Please determine your response early.
"True believers in Jesus Christ have no doubt that He (Jesus) lived among us, died for our sins on the cross, and after three days was resurrected to life, conquering the sting of death, and offering the human race the greatest gift-His sacrificial and saving love." ~ Billy Graham
Q: Is there ever a biblical tension for those who would be and would give verbal witness for Jesus Christ and His gospel?
Yes.
We are commanded to love people, to pray for them, to clearly warn them tactfully, and to faithfully proclaim Christ and His gospel.. but we are not commanded to play the Holy Spirit, to judge their hearts, motives, or try to force the gospel message upon people who don't want to hear it. I mean those who continually reject, ridicule, or attack it. Scripture gives us both perseverance and discernment.
We must remain gentle, truthful, gracious, and respectful. Why? Many people feel burned. Some have church-hurt (and might be bitter or angry even at God) from so-called saved Christian leaders or other religious hypocrites within a church or denomination.
Christ instructed his witnesses (See Matt 10:1–15). He asked them to pray about the harvest in 9:36–38; and now He sends them into the harvest to serve wisely. It is a serious thing to pray for and witness to the lost, because God will want to use you to help answer those prayers. He can use any of us, so be encouraged in the Lord.
See the change from “disciples” (those who learn) in v. 1 to “apostles” (those who are sent) in v. 2. These twelve were the first missionaries. Christ gave them the divine power they needed to do His work, for He always equips those whom He calls into service. God uses a variety of people to accomplish His work.
Their commission was clear: preach the kingdom of heaven and go only to the Jews. John the Baptist had done this (3:2), Jesus had done this (4:17), and now His disciples were to spread the message across the nation. The miracles they would perform would be their credentials that they represented the King (Heb. 2:1–4).
This commission is not for the church or for individual missionaries today. We don’t have these miraculous powers since they were given especially to His apostles (Mark 16:17–18; Rom. 15:18–19; 2 Cor. 12:12). While the servant of God is not to depend on material things, he still must prepare and provide for himself and his family if he is to carry the message today (1 Tim. 5:8). Today’s missionaries are not to follow the instruction of vv. 9–10. Paul appreciated the support of the churches, as do missionaries throughout the world today.
Finally, we do not preach the Gospel of the kingdom to those “who are worthy.” We announce the Gospel of God’s grace to all people and invite sinners to come to Christ. While the spiritual principles of this section may apply to us today, the specific instructions do not.
God's word says: "There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, 3 and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.'” Acts 18:5 emph.mine
What or who can hinder a healthy church/the work of God? Unbelief can. Remember when Paul was used to found a new local church on his first missionary journey (in Acts 18:4–17)?
Paul began in the synagogue, but that witness lasted but a short time; then he turned to the Gentiles. (See Acts 13:46.) At this same time, he moved out of the house of Priscilla and Aquila and moved in with a Gentile named Justus who was a Jewish proselyte and whose house was near the synagogue. Apparently Paul did not want to bring difficulties to his Jewish host and hostess, now that he had turned to the Gentiles. But v. 8 tells us that the chief ruler of the synagogue had believed, as did many of the Corinthians! Note the sequence in v. 8: hearing, believing, being baptized. This is the pattern today. In 1 Cor. 1:14–17, Paul informs us that he himself baptized some in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:11–17), which proves that water baptism is commanded for this age.
It is likely that Silas and Timothy (v. 5) did most of the baptizing, since Paul’s special commission was to evangelize. God gave p 327 Paul a special promise of success, and he continued for eighteen months in the city. A change in political leaders brought about new opposition, but Paul still tarried (v. 18) to preach and teach. Note that there is a new ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes (v. 17, see also v. 8). It seems that Chrispus’s salvation made it necessary for the Jews to elect a new ruler; but if the Sosthenes of v. 17 is the same one named in 1 Cor. 1:1, then he was also converted! Note that those who were baptized were believers (v. 8); this list excludes infants.
This “shake the dust off your feet” statement appears four times in the New Testament. The familiar dust-shaking wording also occurs in Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5, and Acts 13:51. Luke (in 10:10–11) contains that same type of symbolic action and meaning, and Acts 18:6 records Paul shaking out his garments rather than his feet. Live.. With the Word.
