Ask the Pastors S6 E5: "Should we ever quit sharing the gospel with those who reject it?"
(00:04):
Welcome to Ask the Pastors a segment of the West Hills Podcast where you have the opportunity to ask your questions and receive biblically grounded, pastorally sensitive answers from our pastoral staff. My name is Brian. I'm your host and one of the pastors on staff. I'm joined by Pastor Thad. Hey everyone, our lead pastor will, that's me and Pastor Austin. Hello. And we're recording in a room with some direct sunlight. So Will is in the direct sunlight. Who needs to see? Who needs to see?
(00:34):
I just got to speak.
(00:35):
Yeah. Beautiful weather. All right. We have a great question today from anonymous. Keep
(00:45):
That. Did you want me to apologize for the glare off of my forehead? Is that why you mentioned the directs online on Facebook for the Yeah,
(00:52):
Just making small, I
(00:52):
Apologize
(00:55):
The question. I'll read it in its entirety.
(00:58):
It's from Jack,
(00:59):
From Jack.
(01:00):
Thanks, Jack.
(01:00):
We're name dropping like it. My grandmother 82 says God is important in her life, but she hasn't gone to church in years and my grandfather says she has avoided talking about God for at least the last 25, if not more. This is why I worry she's only nominally Christian and not truly saved. I'm unsure about my grandfather. My question is, when do I stop preaching the gospel to people who don't want to hear it? My grandmother absolutely hates any disagreement, especially that about spiritual matters. There will never be a day that she would willingly consent to a discussion where anyone represents a spiritual viewpoint that contradicts her own. She's respectful and ladylike. So she will talk about such things for about a minute to avoid disrespectfully disregarding someone before trying to change the subject. And if that fails explicitly saying, I don't want to talk about this anymore, I always oblige the explicit request. You've told your congregation that you had to hear the gospel many times will before you truly accepted it. You said if a person rejects it a thousand times, maybe they'll accept Jesus on the thousand and first at the same time. I also read Matthew 10 14 to 16, which seems to suggest there are some circumstances where Christians need to refrain from preaching the gospel to those who have refused to hear it. Any advice you could give would be appreciated.
-
(02:31):
Well, first of all, I want to say thanks to Jack for this excellent question. I think it's a great question and very relevant. I would imagine for probably all of us listening to this podcast, I would imagine that all of us as believers not only hopefully have relationships with unbelievers, but hopefully have taken those opportunities that the Lord has provided to share the gospel with said unbelievers in our lives. And then thirdly, even beyond that, I would imagine that most of us have unbelievers in our lives with whom we've shared the gospel like Jack multiple times who have just kept saying, I don't want to talk about this, I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to talk about it. And so yeah, his question is what do I do now? I think it's probably prudent to, before we even dive into trying to answer, to actually read the passage that Jack referenced there, Matthew 10, verses 14 through 16.
(03:45):
So I'll just read it quickly. A passage that is found in slightly different wording in, well three other places really once in Mark and twice in Luke actually in a similar context. And the context is Jesus sending out his 12 apostles as sort of the pre great commission. Some people call it the lesser commission or limited commission or thing. So anyway, here, lemme just read the passage for us so we have some context in answering the question. So Jesus, Matthew names the 12 apostles disciples for us. And then he says, these 12 Jesus sent out instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles, enter no town of the Samaritans, but rather go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And then he gives 'em some instructions as you proclaim and proclaim as you go, the kingdom of heaven hand healed the sick, raise the dead cleanse.
(04:50):
Leos cast out demons. Don't take pay, give without pay, acquiring a gold, don't take a bag, don't just take one tunic, depend on the people you're staying with, preaching to for food, et cetera, et cetera. And then he says, whatever town village you enter, find out who's worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone here it is and if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that town or house truly I say to you, it'll be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. And then Jesus continues on about the persecution to come.
