Covert Ops?

Covert Ops Faith

Acts 17:22-28 (ESV)  So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Sometimes we’re faced with an audience with whom we’d like to share our faith who are unfamiliar with the Bible or reject it altogether as reliable.  Yet, they seem ready to learn about the faith we hold dear.  How can we present our faith.

A friend, Jacob, and I teach a witnessing class at our church, and in that class we tell the students they should not just learn the material but should know it well enough to explain it to others.  I think this is a good test of whether we really know what we believe overall: can we explain it to someone who has no understanding at all of what we believe?

In the passage above, Paul is just sort of waiting around for his fellow workers and decides to fearlessly “shoot the breeze” with some of the great Athenian rulers and philosophers of his time.  After all, when you have the truth, what is there to fear from those who do not?

Rather than quote Scripture to them, though, he gave the story of faith: who God is and what He has done for us all.  Among the converts by the way was Dionysius who we believe became the first bishop of Athens.

When we encounter people who have no idea of our faith or what it entails, can we explain our faith as well as Paul did?  Do we know more than just the Scriptures of the Romans Road or the Four Spiritual Laws?  Do we understand our faith so completely we can explain it freely in common language, in common circumstances, using common illustrations?  If not, I think we’ll be caught off guard more often than we would like.

Don’t get me wrong, Scripture is the foremost tool in witnessing.  Having John 3:16 and the Romans Road memorized will always lead to a good discussion and possible conversion.  But can we direct the conversation well enough with explanation alone if necessary as Paul did?

Maybe we have family members who have said they don’t want to hear any more Bible verses or the conversation will end.  I had that happen with my brother and had to wait forty years before I could talk with him seriously about the Lord again.  They know the gospel.  Usually we’ve explained it so often they are sick of hearing about Jesus.  So, what can we say?  Paraphrasing Scripture can be a good direction to take.  God’s Word does not return to Him empty.  “You know God just loves us so much,” or “Do you think people should be punished for their crimes?  God feels that way too and holds us responsible for our crimes against Him, but He offers a pardon.” Sometimes only your example of a Christian life well lived will be the gospel they see.

Why is this important?

In combative situations or situations where the person we are speaking with has no concept of God’s love for them, we can still make a dent, “put a pebble in their shoe,” as Greg Koukl likes to say.  The Holy Spirit can use these efforts to remind them of how much He loves them.

We should seek to explain what we believe clearly and plainly.  We can share Scripture without telling others where it came from.  These are effective ways to begin to plant and water the Gospel in the lives of others.

When the person is ready to hear the direct path to God the Father through Jesus Christ, they will be more receptive to direct Scripture.

This is situational, of course.  When we speak with cultists who turn to the Bible for guidance, we can guide them to the passages of Scripture which directly apply.  They will accept those.  When we speak with atheists, though, we often need to be a little more covert.