Growing in Outreach

Acts 17:16-34

Introduction

            One time when we were between churches I worked in a factory for a while and one day I got into a conversation with a temporary worker. He was interested in spiritual things and so I was very open with him. It was a one time conversation and I did not see him again. I have often wondered if I told him too much or was too forceful with him and I have wondered what was the result of that conversation. We have lived in our house for almost two years now and we often have conversations with our neighbor family. I have not yet had a spiritual conversation with them. Am I being too hesitant?

            We know that there is an urgency to sharing the gospel which comes from the wonder of the gospel, our joy in it and also from the call God has placed on our life. Yet at the same time, we struggle to know how to share the gospel well. I took lessons in Bible School 43 years ago on how to share faith. I still have the text book with the title, "The Art of Soul Winning." Yet I still feel that there is so much to learn about involvement in God's mission.

            This morning, as we continue to go through the "Forty Days of Growing in Community" the theme we want to think about is "Growing in Outreach." Last week we talked about our identity as children of God and this week we want to talk about how we can learn more about telling others about our dad.

            The primary text which I would like to examine with you today is Acts 17:16-34 in which we have Paul's example of one time when he shared the gospel. It is a good example and has some important lessons for us on how to do it well.

            Paul had been in Thessalonica and was rejected there and left the city. He traveled on to Berea where he received a very positive welcome and where there was an openness to the gospel. But, after a while, those who had opposed him in Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred things up so that he had to suddenly and quickly leave Berea as well. He went to Athens and after his companions joined him, they traveled on to Corinth. During the brief time he had in Athens, he had a very unique opportunity to tell people about Jesus. As we observe his example it can help us grow in outreach.

I.     Concern for the Lost

            When he came to Athens he looked around and we read in Acts 17:16 that he was "deeply distressed." What distressed him was that he saw the city full of idols. As a Jew who knew the many passages in Scripture about the uselessness of idols and the many warnings against worshipping idols, he was provoked to the core of his being. But what was the nature of that distress? Had this been a city full of Jewish people, anger would have been the appropriate response, but the city was a pagan city and idol worshipping was all the people knew. I suspect that the distress within him was a distress about their lost condition. He saw that they did not have any hope because they did not know the true and living God. In other words, Paul had a heart for the lost.

            Jesus shared a similar feeling which is revealed in Mark 6:34 where we read that "he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd..."

            What about us? Do we have a heart for the lost? All around us we see people who are without hope and living broken lives. We read about people who are trapped in addictions. We see people on television who are scrambling to make ends meet in their pursuit of materialism. We hear about the terrible acts of war, terrorism and revolt going on in places like Syria, Egypt and the Philippines. We observe our neighbors and even our family and friends struggling with violence and broken relationships in families. Pervading all this brokenness is a world in which there is little knowledge of God and His grace. The Globe and Mail reported in a December 2010 article that "Before 1971, less than 1 per cent of Canadians ticked the "no religion" box on national surveys. Two generations later, nearly a quarter of the population, or 23 per cent, say they aren't religious." Do these things concern you?

            Unless we are "deeply distressed" we will probably do very little to let people know the message of hope by which we live. There is a song which comes out of Hillsong in Australia called Hosanna. One line from that song is, "break my heart for what breaks yours." If we are praying that prayer because we are deeply distressed over all who are lost, then we will want to grow in outreach.

II.  Speaking To Be Heard

            The things that move us to involvement in outreach are the command of God, our joy in the gospel and our love for the lost. If our hearts have been moved in that way, then the next question which we will ask is, "How can I communicate God's grace well?"

A.   Is It Landing?

            Have you ever spoken to someone who is hard of hearing or someone who doesn't speak your language? As you tell them something, you can see by the look on their face that they are not getting what you are saying.

            I was involved in conflict resolution at one time and a phrase that the counselors used was, "is it landing?" Each party was talking, but what each was saying was not being understood by the other person. So we were encouraged to find a way of communicating that would land. I have remembered that phrase and I think it also pertains as we talk about how to share the gospel effectively. Now there is no doubt that hardness of heart will prevent the gospel from landing. We also know that unless the Spirit is involved people we share the gospel with will not get it. Yet even as we acknowledge these things, it is also true that we need to do everything we can to make sure that the message of the gospel will land with a person. Today we live in a society which doesn't have the background of faith which we have and doesn't know the language. In a Faith Today article on using social media, I read, "There are things that Christians believe in, and get excited about, that are not acceptable in the mainstream." That makes it imperative that we find a way of communicating so that we will be heard. Sydney J. Harris writes, "The two words 'information' and communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through." As Christians, are we giving out information or are we seeking to communicate?