Why does God create people when He knows they are going to go to hell?
What does it mean that there is a time to tear and a time to mend (Ecclesiastes 3:7)?
Why did Jesus call the Pharisees whitewashed tombs in Matthew 23:27?
Why did Jesus refer to the Pharisees as a “child of hell” in Matthew 23:15?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you.. You hypocrites!
We are not perfect, so why do we pray and witness to lost people, even to the morally fairly good folk? You know, including those who are merely religious people. It's cuz God can grant true repentance and saving faith to any of us. Paul himself is an example of someone who once violently opposed Christ and was later converted.
Of course, not every person who rejects a gospel presentation “hates God,” or has a “seared conscience.”
Really enjoyed some conversations. Had fun speaking with so many open-minded people in Turkey, Greece, in the EU, and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Certain questions are important. Do you also enjoy listening, crowdsourcing.. caring and sharing what's so?
When the Gospel Is Rejected: Care, Share, and Please Know When to Move On as the Spirit Leads
Many people are open to hear the truth today. There is a time to speak, a time to listen to hear and understand, a time to reason regarding their objectives, a time to plead (in prayer and with them), a time to warn, and, sometimes, a time to just walk away regardless of how you feel.
The Christian witness is not measured by how many people say yes to us. It is measured first by whether we have been faithful to Christ.
Our calling is wonderfully simple, though never easy: care enough to share Christ, share Him faithfully, love people sincerely, pray earnestly, speak truth graciously, and leave the results in God's hands.
Jesus never told His disciples that everyone would welcome them. In fact, He explicitly prepared them for rejection.
Matthew 10:14 KJV
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust of your feet.”
This was not permission for disciples to become angry, vindictive, or indifferent. It was a declaration that the messenger had fulfilled his responsibility. The disciple was to proclaim the truth, and if the hearers persistently refused to receive it, he could leave without carrying their rejection as a personal burden.
The gospel belongs to God before it ever comes through us.
The messenger is responsible for faithfulness and real fruitfulness, not for their conversion
Paul understood this important distinction.
When some Jews in Corinth opposed him and became abusive, Paul said:
Acts 18:6 KJV
“Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”
Notice the sobriety of Paul's words. He did not say, “You have rejected me.”
He said, in effect, “I have faithfully given you God's message. Your response to that message is now your responsibility.”
That principle reaches back into the Old Testament.
God told Ezekiel that he was to warn the wicked. If Ezekiel faithfully warned them and they refused to turn, their refusal was not charged to the prophet. But if he failed to warn them, God held him accountable.
The same principle appears again in Acts when Paul tells the Ephesian elders:
Acts 20:26–27 KJV
“Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.”
That is a sobering definition of Christian faithfulness.
Paul did not claim, “Everyone believed.”
He claimed, “I did not shrink back from declaring the truth God gave me.” Paul gave out the whole counsel of God. How many of us with our fave-pet-doctrines can also say that?
That is something a Christian can control.
You cannot make another person repent.
You cannot make another person believe.
You cannot make another person love Jesus.
You cannot make another person open his Bible.
You cannot make an adult son, daughter, relative, friend, coworker, neighbor, or stranger receive Christ. But...
You can tell the truth.
You can love.
You can pray.
You can live consistently.
You can answer questions.
You can apologize when you have personally sinned.
You can refuse to compromise Scripture.
You can keep the door open, and...
You can entrust the person to God.
“Shake the dust off” does not mean “stop prayerfully loving those who reject the Gospel message”
This distinction is crucial. Don't take it personally, believer. It's not you some of them actually hate.
Jesus' command to shake the dust from one's feet was not permission to start hating those people who rejected the Scriptures and Christ. It was a warning that rejection of the gospel must not prevent the gospel from going elsewhere where it is needed. We all have limited time here.
Matthew records Jesus saying:
Matthew 10:14 KJV
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust of your feet.”
Mark adds the important phrase, “for a testimony against them.” Luke uses the same idea. And when Paul and Barnabas were expelled from Pisidian Antioch, they actually practiced what Jesus had taught:
Acts 13:51 KJV
“But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.”
