ESOCS Devotional 27 October 2026 – How To Communicate The Gospel
MEMORY VERSE: “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” Acts 17: 22 KJV
TEXT: ACTS 17:16-34
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?”
Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” 33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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Many Christians today do not know how to communicate the Gospel to many unbelieving members of the society, like the educated, the poor, rich, destitute, kings, people in authority, etc. There is a way to deliver the message to each group. Apostle Paul’s education on this is very apt.
In our text, Paul’s address is a good example of how to communicate the Gospel. Paul did not begin by reciting Jewish history, as he usually does since it would be meaningless to his Greek audience. He started by building a case for the one true God, using examples they understood (verse 22, 23).
The Athenians had built an idol to the unknown god for fear of missing blessings or receiving punishment. So, Paul’s opening statement to these men was about their unknown god, even though he was not approving it, but used the inscription as a point of entry for his witness to the one true God. From there, he established common ground by emphasizing what they agreed on about God (vv. 24-29). Finally, he moved the message to the person of Christ, centring on His resurrection (vv. 30, 31).
When we witness to others therefore, we can follow Paul’s approach – use examples, establish common ground, then move the audience toward a decision point about Jesus Christ.
Suffice to state that Paul explained the one true God to these educated men of Athens. They were very religious generally, yet they did not know the one true God. The same way, today, we have Christians who are yet to know God. There is the need for us to proclaim who He is; and the works of salvation He did through His Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot assume the religious and educated ones around us truly know Jesus and the need for faith in Him.
Reflections
- Religiosity is not knowing God.
Prayer
- Dear Holy Spirit of God, teach me how to communicate the Gospel.
Further Reading: Matthew 5, 6, 7; Acts 2: 14-47
ESOCS Devotional 27 October 2026