(05:44):
I'm sending you out as sheep amongst wolves, be wise as serpents, innocent as doves. They're going to drag you before courts and beat you, et cetera, et cetera. So you're going to be persecuted. Don't be worried. I'm going to give you the words to say probably familiar with that passage, but that's the context. Okay? But the specific I think reference that Jack is trying to ask, is there a principle here that was perhaps not just unique to this sort of limited, lesser commission that Jesus gave to his apostles, but that is supposed to be applicable for us in our evangelism still today. Namely the principle that when you're trying to share the gospel and trying to witness to people and they won't listen, they won't receive you or listen to your words. When if ever are we as believers called to shake off the dust from your feet and sort of symbolically mark them, turn them over for judgment on the day of judgment like Jesus says here, do we do that with our lost loved ones even where we say again, I'm not going to keep spinning my wheels and wasting time here.
(07:05):
Do I just move on to another person or town in Jesus' immediate example that's more receptive to this gospel. Another passage that I just throw out that I think we can't have this discussion without reference in this one too, it always comes up in this conversation. Any time you're looking for answers to this question is Matthew seven verse six. And again, you get similar wording of the same sentiment from Jesus in Mark and Luke again, but Matthew seven, six where Jesus says, do not give dogs what is holy and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you in a common phrase that you hear in the church, don't throw your pearls before swine, before pigs. So with the implication or the interpretation there often being that the gospel's the most valuable thing there is your pearls. And yet, yeah, if people are just going to trample it, are just going to cast it aside and disregard it. Don't not only don't waste your time, but don't in some ways maybe cheapen or belittle the gospel in that way. So that's another one that I just think is maybe relevant and maybe others would disagree and say, well, that's a bad interpretation of that passage. That's not actually what Jesus is talking about with the pearls of S. But just to put that in for context as well. So
(08:47):
Anyway, haven't even started answering the question, but I think the context is important. So Austin Thad, how would y'all go answering this congregant wondering, Hey, do I give up? I've only got limited time energy, relational capital, maybe I give up on grandma and try plowing the field elsewhere. Like we're called to plant gospel seeds and to plow and again, limited resources. When do you say, you know what, shaking the dust off or do you ever, is that a bad?
(09:28):
Yeah, I think just starting with the passage in question, Matthew chapter 10, I think that it's important to pay close attention first to what Matthew seems to be doing. So as I see the text, it appears that Matthew is keeping with the pattern of prophetic announcements for calls to repentance from God's people. So one of the key verses in verse in verse five where it says These 12 Jesus sent out and instructing them, go nowhere, I'm on the Gentiles and enter no town of Samaritans, verse six, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So looking backwards in their rear view mirror, we see this long history of the prophets going out to the people and calling them to repentance of faith and warning them that if they don't, here is the outcome and judgment. And if you do, here's the coming back into faith with the covenantal God of Israel, which we see layer down in the passage where it first for 15, truly I say to you, it will be more bearable on that day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
(10:33):
I say that to point out the question is legitimate. I don't know that Jack's question that is, I don't think that by itself Matthew is intending to write a prescription for evangelism. I think he's showing how Jesus is calling the nation of Israel to repent and believe the gospel as when we first see Jesus come on the scene in Matthew four and they don't and he eventually goes to Jerusalem, he weeps over Jerusalem, he has his sacrificial death and resurrection. And then in Matthew 28, as you mentioned earlier, the great commission where he's talking about then going out to all nations, not at the exclusion of Israel but at the addition as well. So I say that just about the passage first because I think sometimes the question of this passage is, is this about evangelism in a sense, yes, but it's also painting a picture of Jesus, the prophet that is coming to call his people back into repentance of faith. So that said, a lot of commentaries on this passage will point to the warning of the judgment for the person who does not believe, not necessarily evangelistic instruction.
