Acts 17:32-34

Whose fault is it? Who is to blame? Whenever anything fails to meet our expectations, it is natural to want to know why. We seek to accept and assign responsibility in a mature fashion. However, because of what sin has done to our nature, it is very difficult to stay balanced in this effort. We tend toward one extreme or the other. We take all the blame, even when it is not our fault, or we take none of the blame, even when we are largely responsible.

Not only do we operate this way when dealing with our own failures, but we also work the same when looking at the failures of others. I once heard a preacher claim that Paul’s ministry in Athens was a failure, and he blamed that failure on the message Paul preached. It is true that Paul did not establish a growing church in Athens. It is also true that the message recorded by Luke in Acts 17 at the Areopagus is different from the messages Paul delivered in the synagogues. However, it is only reasonable that he would change the delivery of the good news to fit the audience to whom he was speaking. To tell the Athenians that the messiah had come would be meaningless to them; they were not looking for a messiah. They claimed to be looking for answers to the questions of life; Paul told them the good news that they could find all the answers they were looking for in Jesus. Some did follow Paul to find out more about Jesus and then became believers. The response was not overwhelming, but an honest assessment recognizes that it is was not the fault of the message or the responsibility of the messenger. Paul delivered the truth, and that was the extent of his responsibility. He was not responsible for the Athenians failure to respond; they were.

As Christians, we have the same responsibility as Paul. Our responsibility is to witness; we are not responsible for how people respond.