21 Days of Devotion
Read Acts 17:1-34
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
At the Areopagus, Paul preaches to the men of Athens. He begins with concepts about which they agree: the existence of God and the fact that this God is to be worshipped. Although he begins there, he quickly launches into a further description of the one true God, expressed exclusively and most profoundly in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Paul is very clever here. He uses the common ground that he shares with the Athenians to point them to the more specific truth of the Gospel. He acknowledges truth but then clarifies and expands on it. His clever and powerful witness leads to some of those present believing the Gospel and joining him in his mission. How can we be clever like Paul today and find common ground with non-believers from which we can bear witness to the truth of the Gospel?
“All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it, for it has come from God. Besides, all things are of God; and, therefore, why should it not be lawful to dedicate to his glory everything that can properly be employed for such a purpose?”
– John Calvin
Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon
