PREACHING THE TRUE GOD

Although Paul found common ground with the Greeks and used some of their poetry, as we saw in yesterday’s devotional, his teaching about God was fundamentally based on Scripture. He described God as the Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, Father, and Judge—all biblical concepts (Acts 17:24-31).

For many today, God is still the “Unknown God,” as he was to the Athenians in Paul’s day. They have all kinds of speculations and false ideas about what God may be like, and they desperately need to know the truth about him.

Twentieth-century theologian John Stott, in his book The Message of Acts, said,

People are looking for an integrated world-view which makes sense of all their experience. We learn from Paul that we cannot preach the gospel of Jesus without the doctrine of God, or the cross without the creation, or salvation without judgment. Today’s world needs a bigger gospel, the full gospel of Scripture.

Stott’s words are still true today.

In our post-Christian culture, people are curious about who God is, what God has done, and how knowing God can transform their lives. A world that doesn’t know about God needs to see a robust, beautiful picture of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In my experience, the more I share that the living Creator is all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing and that he desires to know and love people, the more curious people become.

Lost people are not looking for a puny, watered-down version of God. Give them the big, beautiful, life-giving God of Scripture revealed in King Jesus.

Missional principle #5: Point people to the God of Scripture.