            There are a number of reasons why our message might not land with people. One is that the people we are speaking with don't speak the language which we are speaking. When everyone had a connection to church and had at least been to Sunday School as a child, people understood our language, but today people come from other countries and from different religions and even those who have grown up here do not have a knowledge of the Bible.

            The other hindrance is that those who are listening don't trust the messenger and therefore won't give them a hearing. Today in Canada we live in a world in which the church has broken trust. Even though our church was not involved in residential schools those outside the church don't make that distinction. Furthermore, we can't say that there has never been an issue of sexual or power abuse by a Christian leader in our circles. These things have caused trust to be broken and have prevented people from hearing the gospel message.

            Acts 17 is a great passage to help us grow in outreach because it helps us understand how to build trust and how to use language that has a better chance of being heard. When Paul came to any city, he always went to the synagogue first, because the gospel was to be preached to the Jew first. Whenever he spoke with the Jews and God-fearers in the synagogue, he used the language of the Old Testament. He quoted Scripture and worked from an understanding of God's revelation. He was able to do that because his audience understood the language.

            He did this in Athens as well, but then he went and spoke in the Agora, the marketplace. This was not a place where people understood the language or stories of the Old Testament and there he did things differently. Today we live in a world that is much more like the Agora than the synagogue. What is the language which we must use in order that the gospel will land? What are the things we must do in order to build trust in relationships so that people's hearts will be open.

B.   Friendly Humble Servant

            One of the key things we can do is be careful about the attitude with which we approach others.

            Jesus was a great example of approaching people with the right attitude. He was the Son of God. He knew all things. He was completely without sin. These are three things which if we see them in some Christians would turn those who aren't Christians away. Yet Jesus had a reputation of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners as we read in Matthew 9:10-13. They liked to be with Jesus. What was it in him that attracted them to Him? Surely one of the most important things was that he loved them. When Jesus defended himself against the accusations of the Jewish religious leaders, he told them his basic method of operation when he spoke was showing mercy. Somehow they knew that Jesus genuinely cared about them and that opened the door to the gospel. How can we be like Jesus?

            Before we look at what Paul did in Athens, let us briefly examine the principle by which he operated. He declares it in I Corinthians 9:19-23 where he says, "I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them." This tells us that Paul did not come among people who needed to hear the gospel as an "answer man." He did not manifest superiority. Instead, like Jesus, he came among people as a servant. I wonder what would happen if we came among people as servants? What if instead of trying to run the show, we went to places where Jesus is not known and served people? Paul was willing to be a servant to all. He says that he was willing to "become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some." Servanthood was a strategy which he used so that he would be heard. This gives us permission to go into the world of others without condemning them, but rather identifying with them, up to the point of obedience to Christ, in order to win them.

            Paul's practice in Athens shows us a practical example of how he actually did that.

            As he walked about the Agora, he began to engage the people he met. When they heard him talk, they invited him to a more formal discussion at the Areopagus. This was a place where the citizens of Athens judged the truth of the various philosophies discussed in the city. Paul stood before them and beginning with what he observed about them he used their literature to speak about who God was and what He had done through Jesus.

            The word "argued" which is the translation found in verse 17 in NRSV is an unfortunate translation because the word is not that negative. The actual Greek word is "dialegomai" which is the word from which we get our word, "dialogue." Then in verse 18, NRSV says that there were some philosophers who "debated" with him. This Greek word means "to throw together." We might say to "mix it up." From both of these words we get an idea of what Paul was actually doing there. Given his principle of becoming "all things to all people so that he might win some," we should not be surprised that he was not speaking to them with anger or superiority or in a judgmental way. Instead, he had a conversation with them. He spoke to them in such a way that they were willing to continue to listen to him and to learn truth. He put himself in the posture of one who wanted to talk about what the truth was and was willing to both speak and listen to them.

            I think that this is an important lesson for us. We are firmly convinced about the truth and the life-giving nature of the gospel and have reason to declare it firmly and clearly, but we all know what happens when someone speaks to us in a dogmatic and unbending way. When people do that, there is no conversation and we soon quit listening. In the same way, we need to learn to dialogue as Paul did. We need to learn the art of respectful conversation in which there is give and take and listening and sharing so that the lines of communication remain open and we open doors so that the gospel can be heard.

