Sharing Christ with Those Who Have Never Heard

Paul arrives in Athens by himself after trouble drives him out of Berea. Paul’s spirit is provoked because Athens is full of idols, and that idolatry burns in his gut like sour wine. Paul does not wait around for Silas and Timothy before doing what God sent him there to do. Paul knows that God has put him in Athens to tell people about Jesus, and that raises the question of whether Christians see themselves as the Lord’s representatives where they already are.

The Athenians bring Paul to the Areopagus because they like new ideas, debate, and entertainment. The contrast between Berea and Athens shows two very different kinds of open-mindedness. The Bereans are open to God’s Word and willing to be held accountable by it. The Athenians are open to novelty, so Paul begins where they are rather than talking down to them.

Paul calls the Athenians very religious, not because their idols are true, but because they are clearly conscious of the gods they worship. Paul finds common ground by pointing to their altar “to the unknown God” and tells them that he can give them information about the God they do not know. Paul makes it easier for them to hear him. Paul does not come at them with anger, insults, or a lecture from above, because Paul knows that he too is a sinner saved by grace.

The image of two sinners hanging over a vat of acid makes the point plain. Sin does not need many broken links to bring judgment. One broken link is enough. Paul is angry at the darkness, Satan’s deception, and the slavery of idolatry, not at sinners who have never been shown the light of Christ.

Paul then gives them the medicine after the spoonful of sugar. God made the world and everything in it. God does not live in temples made by human hands, does not need anything from human beings, and gives life, breath, and everything. God determines where people live and when they live so that they might seek Him, though He is not far from any of them.

Paul finally tells the whole gospel. Idols made of gold, silver, and stone cannot be God, because God made mankind rather than mankind making God. God once overlooked ignorance, but now commands all people everywhere to repent. Christ will judge the world in righteousness, and God proved Christ’s authority by raising Him from the dead. Some mock, some put Paul off, and a few believe. Paul’s faithful witness cannot control the result, because the results belong to God and to the hearers’ hearts.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Idolatry should burn in the gut. Paul’s spirit is provoked not because Athens offends his personal tastes, but because people are trapped in darkness and do not know Christ. Holy grief over idolatry is different from being annoyed at sinners. Love for people and hatred for what enslaves them belong together. [24:13]
• 2. God places His representatives deliberately. Paul does not treat Athens as an interruption while he waits for help. God has placed him there, alone, for a reason. The call to represent Christ is often found in the actual place, work, family, and situation God has already given. [18:16]
• 3. Grace removes every superior attitude. The vat of acid leaves no room for moral boasting. The person with one broken link and the person with many broken links both fall because of sin. Christians share faith as rescued sinners, not as people handing out awards to those beneath them. [26:35]
• 4. Common ground makes truth easier to hear. Paul notices the Athenians’ altar to an unknown god and starts there. Common ground is not compromise or phoniness. Kindness looks for a way to lessen the distance so that the truth of Christ can be plainly heard. [37:02]
• 5. The whole gospel includes repentance and judgment. Paul speaks about God’s nearness and human dependence, but he does not leave out idols, repentance, judgment, or Christ’s resurrection. The gospel is not all warm and fuzzy, yet it is still God’s remedy for people who need saving. [42:36]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [14:15] - Paul Arrives Alone in Athens
• [15:43] - A City Full of Idols
• [17:34] - Sent by God Where You Are
• [21:05] - The Areopagus and Athenian Curiosity
• [23:28] - Starting From Scratch With Unbelievers
• [25:04] - Anger at Darkness, Not Sinners
• [30:20] - Paul Begins With Common Ground
• [37:02] - The Unknown God
• [38:26] - God Made and Sustains Everything
• [39:34] - God Is Not Far From Anyone
• [42:12] - Repentance, Judgment, and Resurrection
• [44:12] - Mockers, Delayers, and Believers
• [47:20] - Four Principles for Sharing Faith
• [49:23] - Prayer for Obedient Hearts

Bible Reading

Acts 17:16-34
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, 'What does this babbler wish to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities'—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.' Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: "To the unknown god." What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being';" as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'" Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he 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.' Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, 'We will hear you again about this.' So Paul went out from 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.” [11:07]

Acts 17:10-12
“The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.” [14:25]

John 8:12
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” [26:03]

Observation questions

1. What does Paul see in Athens that provokes his spirit, and what does he do while he is waiting alone for Silas and Timothy? [15:43]
2. What differences does Acts 17 describe between the Bereans’ openness and the Athenians’ openness? [21:53]
3. What does Paul notice among the Athenians’ objects of worship, and how does he use it to begin speaking with them? [37:02]
4. What truths about God does Paul present before he calls the Athenians to repent, and how do the people respond at the end? [38:26]

Interpretation questions

1. Why is Paul’s grief over idolatry different from simply being annoyed or offended by the Athenians’ beliefs and behavior? [28:37]
2. Paul calls the Athenians “very religious” while still showing that their idols are false. How does this help him speak truthfully without insulting or talking down to them? [30:20]
3. Why does it matter that Paul begins with God as Creator and Sustainer before confronting idolatry, repentance, judgment, and the resurrection? [39:01]
4. What does the mixture of mockers, those who delay, and those who believe show about a Christian’s responsibility for sharing the gospel and God’s control over the results? [45:02]

Application questions

1. Where has God placed you right now—at home, work, school, in your neighborhood, or among friends—and how might you see yourself as Christ’s representative there rather than treating that place as an interruption? [18:38]
2. What kinds of idolatry do you see around you, such as living for money, approval, comfort, success, politics, or self? Does it move you toward anger at people, or toward grief and love for people who are trapped by it? [24:25]
3. When you think about someone whose sin or beliefs strongly bother you, what would it look like to remember that you also are a sinner saved by grace? [26:35]
4. Is there a particular unbeliever with whom you could look for genuine common ground—a shared interest, burden, experience, or concern—in order to make a conversation about Christ easier to hear? [34:00]
5. Which part of the gospel do you find hardest to speak about: human sin, repentance, judgment, Christ’s resurrection, or dependence on God? What fears or assumptions make that part difficult? [48:43]
6. Have you ever felt discouraged because someone mocked, ignored, or delayed responding to the gospel? How can Paul’s experience help you be faithful and loving without trying to control another person’s response? [45:44]