(11:32):
At the same time looking at Jesus, who is our model for evangelist, I do want to see their examples in the gospels wherein Jesus maybe surprises us with the way and the timing in which he evangelists to somebody. And so two examples, the lawyer who would be like a theologian, he would be the one that knew the law, not like an attorney like we would think of. And then the rich young ruler. So if I look for example at the tax collector when he says, well, I've lost my reference hold please, let's go to the law, your teacher, what should all I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? Notice that right away when Jesus responds to the guy who is asking, how should all I inherit eternal life? He actually doesn't give him immediately a presentation of the gospel because he identifies that this person, although he says that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your strength and all your mind and your neighbor as well, he says, you have answered correctly, do this and you will live.
(12:37):
But he being his conversation partner, then he says, and who is my neighbor? And then Jesus replies, and that is where we get the peril pull of the good Samaritan. So in effect is what Jesus is identifying here is that the person is asking about the gospel with an ill motive. Now this is a little bit different than Jack's question because Jack has somebody who is hardened of heart and doesn't want to hear the good news of the gospel. I think we had to be very careful to know that no one is beyond the salvation of God. At the same time, evangelism is a very, very long and slow process and can be anyway, it can be any way. And I think that most people that when it appears to be like a very quick conversion, there's often a longer story in the rear view mirror.
(13:23):
Some people have the really wonderful benefit of sharing the gospel with somebody who responds seemingly quickly. But in all likelihood there's actually been a lot that's happened in the rear view doing just a little bit of research on this. J bars at Covenant has done some study and in France, in Japan, there's an average of 10 years of evangelism before conversion. The United Kingdom, sometimes around five and 90% of unbelievers that come to faith do so through a friend or a family member. So we are always called to be faithful and to pray. I think we also like Jesus when he engages two of these different people, the lawyer and the rich young ruler is sometimes identifying when somebody is ready to be hearing it in conversation and sometimes when they're not, if somebody for example is in a position wherein bringing it up is only going to make matters worth, maybe it's a moment to take a step back and to be praying for them as well. But I don't think we should ever put ourselves in a position of assuming that this person's heart is so hard that they can't and shouldn't receive the gospel. I can think of one member of our church who came to faith and then witnessed to his brother for a long time and the brother didn't want to hear anything to do with it, had no interest in the gospel. This member was telling them over and over and again and eventually somebody else told the brother, brother got
(14:37):
Saved.
(14:38):
So it has to be both exciting and frustrating. You probably wanted to be the one to see them come to faith with you, but to be sure probably that faithful person's ongoing and steadfast witness was a part of the contribution, the conversion.
(14:53):
Yeah, and just to comment on the penultimate thing you said there, the only caution I would give to listeners is on the one hand, I totally agree with what Austin said that be discerning and be prayerful and just rely on the Holy Spirit as to whether or not in this relationship at this time is bringing the gospel up, bringing Jesus into it, it explicitly is that helpful or not or counterproductive. So I do believe that to your point, that there are times and context where well even you think about again, let's make it biblical. Paul being an Asia minor and wanting to go to Macedonia might be getting the geography right. I think he wanted to go to Macedonia or whatever and he has the dream, God calls him west instead of north or whatever, and the text says wherever that is in Ax says basically God closed the door for him to not go minister where he wanted to go.
(16:22):
And so I do think that it's a clear biblical principle that there are times when whether it's for a region in Paul's case or for an individual person where God just says, yeah, not right now. Yeah, I want the gospel to go to the ends of the earth. I want everyone to have a chance to hear it and receive. But at that time, for this person, for this region, whatever is not right now, that seems to be clear biblically. And at the same time, and I know you won't disagree with me when I say this, Austin, I also do of course think that we have to be aware of our own sinful tendency to shirk responsibility and to shrink away from the very clear, even way more biblical calling that is repeated far more often to preach the good news and to go and be my witnesses and to make disciples of all nations.
