What was Apostle Paul's outline he used when first presenting the Gospel

[Curtis]

Based on what you said above, that appears like you don't believe preaching The Gospel Message in simplicity is effective anymore. Actually it still very much is, for those who have yet to have their chance to 'hear' The Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially in nations where The Gospel is seldom preached.

But in the traditional Christian West, just about everyone has heard The Gospel basics. And many Christian brethren have been going to their Church for many, many years, hearing The Gospel over and over again. So maybe that's why you seem to think preaching The Gospel in simplicity is not effective anymore. It still is, maybe you're just not seeing how effective it is in backward poor countries.

But for brethren that have already heard and believed, per Apostle Paul in Hebrews 5, we should eventually become teachers, no longer on the "milk", but on the "strong meat" of God's Word.

However, the "strong meat" will not be effective with those who still reject Jesus Christ. Yet I believe there are still many in today's world that are seeing the Signs of the end of this world, and are asking theirselves what's going on. In that case, being in the "strong meat" of God's Word makes the teacher able to relate to those, and show those Signs from God's Word to them, and then explain The Gospel of Jesus Christ to them that was ordained from the foundation of the world.

And in Acts 17 when Paul preached to the pagan Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, the response was about like you’d get preaching on a street corner in America today.

 

[Wynona]

Paul had an audience that willingly listened to him....he talked to them...although they might have had different views.
Talking at people does a disservice to the gospel under the guise of it being a witness for him.....be they ever so sincere.

Today people in the western world are saturated with 'christianity' so the approach that drew an audience in times gone by today pushes them away.
We are to be fishers of men....and a fisher uses bait to attract his object. He doesn't flail the water in the hope of catching fish. That very process would drive the fish away.

The idea of being shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves needs to be given more thought.

To each his own.

If you have a better method than street preaching, I'd love to hear about it. I think there are multiple ways to win souls. But street preaching has saved souls, so I can't knock it.

 

[quietthinker]

To each his own.

If you have a better method than street preaching, I'd love to hear about it. I think there are multiple ways to win souls. But street preaching has saved souls, so I can't knock it.

I was brought in and nurtured by street preachers however, they were of a different nature than presented in post #6
The issue revolves around talking to people or talking at them.
In my view, talking to people is engagement....talking at people is nothing more than flattering ones ego......a compulsion which has given no thought to representing Jesus well.

 

[Curtis]

To each his own.

If you have a better method than street preaching, I'd love to hear about it. I think there are multiple ways to win souls. But street preaching has saved souls, so I can't knock it.

Paul preached in open markets and other public places where people gathered, which is equivalent to street preaching, and his reception when he preached Jesus in synagogues showed that his audiences were far from receptive:

Act 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

 

[Wynona]

I was brought in and nurtured by street preachers however, they were of a different nature than presented in post #6
The issue revolves around talking to people or talking at them.
In my view, talking to people is engagement....talking at people is nothing more than flattering ones ego......a compulsion which has given no thought to representing Jesus well.

So you don't mind all street preachers. You just rather they engage in more one-on-one conversations?

 

[quietthinker]

Paul preached in open markets and other public places where people gathered, which is equivalent to street preaching, and his reception when he preached Jesus in synagogues showed that his audiences were far from receptive:

Act 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

I don't read that Paul's audience was unreceptive. I read the Jews stirred certain people up and generated opposition.

 

[quietthinker]

So you don't mind all street preachers. You just rather they engage in more one-on-one conversations?

An audience which listens to street preachers is there by choice. If there is no willing audience and a preacher keeps rabbiting on, it speaks poorly of him. 'Bible bashing' and self promotion has nothing in common with God's Spirit.

 

[Curtis]

I don't read that Paul's audience was unreceptive. I read the Jews stirred certain people up and generated opposition.

Who do you think his audience was in synagogues?

 

[quietthinker]

Who do you think his audience was in synagogues?

Your serpentine approach Curtis is to your own hurt.

