Christian Evangelist: Why We Answer the Door When the Cultists Come Knocking

[billiefan2000]

Why We Answer the Door When the Cultists Come Knocking

By Jason Carlson

Christian Ministries International

My father, Dr. Ron Carlson, used to remind people every chance that he could that the cults are literally a mission field at our front door step. Unfortunately, many Christians miss this tremendous opportunity to share our faith when the cultists, such as Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons, come calling. For some people, taking the time to engage the cultist in a conversation is just too great an inconvenience.


For others, the fear of not knowing what to say to the cultist at the door is justification enough for the common Christian response of,

"No thank you, I'm a Baptist (or insert your particular denomination)".



The sad reality, however, is that when we fail to engage the cultist in a conversation about spiritual truths, or at the very least share our personal testimony with them, we are neglecting a ready-made opportunity to minister to a lost soul who desperately needs to know the Lord.


And the fact of the matter is this; you may be that cultist's last,

best opportunity to hear the truth of the Gospel. And while that may sound sensational, this is a lesson I learned in a profound way just recently.



For the past six months I've been in an ongoing conversation with a couple of men who are Jehovah's Witnesses- one a middle-aged man and the other in his late twenties.


I first met them when they were going door to door around my neighborhood. And I must admit, I too was a bit agitated when I saw them coming to my front door; the cultists never seem to come at a convenient time.


However, I opened the door to them and we had a very good conversation for about 5-10 minutes before I politely told them that I needed to be going, but I'd love to talk to them again sometime.

Well, this was the beginning of an ongoing relationship with these guys where they would stop by about once every 4-6 weeks and we'd talk theology.


Sometimes these conversations were short, sometimes they were longer, but in each of them I made the conscious effort to clearly articulate the biblical revelation of God's triune nature, the full deity of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith.

Now, from everything I can tell, my proclamation of the truth to these guys hasn't made a dent in their cultic worldview.


However, I'm not responsible for how they respond to the message of the Gospel, I'm simply responsible for being faithful in the opportunity that God has given me with these guys. So, I continue to proclaim the truth to them and I pray that the Holy Spirit is working on their hearts in ways that I do not see.

This past week, though, my regular visit with my JW friends was very different, and very sad. You see, on this most recent visit only one of my new friends came calling;

and he informed me that the young man in his twenties who was his regular witnessing partner had died two weeks earlier of an unexpected, massive heart-attack.

I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear this news.


Just a month earlier I had sat face to face with this young man discussing the claims of his religion and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and now he was gone.




What makes this situation even more tragic is that as far as I'm aware,

this young man went to his grave clinging to his faith in a false religion, a false Jesus, and a false salvation; and now he'll spend eternity separated from God in Hell.

This is why we must answer the door when the cultists come knocking.


The eternal destinies of lost people are at stake. These are people God loves and whom He deeply desires to see come to repentance.


And as I said earlier, we must never discount the possibility that we may be that cultist's last, best opportunity to hear the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know, because I was.

Remember, as Christians we are not responsible for how a person responds to our proclamation of the Gospel.

We're simply responsible for being faithful with the opportunities we have to proclaim it.


The next time the cultists come to your front door, please take a few minutes to share the truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ with them.


They are literally a mission field at our front door step.



Why We Answer the Door When the Cultists Come Knocking

[mattfivefour]

Absolutely EXCELLENT article!!!

[Mustang]

They stopped comming to my door, I tried to talk to them, I guess they didn't like what I had to say.

[BuzzardHut]

Don't take their materials; they count it as good works for salvation; they also consider debates as good points for salvation; just give them the clear gospel and always keep your tracts by your door for anyone who comes knocking...

[followerofjesus]

Excellent article.
I'm also guilty of ignoring the ringing door bell when I know it's a Mormon or JW for fear of not knowing what to say. Pretty much every Sunday afternoon, they patrol my neighborhood, going door-to-door. If they stop by today, I'm going to make an effort to talk with them and share the gospel and my testimony.

[billiefan2000]

They stopped comming to my door, I tried to talk to them, I guess they didn't like what I had to say.

at least u talked to them and witnessed to them




what is sadder

is the mormons are way more passionate about preaching their false gospel

than so called evangelicals do




I wouldnt be surprised if romney wins and the mormons take over and the seeker churches capitulate christianity to the mormon cult


cause too many christians have turned the work of evangelism over to the cults like Mormonism

[FaithInChrist]

I have to admit I really messed up an opportunity to talk to two young mormon men. They rang our doorbell about a year ago and my 15 year old, very pretty daughter answered the door. I heard her talking to boys, from the sound I thought they were friends so I let her deal with the door for about 10 minutes. When I realized she was making her friends stand on the doorstep and not inviting them in I went to the door to see what was going on. That is when I see these young men openly flirting with my teenage daughter. They were inviting her to church and talking to her about the mormon faith, except it is the lies they teach the missionaries to preach when they go door to door, not the true theology of the church.

I was so furious that they were targeting my child. They never asked to speak to a parent, they immediately started talking to her, a child. Luckily, my daughter had told them she already went to church. That didn't prevent them from trying to "convert" her.

I went to the door and asked them how they could follow a religion that has had so many false prophets in the past. How could they trust that a single thing in the Book of Mormon was true. Ofcourse, they retort, "We believe in the King James Version of the Bible, what Bible do you read?" At this point I told them we have a church, please don't come by again.

So as you can see I missed an opportunity to really talk to these boys, unfortunately, the mama bear in me took over and all I thought about was that these heathens were trying to recruit my child. Instead of trusting that Jesus has a hold of my daughter's heart I immediately assumed she would be easily fooled and led astray.

I learned a valuable lesson and if we are ever visted again (I tell you I scared those boys, it will probably be a new set of missionaries if they ever return) I will react much differently and be more prepared.
.

[survivor3x]

I recently had a visit from two JW ladies. I'm so thankful He put the right words in my mouth as I witnessed to them! But I could see the face of the younger lady just close up, and seem to reject what I had to say. After they left, I prayed for them to be delivered from the false doctrine, and accept Jesus as Savior--time is so short!! I pray that I planted the seeds, and He will give the increase. 1 Cor 3:7.