Over the last several weeks we have slowly delineated our
mission statement—to KNOW CHRIST, GROW IN CHRIST, and SHOW CHRIST to others.
Now that we understand the essence of the mission at hand, the question becomes
“How do we do this?” As those who already KNOW Christ and are seeking to GROW in Him, I want
to spend some attention the next couple of weeks discussing how we can SHOW
Christ more effectively. Talking/preaching about showing Christ is one thing,
but when it comes to actually doing it, people often find themselves either
ignorant, ill-equipped, hesitant, and/or unwilling. These next few weeks will
help us overcome these hurdles so that we might finish the mission that God has
given us to accomplish. The first element that we must keep in mind when it
comes to showing Christ can be summarized in one word—IDENTIFY. Knowing what to
identify and why is provided for us by Paul in his comments at Mars Hill in
Acts 17:26-27.
I. OUR SHARED
HUMANITY-17:26a-c
In this passage Paul finds himself in Athens—a major
metropolis of his day filled with all kinds of people from all walks of life.
The Bible communicates that as Paul walked around the city “his spirit was
being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.” In this
context, as was typical in any city that Paul visited, the apostle would first
teach in the synagogue, hoping to enlighten the Jews concerning the revelation
of Jesus Christ. Thereafter, Paul would branch out and engage the gentiles on
their turf—anywhere they were assembled and would listen. Interestingly, Paul
finds a receptive crowd as, according to verse 21 “all the Athenians and the
strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling
or hearing something new.” Knowing how eager the people of Athens were to buy
into any and every new philosophical/spiritual trend, Paul begins a diatribe in
verse 22 that seeks to point these fickle idol-worshippers to the one true God.
To be sure, Athens is similar to contemporary America.
Everywhere you look there is an idol—money, fame, power, fortune, family,
etc.—and these endorsed in a variety of ways—agendas, bank statements,
time/energy spent, social media, etc. Not only that, but as in Athens, many in
our culture are all about what is new, trending, and edgy. People love to
experiment with new things and endorse new ideas. Though these tendencies that
Athens and America share give reason for concern, they also provide a window of
opportunity. As we walk about the milieu
of our day and age, pervasive idolatry ought to “provoke something within
us”—an urgency to show Christ to this distracted and misinformed world. After
all, many are listening and, in fact, seeking after something meaningful,
life-giving, and real. Capitalizing on this in his context is what Paul was
decided to do in his speech in Acts 17.
His speech begins with “’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. The God who made the world
and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not
dwell in temples made with hands; not is He served by human hands, as though He
needed anything, since He himself gives to all people life and breath and all
things,…’” (17:22ff)
This is one example of Paul seeking to Show Christ by making
the most of an opportunity that has befallen him. He is in a highly religious
context (people already concede the supernatural) and many around him are eager
to entertain new ideas. After recognizing the opportunity, Paul speaks in a way
that both makes sense and establishes a meaningful point of contact. They have
an altar to an unknown God and Paul wants to fill in this gap for them with
Jesus Christ. Thereafter, Paul begins explaining how his God is superior to all
of these idols. If you want to know how to SHOW CHRIST, take a cue from this
example.
The first thing Paul enumerates for those listening is that
his God—the one true God—is a creator God and as such is in need of nothing.
Paul also reveals that this great God created mankind. It is in these comments
that we arrive at our passage—Acts 17:26-27—“and he made from one man every
kind of nation.” This is a direct affirmation of the first historical man.
Through Adam, God established the entire human race. This is important as it
establishes another point of contact between Paul and his audience.
Both Paul and his audience were not only spiritual, they
were also human. One has to remember that Paul is speaking as a Jewish
foreigner in a largely Gentile metropolis. This was no small thing inasmuch as
the Athenians prided themselves in being a superior people, calling others
barbarians. In saying that “every nation of mankind” finds it source in the
same person, Paul suggests that there is not much different between him and
those assembled around him. In spite of cultural, geographic, and other
differences, all are humans after the likes of Adam and created by God. Paul
identifies first and foremost the humanity of those that he sought to engage.
