One of the fascinating things in the Bible is the multiple ways people talk about their faith.
There are all kinds of different ways between the old and the new testament that people, men and women talk about their faith. Old
testament Prophets, Isaiah, Hosea, Daniel and Ezekiel. They all have a
different way of talking about their faith. The Prophets are kind of
wild.
God commands
Isaiah - To walk around "Naked" in exile
Daniel
is given a high position in the Babylonian government because of his ability to interpret dreams, and he ministers in all different ways as do his 3 friends Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego).
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon sets up this golden statue and orders everyone to bow the knee to it. Meshach, Abednego and Shadrach refuse to do it.
Daniel 3
Daniel 3:13-18
18 "...But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
They have responded in a completely different way. In the New Testament you have all kinds of different options on how people talk about their faith.
Gospel of Matthew, there is a lot of fulfillment of prophecy.
They
will reason with people who are sympathetic to a biblical standpoint
they will minister by showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of those
things.
Book of Colossians: You have a Greco-Roman audience, a little bit more philosophical, He is "not" not quoting the scriptures, but he is not reasoning from their either, because it is not going to fit his audience. A non-Jewish audience does not care how Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture, but if you have a first century Jew they are going to want to know what to expect from the Messiah.
In the book of Acts, Luke is the author: Peter will talk to the men of Jerusalem and he will reason with them from the scriptures about how Jesus is the fulfillment of their expectations.
Then as you see in a few chapters later you will see apostle Paul not quote scripture at all because he is talking to an audience that don't have any framework, they won't care that Jesus is the fulfillment of old testament prophetic expectations.
Paul talks about how we eat, the kinds of behavior we engage in, the kinds of ways that we relate to one another in community.
The Gospel effects everything and he comments on all of them.
The
Gospel is penetrating every area in life, the way that I think and the
way that I am allowed to think about things, it sets constraints on how I
can think and how I can express myself. Paul does not have a canned
approach.
"Contextualization"
Meaning: The Gospel doesn't change,
yet the way that it is communicated changes upon the culture you are in.
"How are they going to identify Jesus in your translation?"
1) Think about the culture you are in
2) Ability to communicate in a way that is faithful to God.
Acts 17:16-34
In summary: Where is Paul?
Athens, the philosophical center What are these philosophical men doing? Talking about ideas? They heard of Paul
"What is this babbler trying to say?"
"He seems to be advocating foreign gods."
They invite Paul to join them and he goes to them
"May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean."
When Paul talks he does not quote scripture, they won't understand him. He relates to them on their level. Your canned approach is not always helpful. Does he communicate Biblical ideas? Yes.
He starts with a creator. Creation is something we all have in common.
The idea of one personal God created everything on purpose and raised his son from the dead, is mind blowing.
"24The 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. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, through he is not far from any one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your won poets have said, "We are his offspring."
1) How would you communicate that God is the supreme creator in your workplace or in your relationship with others?
Ans: We need to start where people start. We need to understand that others are not ignorant or godless, just because they don't believe the Bible does not mean they are not intelligent. You will treat them badly and not by the way they are made, in God's image.
2) How would we communicate these ideas without the rope of safety, without using the Bible?
You have to listen to their story.
You need to think how can I be what God wants me to be at this point in time?
Paul quotes one of their poets, he actually quotes pagan poetry.
He tries to communicate biblical ideas through their own poets.
Take away
Are you willing to do the work to meet a person on where they are at or are you so busy trying to fit them into your can because you are too stretch thin to broaden the can?
Colossians 4:6
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Notes taken by: lorelllawrence@comcast.net
Any errors or miscommunication please refer to me not the pastor, the intent is for you to have the notes for review in the series, also to reflect on during the week.
God Bless,
Lorell