The Gospel for the Pagan

Overview

There’s no doubt if you’re looking to understand what real Christianity is, the book of Acts is the place you should start. Nothing shows us what authentic Christianity is more than the earliest years of the church’s history in the book of Acts.

The first church was in Jerusalem and the first Christians were Jewish. When the gospel began to spread in the first 13 chapters of Acts, we see a lot of evangelism being done between Jews and God-fearers who already believed the Bible. But in this passage, it’s the first time we see Christian speakers speaking to polytheists — people who don’t believe the Bible at all. This passage shows us how we should present the gospel in a place where people believe a lot of different things like our modern society. We can learn four things gospel ministry in such a pluralistic setting: love the needy, identify the idols, endure the hardness, and fulfill the longings.