Introduction

It was Martin Luther who said, commenting on the apostle Paul's speeches in the book of Acts, "Paul's messages were sheer flame." Luther himself was of course a man who appreciated a fiery message - a message never on rhetorical fire for its own sake, but for the purpose of announcing boldly the great news of Jesus Christ.

It is my intention in this speech to look at Paul's bold messages in Acts; more specifically, to look at his missionary speeches. He made speeches of two kinds: defense (22:1-21; 24:10-21; 26:1-29), and evangelism or mission-oriented speeches (see below). It's the latter type which is of interest to us, since our theme is evangelism. Simply put, I would like to examine these speeches for general principles and lessons that we can apply to our own work of making the gospel known to our neighbors and co-workers and fellow citizens.

Before I begin, I must give a few qualifiers (always a bad way to start a speech!): We are not apostles; not many of us are even ordained preachers; we are not Paul; we do not live in the Greco-Roman world. Many things have changed since the apostle Paul got on a galley in the Mediterranean Sea and went about the empire preaching the Word. That said, I do believe there are good and valuable things about mission and evangelism to be gleaned from Paul's missionary speeches in Acts.

On Paul

The apostle Paul is of great importance to the Christian faith, not because he was so notable as a person, but because God was pleased to so powerfully use this weak and sinful man in the crucial work of making known the gospel of Christ.

But it wasn't always this way. You know about the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus. He journeyed there, "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Ac 9:1), intending to continue his violent work. But the Lord of the church had different plans for Paul. In one moment, he is confronted with the risen Christ - and his life and purpose immediately changes. As the Lord says to Ananias, who was to take care of the blinded Paul, "This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel" (Ac 9:15).

And though God can use whomever He wants in his kingdom, it is certainly no mistake that Paul was selected for this work. Paul was a Jew, trained as a Pharisee (Phil 3:5), even a student of the great rabbi Gamaliel (Ac 22:3), said to be the most honoured rabbi of the first century. Paul had received the top Jewish training available, but he was also no stranger to the wider Hellenistic world, having lived in Tarsus, an important commercial centre near Athens. Paul had surely tasted from many intellectual dishes.

In short, Paul was a scholar with diverse talents. This is one of the most striking things about him, and about how God used this ability in spreading the gospel. Even when Paul was about to die, he asked Timothy for his books (2 Tim 4:13). His studies always formed the foundation of what he preached and argued. Paul the missionary was nothing without God, yet God still used the person that Paul was for the advance of the kingdom.

The Speeches

Before we get into the speeches themselves, we should note one more thing. Luke, who wrote the gospel, obviously did some shortening of the speeches. He gives us the essence of what Paul said, for none of these speeches takes more than a few minutes to read aloud (maybe that's another principle some of us can imitate!).

Let's now open our Bibles and take a look at three or four of Paul's major mission speeches, plus some other revealing summaries of his preaching:

• Acts 13:16-41 (Pisidian Antioch) - This speech takes place during Paul's first missionary journey. As was his practice throughout his ministry, he first went to the synagogue in that city. For though Paul was called "an apostle to the nations," he never forgot his fellow Jews; indeed, God desired that the Jews hear the message of "OT fulfillment" first (see 13:46; Rom 1:16). This was also an obvious place to begin, for the Jews (and the Gentile God-fearers) already knew Paul's starting point, the Scriptures. That he later found new audiences did not mean he ceased to care for Jews, but he simply broadened his scope.

  As the synagogue custom was, the synagogue rulers invite Paul (and others) to speak "a message of encouragement" after the Law and Prophets are read. And notice Paul's approach: He first retells redemptive history: God's choice of Israel, the stay in Egypt, the exodus, the wandering, the conquest, judges, Saul and then David - from whom came Jesus Christ (v 23). Then Paul gives a brief summary of Christ's ministry: introduction, rejection, condemnation, execution, burial, and importantly, the resurrection (which, he notes, many witnessed).

  After ending with the resurrection, Paul lays out the Old and New Covenant significance of especially that resurrection of Jesus. He had pointed out already that Jesus was, in general terms, a fulfillment of prophecy (v 27, in connection with his rejection), but now Paul continues, quoting Ps 2, Is 55, and Ps 16. Paul says, "The one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay…" (v 37), and then, "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you." The resurrection is clearly where the "rubber meets the road." And Paul ends with a warning against unbelief from Hab 1:5.

