incidentally, I found it funny that on that same car there was another bumper sticker. It read, "Expect a Miracle!" My question is, "from whom?"

Response to COEXIST blog

not a miracle from ur square mind, thats for sure, soo in your own words, we are to hate anything that doesn’t agrees with us, WAY TO GO CHAMP, I’m sure jesus died so u could spread hate and discrimination on his name, GOSH bigots are so weird and evil.