Part Five: How the Apostle Paul Used Apologetic Points of Contact as an Evangelistic Strategy

The Apostle Paul had to deal with many of the same obstacles to faith that we do today. There were no Mormons or Muslims in first-century Palestine, but there were many other competing religions and philosophical worldviews. In some cases, Paul witnessed directly from Scripture. The Bible was his point of contact. In other encounters, the Bible couldn’t be used, so Paul employed other points of contact to initiate conversations with unbelievers. Here are a few examples.

In Acts 17:2-3 Luke writes, “As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them [the Jews] from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.”

In this instance, Paul used the Bible (the Hebrew Old Testament) as a point of contact with the Jews in Thessalonica. Like Paul, they accepted Scriptures as the Word of God. Hence, the Bible was Paul’s “foot in the door,” and some Jews became Christians because He was able to demonstrate from Scripture that Jesus was the divine Messiah (the “Christ,” v. 3). Likewise, we can use the Bible as a point of contact today, not only with Jewish people, but also with Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cultist who (more or less) accept the Bible as divine revelation.

In Acts 14:15-17 Paul used a different point of contact. In this passage, Paul and Barnabas are witnessing to the Gentiles in Lystra. His point of contact was “general revelation” in creation (see Romans 1:19-20):

We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from . . . worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fill your hearts with joy.

The Gentiles in Lystra were pagans. They would not have been familiar with—or likely accept—the Hebrew Old Testament as a point of contact. But apparently they did recognize the presence of the divine in nature. God’s revelation in creation can be a wonderful point of contact with many people today, in particular young people with a genuine concern for the welfare of our natural environments.

Paul used still another point of contact in Acts 26:1-3. Here the apostle defended himself before Herod Agrippa. Beginning in verse two he says:

King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

In this instance, Paul appealed to Agrippa’s knowledge of the Jews and their customs as a point of contact from which to give his testimony and his commission to evangelize the lost. Similarly, in my previous two blog articles, I suggested ten effective “common ground” points of contact—areas of mutual concern and interest that both Christians and non-Christians share. All can lead to fruitful conversations, sometime leading to opportunities for sharing the gospel.

By far the most explicit and well-developed example of Paul using points of contact is found in Acts 17:16-31, when he confronted the Greek philosophers before the Areopagus. We will look at this remarkable account in detail in next week’s blog article. It’s an enlightening illustration of skilled apologetic tactics springing from initial points of contact. ©