  Paul receives a favourable response from some Jews, but by the next week other Jews were filled with jealousy (v 45) and they stir up persecution (v 50). Yet again appealing to Scripture (this time to Is 49:6), Paul makes clear it's time to go also to the Gentiles.

• Acts 14:14-17 (Lystra) - Still on the first missionary journey, we see a sharp contrast here with the previous speech, for now Paul (and Barnabas) is speaking to a decidedly Gentile or pagan crowd. The Gentiles misunderstand the healing of a crippled man, and think the gods have come down in human form (v 11). They intend to worship and offer sacrifices to "Zeus" and "Hermes."

  Paul and Barnabas are quick to dissuade the pagan Lystrans from worshiping them. Notice they do not give the message of Christ as such, but they go to a far more basic starting point: The existence of the one true God.

  It probably would make little sense to quote OT texts (at this point), therefore Paul adapts his approach and speaks instead of the testimony that God has given to all people: "He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy" (v 17). We can compare this teaching about "general revelation" with what Paul says elsewhere about the "eternal power and divine nature" being seen and understood "from what has been made" (Rom 1:20), and about the requirements of the law being written on their hearts (Rom 2:15). As we confess, in light of God's care for the world, and God's testimony in creation and in the human heart, all men are without excuse (cf. Canons of Dort, 3/4:4).

  Paul says that in the past, "[God] let all nations go their own way" (v 16), namely, into the ignorance of paganism. Yet the testimonies in creation to God's kindness are now multiplied in Christ, and made so much more clear. Paul does not mention Christ, but encourages his audience to "turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them" (v 15). This is a message they could understand; as pagans they worshiped created things, not the Creator. Paul tells them to turn instead to the source of all the good things they had.

  If the Jews had not opposed him (v 19) and Paul had been able to stay with the Lystrans longer, we can be sure he would've preached Christ. But here, briefly put, his strategy seems to be: First get them to recognize the Creator, then get them to recognize the Mediator between the Creator and his fallen image-bearers.

Before we move on to the next speech in Acts, we should note what Paul does in Thessalonica and Berea; again he starts his work at the synagogue.

In Thessalonica he was there for three Sabbaths, reasoning from the Scriptures, "explaining and proving that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead" (17:2-3). Notice that he reasons from the Scriptures (probably using similar texts as in Pisidian Antioch), and that he emphasizes Christ and his resurrection.

In Berea Paul goes to the synagogue, and again obviously had the OT Scriptures open, for the Bereans "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (17:11).

• Acts 17:22-31 (Athens) - Paul continued on from Berea to Athens, where again he faced not a Jewish but a Gentile audience. Yet this audience was somewhat different than in Lystra. The Lystrans had been more "earthy" pagans, focused on the gods' interaction with creation; the Athenians also worshiped creation, but were more well-educated thinkers; as Luke observes, "All the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" (v 21).

  After hearing that Paul was speaking some new ideas in the marketplace, he is invited by Stoic and Epicurean philosophers to present his novel message. Paul goes to the Areopagus, a meeting-place where people discussed religion and morals. It's hard for us to imagine doing as Paul so boldly did, walking into the Areopagus and confronting the wise men of the age, right on their own turf. Yet Paul relied on the Spirit for his words, and Paul knew every human philosophy was inherently empty (Col 2:8).

  Paul begins in a similar way as he had in Lystra, referring to the Athenians' pagan worship of various gods. Paul says he had noticed an altar "To the Unknown God" and uses this to introduce the one true God he proclaims.

  He again emphasizes both the sovereignty and the kindness of this creating God: "He determined the times set for them and the exact places they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (vv 26-27). This teaching was directly opposed to the Epicurean philosophy of "chance" and Fate. Paul even points to the statements of two pagan poets (Epimenides and Aratus) in order to show that all created and living things have their source in God.

  But it is not enough to recognize the Creator. For now Paul continues with the message he wasn't able to finish in Lystra: "Now he commands all people everywhere to repent." This particular teaching went against the Stoic philosophy of self-sufficiency and good moral conduct. Paul counters this philosophy with the assertion that all men are sinners and must turn from their rebellion. God had shown kindness in not destroying them for their paganism (v 30), but that time had passed, and now there was someone to reconcile them to their Creator.

  Paul continues, only alluding to Christ, "[God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed" (v 31). And then, once more the resurrection, "He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead" (v 31). The Greek philosophers, who largely had a low view of the body, at once reject this talk of resurrection. Why would the body be needed after this life? Some sneer, but others want to hear more.

