Paul’s Apologetic
Who’s ever heard of a Master Class? It’s when a class is made available from one of the greats in the field or on that topic. What we’re going to see today is a Master Class in Apologetics from the Apostle Paul.
Our hearts must be stirred by the lostness around us. (16)
In Acts 17:16, we find Paul in Athens, a city renowned for its intellectual and philosophical pursuits. As he made his way through the streets of this important city, Paul's reaction wasn’t one of admiration for its architectural marvels or cultural richness, which it could have been. Athens wasn’t just another location; even though it wasn’t in its heyday, it was an intellectual hub where philosophical debates and religious pluralism were commonplace. The city was renowned for great thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Yet, amidst this intellectual abundance, idolatry was just as abundant.
“Full of idols is no exaggeration. Paul would begin seeing idols immediately; sanctuaries lay in the ports, the top of Athena’s statue on the Acropolis was visible even from the main harbor, and sacred memorials lined the roads to Athens. As soon as one entered Athens one would encounter idols and temples of Demeter, Poseidon, and soon Dionysus, Athena, Zeus, and Apollo.”[1]
The streets were lined with temples and altars dedicated to various gods, reflecting both the spiritual hunger and the confusion of those lived there. Verse 16 shows us that Paul was deeply provoked by the overwhelming idolatry that filled the city.
How does the lostness around you make you feel? Do you fit right in? Or does it overwhelm you? You will never be compelled to go with the gospel if your heart’s not burdened for the lost. Did you know that there are, out of our around 8 billion people in the world, 3.4 billion who are considered unreached?[2] That means they have little or no access to the gospel. And it’s not just around the world, but I heard someone say the other day that just here in Portland around 80% of the population is unchurched. Paul’s heart is burdened by the lostness he sees, and it causes him to act.
How Paul responds show us an important aspect of effective apologetics and evangelism: Understand the cultural context in which you seek to share the Gospel. Paul recognized that behind the veneer of intellectualism was a profound spiritual emptiness—an emptiness that could only be filled by the Truth of the Gospel.
Today, this is as relevant as ever. Like Paul, we are called to engage with a society marked by all kinds of different beliefs and worldviews. We should labor to understand the cultural context in which we find ourselves. When we recognize the underlying spiritual needs and questions of our culture, we can effectively address them with the Truth of the Gospel.
Everybody has a worldview. A worldview is the way we see the world, and really the way we answer the most foundational questions of life. In his book The Universe Next Door, James Sire describes these as 8 questions every worldview has an answer for.
1. What is prime reality—the really real?
2. What is the nature of external reality (that is, the world around us)?
3. What is a human being?
4. What happens to a person at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
7. What is the meaning of human history?
8. What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview?[3]
In their book I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, Norm Geisler and Frank Turek say there are five most consequential questions in life:
1. Origin: Where did we come from?
2. Identity: Who are we?
3. Meaning: Why are we here?
4. Morality: How should we live?
5. Destiny: Where are we going?[4]
Everybody has an answer to these questions, and that is their worldview. And someone’s whole worldview may be based on something that isn’t even true…a faulty foundation that makes every other belief unstable.
It was A.W. Tozer who said,
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”[5]
This is what Paul saw at Athens. And he met them where they were.
Meet people where they are. (17-21)
In verses 17-21, we see that in the synagogue, Paul engaged with those who shared a common religious background, like we saw last week. So for them, he used the Scriptures to reason and prove that Jesus was the Messiah and rose from the dead.
Transitioning to the marketplace, Paul encountered a completely different audience—the philosophical and intellectual elite of Athens. With them, he had a different approach, engaging in dialogue and debate with the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, addressing philosophical questions.
“Epicureans were influential only in the educated upper classes, and their views about God were similar to deism (he was uninvolved in the universe and irrelevant); if there were gods, they were only those known through sense knowledge, like stars or planets. Life’s goal was pleasure, which they defined as the lack of physical pain and emotional disturbance. Stoics were more popular, opposed pleasure, and criticized the Epicureans.”[6]
They accused Paul of being a “babbler.”