(17:26):
And so that is the far more frequent biblical injunction is not to push pause and go elsewhere. I mean sometimes that happens, but I think far more often, I heard one of my pastor friends once said, and I've shared this in sermons, it's always stuck with me, very powerful where he said that so many Christians I talked to seem to approach evangelism from the mindset of best case scenario. It's on my radar and I'll wake up in the morning and pray something like, God, would you just make it clear to me if there's someone today that you want me to share the gospel with just really overwhelm me, impressive on my heart in this moment at Starbucks or whatever, that this is someone who I need to share the gospel with. And he's like, I just think that's so backwards. He's like the very clear biblical way of thinking about evangelism is God, I'm going to assume that you want me to share the gospel even explicitly with pretty much everyone I come into contact with today, unless you make it clear that I'm not supposed to, unless like Paul in the dream, you make it clear you're shutting the door that me sharing the gospel with this barista right now is going to just make things worse.
(18:51):
I'm going to do it unless I assume. And again, I share that periodically whenever this comes up. And yet it's so convicting for me not how I just got back from lunch with a new couple of the church and placed my order at Panera and sat down and I had 32nd conversation with the girl at the register and had the chance to say, do you know Jesus? And I didn't. So I don't know. But anyway, that was just in response to that one thing that Austin has said, yeah, we want to be prayerful, but let's also be self-aware enough to know that, that I am probably going to look for excuses to get myself off the hook for having to make things awkward, frankly, in conversations sometimes a lot of us are, I mean there are some people that I could name about a half dozen, probably six people at this church with clearly the gift of evangelism.
(20:04):
It's one of those things we're all called to evangelism. Some of us just have the gift for it. Some of it's just natural and man, they really just encourage me but also challenge me that I do not have this gift and I want to pray for more of it. Just like people with the gift of faith, it's like we're all called to have faith, but some people can just be going through the or in the wilderness and numbers the toughest season of their life just super tough and they just never even think twice about whether or not God loves them. I'm like more power to you. That is not, I do not have the gift of faith. I pray for more of it anyway. But coming back to this evangelism tha had thoughts on, do you shake the dust off ever in personal evangelism?
(20:53):
Yeah, I think there's one other passage where we see this taking place and that's in Acts chapter 13 where verse 51,
(21:04):
But before the context and when the Gentiles heard this, then Paul and Barnabas proclaiming the gospel, the Gentiles began rejoicing, glorifying the word of the Lord as many were appointed to eternal life and believed, and the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited a devout woman of high standing and leading the men of the city stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the district. And they meaning Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet against them and went to Iconium. And I think here you see another example of that same language shaking the dust off your feet or what we would the equivalent of like, I'm washing my hands of this, I'm no longer responsible of Paul and Barnabas leave once there is a difficult hardship where almost a sort of rebellion is being built up against them where it's no longer helpful for them to be there proclaiming the gospel.
(22:02):
And God has already started a great work there. And so I think some of it comes to a, even if you want to call it a shaking the dust off your sandals for that, it's one having the appropriate perspective of remembering God can do whatever it is that he wants, that he's the one who does the saving to begin with. And for us, it's a faithfulness where we've been placed for as long as we can. If it's no longer a situation in which it cannot result in anything less of violence, arguing, people storming out of rooms, I don't think that's necessarily a helpful opportunity to then say, and let me share the gospel with you one more time. I don't think it negates any sort of responsibility, as you've already said, will and Austin about our responsibilities. You go proclaim the gospel to all nations, but also in a sense be able to read the room so that we don't become the individual who causes and stirs up problems,
(23:06):
Issues, difficulties about that. That doesn't mean we get to avoid. Well, it would be really uncomfortable if I shared the gospel at a dinner table with my family. Now if you sharing the gospel is going to mean everyone then stands up and starts yelling and fighting and people storm out. Well yeah, that might not be the situation. You might need to wash your hands of that particular moment. But I don't think that removes any sort of responsibility from us and our burden to still care well for people. And even then in acts, it's the Jewish people again coming in and inciting a crowd to come where the Gentiles are the ones who are responding. Again, bringing that who is Jesus talking to with the disciples. What was the disciple's job? Who are they to go to versus what is our call now on this side and who are we called to preach the gospel to and spend time with sharing the gospel?
