Preaching the Gospel Without Cultural Power
While Paul delivers at least six speeches in the book of Acts that work as models of good preaching, his discourse to philosophers in Athens (Acts 17) usually gets the most attention. This is because it is a great example of cultural contextualization, a skill that is becoming more and more valued among evangelical Christians who don’t want to be seen as fundamentalists or culturally inarticulate.
We should admire Paul's preaching to the culturally sophisticated in that passage, but there is much to learn from another of Paul's sermons: his defense of his actions before King Agrippa, the Roman ruler of Judea, in Acts 26. While his other speeches provide valuable insight on bringing the gospel to the culturally savvy, Paul’s speech to Agrippa models what it looks like to share the gospel when the speaker has a complicated relationship with the reigning political power. And this insight is still useful for many of today’s Christians—particularly those in Europe.
PAUL MODELS HOW TO VIEW OUR CULTURE’S AUTHORITY WHEN SHARING THE GOSPEL.
In Acts 21, Paul arrives in Jerusalem only to be attacked by the Jews for preaching the gospel. Roman soldiers imprison Paul, in part to protect him. After that, Paul finds himself in a massive legal trial as he testifies about his actions before the Jewish Sanhedrin, and is transferred to Caesarea to appear before the governor Felix and, two years later, Felix’s successor, Festus, and finally Agrippa.
Agrippa held power over Paul, as the opening scene makes clear. He and his sister Bernice “came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city” (Acts 25:23). His position included the power to permit Paul to speak or remain silent, but his position also protected Paul.
For many Christians, especially Europeans, these two aspects of power and protection are familiar and important to consider. It’s tempting for European Christians to feel ambivalent toward those who rule over us in our modern democracies, whether that authority is political, cultural, or otherwise. On one hand, our modern democracies protect us. But at other times, we feel its power in less positive ways.
Paul preached the gospel within this tension. He didn’t wait to find a perfectly comfortable environment before he preached again. He preached the gospel in chains. In the same way, Christians today can’t wait for perfect trust in culture’s power and protection in order to share the gospel with it. The gospel is to be preached when you feel at home with culture and politics and when you don't.
Christians engage this principle in different ways. Some are uncomfortable going against the grain and find themselves accommodating the desires of their culture, even when they conflict with the gospel. Others preach against cultural and political power all the time because they feel like they’ve always been against the grain, which can lead to unhealthy hostility and bitterness.
These are two errors many of us experience. The first is the error of accommodation. The second, the error of hostility. In order to avoid them, we can follow Paul’s example: don't prioritize cultural and political protection so you can feel safe preaching the gospel.
PAUL’S TESTIMONY EMPHASIZES THE FREEDOM OF THE GOSPEL OVER THE FREEDOM OF EARTHLY AUTHORITY.
In Athens, Paul was working to understand the culture’s story. In Acts 26, the culture is assessing Paul’s story.
Initially, Paul defends himself by sharing the story of his conversion to Christianity (26:2-18). He explains that the Jews are outraged because he has testified to the story of Christ and encouraged Gentiles to follow him as well (26:19-23). It works. At the end of it, Festus, Agrippa, and Bernice agree that Paul has done nothing to deserve death or imprisonment. To them, this court case got unnecessarily complicated.
Why did they rule that Paul was innocent? Because he placed the gospel before his own vindication. Paul set aside his own interests to share what he believed in. Even though his judges were not convinced that he was right (26:28), they did recognize that he was sincere and therefore undeserving of punishment.
There will be times when Christians must strive to protect their civil liberties, but the story of Jesus must always take priority over our safety. Paul doesn’t let his innocence get in the way of sharing Christ. If we find ourselves seeking political justification, we must make our case by sharing what Jesus has done for us. The gospel—not civil protection—is what sets us free.
PAUL MODELS RECONCILING WITH THE RESULTS OF PREACHING THE GOSPEL.
Even though Paul is declared innocent, his sermon earns him some degree of intellectual scorn from the judges. Festus interrupts him at one point. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouts. “Your great learning is driving you insane” (26:24).
Paul, however, doesn’t seem discouraged. In fact, he replies to Agrippa’s joke—“In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (26:28)—with one of his own: “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” (At least, I read it as a joke.)
Though everyone in the room wasn’t miraculously converted then and there, Paul maintains his position with hope and high spirits. After all, he is granted freedom. His words are still read today. We too should remember that even though sharing the gospel may not always seem like it produces big results, there is always something to be gained when we tell the story of Jesus the way the gospel shows us to.
Paul’s example encourages us to ask ourselves these questions:
If I feel drawn to accommodate to the culture around me: Am I willing to recognize that the gospel, with all its truth and challenges, will always make people uncomfortable?
If I feel drawn to share the gospel only to confront and challenge people: Am I willing to extend to others the tremendous mercy Jesus has given to me?
If I feel drawn to share the gospel just to defend my civil privileges: Am I willing to imitate Paul (and Jesus) by letting go of my natural rights to celebrate the freedom we’ve been given by God?
If I feel drawn to share the gospel so I can see big results: Am I willing to find joy, humor, and God’s blessings in all circumstances?
As we follow Christ, there will be times we feel protected by those in power and times we feel overpowered by them. We’re called to preach the gospel without compromise and hostility in both circumstances.
May the Lord help us as we strive to be faithful.
About the Author
Tiago Oliveira Cavaco holds a degree in Communication Sciences from the New University of Lisbon and pastor of Lapa Church in Lisbon, Portugal. He has worked for ten years in television, collaborates with Ler magazine, and has since 2003 maintained the blog “Voz do Deserto.” He is the author of books such as Six Sermons Against Laziness and Having Faith in the City, published by Vida Nova.