The sight of JW families going from house to house attempting to share the Bible's message has become familiar across much of the globe.But is this method of evangelising some kind of modern innovation or is it rooted in scripture?Well lets have look we'll start at Matthew10:11-13KJV"And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you."
Here our Lord is sending out his recently selected apostles on a preaching campaign with some very specific instructions.They were to go village to village and house to house searching out those deserving of receiving the gospel.The apostles must have been impressed with the results of this method because in the book of acts we read that after their Lord's ascension they kept up the tradition of preaching from house to house Acts5:42NASB"And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." Now they would hardly have to Preach "Jesus as the Christ" to fellow Christians so more likely this passage is referring to public evangelising.
Decades later the apostle Paul is shown upholding the traditional method of public evangelising Acts20:20,21NASB"how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Again the context suggest(at least in the main) the evangelising of the public rather than a mere shepherding of the believers.
So there is no getting around it the house to house method of public evangelisation is solidly founded of scripture and continues to be an effective way of publicising the Bible's truth.
Here our Lord is sending out his recently selected apostles on a preaching campaign with some very specific instructions.They were to go village to village and house to house searching out those deserving of receiving the gospel.The apostles must have been impressed with the results of this method because in the book of acts we read that after their Lord's ascension they kept up the tradition of preaching from house to house Acts5:42NASB"And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." Now they would hardly have to Preach "Jesus as the Christ" to fellow Christians so more likely this passage is referring to public evangelising.
Decades later the apostle Paul is shown upholding the traditional method of public evangelising Acts20:20,21NASB"how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Again the context suggest(at least in the main) the evangelising of the public rather than a mere shepherding of the believers.
So there is no getting around it the house to house method of public evangelisation is solidly founded of scripture and continues to be an effective way of publicising the Bible's truth.
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