Living as a Christian in a Secular World

Living as a Christianin a

Secular World

Acts 17:16-34

Adapted from a Dr. Calvin Wittman sermonhttp://www.lifeway.com/Article/Sermon-Sharing%20Christ-

with-a-christless-culture-Acts-17

The war with Britain cut off the supply of Bibles to the United States with the result that on

Sept. 11, 1777, Congress instructed its Committee of Commerce to import 20,000

Bibles from "Scotland, Holland or elsewhere."

On January 21, 1781, Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken (1734-1802) petitioned

Congress to officially sanction a publication of the Old and New Testament which he was

preparing at his own expense.

Congress "highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as

subservient to the interest of religion . . . in this country, and . . . they recommend this edition

of the bible to the inhabitants of the United States." This resolution was a result of Aitken's

successful accomplishment of his project. (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel04.html)

The secularization of our country is an interesting thing.

In the name of education and advancement, educators and intellectuals have dismissed the

most influential book of all times from our curriculum.

And yet, in a day when censorship is decried by the liberals, they themselves have

censored the Bible from the realm of public education.

The results have been devastating.

If one were to go back and document the decline of our culture over the past four

decades, one fact that would be glaringly noticeable would be the significant correlation between prayer and scripture being taken out of public schools and the rapid decline of the

culture we once knew.

Proverbs 29:18 ESV Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

but blessed is he who keeps the law.

All of this has led us to where we are today; a generation of people who embrace as truth a

philosophy which says there is no truth.The days of preaching to people who have

even the most basic understanding of Christianity are gone in our country.

Now, I say this, not to reminisce about the good old days, but merely to clearly establish where we are as we try to communicate Christ

to a Christless culture.

Many Christians today, sit around and bemoan the loss of what they consider the "golden

days.“But I don't think that is a biblical response. The truth of the matter is that our culture is still far better off than the culture into which Paul and

the Apostles brought the gospel.

Acts 17:16-34 is a famous passage where we find the Apostle Paul in Athens, preaching the message of Christ to the intelligentsia of his

day.

Acts 17:16 ESV Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked

within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue

with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who

happened to be there.

18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to

say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he

was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the

Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?

20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend

their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 22 So Paul, standing in the

midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very

religious.

23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.'

What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the

world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples

made by man,

25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself

gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man

every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted

periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

27 that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find

him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver

or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance

God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he

has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has

appointed;

and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." 32 Now when they

heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." 33 So Paul went out from

their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius

the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Even as Paul was called to take the message of Christ to a Christless culture; so we too have been given this glorious task. Man's

basic needs have not changed. Man is still in need of a Savior, and Jesus Christ is still the only way. Man's thinking may have changed,

but Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Our challenge is to find the most effective way to communicate Christ to our culture.

I want to show you four things about Paul's ministry in Athens and then draw some

application oriented conclusions.My hope is that we can learn from Paul how to better share our faith within the framework of

our culture.

Fleeing from persecution at Thessalonica and Berea, Paul heads to Athens to await the

arrival of Timothy and Silas.

This is the occasion for his famous sermon on Mar's Hill.

Paul's Cultural Setting

The Roman world was one which had been influenced significantly by the Greeks. The art

and literature from ancient Greece, was studied and admired by the Romans, and

every well educated Roman could read and write Greek fluently. The fact that the New

Testament was written in Greek, gives testimony to the influence of Greek thought

and language in Paul's day.

Other than being a pagan culture, by which I mean they worshiped pagan idols, there are two things I would like to point out about the

Athenian culture.First of all, it was a city that personified a

culture given over to hedonism, or the pursuit of physical and sensual pleasure. Verse 18

tells us that there were Epicureans in Athens.


say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities"—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

Epicureans believed a philosophy very akin to modern day Existentialism. While they did not

deny the existence of gods, like the deists, they held that the gods were distant and

uninvolved in the affairs of humans. They were avowed materialists, believing that this life and

experience during it were all there was to human existence.

