Part Seven: The Best example in the Bible of Apologetics used in Evangelism (continued from part six)

Last week’s blog article examined the Apostle Paul’s use of three significant points of contact in his apologetic encounter with the Greek philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:13-34). In this, my last blog article of this series, I’ll recap this remarkable biblical example of apologetics in action, and point out some lessons we can learn from it. I’ll end with a preview of a new (and entirely different) direction I’ll be taking in my next series of blog articles.

As we saw in last week’s blog, Paul applied three points of contact, which he knew the Greek philosophers would acknowledge as true without further discussion: their innate sense of the divine; the existence of a God they did not know that in fact was the one true God; and non-biblical evidence quoted from their own pagan poets. Building on these points of contact, Paul presented an evangelistic message that resulted in some of the Greeks becoming Christians—and an open door for the spread of the Gospel in Athens (vs. 34).

There are four significant lessons we can learn from Paul’s use of apologetic points of contact in the Acts seventeen passage (see part six), as well from his other examples in part five. First, Paul didn’t depend on his personal testimony or a first century version of the “Four Spiritual Laws” as the basis of his evangelism. Rather he included apologetic techniques. To reach the Jews in Thessalonica, Paul “reasoned” from Scripture in the synagogues (part five). To reach the Gentiles in Lystra (part five), he presented external evidence from creation (general revelation). In the case of King Agrippa, he applied logical reasoning based on common knowledge (part five). And before the Greek philosophers in Athens, Paul relied, in part, on non-biblical sources (part six).

Second, when Paul witnessed to the Jews, Gentiles, and Greek philosophers, his goal was to lead his hearers to Jesus Christ—as good apologetics always does. He did not engage in merely intellectual debating.

Third, Paul was familiar with the Greek poets. He quoted two of them in verse 28 (he also quoted the sixth century B.C. Cretan poet Epimenides in Titus 1:12). Paul didn’t get this information reading his Bible or attending rabbinical school. He obviously spent time becoming familiar with the Greek religions in order to witness more effectively. Paul did his homework, and he used apologetics.

Fourth, Paul was an effective evangelist because he was willing to accommodate what unbelievers’ believed—without compromising truth—as points of contact in order to gain a hearing for the gospel. Paul knew that initial points of contact were crucial if his evangelism were to proceed with the Greek philosophers. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 Paul gives the clarion call of apologetics:

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law [gentiles] I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

In a sum, points of contact—areas of common knowledge and interest used as starting points for conversation—can be a successful way for us to give the Christian perspective on issues under discussion. Best of all, they often lead to opportunities for sharing the gospel. ©

NEXT WEEK: A NEW BLOG SERIES
For the last seven weeks, I’ve posted articles on how to apply points of contact in witnessing encounters. Next week I’m going to begin an entirely different series of blog articles. They will relate to the subject of my newest book, due to be released by the end of October. Although this book is not specifically apologetics in nature, I believe it nevertheless has the potential of being a great apologetic/evangelistic point of contact. In particular, with a segment of secular society that embraces literally millions of people. I’ve been researching this book for more than three years, and I’m excited share it with my readers. I don’t want to give away too much now, but stay tuned.