Acts 17:30-34 (ESV)
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
I’ve been thinking recently about the way that we go about sharing our faith. It seems that there are a great many strategies and techniques out there for defending the truths of the Christian faith. Many people work hard to package clever philosophical arguments that will turn the objections of skeptics.
But, as we watch the way that Paul responded to the people of Athens, we see something other than a clever philosophical defense. Paul does not develop the logical law of non-contradiction, though such a truth is very much worth understanding. Instead, Paul points to one item, one truth, one key element upon which the faith either stands or falls: the resurrection.
For all the clever and persuasive ways we attempt to present the faith, the biblical method seems to have far more to do with the simple historical fact that Jesus is alive after being dead. Paul is not trying to convince the people of Athens that Christianity is more fulfilling, more moral, better for society, or kinder and gentler. He just says that God has commanded the people of the world to repent and staked his claim to our repentance by raising Jesus from the dead. The argument seems to go like this: If Jesus is alive, you owe him your faith and allegiance. And, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:14, if Jesus is not alive, then there is nothing about Christianity that is worthwhile.
So, while I am not suggesting that we do not want to think well about the philosophical and apologetic aspects of evangelism, the truth is, there is something far simpler that we need to claim. God calls every human being on earth to repent. He has proved his right to the call by raising Jesus from the dead. If Jesus is alive, you should repent. If Jesus is alive, then the teachings of the word of God are true. If Jesus is alive, the commands of Scripture are valid. If Jesus is not, then there is no other argument or form of persuasion that will have any lasting impact.
Pastor Travis Peterson 