20 Jul Mission Clarity

When Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, He left little doubt about what the rest of Saul’s life would look like. Saul would become the Apostle Paul and Jesus made his mission for the rest of his time on earth painfully clear:

Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake” Acts 9:15-16 (NLT).

Paul understood the purpose for which Jesus saved him from sin:

14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. Romans 1:14-15 (NIV)

What made Paul feel obligated? Oswald Chambers explained it this way:

“Paul’s obligation to others came from an overwhelming sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent himself to express it. The great inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor.“

This would explain what we see in Acts 17. Paul is essentially hiding out in Athens after being persecuted by Jews in Thessalonica and Berea and is waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him. Common sense would tell us that Paul should lay low and stay out of trouble until his friends arrived. But Paul didn’t follow common sense. He followed the overwhelming sense of indebtedness to Jesus that Chambers wrote about. It was at the core of who Paul was. So, when he saw numerous statues around the city honoring Greek gods, Paul’s spiritual DNA wouldn’t allow him to keep quiet:

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. Acts 17:22-25 (NLT)

Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill is considered by many biblical scholars to be his best example of evangelism. Yet in earthly terms, it can be described as one of his biggest failures. Acts 17 reports that a few people came to Christ as a result of the message, but no church was started in Athens.

The lesson here is that when our indebtedness to Christ fuels our purpose for living, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is impossible to fail in the eyes of God. So, what about us? Are we willing to risk much less than Paul was (being embarrassed by the people we share Jesus with) to point out the false idols of today to non-believers? Jesus came to earth and died a brutal death to put the burning Pauline passion in our hearts. What are we going to do about it today?

Pastor Jerry Bader