Mission and Missions: Evangelism in the 21st Century by Julius Kim

It seems to me that one person who understood evangelism was the apostle Paul—and this in the first century! In particular, we see from his own example how he adapts his evangelism to the worldview of his hearers. He modifies his approach to those who hold a biblical worldview and those who do not. Paul understood that as an ambassador in a foreign and hostile territory, he must find ways into the core values, thought patterns, life principles—in short, the worldview—of those who are being evangelized. The twenty-first century witness must find bridges into the other frames of reference, or no communication is possible.

Examples of Evangelism from the Apostle Paul: Acts 13 vs. Acts 17
From his own example, Paul demonstrates the difference between witnessing to those who know the Bible storyline and have categories for understanding the gospel, and those who have no clue about the Biblical storyline of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. First, in Acts 13:16 41, we see Paul visiting a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. As you know, Paul often began his evangelism in a new city by going to the Jewish synagogue where, as a traveling rabbi or teacher, he would be given the honor and opportunity to address those who gathered to learn from God’s Word, in this case, the Hebrew Bible, otherwise known as the Old Testament.

Here in this setting, Paul would have instinctively recognized his audience: Jews, Gentile proselytes to Judaism (circumcised), and Godfearers (uncircumcised followers of Judaism). Each of these groups were made up of people who would have been exposed to the Old Testament—some of them from their childhood. Thus, these would be the equivalent of those in our congregations that grew up in a Christian home and church, hearing and learning Bible stories and truths that helped establish a biblical worldview.

In this context, what does Paul do? Paul takes his hearers through the Old Testament biblical storyline in order to prove that the promise of the Messiah has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He selectively chooses Old Testament quotes and argues that the resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of biblical prophecies about the Holy One in David's line “not seeing decay.” From there, he then shows why Jesus had to die—so that our sins would be forgiven and we would be declared righteous before a holy God. He then ends his message with a warning of judgment as a result of unbelief.

So, this is Paul’s message and method for evangelizing those who are “churched” and have categories in place to make sense of the problem of sin and the solution Jesus provides. What he does in Acts 17, however, is something different. The content is essentially the same, but the method is different.

In Acts 17:16-34 we read of Paul’s journey to Athens, specifically his encounter with the philosophers gathered at the Areopagus. These highly educated, intelligent Athenians have no clue about the Biblical storyline, let alone who God is, who Adam is, Moses, or David. They are biblically illiterate. His approach then, is remarkably different and is instructive for us as we face an audience of those who are unchurched and postmodern in their outlook. What does Paul’s worldview evangelism look like?

The Apostle Paul at Athens (Acts 17:16-34): A Model of Worldview Evangelism
I will be framing the rest of my talk around three points: Paul’s Place, Paul’s Presentation, and Paul’s Proclamation.

Paul’s Place: Hostile Territory
In addition to the fact that these Athenians have no biblical worldview, three features of this culture are striking. What were some of the unique contextual factors found in this place?²

First, we know that during this time period, the Roman Empire was able to control much of their conquered lands and people through a government-endorsed and government-protected religious pluralism. The Romans insightfully knew that a newly subjugated people were less likely to revolt if they quickly adopted into the Roman religious system the gods of the conquered people. But they also insisted that these new subjects must adopt into their religious system the Roman gods. In this way, their religious values and principles, their “worldview,” would be modified and mitigated.

Second, Paul knew that the people to whom he was witnessing were not blank slates that needed a religious system to make sense of their world and lives. They endorsed, exemplified, and argued for various powerful and competing worldviews. Paul specifically addresses those in his audience that held to two of those worldviews: Epicureanism and Stoicism. We have to remember that in this place that Paul finds himself, these are not just philosophies to discuss at a university setting, but are rigorous systems that governed the Athenians’ thoughts and lives. It was a way of life,, a religion. So, what is happening here is that Paul is not just giving the Athenians something they didn’t have, namely, a self-consistent religious system, but he is offering them a competing worldview.