Look carefully at what happened next.
They moved on.
They did not sit outside Antioch for the rest of their ministry screaming at the people who had rejected them.
They went to Iconium.
The gospel continued moving.
That is an important lesson for every Christian witness.
Sometimes faithfulness means staying and patiently answering questions.
Sometimes faithfulness means returning another day.
Sometimes faithfulness means loving someone quietly for years while praying for God to open a door.
And sometimes faithfulness means recognizing that continuing the same argument is accomplishing nothing and moving your attention toward people who are willing to hear.
Moving on is not necessarily giving up.
Sometimes it is simply refusing to allow one closed door to keep you from walking through another God has opened.
Jesus taught discernment, not indiscriminate argument
Jesus said:
Matthew 7:6 KJV
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
This passage must be handled carefully.
Jesus is teaching discernment. He is not giving Christians permission to call everyone who disagrees with them a spiritual “dog” or a spiritual “pig” or a sow.
Nor does Matthew 7:6 explicitly say, “These animals represent every unbeliever who rejects the gospel.” That is an interpretation, not the precise wording of the text.
The principle, however, is unmistakable for any of us: there are indeed times when continued verbal engagement with a hostile lost person becomes spiritually foolish and personally destructive.
Proverbs 9:7–8 KJV
“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”
And:
Proverbs 23:9 KJV
“Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”
The wise evangelist therefore learns to recognize the difference between an honest question and a hostile quarrel.
One person says,
“I'm struggling to understand how you can believe that.”
That person may be worth spending an hour with.
Another person says,
“I don't want to hear it. Stop talking about Jesus.”
That person may need something very different from another theological argument.
And another person may deliberately provoke, mock, insult, or attack every attempt to discuss Christ.
At that point, wisdom may say:
“I love you too much to turn this into another argument. I'm here if you ever want to talk.”
Then pray.
Rejection of the Gospel is not always a rejection of you. If it happens.. let it be because of the truth spoken in love, and not because you are acting like a jerk okay
There is a profound comfort here for the Christian witness.
Jesus told His disciples:
Luke 10:16 KJV
“He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”
And Paul similarly explained:
1 Thessalonians 4:8 KJV
“He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.”
The gospel is not merely our opinion.
When we faithfully proclaim what God has revealed, rejection of that truth ultimately concerns God and His Word, not merely the personality of the messenger.
But we should say that carefully.
A Christian must never use this truth as an excuse for personal arrogance:
“They hate me because I tell the truth.”
Perhaps.
But perhaps they are reacting to our poor tone, our unnecessary argumentativeness, our hypocrisy, or our lack of love.
That is why Christian witness requires both truth and self-examination.
Peter says to be ready to give an answer, but he joins that readiness to a “meek and fear” attitude (1 Peter 3:15).
Paul says our speech should be “always with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).
Jesus said that His disciples would be recognized by their love (John 13:35).
So before saying, “They rejected Christ,” the humble Christian should sometimes ask:
“Did I actually sincerely pray and did I represent Christ well.. as He would have me rep Him publically in this dark world?”
If we sinned, we should repent.
If we spoke harshly, we should apologize.
If we compromised Scripture, we should correct ourselves. But...
If we faithfully spoke the truth in love and the person still rejected Christ, we must not assume responsibility for a decision that belongs to that person before God.
Do not confuse perseverance with pressure
There is a difference between persistent love and relentless pressure.
Persistent love says:
“I am still praying for you.”
Relentless pressure says:
“You must listen to me again right now.”
Persistent love leaves the door open.
Relentless pressure may slam it shut.
Persistent love can quietly serve someone.
Relentless pressure turns every conversation into an evangelistic confrontation.
Persistent love remembers that salvation is God's work.
Relentless pressure acts as though everything depends upon our ability to persuade.
Paul understood the difference between planting, watering, and giving God the glory for growth:
1 Corinthians 3:6–7 KJV
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”
That is liberating.
You are the witness, not the Judge of their destination. You are not the Savior--only Jesus can save people. You can evaluate, discern, and be a fruit inspector.