  This speech on the Areopagus raises many questions, more than we can answer today. How can Paul quote pagan authors? Was there some truth in these writers? Why doesn't Paul mention Jesus by name? We will return to a few of these issues a little later, suffice it to say that Paul was again developing his argument towards the gospel of Christ. He couldn't just "drop" it on them, but he worked with what the Athenians knew already.

As we said, we have to skip over Paul's speeches of defense (chs 22-26), in which he explains his actions to the Jews and various Roman officials. These speeches are interesting for their combination of legal defense and gospel proclamation - even when Paul was in chains before people who had his fate in their hands, he couldn't help but preach Christ.

When Paul finally arrives in Rome, he speaks to the Jews again. They gather to listen to him, and "from morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets" (28:23). Some were convinced, others not, so Paul turns to the Scriptures for another indictment of their unbelief, quoting from Is 6:9-10.

Principles and Lessons

Having reviewed briefly Paul's missionary speeches, principles and lessons that have been hinted at can now be drawn out a little more. I summarize our findings under these points:

• Paul preached Christ (see also 1 Cor 1:23, 2:1-15): The focus of Paul's addresses was the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. This is what (this is who!) set Christianity apart from Judaism, and Christianity apart from paganism. We have seen that Paul's speeches, though in different ways, always moved around this centre, and towards this goal.

• This may sound obvious, but this Christ-focus must also be true for our evangelism today. For Christ is still what sets Christianity apart from every other religion. Some will claim that other religions too, have a "saviour" figure also, but there is absolutely no comparison. Paul preached Christ, and we must speak Christ, because only through Christ God reconciles sinners to himself. This is the distinctive Christian message: All persons were created perfect by God but are now sinners, and so we all deserve eternal death; yet Christ has come to bear that penalty of death for those who are joined to him by faith.

  And the one thing that proves Christ has fully done his work of reconciliation is the resurrection. We saw that Paul often emphasizes this point - not because it is chronologically logical, but because it is theologically crucial. As he says elsewhere, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Cor 15:17). Christ needed to triumph over death in his resurrection, that Satan's power would be defeated and sin's curse taken away.

  If we do not mention (and explain and focus on!) the risen Christ, our message will fall apart or it will simply blend in with any other religion or humanistic philosophy. Take away the resurrected Christ and what do we have? "Sermon on the Mount" moralism, or the power of positive thinking, or a message that shifts with every new philosophy. But Paul preached Christ's finished work - not that that was all he said (we can see he said much more), but this was the one truth he returned to. Christ had to rise from the dead to save us from sin and sin's curse.

  Having said that, I ask: Do you have to begin every evangelistic conversation with Christ, or can you slowly work your way toward Christ when explaining the message - for isn't this what Paul did in Ac 14 and 17? In my (not very earth-shattering) opinion, this "development" toward Christ can be legitimate. You need to find a common starting point; in a real sense, you have one (you are both creatures of God and sinners before God), but you need to come to some agreement on your starting point, or it'll be very hard to proceed.

  In the process of reaching that moment where the other person will say: "I DO need a Saviour," you may need to first take apart his beliefs, his worldview, his pride. Do this gently, but firmly. This "deconstruction" and then "development" will of course be different for different people. Perhaps one fellow will first need to accept that there is a God, or that there is only one God (cf. the Lystrans and Athenians). Or perhaps someone else (an agnostic) will need to accept that every human being relates to God in some way, either to salvation or condemnation. Perhaps another will accept that there is a God, even only one God, but will need to realize his personal sin and spiritual need before God (cf. the Athenians). Indeed, in this process, there cannot be a set program, but this news must always be announced: Jesus Christ!

  We cannot be scared to mention Jesus Christ, because his name is now a swear word or because there are a hundred misrepresentations of him. No, we are to boldly speak him, unceasingly confess him - because He IS our only message, and He is our only salvation from sin and death.

• Paul knew Scripture: In an amazing way, Paul could string texts together or recall texts from every corner of the Old Testament (see also Rom 15:4). We saw this in the speech at Pisidian Antioch (ch 13), and we concluded this was the same every time Paul went to the synagogue; "he opened the Scriptures." Earlier, we commented on how Paul was a scholar, trained by the best rabbi of his day in the intricacies of Scripture and interpretation.

  None of us are scholars. Few have benefited from post-secondary theological training. Yet a good knowledge of Scripture is not just for missionaries, evangelists and ministers. Consider also the apostle Peter; if you look at his speeches (Ac 2:14-39, 3:12-26, 4:8-12) you notice the same pattern as in Paul's: text after text, explained and applied. Remember that Peter was hardly a scholar like Paul, but a fisherman by trade. Yet he too, like Paul, knew the Scriptures "inside out." Not for the sake of knowledge alone, but for that purpose of knowing God and spreading the Word.

