A Year in Luke/ActsSample

What we see from Paul in his speech is brilliant. He speaks to the Athenians through something that was already there in the culture, whilst also bringing the message about Jesus. Further, he does not develop a logical argument for the existence of God but uses the altar to the “unknown God” and poetry as a way of testifying about Jesus and the resurrection. Rather than trying to logically show people how to believe in Jesus to go to heaven when they die, Paul sees the gospel as the announcement that Jesus is Lord of the whole world, and because of that a new creation story is being told. This can give us insights for communicating the gospel in our world today:

“Instead of trying to address a world of rationalism with rational arguments for God, we must address the world of deconstruction with the truth, and the love, of Jesus himself, and the new creation which has come into being with him.” (Wright, p118, The Challenge of Acts)

As deconstructionism becomes more popular, people are not simply looking for facts about God, but the truth about Jesus. Rather than starting with all the things people need to learn or know about God, we can start with things people already find meaning in and show how Jesus is the one who provides true meaning.