Acts 17:16-34(i)

1. Setting the Scene
For those who want to share the gospel, which ought to mean every Christian in one way or another, we live in strange times. A while back, it could be assumed that ours was a nominally Christian society but that's no longer the case.

There are still some who go to church and who might think of themselves as 'religious' people but the rest of the picture is much more confused. Today, religion is out and spirituality is in. Precisely what that means is another question but a lot of people have some kind of yearning for it.

Whether they're into spirituality or a card-carrying atheist, all people have a way of looking at the world, all people have a 'big story' to tell about life and its meaning (or lack of it). And in this day of multiple ways of looking at the world, we're told that none are wrong and all are right, if they're right for you.

This situation poses great challenges to us as we seek to share the gospel. We're probably all more comfortable trying to speak to someone who perhaps went to Sunday School and has at least some background. But all the time there are less and less people with that kind of heritage. The recent census may have shown that 71% of people in the UK call themselves Christian but the reality is that most of those haven't a clue as to what it means.

In our country, not only has the tide turned but it is running out at an alarming rate. We face a situation in which there is massive biblical illiteracy and an aggressive commitment to a pluralism that won't allow for genuine debate over truth.

Facing such a situation, this passage is a great help to us, not least because the situation Paul faced was remarkably similar. In the synagogues he encountered religious folk and in the market place and in the Areopagus were others who held widely divergent views on life. Athens was a place where you could find most flavours of first-century spirituality.

In particular, Paul encounters two groups of thinkers, the Stoics and the Epicureans. The Stoics refused to be ruled by their passions because the gods were not and they espoused a godlike principle of reason. The Epicureans on the other hand thought the gods so far removed from us that it doesn't matter what they're like. They dwell in the spaces between the atoms in a state of calmness and that's what we should be looking for too.

But although the Stoics and the Epicureans had quite different ways of seeing reality, the one thing you couldn't do was to say 'This way is right and this way is wrong'. Which just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun!

Paul had to deal with people who had some background in the scriptures, just as some folk today have some degree of Christian heritage we can connect with. But he also found people who were biblically illiterate, with no background in the Bible and with their own ways of telling the story of what life is all about.

Our situation is not new; the challenges we face have been faced before. There is much we can learn from this highly important account of Paul's visit to Athens.

The one significant difference is we face a certain boredom with Christianity, the sense of having 'been there, done that'. That brings additional challenges in terms of showing the abiding relevance of the good news about Jesus. There is a degree of apathy that needs to be overcome that wasn't present in Athens.

2. Reacting to Idolatry
This passage shows us how he handled those different needs, focussing in particular on those who were biblically illiterate. Before we look at the details of that, we need to notice how he responded when he got to Athens.

He begins by taking a tour around this famous old city, which by now was way past its heyday but still with a big reputation. Was he just playing the part of a tourist until his friends arrived? It seems not. His tour is more like Nehemiah going around Jerusalem to inspect the damage to the walls. Paul is taking in the kind of situation that he faces. He is using his eyes and ears to get a feel for the situation.

And on his tour, he noticed that the city was full of idols and seeing them "he was greatly distressed". He could have easily been impressed by the architecture or intimidated by the city's reputation but he is neither. He is deeply and profoundly upset by what he sees. Why? Because he has such passion for God's glory and compassion for the people who are living in such darkness.

His reaction is a challenge for us. How do we react to what we see? Are we impressed by man's achievements or intimidated by PhDs? Are we blind when it comes to today's expressions of idolatry and arrogance? Do we see all culture as being somehow neutral and without much spiritual significance?

In his speech to the Areopagus, Paul lays bare the desperately sinful nature of idolatry; it is that understanding which fuels his passionate response to what he sees. We perhaps need to recapture something of that same understanding.

3. Engaging Others
What does Paul do about what he sees? He engages both with those who have some heritage and those with none.

In the synagogue he takes the opportunity to convey the message that Messiah has come and he is Jesus. But in a sense that was the easy option. They were a fairly captive audience, with a biblical background, who were meant to be waiting for the Messiah. What about the rest of the city?

Paul engages them through direct encounter: "in the market place day by day with those who happened to be there". And that led him into direct contact with some Stoics and Epicureans, followed by an opportunity to speak before the Areopagus.

He didn't wait for them to come to him. He went to where they were and engaged them directly with the gospel. That is an extremely important lesson for us and one that needs to be carefully worked out. It has the most serious ramifications for those who have been set apart to the work of evangelism and teaching God's Word but it doesn't stop there. As a church and as individuals we need to ask serious questions about how we reach those who haven't heard the gospel.

It is not enough to wait for them to come to us; we need to create (rather than contrive) gospel opportunities. For many of us, those opportunities abound in terms of our daily contact with people at work or in the neighbourhood. But if the opportunities are there, they need to be taken. We need to be looking out for some way in, praying for some opening that will provide a natural way of introducing the gospel.

But when we get that chance, what are we to say? How do we approach the complex and confusing situation where anything goes and just about anything is believed? Paul's speech has much to teach us on that score and we'll look in detail at it next time. Let me close today by asking you to take time this week to pray about how you might both encounter and engage unbelievers with the gospel. And to ask God to give you the wisdom and the courage to take those opportunities.