They, like him, were created by God and related to the first man—Adam.
Unfortunately, this realization is needed in our world today
as many groups—alt right, alt left, BLM, KKK, etc.—attempt to make a case for
their own superiority. In the cultural cornucopia that is America today, the
church, as Paul demonstrates here, must first identify the shared humanity of
all people. Then, and only then, will she be prepared to show Christ in
compelling ways.
Also, by tracing the relationship humans share to Adam, Paul
is indirectly conceding that all, including him, are limited, fallen, and needy
creatures. Adam was not the greatest father figure. He failed to obey the Lord
and as such, all are fallen and in desperate need for salvation. In this way
the reference to Adam identify mankind’s shared need. We are all human, we all
have a problem.
After revealing their shared humanity (and indirectly
identifying their shared need and fallen state), Paul also observes that people
are everywhere—“to live on all the face of the earth” (17:26c). The first thing
that Paul identifies before the people at Mars Hill is their shared humanity—we
are all human, we are all in trouble, and we are all over the place. Such
claims are as simple as they are profound and foundational for the church as we
seek to identify those who need the salvation that only Jesus can provide.
II. OUR DIVERSE
CONTEXTS-17:26d-e
The next thing that Paul identifies is that we all occupy
various contexts—both in time and in space. Speaking of time, Paul says “having
determined their appointed times” (17:26d). According to Paul, God has not only
created the universe and the people therein, He has placed every person in
their historical localization. In other words, God’s sovereignty has designated
every person to his own time. This not only serves as a point of fact, but a
recognition of temporal diversity. If people live in a particular time period,
might they need to be engaged in light of that particular sitz em leben? YES! Identifying the nature of the times is
important. It was for Paul and it is for us in order to SHOW Christ well.
Paul’s day saw the reign of the Roman Empire. Jews and
Christians were understood as fringe groups by many and in many cases were
persecuted. Caesar was the authority that everyone believed held absolute power
and polytheism was rampant. In order for Paul to SHOW CHRIST well in his
context, he had to become first a student of his day and age and learn these
things about the time in which he was born.
The same is true for us! Any cursory study of our culture today would betray the fact that Christianity is falling out of favor with the majority of the world and America in particular. Gone are the days in which Christianity possess a moderating role in the public discussion or consciousness. The faith community no longer carries much moral authority. Instead, our world is characterized by pervasive skeptical. Absolute truth has been traded for relativism and words no longer mean what they once did –(marriage, boy/girl, life, to name a few). Nearly 50% of people are raised in broken homes, God has become a curse word, and the loudest screamer has usurped the steady voice of reason and consistency. Our world is also an angry place of rampant division and acute unrest. These are the hallmarks of our day. It is, in some ways, a unique time to be alive and in order for us to be effective in showing Christ to others in this day and age, we have to know our day and age. The way one shared Christ 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 1000 years ago is not going to cut it in 2017.
However, there is another characteristic of the context that
Paul identifies—place—“having determined their appointed times and the
boundaries of their habitation” (17:26e). God has not only appointed people to
particular times, he has given them appointed spaces to occupy. Paul found
himself in all kinds of places—Jerusalem to Rome, comfortable dwellings and
prison dungeons. In each of these contexts Paul SHOWED CHRIST to all kinds of
people from all kinds of places. However, this he did only after he was
sensitive to his whereabouts—his spatial context. I imagine Paul did not share
Christ with people in Rome the same way he did in Jerusalem, nor did he witness
to prison guards in the same way he did the priests in Jewish synagogues.