Denying the existence of eternity, they lived for them moment, professing a belief that the best

life was the one lived free from pain, totally given over to the pursuit of pleasure. This

philosophy, while only truly understood and held by the educated elite, had made its way into the common culture. Lining the streets and temples of Athens were thousands of

sculptures of the human body.

The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia has a room filled with Roman and

Greek statues.Here’s one preacher’s thoughts after a visit

there.From a purely artistic stance, the artists of the

day had a fabulous talent for capturing the human form in marble.

But seen from another point of view, these statues spoke volumes about the sensual

nature of the culture in which Paul ministered. To say the statues were erotic would be an

understatement. It must be remembered that much of the pagan worship in Paul's day

centered around fertility and involved immoral acts between the worshipers and the temple

prostitutes.(such as the temple of Diana in Ephesus)

So the culture of Athens, and for the most part the Roman empire as a whole, was given over

to the pursuit of sensual pleasure.

Secondly, it was a city still associated with learning and culture.

Of all the Greek cities, Athens was the most famous for being a center of art, architecture, philosophy and culture. While it had lost most

of the glory it had held some four to five hundred years earlier, its impressive temples still adorned its streets, drawing artists and philosophers from around the known world.

Verse 18 tells us there were also Stoics at Athens. Stoics had a higher view of the God's

and held to what, today, we would call Pantheism, that is, they believed that god was

to be found in all of nature.We see this type of philosophy today in the

earth worship which is expressed in many new age teachings.

The scripture tells us that nature declares the Glory of God, ie. it gives testimony to His

handiwork, it speaks to His power and might, but God is not in nature.

God is a personal being, Who knows us personally and can be personally known by us.

The Stoics held to a more intellectual philosophy than did the Epicureans. Feeling

that the divine spark was within all living things, they felt that there was a rational

principle that held the cosmic order together. Thus pure reason became the one thing that

connected them with the gods. Like philosophers during the enlightenment, reason

ultimately became their god.

It was into this sensual and philosophical environment, very much like our own, that Paul brought the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This brings us to our second observation, Paul's consuming motivation.

16 ESV Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him

as he saw that the city was full of idols. Verse 16 tells us that his spirit was provoked within him. The Greek word employed here means to be enraged or provoked to wrath.

Paul was physically upset at the sight of such idolatry and paganism.

Paul's Consuming Motivation

Paul knew that these statues were merely man-made objects that held no power to save,

no power to protect, no power to forgive or respond. He knew that it was God who had created the heaven and earth. He knew the truth, and the deception and false teachings that surrounded him stirred within his soul a deep and profound righteous indignation.

He knew God's truth

Perhaps you've experienced the same thing from time to time: When you know something is false, but it is being presented as the truth.

All you have to do is watch CNN for a few minutes and you'll have a similar experience.Paul's knowledge of the truth, the truth that had set him free, caused him to respond.

Not only was it his intellect, his knowledge of God's truth, that stirred him, but Paul, like all

Christians, was indwelt by God's Spirit.One of the things we must keep in mind is that the closer we are to God, the more sensitive

we will be to His Spirit.

He was indwelt by God's Spirit

Ephesians 4 tells us that with our words we can grieve the Spirit of God.

We know that He is a person who lives within us, guiding us into truth, convicting us of sin,

and leading us in the pathways of righteousness.

When Jesus beheld the money changers at the temple, His righteous indignation swelled

up within him.

When Paul saw the extent to which these Athenians were in the dark, he was similarly

incensed.

Of course the question is, when was the last time you became upset because of the

lostness of the world around you? When was the last time you were moved to words or

action by the culture in which you live?The problem with many Christians today is

that they are content to let others go to hell, as long as they and theirs go to heaven.

This kind of attitude gives evidence to insensitivity to God's Spirit.

The same Spirit that was within Paul is within us.

The question is: Is our response like his?

But there was another motivating factor in Paul's life..

2 Corinthians 5:13 ESV For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ

controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have

died;

He was constrainedby God's love

Paul understood why Jesus died on the cross. Not only did he have a cognitive

understanding of the love of God, he had a personal experience with the God of love. How

is it that we can claim to have died to ourselves and now allow Christ to live within

us, and yet we are unmoved by the lostness of those around us?

