WITNESSING TO A LOST SOCIETY

TOPIC: WITNESSING TO A LOST SOCIETY


TEXT: Acts 17:16-33 


MEMORY VERSE: Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry - Acts 1 7.16.

CENTRAL TRUTH: Christians have the God ordained responsibility to declare the truth of the Gospel to an ungodly society.

The truth of the Gospel is the message of life to the lost and hope to the hopeless from the living God. We are living in a society given to idolatry and other abominations and therefore needs the power of God to bring it back to life. it is only the potent power of God that can quicken men's dead consciousness. “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord", we need to persuade men by proclaiming the true God, teaching them repentance from dead works and faith in the living God.

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1. DEALING WITH THE LOST SOCIETY -Acts 17:16-21.
The Athenians and their strangers spent their time in hearing and telling new stories. Listening to fables and philosophies of men. Their philosophers neither believed in God nor in the resurrection. The entire society was given to superstition and idolatry. Conditions like these leave any society in rebellion and disobedience to God and the god of this world blinding the hearts of men with empty philosophies, worldly pursuits, sensual pleasure and vain religion.
The society in its lost state is blind to the truth, deaf to the voice of godly reasoning and need be reached with the message of redemption that is in Christ. It therefore behooves the Church to be stirred up in the spirit and then proclaim the true God to a dying society.

2. PROCLAIMING THE TRUE GOD -Acts 17:22-29.
Paul beheld the devotions of the Athenians as they gave themselves to worship everything conceivable under the sun. He was moved to proclaim to them the true and living God, who made Heaven and Earth and need be worshiped in spirit and in truth. Religion has no power to save the lost society but Christ does.
Today in our society we have people who believe that salvation is in religious observances. They have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They must hear the good news of God’s love manifested in Jesus Christ. Christ did not only bring spiritual blessings (redemption and eternal life) but also opened the door of temporal blessings which were lost because of sin (Luke 1 :68-75). Jesus is Ged’s love gift who came as a blessing to the willing and obedient.

3. PREACHING REPENTANCE-Acts17:30-33. 
Repentance serves as the foundation for the Christian faith ( Heb. 6:1,2), and it is God's commandment to men of every age and every generation. Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness of sins. without remission of sins, there is no salvation and without salvation there is no relationship with God.
No doubt, some will doubt the salvation message. others will mock but still others will believe and cleave to us. We should not be weary in well doing. We need not delay for life is short and the judgement is coming, but we should present the news loud and clear (Isa. 58:1; luke 24:47).

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DISCUSSION
1 . What stirred Paul's heart while he was waiting at Athens?
2. What attracted the attention of the Epicureans and Stoic Philosophers
3. Why did the Athenians erect an altar with the inscription “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”?
4. How did the people respond to Paul’s message?

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