“’Babbler’ translates a Greek expression applied originally to birds pecking up grain but which came to apply to common chatterers in the marketplace or those who simply gathered and spread scraps of others’ opinions. But in the same verse Luke lets these critics demonstrate their own ignorance: they think Paul is preaching gods (plural), because he preaches Jesus and resurrection—“Resurrection” (Anastasis) was also a woman’s name.”[7]
So, Paul sought to meet people where they were, even if they misunderstood him.
Identify common ground with those you witness to. (22-23)
Standing before the Athenian philosophers and thinkers, Paul begins by acknowledging their religiosity and spiritual search, establishing a point of connection that opens the door for them to even listen to what he has to say. In engaging with skeptics, seekers, or people of other faiths, it’s helpful to identify points of common ground that provide a foundation for your conversation.
By referencing the altar dedicated to an "unknown god," (23) Paul recognizes and makes known their sincere but misguided pursuit of the True God.
“The word translated “unknown” is the root from which we get agnosticism, which means “without knowledge.” The Athenians were supposed to know everything, and they did, almost. But on the most important truth they came up short—they did not know God.”[8]
I quoted Tozer earlier when he said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Did you know C.S. Lewis disagreed? C.S. Lewis is one of the greatest apologists of all time. Was he missing something? No. He would agree that what we think about God is important, but he redirects our thoughts towards the Gospel, showing something else is of “most” importance.
“I read in a periodical the other day that the fundamental thing is how we think of God.
By God Himself, it is not! How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important. Indeed, how we think of Him is of no importance except in so far as it is related to how He thinks of us.
It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected. The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God . . . to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness . . . to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.”[9]
Paul is telling the people, “I see you think about God,” but what matters is what God thinks about you.
Redirect people toward the Truth. Rather than dismissing or condemning the Athenians' religious practices outright, Paul leverages their existing beliefs as a springboard for introducing them to the Gospel. “Having established the bridge, Paul now began giving the Athenians doses of spiritual truth—first about God and then about themselves.”[10]
Proclaim the Truth of the Gospel. (24-29)
Paul begins by affirming God as the Creator of all, challenging the philosophical views of his audience (24). By asserting God's sovereignty over creation, Paul confronts the notion of a distant or indifferent god, like the gods they believed in, presenting instead a God who is intimately involved in the affairs of His creation. “The Stoics were pantheists and the Epicureans practical atheists. Paul’s declaration denied the premise of both groups.”[11] This not only challenges the Athenian worldview but also lays the foundation for understanding humanity's relationship with God.
Furthermore, Paul's reference to God as the Sustainer of life speaks directly to the philosophical debates of his time. In contrast to the Stoic belief in a passive, impersonal fate, Paul presents a God who actively sustains and upholds the universe (25). Paul also addresses the universal human longing for meaning and purpose, by affirming that you and I are created by and for God (26).
Also, Paul quotes their own poets to affirm humanity's connection to God (28). By appealing to the shared culture of his audience, Paul establishes a point of contact that helps them understand the Truth of the Gospel that he is proclaiming.
Sometimes we need our own barriers to belief knocked down before we will believe the Truth of the gospel.
Every person must respond to the Gospel. (30-34)
In verses 30-31, Paul concludes his address at the Areopagus with a call for response (30). “He commands all people everywhere to repent.” And this response is anchored in the historical reality of Jesus' resurrection—which all apologetics and evangelism must ultimately end at. Every person must either deny or place their faith in Jesus who died and rose from the dead.
Paul's call to repentance begins with an acknowledgment of human ignorance and spiritual blindness. He confronts the Athenians with the reality of their rebellion against God, urging them to turn from their idolatry and embrace the truth of the Gospel.
Central to Paul's appeal is the historical fact of Jesus' resurrection. That’s always the core of his proclamation. He defends who Jesus is and what He did. He is God in the flesh, the long-promised Messiah, died on the cross for your sins, and really rose from the dead. And all who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved (Rom 10:9).
Paul's call to repentance is also grounded in the certainty of divine judgment. He reminds them that God has appointed a day of judgment when all people will be held accountable for their actions.
And some people believed.
[1] Craig S. Keener, Acts, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 428.
[3] James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door, 6th ed. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020), 8-9.
[4] Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 20.
[5] A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1978), 1.
[6] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 376.
[7] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 376.
[8] R. Kent Hughes, Acts, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1996), 233.
[9] C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory” (1941)
[10] Hughes, 233.
[11] Hughes, 233.