How can we claim to be His body and yet remain indifferent to the eternal lostness of the

very people for whom Christ died?Paul was moved and constrained by the love

of God, even as we should be.But notice one more thing:

I believe Paul was jealous for God's glory.

He knew that there is only one God, and yet these Athenians were worshiping, giving glory

to, ascribing praise to mere stones.The credit belonging to God was going to

idols. Isaiah 42:8 ESV I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my

praise to carved idols.

He was Jealousfor God's glory

This is the feeling that swept over Paul as he stood amidst the idolatry of Athens.

It was what motivated him to share Christ with a Christless culture.

This brings us to our third observation, Paul's Christ centered message.



Paul's Christ-Centered Message

Verse 18 tells us that Paul preached Jesus and the resurrection. Of course it is impossible to preach that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, without first preaching that Jesus died on a cross. The gospel, plain and simple was

Paul's message.

Verse 18 also gives us insight into how many received his message, they called him an idle

babbler. A literally translation of what they called him was "seed picker.“

It carried with it the idea of a bird pecking indiscriminately at scraps of ideas here and

there, and then passing them off as profundity, with no depth of understanding whatsoever.

It is, however, of extreme importance that the scripture tells us that Paul preached Jesus and

the resurrection.Romans 1:16 ESV For I am not ashamed of

the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew

first and also to the Greek.Paul makes the meaning of the gospel, the good news, very clear when writing his 1st

letter to the Saints in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 15:1 ESV Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast

to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our

sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and

that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still

alive, though some have fallen asleep.

The death for our sins, burial & resurrection of Christ, all according to the Scriptures, are of

first importance.

The cultural climate in which we live, brings with it the very real temptation to try and make

the gospel palatable, to make it easier to swallow or somehow less harsh. After all, a

message that says we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus to Calvary,

is not going to be a popular message in a society that is given over to self satisfaction

and the pursuit of material things and pleasure.

John MacArthur, in his book, Hard to Believe, says, "Now comes the issue that's behind all

the pop music and self congratulation and ‘fun' that the seeker sensitive churches promise: People aren't going to buy Christianity if it’s that hard. If it doesn't meet their needs, they

won't be interested. If they want six fruit flavors and you've only got two, you've lost them.

They need Christianity that tastes great, and if it’s less filling in the short run, well, we'll

explain all the hard stuff later.

There's a name for that in the marketing world," says MacArthur, "and it's called bait

and switch."

1 Corinthians 1:22 ESV For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we

preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the

power of God and the wisdom of God.

The scripture tells us that the gospel is a stumbling block, foolishness, certainly for those who do not know Christ....but the problem today is that it has become a

stumbling block for many who profess to know Him.

The result is a watered down version of the gospel which, while trying to be relevant to the

culture in which we live, ends up compromising the heart of the gospel.

Paul tells Timothy to do his job to prepare for what he sees coming.

2 Timothy 4:1 ESV I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to

judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the

word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete

patience and teaching.

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers

to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into

myths.

We must ever be conscious of the reality that it is the gospel, not our persuasive speech, not our ability to market the church or even our Lord, but it is the power of the gospel itself, applied to the hearts of the hearers by the

Holy Spirit that leads to salvation.

While I am a strong advocate for helping people come to a clear understanding of the

gospel message, and I believe we must know how to answer anyone who asks for a reason

for the hope that is within us. Keep in mind what Jesus said in John 6:44 ESV No one can

come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last

day.

Paul's message was Christ-centered.

He was not depending upon his own persuasive ability to get people to believe the

message of the cross, on the contrary, he knew that was God's job, not his.

That doesn't mean he was sloppy or half-hearted in understanding his audience and their beliefs, it simply means that he knew

where the power was,in the gospel message of Jesus Christ,

crucified and resurrected.

Perhaps no greater proof of this power can be seen in our day and age than in the movie

"The Passion of the Christ.“It’s reported to have been the number one

movie in Turkey, Egypt, and in several other middle eastern countries.

