Acts 17:16-31 Each Lord’s Day we confess our faith: that we believe in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In confessing that faith, we are not ignorant of the fact that the vast majority of people in the world do not share our confession and faith. We know that there are countless other things and idols and false gods that are worshiped in this world as God.
But the Bible says: Our God is in the heavens…their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. Jesus says: You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. God says of himself: I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to graven images. In summary, the psalmist says: all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols.
Those who do not worship the one true God are idolaters and enemies of God and future inhabitants of hell unless they obey God’s command to repent and come to faith.
Such is the world in which we live, including here in the United States. And so then, what should our response be to this religiously pluralistic culture where God in his wisdom has placed us?
Would God have us enter the walls of a monastery so that we are never confronted by someone of a different faith? Would he have us be content to believe in Jesus while the rest of the world remains lost in unbelief? Confessing the faith, surrounded by countless others who do not—how then should we live?
We kid ourselves if we believe that life as a Christian in a religiously pluralistic world is something new. It’s not! Christians have always faced these challenges and what we see in our text today is that Easter Christians—people who have been changed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—we are expected to be engaged with the world, contending for the faith, bearing witness to the true God. The Bible says that when Paul was in Athens “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.”
That word “provoked” means that he was outraged, indignant, appalled when he saw what people worshiped. Their idolatry was robbing God of the worship and praise and thanksgiving that belonged to him- and they themselves were on the way to hell- and when he saw it he was stunned and shocked and had to speak out. He could not remain silent!
How different is Paul’s attitude than so many in the church today. We have been content to “live and let live”, to say: “well, you believe what you believe and I believe what I believe and we will just leave it at that”. We are content with that approach to religious pluralism because it is comfortable and safe and, truth be told, cowardly.
But the Bible says that we are to “tell of the Lord’s salvation from day to day and declare his glory among the nations, and proclaim his marvelous works among the people.” Easter Christians are not permitted to remain silent while God is being robbed of what belongs to him. We are not permitted to “get along” with a godless culture while all around us people are “going along” to hell. We must engage the world and speak out like Paul and tell the truth about God.
The Bible says that Paul “reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews” and “conversed with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” all the while he was “was preaching Jesus and the resurrection”.
Here in Paul is a picture of the Easter Christian who has been changed forever by Jesus’ death and resurrection—a Christian actively engaged with the world around him—even those who do not share his faith—unapologetically, unashamedly telling the Good News about Jesus and especially his resurrection.
His bold witness to Jesus is important for us to remember. There are all kinds of issues that get our attention today as Christians. Marriage and sexuality and abortion are all hot button issues and we are called to speak to these issues as Christians—boldly saying, “Thus saith the Lord!” But we make a terrible mistake if we stop there and never get around to Jesus.
That Jesus was crucified for our sins and for the sins of the world—that he was raised from the dead to give life to the world—that he has ascended to be our advocate--this is the message that actually has the power—not just to change someone’s mind about a “hot button” issue—but to change them forever from an enemy of God to his child.
This is difficult to do. It takes more courage than we have had in the past. We WILL face opposition. But as we engage the world for Jesus there will be some people who are willing to give us a hearing. The bible says that the pagan philosophers said to Paul,
“May we know what this new teaching is…for you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
They were right! The message of Jesus is strange! It is a message that the world does not know and cannot know by their reason. They cannot think their way into it. It has to be preached and taught and shared by those who already believe in Jesus.
The Jews knew all about keeping the law and making their sacrifices but nothing of a holiness that they could not reach and nothing of a perfect, once-for-all sacrifice made for them. The pagan philosophers knew all about the power of their intellect and the great questions of the day. A billion people in our world today know all about submission to Allah. Millions know the ethical requirements of Buddhism and the thousands of gods of Hinduism. Even more have fixed their hopes on science and technology while even more live as servants to their flesh.
But none of them, by nature, knows anything about God’s love for them in Jesus Christ- and the sacrifice he made for them- and the life they can have with God simply by his grace. It is strange to their ears no less than it was to the ears of the philosophers of Paul’s day and yet it is so compelling that there will be those who are willing to give us an audience if only we will engage the world around us and give reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ with charity and clarity. Paul told the Athenians: I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
What I want you to see as we discuss these next two sections of our text is that when we as Easter Christian engage the world and bear witness to Jesus Christ, we are called to do that with charity (that means with love) and with clarity (that we plainly, simply tell the truth).
Please note that when Paul came upon this altar to an unknown god (even though he was appalled at the idolatry) he did not tear it down. Please note that when he was confronted by the people’s complete lack of knowledge about anything that actually mattered eternally he did not say “you ignorant fools!”
Paul loved them and what’s more he knew that God loved them and Jesus gave his life for them and so he had an obligation to engage them in a way that would bring them closer to the true God, not drive them away.
As Easter Christians, called to engage the world for Jesus, we must love those who are caught up in lies- and set aside our righteous indignation -and start with where the people around us ar-e and try to find a way to connect with them. That’s what Paul did. He said: I perceive you are religious in every way.
And they were! They had hundreds of gods and thousands of temples and altars and countless cultic practices and rites of worship. They were very religious and so is every man by nature in our world today. How can they not be! Man was created by God to know and worship him and the world around us and our consciences testify to his presence.
Far from looking upon the world around us with contempt and scorn at the idolatry and false worship—it ought to grieve us in our hearts for the sake of the lost because WHO they were made for and WHAT they were redeemed for is unknown to them.
We can and must meet people around us where they are and recognize in them a common humanity like our own and love them as God loves them. But that love must also lead us to tell them the truth about God with clarity. Paul said: What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. This must be the confidence of every Easter Christian: “I know the truth about what matters eternally and I will gladly tell it to you!” So said Paul!
And from there Paul went on to tell them the truth about God—that there is one God who created the world and all that exists including man—that God continues to upheld and care for the world and all within in it—that far from being a disinterested observer, looking down on the world from above, but not really caring about it—the One true God made us and cares for us and directs our life so that we could know him and have a life with him.
There had been a time when Paul was just like the Athenians, just like the Jews, a time when he lived in unbelief—a time when his ignorance caused him to believe that his persecution of Christ and his people was actually a service to God. Paul knew about ignorant unbelief!
But that day was over for him. The crucified and risen Christ met him on the Road to Damascus and changed him forever and now he had a responsibility to those around him to tell them the truth and he did that with charity and clarity.
So it is and must be for us! There was a time when we too lived in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief. There was a time when were blind and deaf to the voice of God and his love for us—a time when we had to be called from death to life.
Our salvation is no less the work of that same crucified and risen Christ as was Paul’s and no less than Paul we are called to engage the world around us for Jesus and lovingly and faithfully bear witness to the truth about God and the Good News of Jesus before this day of grace comes to an end. That was the message of Paul who said that God:
commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
When it comes to engaging the world around us for the sake of the Gospel there are two days that matter. This first is this day: a day of God’s grace when we can take an interest in those around us and bear witness to them about the one thing that truly matters and that is God’s love for them in Jesus Christ. There may be other days like this one—but this is the one we have to tell the truth about who God is God and his salvation in Jesus.
The other day that matters is the Last Day—a day that God has already appointed for the judgment of the world by his Son—a day when the opportunity to come to God and be saved by Jesus will be over. Between this day and that day God commands everyone, everywhere to repent of their sins and believe in the Gospel and that command and invitation is issued by us.
As Easter Christians we are to engage the world because Jesus loves the world and wants all people to come to him and be saved. We are not permitted to remain a holy huddle, glad for our salvation, while those around us are lost. Instead, we are called by God to speak the truth with charity and clarity. Amen.
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