Acts 17:16 “… Paul was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.”
In Paul’s own words, he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, and a righteous, law abiding Jew. And then he shows up in Athens, a city devoted to idolatry and false religions. To say that he was greatly distressed is an understatement. When Gideon was faced with idols, he tore them down. When Moses was faced with idols, he called on the wrath of God. So imagine how incensed Paul was.
… and yet … he doesn’t level a single word of condemnation over their egregious sin. He doesn’t guilt or shame them. He doesn’t point out the error of their ways even though he was “greatly distressed.” Instead, Paul hung out with the Athenians and studied their religion and their shrines enough so that he could leverage what he learned for the sake of the gospel.
Over the past hundred years or more, the church has been “against” culture. We came out against alcohol in the 1920s. We got a black eye. We came out against involvement in the European war in the 1940s – and we couldn’t have been more wrong. In the 60s we came out against abortion and we lost that one. In the 80s we came out against equal rights for homosexuality and we’re still carrying the stigma from that. And so, culture largely knows us for what (and who) we’re against. No one seems to have a clue about what we’re FOR.
Sad.
Very sad.
There’s a second lesson in this passage that the Mainline Church needs to pay attention to. There’s an old saying that “Jesus loves us too much to leave us like we are.” He expects us … yea he demands … change. Paul was unafraid to bring the gospel message even to those who already had a “functional” religion and well-formed belief system. The people in Athens weren’t agnostics who were looking for a new religion. They weren’t atheists who were opposed to religion. And they weren’t apathetic “Nones” who had no faith affiliation. They were very religious and most were happy with their religion. But Paul took Christianity to them anyway.
We live in a religiously diverse culture. We have neighbors who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, Sikh, and many more. But the Mainline Church, by and large, seems to have concluded that because we live in America where we are afforded “freedom of religion” that means we shouldn’t be a witness and testimony to those who believe differently.
But Paul here sets the example.
(1) There’s no room for bigotry or for “being against” those who believe differently. Our job isn’t to go in and insult those who believe differently.
(2) On the other hand, we ARE called to be a testimony and witness to what we’ve experienced in Jesus.
(3) We’re expected to leverage culture in order to share the gospel in ways the culture can hear.
Paul was successful in sharing his faith in Athens: “Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed” (17:34). And that’s the point. As missionaries, we’re called to share the gospel starting with our neighbors and working outward in concentric circles until the whole has been touched by an experience with Jesus Christ.
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