Christian missionaries reported Muslims going to see the film and believing in Christ as

Savior.

I would hardly call that movie seeker sensitive. I would hardly call it inoffensive, if anything it is extremely offensive, but that's the nature of the message of the gospel, it is offensive to learn that your sin and my sin sent Jesus to die on the cross. It is extremely offensive to come to

terms with the fact that because of our sins He suffered and died a cruel and horrible death.

We must never take the offense out of the gospel, lest we convey a message that fails to

show the sinfulness of man.We should not seek to be offensive,

1 Peter 3:15 ESV but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for

a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

While our message is offensive, we, as Christ's messengers should speak the truth in

love, not in anger or with a spirit of self-righteousness.

Paul preached Jesus, and so should you and I.

Now, that was the content of His message, but what was his communication method?

How did he approach these Epicurean and Stoic philosophers?

That brings us to our next observation.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as

he saw that the city was full of idols.

Paul's Communication MethodGeneral observation

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive

that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of

your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What

therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

First and foremost Paul understood to whom he was speaking.

It is very important to know your audience. While the content of the message must never vary. If you are preaching to Kenyan farmers you will approach the gospel one way. If you are speaking to Wall Street stockbrokers, you

will approach it another way.

How you approach your audience depends upon who they are, and you know that by

observation.

Paul was in Athens, he was among philosophers, educated people who thought they knew more than they did, he knew them

to be religious and that's where he began.

17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who

happened to be there.

Religious conversation

If you study Paul's missionary methods, you'll find that in nearly every city Paul preached,

the first place he went was to the Jews. Why? Because, remember, Christianity is the

fulfillment of Judaism.Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the Jewish

prophets. Paul went to a place where he could find common ground.

He preached to the Jews and to the God-fearing gentiles.

He began with people who had a similar world view as he did. But then he took it to the

market place, where the pagans would be, and he dialogued with them.

That's what the scripture says, he carried on a conversation, reasoned, with them.

He listened to their questions, and he responded with God's answers.

Sharing the gospel is more than merely telling others what you know and believe, it is also

taking the time to listen and answer their questions.

Paul did both, but he did so from a position of understanding.

Paul was well versed in the philosophy of the day.

He had studied their beliefs, after all, Judaism was an ancient religion, and the educated

Jews of his day had learned how to be apologists for their belief in one God.

Intellectual comprehension

Paul took this understanding and applied it to his gospel presentation.

The scripture, in verse 18, says he was conversing, or debating with them.

In verse 28 we find Paul actually quoting one of their poets. Paul was well versed, not only in their philosophy, but also in their traditions

and their literature.Paul had become a student of his culture so

he would better be able to convey the message of Christ. Paul had become all things

to all men that he might save some.

He was willing to invest his time, his mind and his life in doing whatever it took to reach

others with the message of Christ.

So, understanding his culture, knowing their literature, their religious thoughts, their

philosophical underpinnings, Paul confronts them.



Pointed confrontation

23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.'

What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

There came a point when the preliminary groundwork had been laid and Paul cut to the

chase.He confronted them about the differences between the falsehoods they believed and

what He knew to be true.This is a difficult thing for many modern day

Christians.

We are welcome to share Christ with others, so long as we don't tell them…

John 14:6 ESV Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes

to the Father except through me. It is the exclusivity of Christ, that causes many

Christians problems.

Paul understood that he had to come to a point of confrontation, to a point where he

showed them the difference between truth and error.

If we are going to faithfully present the gospel to our culture, we will have to come to that

point of confrontation.From there he simply presented the gospel.

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and

earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as

though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and

everything.

Gospel presentation

26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the

boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God in the hope that they might

feel their way toward him and find him.

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have

said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to

think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and

imagination of man.

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on

which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him

from the dead."

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We

will hear you again about this."

He starts in verse 24 with the One God as the Creator of all things, supreme above all of

creation and sovereign in the universe.He tells them that everything that is comes

from God, and that all of humanity has been created by Him, and that God is the God of

time, of life and of death.

