CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS
ACTS 17:23-28 NKJV
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
I chose a longer passage in order to show the wisdom and awareness Paul used in speaking to the people of Athens.
Athens was one of the main intellectual cities of that day. They were constantly telling and hearing new philosophies.
So, when Paul addresses these intellectuals, he starts with one of their cultural touchstones. They had an altar dedicated to the unknown God. Paul states that he will proclaim this unknown God to them.
Even though Paul was stirred up because these people were totally consumed with idols, he did not chastise them. He did not mock their ignorance but looked for a place to connect with their culture.
He connected again by quoting some of their own poets. Paul connected with them but at the same time proclaimed the magnitude of God.
He credits God as the Creator of the world and everything in it. He proclaims that God is the One who gives life, breath, and all things. He declares that this God is near to us because in Him we live and move and have our being. And that we are His offspring, His creation. It was God who made mankind and determined their times and boundaries.
Paul had a grasp of the scope and majesty of God and did not hold back in front of these very smart but very lost Athenians.
After proclaiming a risen Jesus, some mocked Paul, but some believed.
APPLICATION:
It's easy to get stirred up as we observe our culture today. In a sense, it's very similar to ancient Athens. It's a culture given to idols. Maybe not Zeus or Apollo but money, fame, sex, and the list can go on.
Our challenge is also like Paul's. We have to reach our culture by connecting to what they know yet proclaiming the greatness of our God and His risen Son, Jesus.
If we will connect in love, we will have the same kind of results Paul had. We will be mocked by some, but some will believe. And for those who do believe, we rejoice.