The Apostle Paul. Master Salesman

I was reading my bible as one does when I came across something interesting. I was in the book of Acts chapter 17. For context, Paul is in Athens at this point in his ministry, and while waiting for his fellow missionaries, he is taking time to look around the city of Athens. While he is doing this he becomes greatly troubled with the idolatry of the city. Being a minister of the Lord, Paul decides to do something about this. Paul’s goal is to make disciples which is inadvertantly a sales job. He is trying to convince others to give up what they have for something else. “Selling is creating a healthy environment for exchange (Spiritual in this example), built on trust and reason, which allows buyers to make mutually beneficial decisions to solve real-world problems (idolatry). So what does Paul do? He masterfully seals the deal with some of the men of Athens.

The steps Paul takes to effectively sell the gospel to the Athenians:

1 He familiarises himself with the culture and the religion of the people of Athens.

Paul is walking around when he comes across the altar with the inscription “To the Unknown god”

2 He isn’t abrasive

when people start to listen to him he complements them by saying “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious” (verse 22) He is building trust with those who are listening to him

3 Paul uses language that the Athenians understand

While explaining to the Greeks the true “unknown God” he uses language from the Greek poets “In him we live and move and have our being” and “For we are indeed his offspring” (Verse 28). The Athenians are hearing a message that they can reason with and now they trust Paul even more.

Paul could have gone gung ho and started criticizing the Athenians for their idolatry and having a weak understanding of the truth. He could have preached hellfire and brimstone to these lost souls, but he took a careful and God-honoring approach. It is important to note that Paul didn’t weaken his message for the sake of reaching broader audiences, and also important to note that not everyone appreciated what Paul had to say (verse 32). “selling is developing business relationships (or kingdom relationships) which explore, and sometimes result in an exchange of goods, services, and or money(or I guess in this case faith)”. Not everyone wanted what Paul had to offer, but those who did were eternally better off due to Paul’s shrewd understanding of how to reach and influence people where they are.

I’d encourage you to crack open the old goatskin bible you have sitting in your dorm and give this chapter another read. It was pretty interesting and had insightful sales tips. Let me know if I missed anything 🙂

Paul preaching in the Areopagus, 1729-31

Sir James Thornhill (1675/76 – 1734)