Matthew 10:6
"Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."
Matthew 15:24
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
James 1:1
"James, a servant of Yahweh and of the HaMashiach, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting."
Does God Command Christians To Go From Door To Door Preaching The Gospel?
by Bangalore 144 Replies latest jw friends
-
freydo
-
Quarterback
You make some good points, Recovery.
Excellent research on Ephesians, too.
QB
-
NeonMadman
Several thoughts here:
1. The Restored Church of God (to whose web site the original post linked) is an offshoot of Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God, and is a majorly wacky cult probably worse than the JWs.
2. There is not one instance in the Bible where Jesus Himself is said to have gone from house to house. If this were such an indispensable feature of Christian ministry, one would think it would be explicitly stated that the Lord Himself had done so. Telling His disciples to go to people's homes is not the same thing as commanding them to engage in door-to-door evangelism - of course they would go to people's homes to instruct them in an age where there was no TV, radio, Internet, printed Bibles or literature or other means of mass communication. Going to people’s homes does not equate to knocking randomly at the doors of strangers.
3. The Greek term translated "from house to house" in Acts 20:20 can also be translated "in private homes," and the context indicates that it is much better translated that way there. Paul was not talking about some sort of door to door evangelism program in those verses, he was talking about how he instructed the ELDERS of the Ephesian church. Again, it's not surprising that he would go to their private homes in order to instruct them. The way JWs try to use that verse, we would have to understand that Paul went up and down the streets of Ephesus, randomly knocking on doors until he found an elder of the church, then would go in and instruct him. Doesn't make nearly as much sense.
4. The only verse in the NT that could possibly be used in support of door to door type evangelism by any early Christians would be Acts 5:42, but the same Greek phrase could as easily also be translated there as "in private homes," and would make just as much sense. In the absence of other evidence for early Christian door to door preaching, we cannot assert this text as sole proof, since its meaning in this matter is not conclusive. We would have to be reading our idea of door to door evangelism into the verse rather than drawing it out. Even if the early Christians did use this method of evangelizing, it would not necessarily mean that such a method is required for Christians today, since there are much more effective methods of reaching large numbers of people that don't carry the negative social implications associated today with making uninvited visits to the homes of strangers. There is no command anywhere in Scripture to preach specifically from house to house; the concept is imposed on the text by JWs, not drawn from the text.
5. As far as the effectiveness of such door to door ministry, it is actually very ineffective. If you divide their hours spent in "field service" by the number of baptisms for (for example) the year 2011 (as reported in their Yearbook), you find that 5,451 hours had to be spent in their ministry for every new baptism that occurred, and that's not taking into consideration that the majority of those baptisms were probably of young people who had been raised as JWs. That doesn't sound like a very effective method of spreading the word to me. A cynical mind (such as mine) might conclude that the purpose of the door-knocking work for JWs is to keep them so busy that they don't have time to ask questions, rather than to effectively spread their message.
Not that there is anything wrong with knocking on doors if it's what one feels comfortable to do and one wants to evangelize in that fashion (though I think there are also some very good arguments against it in this day and age), but it is hardly a required activity for Christians, as the WTS teaches.
-
Vanderhoven7
Excellent post NeonMadman!
-
NeverKnew
They rode horses, goats and camels in Biblical times - if doing things as they did in the Bible is important, why doesn't the WT make it's adherents travel by goat?
Seems to me creating an informercial with DVDs for $19.95 with a catchy title would go a longer way than their current methods but I'm an idiot worldly who knows nothing about biblical methodologies.
-
still thinking
I think most 'christians' are pretty slack in their preaching activity. Preferring internet forums and television to do the hard work for them (still entering into peoples homes to spread their word).
I agree with Sol...they need to be out there in public making converts and baptising them as the bible instructs...LOL
-
jwfacts
In the July 1, 1995 issue of the Watchtower, in an article on baptism, under the subheading of "Requirements", it says:
"It is expected of the dedicated one …will fully bear his responsibilities as a minister, a preacher in the field service from house to house, and otherwise participate fully in the activities of the New World Society, to advance the proclamation of the Kingdom and uphold the true worship of Jehovah. The dedicated one must be a house-to-house witness as was Christ Jesus and the apostles to the extent of his ability..."
Wow, that is a bold statement. I am unaware of a single Scripture where Jesus is described as going house to house. The closest is where he sent his disciples out to preach, not himself.
-
LV101
Great topic --- heard an explanation from a theologian one day that went like this about the door to door scripture. He said the reason they were told not to go door to door was because if they were welcomed and provided for in one household to stay there and not be hopping around the neighborhood in the event another home looked more enticing and they were offered accommodations that were more appealing, comfortable, etc. This would be wrong and it would be normal because of mankind's sinful nature to have options and want better comfort. Ritz Carlton over Motel 6 idea.
Ray Franz stated in one of his books that the door to door is not required in the Bible (his opinion) but there is certainly nothing wrong with it. I personally don't think it's a bad idea and feel there are many people needing comfort, help, assistance, love, etc., etc., but don't think the w/tower is the answer. It's also a big annoyance to those who don't want to be bothered.
-
LV101
Recovery -- right on ---- didn't read your 2nd post. Great post/explanation about the d2d.
-
still thinking
If it was good enough for Jesus, and he showed christians what to do...why aren't christians out there preaching like Jesus?
Matt 11:1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
Matthew 7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
Mark 6:12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
Luke 23:5 But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."
Now, if Jesus had only stood in his church on a Sunday a preached, how would the word have gotten out?