(24:01):
Yeah,
(24:04):
Was that, sorry, I'm just having to refresh my memory. Was Acts 13 and this one incon, well, he went to Iconium from Antioch.
(24:20):
It's when they're sent off from the Church of
(24:22):
Antioch. Is it a different story in Acts where Yeah, it is. I am thinking they don't use that exact phrase again, shake the dust. But remember there's also this story, it just occurs to me with, remember it was with Artemis and the Silversmith Guild.
(24:44):
Where was that? And Ephesus, that was an Ephesus. And remember that? And Paul starts preaching the gospel there. People start losing their income buying idols anymore. They don't believe in Artemis anymore. And all the silversmith get together and stir the whole city of Ephesus up and they're chanting long live Artemis all day long or whatever. Remember that story. And anyway, I just thought of that one too because it's a similar story where remember, remember Paul again, conviction about evangelism, like, oh, to pray for that boldness, Paul's response is, let me add him. He's like, they all gathered at the amphitheater and Paul's ready to go out in the middle of the amphitheater and they're all here. Well this is, they're going to be the greatest excuse I've ever had to share the gospel with a million people at once.
(25:42):
And remember it says the other brothers had to physically restrain him, basically put him on a boat, go set, sail, get him out of here because he's going to get himself killed. But anyway, that's a similar like, okay, shaking the dust off here at Ephesus anyway. Yeah. So one word answer from you guys. Is there ever a place to just shut down the evangelism with a loved one who's saying, I don't want to talk about this, who said that multiple times? Would you ever give up on or advise a congregant to quit? You're making it worse, just quit doing it and let the Lord deal with them. Would you ever say that and say, yeah, I mean this is an appropriate application of this passage in your personal evangelism like that?
(26:50):
I hesitate to give a one word answer.
(26:52):
You can give a one word answer then reason why could you envision a scenario where
(26:58):
I can imagine if a relationship is just that bad, that it could either shut things down completely until the person seems to have some kind of change? I would rather use an indefinite hold
(27:11):
Than
(27:11):
To say, I'm going to give up on completely because we can continue in prayer
(27:17):
For sure. I would never say to me the part of the problem is it's assuming the question seems to assume that somebody is unsavable in the hardest of their heart. And we just can't look at Paul, the apostle who was the murderer when he was Saul and then came to faith. So no one is beyond where God can save them. And what's problematic is that for many of us, although I say that right now, it sure doesn't feel like it at times. I can think of people in my life that I've really tried to enter in gospel conversations with and it just is dead on
(27:52):
Arrival
(27:53):
And they're just hard, hard won't listen, have all the answers, don't want to talk about it. They do. They're going to tell you why you're wrong or whatever else. And you think in your mind there's no way this person's ever going to, they're never going to change, they're never going to change. And then I got convicted thinking about that during just preparation for this podcast. I was like, I've come to think about this. I'm praying for this person's salvation. And yet in my heart somewhere I've probably thought to myself, this person is lost cause they're lost. Cause they're lost cause and that's just not the
(28:17):
Case
(28:18):
And it feels discouraging at the time. My one word answer, should somebody wash their hands of the person is no. That's also like, does that mean that you are going to be the person the next time you should see them? Be sure to bring a track with you. I would say maybe also no. Also think about how the best way is that you can show the gospel to
(28:41):
Them. I'm glad you mentioned prayer that has to go, should go without saying but has to be loudly said by all of us is that regardless of our answer to this question, hopefully all of us as believers agree that you never give up on praying. And at the end of the day, we have to obviously identify that we plant Apollos waters and God gives the growth. And so the most we can do anyway is share the gospel, evangelize and then pray and pray that God would give the growth. And so you know what? If you've shared it once, planted a seed and it was so badly flatly, rejected or you've shared it 50 times and by the 50th time they're so tired that it's like, okay, this is clearly if I share it a 51st time, I'm going to be shut out of their life. And now I no longer have an opportunity to even be a conduit of common grace or ministry in any sense of the term or to be an example. Maybe like you said, even being a negative example of Christians are just pestering and bad listeners or something like that. Then, but regardless, even in any of those cases, like you said, there's always prayer. So that's not even part of this question of what it means to whatever shaking off the dust of your sandals means it cannot mean you quit praying for them.