  Again, we are not scholars. But like Paul was even to his dying day, we can be students - students of the Word. For Paul did not preach with a "thinline" Bible in hand at Pisidian Antioch or elsewhere; he quoted all those texts from memory. You can speak about Jesus Christ incessantly (see the first principle), but if you are not speaking out of your knowledge of Scripture, you will very quickly run out of things to say. We need to know our Bibles: Know the OT prophecies about Christ; know those key Bible passages that show man's need for salvation; know those texts about Jesus being the only way to the Father; know even the Bible passages that are so often twisted and misused (e.g., "Judge not, that you be not judged").

  Know many passages of Scripture, and use them. In my limited experience, even when a person you are reaching out to does not accept the Bible as God's Word, it still speaks far more powerfully to that person if you can (quickly) find and read a passage - or quote a passage from memory - that answers their question, or backs up what you have said. They will see you not as one inventing answers as fast as they can ask their questions, but as one who lives from and loves God's Word. It is a very powerful testimony in itself.

  And we know from the Bible that this is the way God works. We read in Rom 10:17, "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." To be sure, in this passage, Paul is first talking about preaching - but the power of the Word remains the same whenever it is opened. It is that double-edged sword; it does not return to God empty; by the Spirit it has an unfailing power when it is read and explained, even by weak and sinful humans like you and me.

• Paul knew the culture: We have seen, especially in Paul's speech to the Lystrans and the Athenian philosophers, that he knew the Greco-Roman culture. He walked through Athens with his eyes open, and saw the city and her citizens for what they were: Godless (though they had many gods), pagan, and searching. It was no problem for him to know and understand the Jews, for he was a Jew himself, and could easily converse with his countrymen about all matters Jewish. But he also knew and understood the Greeks and Romans.

  As we said, we do not live in the Greco-Roman or Hellenistic world as Paul did. I think we would be hard-pressed to confidently and effectively take a non-Christian author of today and quote him in order to present the Christian message. Remember that Paul was an apostle, filled with the Holy Spirit who enabled him to make inspired use of non-inspired writings (see also 1 Cor 15:33 and Tit 1:12). We probably wouldn't (or even shouldn't) try to do as Paul did.

  But what Paul does in Ac 17 can teach us something important. Paul knew the worldview of his listeners; he knew they were searching for answers; he knew where they were looking for answers. He was not just a student of the Scriptures, but of his culture.

  We too, should know our listeners. Admittedly, it's hard (and even disturbing) to keep up with where our world is going by reading the newspaper or watching the news everyday. But we should know the general worldview that many of our neighbors buy into: You are a god; sin is only self-indulgence (so it's not really wrong); you create your own truth; feelings are the final judge in any dispute; we have the right to have whatever we want; we must tolerate everything but intolerance; television is truth; the minority is always right; maintaining human rights (a definition that expands every year) is of utmost importance.

  How to learn about the culture and worldview of the one to whom you present the gospel? Because we live in such a "free" time, one unbeliever's approach to reality will be different from another's. Yet some things will remain the same, for most read the same newspapers, watch the same channels, and hear the same advertisements. So then, keep your eyes and ears open. Think critically. Know why something that sounds vaguely wrong is wrong. Read the newspaper (at least once in a while). There are also good books available that give a summary of things like postmodernism or the other worldviews on the marketplace.

  We have to be careful about how much we take in. Satan wants to convince us of these other ways of truth and salvation. But testing the spirits is important, in our own Christian lives and in our evangelism. Falsehood isn't always obvious; your neighbor or co-worker can say something that sounds vaguely Christian, so you let it slide. But if you are sharp, you will recognize it for what it is: part of the philosophy of toleration or subjectivism or therapeutic religion. "Demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God… take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5)

• Paul met his listeners on their level: As we've said a few times, Paul "modified" not his message but his approach when he was confronted with a different audience, whether Jew or pagan or hostile or welcoming. Clear examples of this are seen in the speeches to the Lystran pagans and Athenian philosophers, as compared to the speech to the Jews of Pisidian Antioch or Rome.

