Acts 17

I've recently been studying the life of Paul and the many ways that God used Paul to share the Gospel. The one thing that struck me about Paul as a man and as one who preached about Christ was his pure boldness. Paul faced very few circumstances where fear or doubt took hold of him. He was incredibly passionate about his Savior and it was his desire that others could also come to that same passionate relationship. A neat example of this is in Acts 17:


"Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"--because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean." ~ Acts 17:16-20


The striking thing with Paul is that he is equally as bold and passionate in the presence of God-fearing Gentiles as he was in the presence of polytheistic Stoic philosophers. Paul's passion for Christ was at equal intensity in a church or in the marketplace of ideas at the Areopagus.

After reading this I found myself convicted about my own boldness of faith. As a pastor I find myself comfortable sharing God's Word within the walls of my church, on a mission trip or at a Christian function. Yet, in my modern day Areopagus, whether that be playing in my adult soccer league or a conversation with a lady a Jiffy Lube while I wait for an oil change, I show very little boldness of faith. I don't desire the potential weird looks or difficult questions of the faith. My faith becomes silenced by doubt and fear. My boldness goes only as far as my comfort level does. That silence is brought about by my desire to be valued and appreciated by man as well as being valued by my Father.


What do I gain by my silence and being meek? Very little.

What does a person gain by hearing the Gospel? Everything.


Jesus speaks to this silence in Matthew 5: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

If as a Christian, I attempt to obscure the faith I have in Christ, I have stopped being what I was made to be in the first place. As Christ said "why would you light a candle and then cover it"? Christ is saying "why would you make me the Master, Owner and Possessor of your life and not live that out before men?" God has granted me an opportunity to shine His glory before man. I need to find my marketplace...my Areopagus and boldly live and proclaim that which God has done.