(30:27):
So we all hopefully agree on that. How would you reply?
(30:35):
I would say same as Austin. And part of that, I mean there is in the text itself and their destruction will be worse than Sodom and Gaur. The judgment of the Lord is more severe than that. And perhaps we are too forgetful at times to when we read biblical passages of scripture and we're just so used to the story of Sodom Gomorrah that it loses its impact for us versus Abraham who is like, well Lord 50 25. And Abraham's sort of pleading in that sense on behalf of lot that I think we too have, we now have two lova view because we're so familiar with it and churches and Christian contexts of, oh, that person will spend eternity somewhere. And the reality of what that means has not really sunken into our hearts and minds. And for us to say, I'm going to kick the dust off my sandals, I'm going to wash my hands of that is saying, I'm going to turn you over to this eternal destiny of hell and separation from a relationship with God. And
(31:58):
Yeah, I think you're right. I just think people are, we, Christians are just way too quick often to, it'll take us 10 years of a relationship to get around to finally having that gospel conversation and it's a 92nd and then you just leave relieved like, oh, thank goodness I finally got that done. And then it's like, well, I can go back to just praying and I don't have to ever, and again, maybe I'm projecting or maybe I'm speculating, but I just feel like I've seen that and then it's from there, it's like, well, I'll ask somebody when their mother passes away. Was she a believer? I mean that's always the first question I ask and I hope it doesn't sound like callous or insensitive. You're calling me, I just lost my mom, whatever. But it's like to me that's game set and match. It's like I'm sorry for your loss and obviously I'm here as your pastor to comfort you and whatever, but if she wasn't a believer then there's not too much I'm going to be able to do to comfort. And there shouldn't be. I mean that should be so much heartbreak like you said to think about. But just
(33:24):
So often people, again, I think I just can speak for myself on this and say, for any of my lost loved ones, the worst thing I can imagine, the only thing worse than being pretty sure that they're spending eternity in hell is knowing that I didn't take every possible opportunity to get in the way. I think of that Spurgeon quote that I quoted so many times in sermons now, if our loved ones go to hell, let 'em have to trip over our prying hands to get there that we're pleading with them, trying to drag them away. And so yeah, for me, I am where y'all are on it too, where it would be very hard for me to answer and say that categorically yes, that you should apply this passage in your own personal evangelism would just, the worst thing I can imagine is me as a pastor standing before the Lord and having to answer for why I misinterpreted this passage that was supposed to be a very narrow contextualized
(34:56):
Expectation of Jesus to his disciples. I read articles and prepping for this and some pastors are saying, Hey, do what you can. And then there comes a time when you shake your feet off and don't keep begging people. And then there's other pastors and scholars that are saying, no, this is contextualized. This is about this limited commission, not the great commission. And it's about there is something unique in the apostolic era when it comes to the establishment of the gospel. There's reason it talks in this passage and in Acts 13 about towns and not about people and individuals and shaking your dust off that there's something distinctive here about the, again, apostolic age of establishing the gospel that maybe doesn't have a immediate takeaway for us in personal evangelism. And again, the worst thing I can imagine having to stand before the Lord and answer for why I encouraged any of our congregants at West Hills to quit telling people about Jesus. I mean, if I have to err on either side of that one, I am always going to err on the side of share the gospel too much
(36:27):
And
(36:28):
Apologize to God later for not having read the social cues and shut up sooner. And maybe you made it a little harder for someone else, I don't know. But yeah, I would always rather apologize for sharing the gospel too much, trying too hard, continuing to plead and pursue rather than the other. And for me, if there is a place for it at all in personal evangelism, and Jack's, frankly, Jack's context might be a really good one where he's saying, I've shared the gospel explicitly with my grandmother many, many times over many, many years now and been met with this kind of explicit resistance many times. I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear about that anymore.
