The Challenge of Engaging the Culture

with the Proclamation of Truth

The city of Athens was, and still is, known the world over for its magnificent art
and architecture. The problem was that art celebrated nefarious activities of a
cornucopia of gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Unfortunately, the
most decorated of the buildings were temples to pagan gods. Like other ancient
cities in Greece, the visual focal point of Athens was the Acropolis. The Acropolis
was the Upper City of Athens. This elevated part of the city was where the
people went to worship the gods. And the centerpiece of the Acropolis was the
Parthenon. People would come to visit the Parthenon from all over the world
and they still do to this day. The structure is an impressive sight, one of the
wonders of the world, even after two millennia.

On his second missionary journey, the Apostle Paul traveled through the city of
Athens and presented the gospel to the people. The way Paul engaged the
Athenians is both relevant and instructive. Paul faced many challenges that
Christians face today. The culture was wrought with idolatry, the culture was in a
state of conflict, and biblical literacy was very low. Despite these challenges, Paul
proclaimed the gospel message with power. The point of this essay is to lay out a
challenge: We need a generation of Christians who have troubled spirits and the
willingness to engage a conflicted culture with the proclamation of truth
despite the range of responses they will see.

A Provoked Spirit
Paul became angry as he entered Athens. Now while Paul was waiting for them
at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city
full of idols (Acts 17:16). [1] Paul was beholding a city under the pervasive
influence of idolatry. And he deeply detested what he saw. The text says that
Paul was provoked. The term that the Greek text uses for Pauls emotion
(paroxyn) is the source of our English word paroxysm (spasm or seizure).
This Greek word means to arouse, to excite, to stimulate. In a negative sense, it
means, to provoke, irritate, cause to be upset. In short, we could say, Paul was
ticked off.

Ancient descriptions testify that the market place of Athens was lined with idols.
And the more Paul saw as he walked the streets of this city, the more infuriated
he became. As Christians today we should likewise be righteously infuriated at
the idolatry of our culture. We should be angry when our culture worships
wealth, power, and fame. We should be angry when it tramples on morality. We
should be angry. But we cannot stop at being angry. Paul did not stop at being
angry. He engaged.

A Willingness to Engage
Luke records the experience of Paul. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with
the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with
those who happened to be present (Acts 17:17). Note that the specifics of the
people, the places, and the frequency of his engagement are all mentioned.
These details demonstrate that Paul was engaged at multiple levels. His
engagements were intentional, and they were incidental. Paul intentionally went
to the synagogue and engaged Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who might be
open to discuss the claims of Christianity. But he was also available for the casual
intermittent conversations with those who he might encounter in the city. He
was responsive, and he was reachable.

Paul exemplified the goal of Christian apologetics. Apologetics refers to

defending the faith (not an expression of remorse). Apologetics has two
components: a negative component and a positive component. In February
1997, Alister McGrath, a British theologian and apologist, delivered a four-part
series titled, Biblical Models for Apologetics, for the W. H. Griffith-Thomas
Lectureship at Dallas Theological Seminary. In his lectures he discussed this two-
sided nature of apologetics:

Apologetics can be thought of as having two components. On the one hand it

concerns the countering of objections to the Christian faith, and on the other it
concerns setting out the attractiveness of the gospel. It thus has a negative and a
positive aspect. Negatively it means being able to handle objections to
Christianity which one encounters in the media, the shopping mall, and
elsewhere. It means being able to give effective responses to hard questions
people ask about Christianity. Sometimes those objections are spurious;
sometimes they are real problems, which discourage those individuals from
coming to a living faith in Christ. Trained Christians can make a difference here,
by helping them see that the problem is not as serious as they may have thought.

Positively, apologetics is setting out the full wonder of the gospel of salvation. It
is like unpacking a series of wonderful gifts, and marveling at their beauty.
Helping people understand the full glory of what the gospel offers often means
taking the trouble to explain central Christian ideas to people who may recognize
the words but not the reality they represent. Words such as grace and
redemption come easily from Christian workers lips, but believers need to
explain what they mean and what they offer to an increasingly unchurched
culture. [2]

By engaging his audience on all levels, Paul was living out his claim to the
Corinthians: I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save
some (1 Cor 9:22). John Stott once said, One cannot help admiring Pauls ability
to speak with equal facility to the religious people in the synagogue, to casual
passers-by in the city square, and to highly sophisticated philosophers both in
the agora [the market] and when they met in Council. [3] Pauls response to the
idolatry he saw patterned how we should live out the truth and present it to our
culture. We should engage the critics of Christianity with a defense of the truth
and present the full wonder of the gospel for all who might hear.

