I just returned from a morning of going around a neighborhood near our church while trying to share the Gospel door-to-door (Mark 16:15). There were some who were quite friendly but the ones which stood out are the clearly rude folks who will not even allow us a word or two with them. To be honest, we have knocked on thousands of doors in the past thirteen years here in New York and have seen very little fruit on the first visit and it is not uncommon to have doors slammed in our face each week on that first visit. But why? Is this solely because of the spiritual battle between lie and truth? Surely that cannot be the only case, as other non-truth telling groups which go door to door have the same results as well. So why do we that share the true Gospel door to door struggle to see souls saved at the door sometimes.
First, there is the most obvious reason, hard heartedness toward spiritual things. When you approach a door and seek to share Christ, the devil and the unregenerate heart will fight it with everything they have. The unsaved person is dead in trespasses and sins (Romans 6) and thus has no inward draw to listen to the Gospel. Their only hope is the Holy Spirit which will be seeking to encourage the lost to listen and accept the truth of God’s Word. The only way we as soul winners can change this part is to pray pray pray!
Second, people have become rude to new people. There was a day when a stranger walked up to your door and you greeted them with kindness and patience. The philosophy used to be, you may not know them but strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. Watch an old western and you will see idea I’m talking about. Whenever a stranger rode up to a house, the people would invite them to supper and if it was late, they would give a place to stay. That used to be common place, but no longer. We as a society have come to the place that everyone who walks up to the door is looked at with a narrow graze. We have become a cynical society and that translates into lost people shutting the soul winner out. May I suggest that if you are a Christian and someone comes to your door, be kind, patient, and loving, instead of doing all you can to get them away from your door.
Third, there are the repetitive visits from the cults. Today, my son and I followed a Jehovah’s Witness team on the street we were on and the people of the street assumed we were with them. I even had one which laughed when I asked if the JWs had been by recently. His reply, “They were just here and I sent them on their way.” The cults are persistent and will often sour the hearts and minds of true soul winners. Our best solution here is to let folks know that we are not those groups and that we simply want to be the best neighbor we can…which is of course sharing the truth about salvation by grace.
Last, rude and obnoxious Christians who fail to realize someone will follow them at that door. This is the one which concerns me greatest. I have been paired with others at special events in other locations, where my “partner” was rude, boorish, and even hateful in they approach. Now mind you I realize that souls are on their way to hell and that is serious business, but they do not realize that and just screaming at them may not be the best answer. I have been with one “soul winner” who was asked to leave and said, “We will leave if you pray this prayer with us.” I have also been with a “soul winner which was threatened with the police, yet, they continued to talk. I am convinced that EVERY soul winner needs to realize that someone may follow them or that the Word of God in printed form left in the hands of the unsaved will do more good than we give it credit for.
We must accept that people need Christ but that our reactions to them also can impact their decisions for Christ as well. The Gospel saves but the soul winner must be loving, caring, and patient. May we see the need to leave the unsaved door with the ability to return again soon.
John 13:35; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Galatians 5:6, 13
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