(37:32):
I guess one practical thing I would just throw out there is if I was personally going to be convicted that this conversation and this relationship is at a point where I need to shake the dust off my feet and okay, grandma, I'm not going to talk to you about Jesus anymore. The way I would like to think that I would do it is to even name that and have an explicit conversation about that. That last time when she got mad enough, she threw the gravy bowl at you or whatever you say, okay grandma, I hear you. I want to be respectful. I want to honor you. I also want to say that it's my first commitment and it is to honor the Lord and he's told me to tell you about him. I feel like I've done that.
(38:29):
I don't know how else I can say it differently. It seems like clearly I'm not going to be the person that you're going to be able to hear the good news from and receive it, and I'm only making it worse. And so I'm feeling like maybe even God is agreeing with you that I should stop pushing the issue with you because I'm pushing you farther away anyway, you don't have to say all that, but here's what I would say is like, okay, grandma, I just want to warn you though I am shaking the dust off my feet and I would just encourage you, grandma, tonight before you go to bed, pull up your Bible. I'll teach you how to show how work the internet if you don't have a Bible, but Matthew 10, just read the context there. It's not good if you don't want to be on the receiving end of an evangelist, dust being shaken off.
(39:38):
And if there's any doubt in your mind that maybe I'm right and maybe you're wrong, I just want you to know that you don't have to hear about it again from me unless you want to. I'm always here. I love you and I would love to resume this conversation if we can do so in a gravy bowl throwing manner. But I would just say, I would even use the phrase and say, alright grandma, I'm going to shake the dust off my feet and I'm not going to talk to you about Jesus anymore, and I just need you to know, grandma, how serious of a decision that is for me based on how important this calling to share the gospel with you is that it has to come to this point. I would say it, and then I would say, and I also want you to know I'm not going to stop praying for you. And so that she knows that even no matter that she knows I'm not, just because I'm giving up on having an explicit conversation, I'm not giving up on you and I'm not giving up on my desire to see you come to saving faith. So anyway, that's how I'd like to think that I would go about that if it came to that. But I agree. I think it had to be a really rare case where it came to that. So yeah, what a good question. Anything else y'all have on this topic?
(41:33):
Yeah,
(41:33):
I appreciate the asking it because I'm sure it's something a lot of people feel. And I think the one that I just like to say is that when all these conversations we have around personal evangelism, they're not to make anybody feel guilty, is it? I know we all feel a sense of guilt that we don't do it enough or we shouldn't enough or I stumble over the words, but it's also just for encouragement of, I know it feels discouraging,
(41:58):
But Jesus loves people. He is the great evangelist and we are called to be faithful. And even if at moments we have these heartbreaking times of this person is someone I know and love and care about and we're not seeing them come to faith, don't ever think that what we're trying to do here is to put you onto a guilt trip of some kind. It's trying to encourage you for the work of sharing the gospel. Like we've talked today, you've had Brian, you and I talked today about the joy that comes in the process of evangelism and hopefully just praying for the possibility of seeing somebody go from darkness to light. I mean, what an exciting thing to be able to experience and don't stop praying for them. I had a pastor that said a lot as I was growing up that we often don't tell our friends or family or coworkers about God because we don't talk to God about our friends, family and coworkers or so forth. He made it faster. We don't tell our friends about God, we don't tell God about our friends, and so I do
(42:55):
Just compartmentalize and keep those two parts of our life separate.