A Conflicted Culture
How do you present truth in a conflicted culture? First, one needs to understand
the nature of a conflicted, even a self-conflicted culture. Luke continues, And
also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him.
Some were saying, What would this idle babbler wish to say? Others, He seems
to be a proclaimer of strange deities,because he was preaching Jesus and the
resurrection (Acts 17:18). Two competing groups of philosophers conversed
with Paul in these verses: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The philosophy of the
Epicureans could be summarized as hedonisticyou only live once, so live it up!
Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow you might die. That is hedonism at a
glance. The Epicureans believed that God was far away from everyday life. If God
was far away, then, said the Epicureans, one should enjoy life and forgo
discomfort. They wanted to escape the negative, painful side of life. On the other
hand, the Stoics believed that God was in everything (pantheism). They believed
that everything was God, and God was in everything. As a result, they were
fatalistic and rationalistic. They believed that nature has its own purpose in
history, and one should play their part in a detached, virtuous manner. Ironically,
the beliefs of the Epicureans and the Stoics were two extremes that were
mutually exclusive and contradictory. Both could not have been right. Both could
have been wrong, but both could not have been right.

The challenge that Paul faced was not unlike the challenge we face in our
present world. Journalist Walter Truett Anderson observes,

Never before has any civilization openly made available to its populace such a
smorgasbord of realities. Never before has a communications system like the
contemporary mass media made information about religionall religions
available to so many people. Never before has a society allowed its people to
become consumers of belief, and allowed beliefall beliefsto become
merchandise. [4]

Anderson goes on to suggest that America has become The belief basket of the
world. This poses a serious challenge to those who would dare to proclaim Jesus
Christ and the Resurrection.

The current American culture is no less divided than the Athenian culture. In our
culture, you can be an atheist, or you can be pluralist, and you will be accepted
and even celebrated. Aggressive atheists vehemently oppose all religions and see
them as the great evil of societies throughout history. Pluralists believe that
there are many gods, but all of these various gods and religious pathways
ultimately lead to the same place. The atheists and the pluralists cannot both be
right. Their views are mutually exclusive. Nonetheless, both are tolerated in
American culture and, in many cases, both are promoted as valid intellectual
perspectives.

But the atheists and pluralists do line up on one thing: they both deny the truth
of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection. Jesus taught that there is a God, and He
Himself is the only pathway to the Father (John 14:6). Holding to a single way to
God was not popular in Jesuss day, nor was it popular in Pauls day, and it is still
not popular in our day. In the past, American culture embraced Christianity for
the most part. That has changed in the last few years. We have witnessed the
collapse of theological literacy and the rise of unabashed unbelief in America.

In 1996, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals held its first major meeting and
presented the Cambridge Declaration to encourage the evangelical church to
abandon worldly methods and embrace biblical doctrines. The Cambridge
Declaration made a clarion call:

The loss of Gods centrality in the life of todays church is common and
lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment,
gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into
feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result,
God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too
inconsequentially upon us. [5]

We live in a conflicted culture. But we should not turn tail and run. And we
should not bury our head in the sand. Christianity is a confrontational faith. It
challenges human nature, it challenges sin, and it challenges what one believes
about the future. As a result, our culture hates Christianity. In the face of hatred
and scorn, we need to do what Paul did: wisely and winsomely proclaim the
truth.

A Powerful Proclamation
Paul had a troubled spirit because of the idolatry and immorality he saw. But he
did not stop there. He engaged the conflicted culture with a powerful
proclamation of truth. However, Paul did not quote a single passage from the
Scriptures. A careful reader will note that in the Book of Acts, Peter quoted Old
Testament passages when he was talking to Jews (Acts 2:1436). Peter could do
this because the Old Testament was familiar to his audience. But Pauls audience
in Athens did not share that biblical background. And the same is true for much
of our audience today. We are now approaching a culture that does not know the
Bible.

How do we proclaim truth without directly appealing to Scripture? Paul modeled

that for us. He painted a portrait of biblical theology from creation to final
judgment without quoting a single passage. Yet all of his theology was rooted in
and is supportable by a multitude of texts throughout the Scriptures.

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I observe
that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and
examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription,
TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I
proclaim to you. (Acts 17:2223)

The Athenian culture was dominated by deities and idols and there in the city
they had an altar with an inscription, to an unknown god. Paul picked up on this
inscription and said, Let me tell you about a God you do not know. Paul was not
saying that an idol to an unknown god represented the real God. He was using
the inscription as a bridging opportunity for the truth of Scripture to be
advanced.