You are the messenger as the Spirit leads you, or doesn't lead you.
You are not the Holy Spirit. He can change people and circumstances.
You plant seeds of faith from the word and your own testimony that agrees with the Bible.
You water.
God alone gives the increase.
Sometimes another Christian will harvest what you planted.
Sometimes you will harvest what another Christian planted.
Sometimes you will never know what happened to the seed.
But God knows.
Even rejection does not mean the story is finished
This is where we must be particularly careful with our language.
A person who rejects the gospel today may receive Christ tomorrow.
Saul of Tarsus violently opposed Jesus' followers. Yet the man who once persecuted the church became the apostle Paul.
Therefore, do not confuse present resistance with an irrevocable verdict about someone's future.
Only God knows what He may yet do.
The Christian can say:
“I have told you what I believe Scripture teaches. I love you. I will pray for you. I won't force this conversation upon you. If you ever want to talk about Jesus, I will gladly listen.”
That can be profoundly evangelistic.
Sometimes the loudest witness is not another argument.
Sometimes it is a changed life, a steady love, a humble apology, a faithful marriage, a gracious response, a quiet prayer, and a door that remains open.
The seed may be buried beneath the soil for a long time before anyone sees green above the ground.
Especially with family
This becomes particularly painful when the person rejecting Christ is someone we love deeply.
A stranger can walk away.
A son cannot simply become “a stranger.”
A daughter cannot simply become “a project.”
A brother, sister, parent, grandchild, or lifelong friend is a person whom God commands us to love.
Therefore, “shake the dust off” should never become some lame excuse for those of the Cut-off-Cancel-Culture or anyone else. Abandoning basic love and respect (even when you don't have anything in common) is so vogue and popular today. It should especially never be that way for a Christian praying to wisely show kindness and love toward lost or saved family members. Why not hear them out?
It may mean:
Stop arguing--never argue.
Stop chasing every theological disagreement. There might be many simple truths you do agree with them on, so try to build a friendship on those.
Stop trying to control the person's (small and big) decisions.
Stop making every family gathering an evangelistic confrontation. It they are truely lost or a carnal Christian then God knows and they are ultimately His problem.
Stop carrying the impossible burden of being that person's savior or convicting Holy Spirit. But..
Keep on loving.. like on two knees in prayer.
Keep praying.
Keep living faithfully, following Jesus closely (with on-fire Christians) according to His Word.
Keep the door open if you can.
And when an honest opportunity appears, speak.
That is not compromise.
That is wisdom.
What about the person who repeatedly attacks the gospel or the Christians?
Scripture gives another important instruction:
Titus 3:10–11 KJV
“A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”
Paul's principle is remarkably practical.
There is admonition.
There is repetition. And then...
There is a boundary.
Christianity is not an invitation to participate indefinitely in fruitless controversy.
Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:23–25 KJV
“But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.”
Notice the beautiful balance:
Avoid foolish quarrels.
Do not strive.
Be gentle.
Teach truth and grace by example and words if they become open.
Be patient.
Correct with meekness.
That is biblical evangelism Jesus way (with Him leading you) is what I encourage you toward.
Not cowardice.
Not compromise.
Not combative Christianity.
Courageous truth wrapped in Christlike love.
There is a time to move toward those who are receptive
How can I tell if they are open. Ask for permission to talk with them about what is so, then you will soon know. When Paul and Barnabas encountered fierce opposition at Pisidian Antioch, Paul said:
Acts 13:46 KJV
“It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you... lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”
They did not conclude:
“Nobody wants Jesus.”
They concluded:
“These people have rejected the message, so we will take the message to people who will hear.”
That is a profoundly missionary lifestyle and mindset.
One closed door does not mean the whole world is closed.
One rejecting relative does not mean every relative is unreachable.
One hostile coworker does not mean every coworker is hostile.
One difficult conversation does not mean evangelism has failed.
There are still people who are hungry for God's truth.
Jesus looked upon the crowds and said:
Matthew 9:37–38 KJV
“The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
The answer to rejection is not discouragement.
It is prayer.