Have you ever stopped to consider that the people who live
in South Roanoke have been placed there by God? What is unique about this
context? What do we need to keep in mind about southern Virginia? Why do people
live here? Where do they work? Where do they go to recreate? Where are people
hanging out? In order to show Christ well, the church, like Paul must become a
student of culture—paying close attention to the time and place. Then and only
then will we be able to adequately engage that culture with the news of Jesus
Christ.
III. OUR GRAND
OPPORTUNITY-17:27a-b
The next thing that Paul identifies is the grand opportunity
that makes the prep work (identifying our shared humanity and our unique
contexts) worth it. All have an opportunity to seek God—“that they would seek
God, if perhaps they might grope for Him” (17:27a).
Psalm 14:2-“The LORD looked down from heaven upon the
sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”
Though many do not make the most of their opportunity to
seek the Lord, all human beings possess a void/need within them that only the Lord
satisfies. Many pursue satisfaction for this need in self-indulgence,
re-inventing themselves, substances, relationships, etc. This was true in
Paul’s day and it remains true today. However, Paul identified and we must
identify that people everywhere have an opportunity to seek the real answer to
their problems.
What makes the opportunity of seeking God so great is that
anytime people do seek Him earnestly, they also have the opportunity to find
Him—“that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find
Him” (17:27a-b). The verbs used in this verse (particularly “grope” and “find”)
express this possibility of finding God. As it pertains to Paul immediate
audience, he is describing the Greeks as humans seeking God in their own imperfect
way (philosophizing, idol-worship, entertaining new ideas). It was Paul’s hope
that those who seek God and the answers to their many unresolved questions
would eventually find Him.
Matthew 7:7-8- "Ask, and it will be given to
you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened.”
What would it look like if the church identified what Paul
identifies here—that people who seek the Lord in earnest will find him? How
might that change/inform the way that we show Christ to others? The church must
identify the fact that all have an opportunity to seek the Lord and many will,
in fact, find Him when they do.
IV. OUR CLOSE
PROXIMITY TO GOD-17:27c-“…though He is not far from each one of us;…”
What makes seeking the Lord and the possibility of finding
him even more exciting is our close proximity to God. Paul makes this final
observation/identification in the last part of verse 27 when he says, “though
He is not far from each one of us.” The Psalms are replete with comments
concerning the immanence/nearness of God.
Psalm 34:18-“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit”
Psalm 119:151-“You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments
are truth”
Psalm 145:18-“The Lord is near to all who call upon
Him, to all who call upon Him in truth”
The nearness of God toward those in need and those who seek
him is confirmed also in James 4:8.
James 4:8-“Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you,…”
Paul identifies God’s close proximity to those who are
seeking Him. How exciting! The immanence of God no doubt galvanized Paul to
show Christ to anyone and everyone around him and it ought to propel us to
action also as we seek to accomplish our mission.
So What?
In this passage Paul identifies four important things that
he kept in mind as he sought to Show Christ well wherever he went. He
recognized everyone’s shared humanity (we are all human, all fallen, and all
over the place), he paid attention to various contexts (time and places where
people lived), acknowledged everyone’s grand opportunity (to seek God), and
remembered God’s close proximity. All of these observations helped inform the
way Paul showed Christ to the Athenians on Mars Hill and anyone else that he
came into contact with. The church must also identify these important things if
she is to SHOW Christ well in this world. We must remember that all are made in
the image of God, fallen, and in need of Jesus. We must pay attention to our
own unique context (the day and age in which we live and where we have chosen
to set up camp). We also need to remember that everyone has an opportunity to
seek the Lord and that the Lord is nearer than He may appear.
This week the challenge is simple. As you seek to SHOW
CHRIST well, ask and answer the following questions:
Who do I know that needs the Lord today?
What kind of world (both generally and specifically) does
this person occupy?
What opportunities has God given me to show this person the
one worth seeking?
What do I plan to do to help them take one step closer to
embracing Jesus?
IDENTIFYING people who need the Lord and understanding the
world they live in is the first step in SHOWING CHRIST well.
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