In verse 27 he says that man does not seek after God on his own because of his

sinfulness, but that man is theistic because we have been created in His image. From there he declares to them that God has revealed Himself to humanity in the form of His only

Son Jesus, who will come and judge the earth, and He preaches the resurrection to them and

in verse 30 calls them to repent.

This is the gospel.That God created us, that sin separates us from Him, that only through the completed work of Jesus (death, burial & resurrection) can we be in right relationship with God and

that unless we come to know Him we will face an inevitable judgment.

Notice with me, in verse 32 that after he preached the gospel, some mocked. But

others said, "We will hear you again about this."

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere

to repent,… 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among

whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with

them.

Personal invitation

The call to repentance in verse 30 culminates in verse 34 where the scripture says, "But

some men joined him and believed."

God has not called us to be successful; He has called us to be faithful.

Paul used his knowledge of the culture, his passion for the gospel, and the opportunity

God gave him to preach the gospel.

His faithfulness resulted in people being saved.

The mandate of our Lord remains the same for us as it has for all Christians over the last two

millennia.

As we go we are to make, not mere decisions…

Our Commission And Mandate

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded

you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19,20 ESV

Mark 16:15 ESV And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is

baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

We find proclaiming & obeying the gospel (death, burial & resurrection) in His command.

Proclaiming:make disciples, proclaim the gospel,

Obeying:baptizing them, is baptized.

Romans 6:3 ESV Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into

death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we

too might walk in newness of life.

That's what our Lord has commanded us to do, and we are to do it with all diligence.

Ours is a culture that, while embracing secular humanism, while embracing the experiential

tenets of Existentialism has rejected the historic message of Jesus Christ crucified.

Many Christians are simply baffled by the culture, they cannot understand it, they do not

like it and they seek to avoid it.

But Christ has called us to reach our culture, like it or not.

And herein lies the tension for modern day Christians.

We want to convey the message of Christ to our culture, but not in such a way that will

seem tired and worn out.At the same time we cannot compromise the

heart of the message, we cannot water it down, or try to make it acceptable to lost

people.

The very nature of the gospel means that it will always be offensive to those who are

perishing.

But remember, it is not our knowledge or our persuasiveness that will win them over, it is the

power of the gospel itself.

We are called to share the old, old story, to a culture that needs to hear it in the context of where they live and who they think they are.

That is why it is so important for us to understand the prevalent worldviews that lost

people hold. We need to understand the times, in order to know how to most effectively carry

out our Lord's great commission.

Allow me to suggest several things I think will help you understand the culture and thereby better communicate the message of Christ to

the world in which you live.

You cannot share what you do not know. If you are not well grounded in your own faith, you will be a miserable failure at trying to share

with others what you yourself do not understand.

Be certain of what you believe

Go online and look up things like post-modernism, or Existentialism.

If you’re not yet living in the digital world of computers take the time to go to the library &

do some research.Put down the television remote and pick up a

book.

Be aware of what others believe

Engage your brain.More than a hundred years ago Charles

Spurgeon said, “I believe a very large majority of churchgoers are merely unthinking,

slumbering worshipers of an unknown God.”May that never be said of us.

Don't look at it like a burdensome task, but rather a great privilege.

I find that we are generally prepared to do what we like to do.

Most Christians I know are always prepared to eat, why?

Because we like to eat.

Be prepared to share

A wise man once said, “The gospel runs along the tracks of relationships. The people God is

going to use you to reach are most often people whom He has put into your circle of

acquaintances. Be sensitive to opportunities, crises in their lives, moments of openness,

when they are searching for answers. Have an ear open to the voice of God's Spirit.”

Be sensitive tothe Spirit of God

Don't give up. People in different cultures respond differently. When the gospel is

preached in certain places in Africa people respond by the thousands. In Western Europe, it may take years of faithful work to see even one person come to Christ. You and I have to be faithful to our Lord in the culture where He

has planted us.

Be faithful

Spiritual

Living as a Christian in a Secular World