  A key text in this connection is 1 Cor 9:19-23, "to the Jews I became Jew…" This text is often appealed to wrongly, and we must note it has its first meaning in the sense that Paul observed the Jewish law when with Jewish brothers and sisters, yet could conform to Gentile culture when demanded. This doesn't mean that he was two-faced or inconsistent, but rather that Paul did anything he could to ensure the good reception of the gospel. As Paul roamed the empire and encountered people of all backgrounds and religions, he was adaptable. Not that he changed or adapted his message (for it remained "Christ, and him crucified"), but he adjusted the manner in which he presented it - as long as he did not violate his allegiance to Christ. His purpose was always to present the gospel in a clear and understandable manner.

  What does this adaptability mean for us? We are not faced with the dilemma that Paul was, for the Jews watched him very closely to see whether he would break the Mosaic law, while the pagans knew nothing of the OT Scriptures. This is not a dilemma we struggle with, yet we also face diverse audiences when we bring the gospel. To continue that thought from before, some people know the Scriptures, others not at all; some recognize a Creator, others are convicted atheists; some people expect Christians to act in certain ways, others couldn't care less what we do when we're not talking to them.

  The point of this principle is that we must meet our neighbor and co-worker on their level. What do they really know of God or the Bible or of Christ? Work with this. What do they know of Christian living? Work with this.

  People complain rightly about the "dumbed-down gospel" preached in many churches today; this is something I abhor too. But it is a reality that some people are only ready for spiritual milk (Heb 5:12-14). Those who haven't had the blessing of Christian education or a life-time of church services (like we have) will be very lacking in both Christian doctrine and Christian ethics. We cannot demand a knowledge of the fine points of TULIP immediately, or expect a clear explanation of why stem cell research is problematic.

  We need to teach them at their level. Again, we must work with what they know, and go from there. Use analogies that they will understand or be able to relate to. Speak in simple language that is accessible. Refer to things they have experienced, and things they believe (whether rightly or wrongly). We adapt not to make the gospel palatable, for it remains foolishness to many. If the gospel stops sounding foolish, we've probably lost the core of the message. The purpose of any adaptation is that sinners might come to know Christ, and also grow in Christ!

I have drawn out a couple more lessons and principles not so much about his approach or content, but about Paul's general attitude and dedication to his work:

• Paul was ready for negative response: Paul certainly knew what would happen when he brought his message. He was always hopeful, yet he was also realistic. He was met with anger, with mockery, with rejection, and so had to endure much suffering. We may expect the same.

  Anger, because no one wants to repent and believe. No one likes the exclusive message of Christianity.

  Mockery, because it is a message of foolishness that we bring. It seems ludicrous to our neighbor, and nonsense to those of other religions (1 Cor 1:22-25).

  Rejection, because this is what some of our listeners are destined for (1 Pet 2:8). Some will never accept it, but we cannot give up easily. God knows who are his. If He could save Paul, surely He can save anyone.

  Suffering, because we are promised that "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12) - how much more so when we confront them with the unsettling message of Jesus Christ?

• Paul was fearless and tireless: Paul was very bold, in front of his countrymen and in front of the philosophers of the age. He admitted that he was no eloquent speaker (1 Cor 2:1-5). Yet he spoke with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, just as Jesus Christ has promised (Mt 10:19-20). This promise of God's help still stands, even when we must speak with pounding hearts and trembling hands.

  Paul was tireless, preaching year after year, in city after city. This is evident in Acts, and the rest of his often tortuous work is well-documented (see 2 Cor 6, 11). Yet he continued, for he himself heeded the encouragement of Gal 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Concluding Comments

I began with qualifiers, and I will end that way. Again, we are not Paul nor apostles, and our world has changed a lot since the time of the Roman empire. And yet what remains the same? More than we might think at first. The gospel is still Christ crucified. Our source is still the Scriptures. It is still incumbent upon us to know our culture, and to know our audience. Our culture and our audience, as Paul's was, is godless, pagan, searching, and in need of the one message that can save them. We must approach our audience firmly, yet also with love. And the response to the gospel message can still be violent and mean-spirited.

There are differences, but there are probably more similarities. And of those things that are still similar, we can be most thankful that these things in particular are unchanging: God's Word, God's way of salvation, and the strength God gives to do the work.

Paul did the work that he was given to do by God. There was only one Paul. But the work that Jesus Christ started in Paul remains unfinished.

Sources

• Ronald Allen, Paul's Missionary Method
• C.K. Barret, Paul: An Introduction to His Thought
• Richard Longenecker, Paul, Apostle of Liberty
• James Stewart, A Man in Christ

Rev. Bredenhof is pastor of the St. Albert Canadian Reformed Church.