Paul started with their views of impersonal divine essence (Epicureans) and
pantheism (Stoics), and he pointed them toward a living God who is both creator,
redeemer, and judge. In his speech, Paul made eight assertions about the nature
and work of God that covered the grand narrative of the Scriptures.

God is the Almighty Creator

His assertion that God is the Creator contradicts both the philosophies of
atheism (God does not exist) and pantheism (God is in everything). When you
have an Almighty Creator, He is antecedent to, and yet distinct from, His
creation. The God who made the world and all things in it . . . (Acts 17:24a).
We dare not give up this truth. Many people make the claim that modern
scientific theories conflict with the accounts of Scripture. The problem is not a
conflict between the Bible and science. The contrast is between poor
interpretations of scientific data and inadequate or incomplete interpretations of
the biblical record.

One should never worry about a conflict of accurate interpretations of scientific

data in Gods creation and the Bible because the truth never changes. Too often
people shave the truth in an effort to make it more palatable to the unbelieving
culture. Paul could have shaved the truth, but he did not. To a crowd of educated
philosophers with mixed religious backgrounds, Paul proclaimed God as the
Creator.

God is the Universal Lord

God cannot be confined in a shrine. He is not a deity of a limited region. He is the

God of the universe! . . . since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in
temples made with hands (Acts 17:24b). From where Paul was standing, the
Parthenon would have been at the top of the hill right behind him. He might
have turned and pointed at the Parthenon when he said, God does not dwell in
temples made with hands.

As stated before, Christianity is a confrontational faith. We claim that our God is

the only true God in the entire universe. There is no room for other deities in our
faith. And this means that we will be hated by a culture that praises syncretism
and tolerance. But that should not stop our proclamation of God as the universal
Lord of all.

God is the Bountiful Giver

Though He is the all-powerful Creator and Lord of the universe, the God we
serve has not deserted His creation. He is a wonderful God who supplies our
needs. And He does not need our supply for His needs. Nor is He served by
human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all
people life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25). You cannot contain Him and
you cannot really contribute anything to Him. All the pagan aspects of religious
sacrifice are for the good of the gods. But God does not need anything. God is
the giver of all good gifts. We serve Him out of love because He is worth itnot
because He needs it. We do not bring Him food so He can eat. We do not give
Him money because He is poor. We serve Him because He is a gracious God
who loved us first (1 John 4:19). James reminds us Every good thing given and
every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (James
1:17).

God is the Sovereign Sustainer

God is the Sustainer of alland not sustained by any. Look at what Paul says:
And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of
the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their
habitation (Acts 17:26). The one man in this passage is a reference to Adam.
Paul could have removed this detail from the creation story, but he does not. He
does not cut this detail because it is important to his argument.

The Greeks prided themselves in thinking they were superior to all non-Greeks
(calling them barbarians). But Paul affirmed a common origin in Adam, and thus
argued against any racial or sectarian pride. All of us are made in the image of
God as a part of the human race. We may have different ethnicities and different
backgrounds, but that does not change our identity in Christ. If the church does
not live out this truth, the culture never will. What would happen if when asked
our race on official forms we all said human!? We must model unity in Christ
within the church. When I was growing up, we sang, Red and yellow, black and
white, all are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.
The song is simple, and profoundly true. Jesus unites people of every race,
tongue, and tribe. He is the Sovereign Sustainer.

God is the Divine Designer

Paul argued for a common origin in Adam because he was preparing his audience
for his next argument: God is the Divine Designer. God is separate from His
creation but intimately concerned about it. He wants all people everywhere to
seek Him. That they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and
find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move
and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, For we also are His
children (Acts 17:2728).

Paul answered a question that was developing in their minds, Where is the true
God that I may know Him? Paul said, He is not far from you. And in fact, He is
not far from any one of us today. He is not like the Epicureans thought Him to
be: He is not far away from everything. And God is not like the Stoics thought
Him to be: He is not in the desk and in the floor. God is omnipresent. And if He is
omnipresent, He is not far from you right now. Therefore, He is approachable,
and He is believable.

God is the Eternal Father

God is the Eternal Father, the very living One who created us in His image.
Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is
like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man (Acts
17:29). With these words, Paul sought to eliminate idolatry of both hand and
heart. For, God is not made by the artistry or the careful handiwork of men.

