Paul at Mars Hill (Part 4)

July 10, 12:18 PMMethodist ExaminerJames-Michael Smith

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The ancient steps leading to Mars Hill that Paul would've climbed

[Click HERE for part 1 of this article, HERE for part 2, and HERE for part 3]

A cursory reading of Paul’s sermon may lead one to view his discourse as a sort of purely theistic, or “beginner apologetic.” This is due to Paul’s omission of theological truths such as the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the Atonement, Sanctification, and detailed end-times teaching.

However, upon closer inspection, Paul’s sermon is rich with theology concerning the nature of God, the nature of man, and God’s redemptive plan.

Paul’s teaching on the nature of God consists of several aspects of God that render Him superior to the Athenians’ gods. Paul preaches that God is known by, as well as near to, mankind. God is the all-powerful, omni-present creator and sustainer of all that exists.

This is in clear contrast with the petty, immoral, finite, distant deities thought to inhabit Mt. Olympus. Unlike the Greek gods who see humans as pawns to be used and manipulated, the God of whom Paul speaks desires to be in relationship with mankind.

As to the nature of humanity, Paul teaches that though humans are the special creation of God, they are ignorant of their creator and have fashioned idols with their own hands to take His place. Humans are sinful in the eyes of God, according to Paul, and are to repent. This contradicts the optimistic outlook regarding the human spirit present among the various philosophies of the Greco-Roman world.

As for end-times teaching, Paul concludes by stating that God has provided a way to escape the coming judgment. In fact, He has appointed a man to be that way by raising him from the dead.

As we can see, Paul’s sermon not only has significant apologetic value, but also contains much theology as well. The question that now remains is “What was the result of this incredible apologetic sermon?”

Surely the Athenians were persuaded by the depth of Paul’s message.
Surely they were convicted by the Holy Spirit and rushed forward begging, “What must we do to be saved?”
Thousands came to know Christ and were baptized into the faith, right?

Not at all!

Upon hearing about the resurrection from the dead, many scoffed, some postponed a decision, pending a further hearing, and only a few believed. In reading this passage, one can easily visualize the crowd of Athenian philosophers walking away shaking their heads. Some of them no doubt wondered how a man as educated as Paul could put his faith in a God whose ultimate miracle consisted in raising one man from the dead in a remote outskirt of the Roman Empire.

Many today have this same feeling towards the message of Christianity. Many mock and scoff at the notion of the God of the universe coming in the form of a Jewish Carpenter and dying a criminal’s death so that the sins of all those who believe might be erased.

Others are intrigued, but do not commit for various reasons. It is worth noting that Paul did not chase after those who left, offering to tone down his rhetoric so that his message might be more palatable and gain a wider acceptance. Paul does no such thing. The text indicates that as soon as he was done preaching, Paul left them. He had done his part; he had preached the Word. The audience’s response was left to themselves and the Holy Spirit.

This is a valuable lesson for the Christian today. Many (especially within Evangelical ranks) equate numbers with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. A successful sermon is one that sees many come to the altar to give their lives to Christ. A successful church is one that has reached a certain growth percentage within a certain period of time. If people are turned away by the proclamation of the Gospel, it is due to the insensitivity or incompetence of the one speaking.

This passage illustrates the flaw in such thinking. Paul did not preach a deficient sermon, nor did he “come on too strong.” For, as Jesus taught throughout his earthly ministry, not all will receive the Word of God with an open heart. The Christian’s responsibility is not to make sure many accept the message, only that many hear the message.

Specifically, for the apologist, the responsibility lies in being able to demonstrate that belief in the message of the cross is neither unreasonable nor irrational. The role of apologetics is to tear down intellectual strongholds and push past intellectual smoke screens, to plow the fields of the mind so that the seed of the Gospel can find fertile ground and not be hindered by the weeds of falsehood. Because of the specificity of the apologetic task, the apologist must realize that he or she is just one link in the chain of events that may eventually lead to the salvation one or more among his or her audience.

[To be continued...]