Acts 17:22

I recently said in an interview that, as a Christian preacher, “My goal is to offend everyone.” That’s not an argument for boorish behavior in the pulpit. The gospel isn’t adorned by anti-social evangelists or cantankerous Christians. God’s people should strive to be polite, winsome, and well-mannered in dealing with the world. Rather, my point …

Faithful preaching never flies under the radar. Regardless of audience demographics or cultural sensitivities, the unchanging truth of the gospel always provokes a response. When the apostle Paul started preaching in pagan Athens, he didn’t go unnoticed for long. “Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him.” Far from being impressed with …