Acts 17:22–31 (ASV)
22And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very religious. 23For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. 24The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. 30The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: 31inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
God leads Bruchko to use some of the spiritual legends of the Motilone people to explain the significance of the coming, dying and resurrection of Christ, and how to walk with him in faith. Not long after, the first Motilone put his faith in Christ.
In attempt to make the gospel plain to Kusaho, Don Richardson and John Wilson used the Yali “place of refuge” concept as an analogy pointing to Christ as man’s perfect Refuge. And it worked, for not only did Kusaho and his companion comprehend the message better but promised to used same to evangelize to fellow Yali tribesmen.
While sharing the gospel with a Turkish student, Christy Wilson was wise enough to bring home to him the message of Christianity, deploying redemptive analogies and associating the gospel with his homeland. By the time she was done, he was more than willing to accept Jesus into his life.
Don Richardson, a missionary to the cannibalistic Sawi people of Irian Jaya, witnessed an incredible ceremony done to make peace between two warring tribes. He realized that this was the vital link between their understanding and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
An angry mob threatened to stone Jacob Chamberlain and his team to death if they would not leave their city. But Chamberlain boldly preached the Gospel and proved it to be the power of God to tame the heart. Like the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill, Chamberlain appealed to the people's own religious poetry and philosophy to show that only the One True God can cleanse their sins.
Richard Wurmbrand met a Russian couple who worshipped a "Nobody," a comparison to when the Apostle Paul met those who worshipped an unknown god. Richard led the couple to the full experience of salvation and redemption.
