Mars Hill Method and Message

Paul in Athens
Acts 17:22-34
When we come to Christ, we can't simply have some portion of our lives renovated, we need the old torn down and a new one built by our Builder who is Christ.
We see this to be Paul's approach when confronting the people of Athens - a city of idols, great immorality and worldly philosophies.
* Paul's Method
Destroy the old "house"
- Paul demonstrates to them the sinfulness of their worldview
- He uses the Answer-not/Answer method from Proverbs 9 - Paul answering them not in a way that agrees with their folly but addresses their folly.
- Paul is not suggesting to them that what they're doing is wonderful and all they need is to do is improve, but is telling them to repent and seek the One True God who is not far away from them.
- Paul is telling them that though there was a sense of divinity among them and yet it only brought them folly.
* Paul's Message
Build a new one on a Firm Foundation (Christ)
- Destroying the old house and making people homeless is not the goal so Paul moves on to talking about the building of a new "house".
- He gives them the Gospel - getting them into the new house
- The heart of the matter is not just destroying someone's wrong worldview but preaching the Gospel to them - saving them from sin, winning their souls.
God has set the Day. It is closer today than it was 2000 years ago. As sure as Jesus is alive today that that Day is coming. So the question is have we done what God has commanded us? Have we repented of our sin?
Beware that we do not grow complacent but instead we feel the urgency and burden of this message [of salvation].