God is the Gracious Redeemer

God is the Gracious Redeemer. He is not willing that any perish. He wants all to
come to repentance. How do we know that? We read in verse 30: Therefore
having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all
people everywhere should repent (Acts 17:30). But we cannot earn our
redemption. Our works apart from God are dead (Hebrews 6:1). As the writer to
Hebrews summarizes, repentance from dead works and faith toward God is the
only means of eternal life. It is a repentance from a wrongful trust in anything
else to rightfully trusting in Gods provision though Christ alone. This is the kind
of repentance Paul was talking about.

God is the Righteous Judge

Why is repentance so important? What happens if you do not repent? Pauls

message was urgent: Jesus has the delegated right to exercise judgment.
Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness
through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by
raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:31). Jesus is the resurrected redeemer, and
He is also the supreme judge (John 5:2627). These two facts separate
Christianity from Mormonism, Islam, and all the other religions and -isms of the
world. Thus, the main points of Pauls powerful proclamation are these:
 Time is limited.
God has been gracious.
Repentance is urgent.
Righteous judgment is certain.
Jesus is the judge.
The Resurrection is the crowning evidence.

To deny any of this for any personal or philosophical reason will be disastrous. F.
F. Bruce said it well in his book, The Defense of the Gospel in the New Testament:

He [Paul] must confront men with the truth about Godcreator, provider, Lord of
history, judge of alland his command to repent. He must confront them with
the truth about man, and his moral bankruptcy in the sight of God. And above all
he must confront them with Jesus Christ in his resurrection power, his authority
to execute judgment, and his redeeming love by which he delivers men and
women from their estrangement and rebellion, and creates them anew in the
knowledge of their creator. [6]

I repeat my challenge: We need a generation of Christians who have troubled

spirits and the willingness to engage a conflicted culture with the proclamation
of truth despite the range of responses they will see.

A Range of Responses

Look at the range of responses: Now when they heard of the resurrection of the
dead, some began to sneer, but others said, We shall hear you again concerning
this. So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed,
among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris
and others with them (Acts 17:3234). Some sneered, some waited, and some
followed. There are three lessons in these responses.

First, in the face of opposition we need to continue to be courageous.

Opponents of Christianity can sneer and laugh at the Resurrection, but Jesus
rose from the grave. And Jesus brought back other people from the deadHe
will bring you back from the dead. Just because someone refuses to believe the
truth does not make it untrue. We can stand courageous because Jesus has
overcome and death has lost its sting.

Second, when someone chooses to wait, we need to be patient. Barby, my wife,

ministered to her nail tech for many years. Barby had to be patient. She quietly
and gently gave witness to her faith in front of this lady. But, at the age of 70, her
nail tech came to faith. Now she is meeting with Barby for a Bible study and
attending our church. Her life has been transformed because God chose the
opportune moment in a conversation about the Book of Revelation for my wife
to point her in the right direction and faith was borne. Barby was willing to be
patient.

Third, we need to rejoice like God rejoices. All of heaven rejoices when one
sinner repents. After Paul gave his powerful proclamation, the crowd had a range
of responses. But some followed Paul and believed him. Dionysius was one who
followed and believed. Dionysius was known as one of the Mars Hill sitters. He
had been there so long, and had talked so much, and had probably argued so
often he was called an Areopagite. But that day was the day God chose to save
that Mars Hill squatter!

When Paul saw the idolatry of Athens, his spirit was provoked. But he did not
stop there. He was willing to engage a conflicted culture with a powerful
proclamation of the truth of Jesus and the Resurrection. Today, we need the
same thing. We need a generation of Christians who have troubled spirits and
the willingness to engage a conflicted culture with the proclamation of truth
despite the range of responses they will see.

[1]
All Scripture references are taken from the New American Standard Bible: 1995
Update.(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

[2]
Alister E. McGrath, Evangelical Apologetics, Bibliotheca Sacra 155, no. 617 (January-
March 1998), 34.

[3]
John R.W. Stott, The Message of Acts: The Spirit, the Church & the World (Downers
Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1990), 281.

[4]
Walter Truett Anderson, Reality Isnt What It Used to Be: Theatrical Politics, Ready-to-
Wear Religion, Global Myths, Primitive Chic, and Other Wonders of the Postmodern
World(San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990), 188.

[5]
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Cambridge Declaration,
http://www.alliancenet.org/cambridge-declaration.

[6]
F. F. Bruce, The Defense of the Gospel in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1977), 49.