Meeting People on Their Terms and Turf
Posted by Randy | Labels: Acts, Ephesians, Evangelism, Fads, grace, Love, Relationships, Relevance, Witness | Posted On Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Acts is an amazing and extremely relevant book for anyone seeking to follow Jesus Christ. Every chapter is jam-packed with information about how the early church dealt with issues that are just as real today.
For instance, in our reading today in Acts 17-18, we read of Paul's encounter with the Greek philosophers in Athens. These were men who sat around all day pondering the meaning of life and the universe. They were intrigued by Paul's message about a foreign god. These men were searching for answers and meaning in life, but they hadn't found it yet. Acts 17:21 says that everyone in Athens "...seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas."
That statement sounds so much like 21st Century America to me. While there are many Christians in our land, there are many others who are searching for answers in all the latest fads and philosophies. Maybe they were exposed to a strange form of Christianity, and assumed that was the norm for all of Christianity. Maybe they're just rebels and want to figure it out for themselves. I'm sure you can think of more reasons why some folks seem to be intent on trying the religion or spirituality du jour.
Not much has changed in 2000 years! So, Paul's approach to the Athenians may give us some insight into trying to reach folks today who still haven't made a decision to follow Jesus Christ. And the first thing Paul didn't do was antagonize or belittle the Athenians' beliefs. He took them seriously, rather than just dismissing them as wrong. He complemented them and affirmed them, knowing that God cared about these men as much as He cared about anyone else.
If becoming a Christian were about having all the right facts, then showing the Athenians how they were wrong might have made sense. But becoming a Christian is about developing a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It starts and ends with relationship, and that also gives us a great insight into how we share our faith with others - through relationships. We don't win friends and influence enemies by pounding them over the head with a Bible or telling them they're going to Hell because they don't believe in Jesus Christ. We influence people as we share the love of Christ with them, as we demonstrate we care about them. Jesus died for those far from him, just as he died for me and you. We're all saved by grace, through faith, so none of us can brag about how good we are or how much better we are than anyone else (Ephesians 2:8-9).
When we show love and respect to someone who believes differently than we do, who perhaps is caught up in the latest spiritual fad, we gain the privilege of being heard. As trust grows, we can go deeper and deeper in our conversations. As the relationship grows, we can share our own experiences and understandings of the Christian faith in honest, straightforward ways. We can have genuine conversations where the love of Christ works in us and through us. I've always heard that loving people into heaven is almost always more effective than scaring them out of hell. Jesus always had time for the sinners - what bugged him were the religious elites who thought they knew it all.
I've been a pastor for over twenty years now, but the more I know, the more I know I don't know. The longer I walk this journey the more the Holy Spirit tries to push that unholy pride out of me. I really am no better than the person far from God, but I am saved by the grace of God - and that makes all the difference in the world. Paul was no better than the Athenians, but he loved them through Jesus Christ, and he tried to meet them at their point of interest and need. Then he walked them along, with integrity and respect. Some laughed at him, "...but others said, 'We want to hear more about this later.'" (17:32) And Verse 34 says, "...some joined him and became believers."
Paul met the Athenians on their terms, on their turf, and some eventually chose to become followers of Jesus Christ. That model is just as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago. Who do you know that needs the love of Christ in their life? How can you love that person and meet them at their point of interest and need? It may take months, even years, but I know that God honors all our efforts, and no relationship with a Christ follower by a person seeking the truth ever comes back void.