 

[Davy]

And in Acts 17 when Paul preached to the pagan Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, the response was about like you’d get preaching on a street corner in America today.

But if only 1 person heard Paul with spiritual ears and believed, then it was worth it. Like Lord Jesus said, many are called, but few are chosen. And in this present world especially, it is not really up to us whom God gives 'eyes to see, and ears to hear'; remember about the mysteries of Matthew 13.

 

[Desire Of All Nations]

I also think it's difficult to compare the Mars Hill sermon to an effective sermon today due to the vastly different cultures and knowledge. Unbelievers are not standing in the same shoes of those in the 1st century.

It's not necessarily true that the knowledge is different. Much like the philosophers Paul talked with at Mars Hill, a lot of religious and non-religious people today place the pride they have in their intellect over knowing the truth. The same Satan that kept those men in the dark is keeping a lot of people in the dark today, as 2 Cor. 4:3-4 and Rev. 12:9 teaches. The way deceived people respond to the truth never changes.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Ok, thank you, have reviewed Acts 17:22-34 . . . here it is for discussion purposes (New version of the NIV):


22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Ok, I think maybe some other things might have been shared . . . I mean, it says in 34 that some of the people became followers of Paul and believed . . . If I took this same message to people in my town square, I don't think I could get anyone to believe just repeating what Paul said . . . I think there must be more meat on the bone of the Gospel that he shared that is not mentioned here. All I have is practical theology here . . . just parroting what Paul says here I don't think will sway anyone. For kicks though, I might try to repeat it to see if anyone responds . . . which leads me to another question . . .

Has anyone ever parroted Paul's sermon in Athens to others with any success? Thank you.

Spreading the gospel today is much different. People of the world have already heard the stories of the Bible, seen numerous movies and so Christianity has saturated the world. Back then, Paul was presenting to Gentiles something they never heard of before. One passage didn't do it though.
He traveled to many areas and would preach for weeks or months before he moved on. They eventually heard the entire story of Jesus life, after a summation given to them of the Old Testament as well. To Jews, he would present Jesus as the Messiah whom scriptures spoke of and would confirm the many prophecies He fulfilled.
It is rarely a few verses that lead to conversion. Like church today, do you think everyone becomes saved after hearing only one sermon? No, God draws them in, speaks to their hearts and a light goes on. They become interested and then go back another time and another. It does happen like at Pentecost, when Peter spoke and thousands got saved. The Holy Spirit came upon them. I believe their hearts were prepared, possibly in some cases for many years. They heard and saw Jesus miracles and were led to this event and believed.
As with a Billy Graham preaching in a stadium, thousands come forward, not because they never heard the gospel before, or the simple words he spoke about life, but because their hearts were prepared long ago for this event that they were drawn to and they were ready to make a decision. Billy Graham had a way to finally nudge them off the fence ( of course it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him that did it).
I am not an evangelist, not everyone has that gift ( Eph. 4:11). But many attempt to go out and give it a go. Those who are gifted seem to lead many to Christ. Those who are not may think something is wrong.
" I swear I used every word Paul did in that passage and they walked away ... some laughed ... what's wrong with me"? Nothing.
My Pastor used to say to newcomers, "Come at least six times ... we'll grow on you." Some people take years before they make a committment.
Evangelism starts with much prayer. Then opening up a dialogue with a person. Listen to their needs, desires, their perspective. Find out about them, help them, love them. Then you can know how to approach them. Certain people need patience, gentleness. Type A people need a different approach. God will lead you to press the right buttons. If He is not present, it won't work and many seem think that their formula is the right one and need to just persevere with it and eventually someone will respond. Everyone is different and so each individual case is unique. You might say one thing that sticks with someone and you had no clue that it did, it wasn't part of your canned sermon. But God put that in your words at the right time, because He knows that person's heart and it worked or it was a seed that would lie dormant for awhile until the next witness came along.
I do believe that faith comes by the Word and so whatever your methods, sermons must include God's Word.