(42:59):
Yeah, I do think these is a constant just act and practice of prayer for people changes our hearts, which I think changes our
(43:08):
Evangelism. Yeah. I'll just say one more very quick thing and maybe gives an interesting context that someone hadn't thought of. I hadn't thought too much about it, but in reading about it, I think we shouldn't overlook again the historical context here and the meaning of the dust on the feet. One Skylar was reading was pointing out that obviously commonplace, the customary greeting in this day and age in Jesus day and age was, oh, come in, take your shoes off. Let me wash your feet. This was how you're walking around. You get dust on it. You don't want to get your house dusty anyway, so it's good for you, helps keep the house, but it's also a sign of, again, humility and hospitality and serving of this person that I'm going to stoop down or I have a servant if I'm wealthy enough to stoop down and wash your feet or whatever.
(44:10):
So the fact that there is even dust on the apostle's feet to be shaken off means that they have not even been invited into the house, that they've been kept on the front doorstep, that there's so much suspicion and so much basically open animosity rejection. I just say that to say I think that again, nine times out of 10, I would suspect if someone's listening to this and has a lost loved one, the conversation might've been, Hey, mom, dad, brother, sister, whatever. I really want you to know about Jesus and I would just hate it if I hadn't had never brought this up. And can I tell you about the good news of what Jesus did to forgive your sins and you share? And then nine times out of 10, I would suspect the reaction is, well, that's nice, dear. Thank you. You want to stay for supper?
(45:18):
How the cardinals or whatever. And so it's not that rejection. It's like, okay, that's good for you, that you believe that. Or maybe they think, I believe that too. They're like, oh yeah, me and Jesus we're good, but it's not what Jack's talking about. I don't want to talk about this. Quit talking. You're wrong, whatever. I just add that context to say, again, I just go back to our own sinfulness and our own desire to get ourself off the hook that I just fear that somebody could listen to this podcast and even hear us open the door for, yeah, maybe you would quit sharing. And somebody would think, well, I shared that one time back in 1997, and she said, thanks, dear. And I could just read in her body language, she was uncomfortable and it made it uncomfortable. So I feel like I've done my job.
(46:15):
It's like, no, I don't think that's the context here. I think the context here is someone who is Paul persecuting you, beating you up, and you're like, so if you're not experiencing that, then I would say in those cases you definitely keep cheering. You definitely keep evangelizing until you're getting persecuted and not letting the front door anymore for Thanksgiving. When you stop getting invited over, then it's like, okay, is this why? Alright, well, alright, maybe I won't bring Jesus up at Thanksgiving, but I also want to tell you, go read Matthew 10. I'm not going to bring Jesus up, but that's a conscious decision. That's a very weighty one that you and I both should be anyway,
(46:59):
This fellow judge add that point is to the amount of time this fellow jarome, we were required in this class of his to write a letter to a non-Christian person. So I have to decide who I'm going to do this with and sit down and have an interview and all that and write about a 10 page response to what they believe about Christianity and all that. And this came actually out of his own personal experience. He grew up in a very poor small town in the United Kingdom. His father was a Marxist and had heard the gospel from Jarome over the course of about 40 years. And so he sent letters to his father and correspondence over this and each of them were about 10 pages, about 150 pages of letters back and forth before eventually he came to faith. So getting to the point of, to your point earlier, I did it once in 1997, like, no, that's not the situation. And again, he eventually did near the end of his life, come to believe in Jesus. So hang in there, hang in there.
(47:50):
That thousand first time,
(47:52):
Which was his question, should I continue to the thousand first? And the short answer is the short answer
(47:56):
Until she's throwing the gravy ball.
(47:58):
Yeah. Well that's it for this week's episode of Ask the Pastors. Remember that you can submit your questions online by visiting our website at www west hills stl.org and also by visiting the info bar at West Hills, and join us next week where we address a juicy question that we've been putting off.
(48:22):
Yeah,
(48:23):
That is a big one. Question is, will the Jewish nation have to build a new temple in order for the end times to start?
(48:33):
And if you know the answer to that question and would like to come and fill us in between now and next Wednesday, please you know where to find the office.
(48:44):
If you enjoyed this week's episode, hit that like button, subscribe and share it with a friend. Thanks so much for listening. We'll catch you next week.