C.   Partner With God

            We also notice another important thing that he did. He began his address in the Areopagus by referring to the "altar to the unknown God." Apparently there were a number of these in Athens and Paul used what was already there – their object of worship and their uncertainty about this god - to speak to them about God. He pointed out that there was a correspondence between what they worshipped and what he was going to tell them.

            He also quoted their poets in verse 28. These two poets Epimenides and Aratus had written between 600 and 300 BC and were speaking about Zeus in their poetry. Paul used quotes from their poetry to point to God as the one who has created everyone and desires to come near to them.

            What was going on here was that Paul was looking for ways in which God had already been at work in their culture and history. They already had an openness to God because they wanted to worship the unknown God. Their literature already spoke the truth about God and he used those points of contact to teach them more clearly about God.

            In the book "Peace Child" by Don Richardson, he speaks about the same concept. He and his wife were missionaries in what was then Dutch New Guinea. When warring villages wanted to make peace with their hated enemies they would give a child to the other tribe. From this picture, they were able to talk about Jesus as the child whom God had given in order to make peace with people. The concept of the peace child became the way to introduce the message of Jesus.

            The idea is that God is at work not only in the Old Testament, but has also been at work in other cultures. Paul found ways in which God had already spoken truth into their culture and was able to use that to point to the gospel. Bruxey Cavey says, "Instead of saying 'they are in darkness and I bring light' we ask 'How has God already been at work within their own story.'"

            This is another good lesson on growing in outreach. As we have conversations with people, we need to look for ways in which God has already been at work in their story. If we are able to do that, we will be able to begin from their story in order to share the gospel with them. This kind of conversation takes time and careful listening instead of preaching and trying to force our story into theirs.

            The method Paul used was that he came as a servant, he entered into a conversation, he listened to them and then out of their own story he told the story of the gospel.

III.          Speaking About Jesus

            Yet in spite of identifying with their story and listening to their understanding of truth, Paul himself did not succumb to their way of thinking. His method of "becoming all things" was intended to open the door for him to speak the gospel. Yet his goal never wavered. All he did was aimed at one important goal and that was proclaiming the message of Jesus.

            Paul quoted their poets, observed their objects of worship, mentioned the uselessness of idolatry, spoke about God as creator and judge, but the central message which he proclaimed and the direction towards which all of his conversations were pointing was towards Jesus. In Acts 17:18 we find that "he was telling them the good news about Jesus and the resurrection." Then in Acts 17:31 as he came to the climax of his presentation, we find that his message was about Jesus when he spoke about "a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

            This is a critical perspective. The message we have to proclaim is not about church or the Bible or morality. If we speak only about these things, we are only proclaiming part of the message and not the important part. Our message must be a message about Jesus. If we tell people about good moral habits what have we told them? Many religions proclaim good moral habits, but the people who follow them are lost. If we tell them about our church and they come to church what have we told them? There are many clubs, organizations and even religious institutions in the world, but the people who are part of them are lost. Even if we tell them to read the Bible, we have only done part of the job because many lost people have read the Bible. What distinguishes the message we have? Is it not Jesus? Doesn't the Bible speak about Jesus? Isn't it Jesus who forgives our failure to keep good moral habits and fills us with His Spirit to empower us to follow good moral habits? Isn't it Jesus who invites us into a community of faith in which we relate not as members of a club, but as brothers and sisters of Jesus?

            I Corinthians 3:11 reminds us of the importance of this when it says, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ." Similarly, I Corinthians 1:23 points to the center of our message when it says, "…we proclaim Christ…"

Conclusion

            Paul was careful to communicate well. He cared about the people he spoke to because they were lost. He communicated in order to gain a hearing and he spoke about Jesus.

            How successful was he? Well, as we read at the end of this passage, the response was mixed. Some laughed at him, some were ready to hear more but only a few became believers. Yet among them was Dionysius who had a significant connection to the Areopagus.

            As we read this, we need to be very careful about how we measure success. It is not measured by the number of people who respond. Even Paul, who got it right did not have all that much success in Athens. Our responsibility is to remove all barriers so that we present no hindrance to the gospel. That means that we love the lost. It means that we enter into conversations as servants who are willing to listen. It means that we find ways in which God has already been at work and above all we make sure to point to Jesus our Savior.

            So let us keep on being faithful and let us keep on trying to learn as much as possible so we can share the gospel well.

            I want to encourage each small group to take the outreach project seriously as an opportunity to practice what you are learning and thereby grow in outreach.