It is faithfulness.
It is wisdom. And then...
It is movement.
Don't waste the rejection
A Christian who is rejected can make one of two mistakes.
He can become discouraged:
“They rejected me, so I must be a terrible witness.”
Or he can become proud:
“They rejected me because I am such a bold truth-teller.”
Both can be wrong.
The better response is:
“Lord, search me thoroughly. I want to be polite and value all you value. I want to hate sin like you do too. Show me whether I spoke Your truth faithfully, lovingly, humbly, and clearly.. giving them an opportunity to get right with Jesus right on there on the spot. If I sinned, forgive me and teach me to never be a hypocrite. If I was faithful, help me release the result to You. Show me whether I should remain, return, wait, or move on. And please use whatever was true in what I said, even if I never see the fruit.”
That is spiritual maturity.
The evangelist's freedom in Christ
There is tremendous freedom in understanding this.
You do not have to win every argument.
You do not have to answer every insult.
You do not have to convince every skeptic.
You do not have to chase every resistant person.
You do not have to make your adult children believe.
You do not have to carry another person's eternal decision on your shoulders.
Christ has not called you to control the harvest.
He has called you to faithfully sow the seed.
The Apostle Paul planted.
Apollos watered.
God gave the increase.
And when Paul encountered persistent opposition, he sometimes stayed, sometimes reasoned, sometimes warned, sometimes returned, and sometimes moved on.
That is not inconsistency.
That is Spirit-directed wisdom.
The heart of Christian witness
The Christian's posture toward rejection should therefore be neither resentment nor retreat.
It should be:
Care without control or any pressure.
Truth without any religious cruelty.
Courage (boldness) without contention or combativeness.
Patience without spiritual compromise.
Prayer without pride or panic.
Witness without any manipulation.
Boundaries without any bitterness (forgive those who hurt you).
And faithfulness without demanding visible results.
Spurgeon captured the urgency of evangelistic love in words that are well documented from his 1860 sermon The Wailing of Risca:
“Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
That is the right spirit.
Not, “I told them once, so they're on their own.”
Rather:
“I have faithfully warned them. I will not force them. I will not hate them. I will not manipulate them. I will pray for them. I will love them. And I will continue following Jesus wherever He sends me.”
There is also a beautiful old missionary hymn whose very first words capture the balance:
“Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.”
The Christian witness does both.
Care. Then share.
Share. Then pray.
Pray. Then discern.
And when God says it is time to move on, move on without bitterness.
The dust may be left behind.
The love does not have to be.
A simple biblical rule for the rejected witness
1. Pray before you speak.
Ask God for wisdom, courage, compassion, and an open door.
2. Speak clearly about Christ.
Do not substitute vague spirituality for the gospel.
3. Speak with grace.
Truth without love can become a weapon in our hands.
4. Listen.
An objection may reveal ignorance, hurt, hypocrisy witnessed in Christians, or genuine intellectual questions.
5. Answer honest questions.
“Always be ready to give an answer” remains biblical (1 Peter 3:15).
6. Recognize hostility.
Do not continually throw precious truth into a conversation that has become nothing but mockery, rage, or deliberate provocation.
7. Examine yourself first .
Ask whether your conduct has made the gospel harder to hear.
8. Leave the results with God.
God gives the increase.
9. Keep praying.
Walking away from an argument does not mean walking away from prayer.
10. Move toward the next open door.
The gospel is too precious and the harvest too great to spend your entire life arguing with one determined opponent.
And remember this:
You are not responsible for making someone believe. You are responsible for being faithful to the One who sent you.
Sometimes the most faithful evangelist is the one who stays.
Sometimes it is the one who returns.
Sometimes it is the one who quietly loves for twenty years. And...
Sometimes it is the one who, after faithfully proclaiming Christ and encountering persistent rejection, wipes the dust from his feet, bows his head, prays for the people he is leaving behind, and walks toward the next open door.
The goal is not to win an argument (and lose a friend), or to dominate with your valid points in every conversation.
The goal is to faithfully represent Jesus. Again, what will you do?
Matthew 10:14: Jesus tells his disciples to leave any house or town and shake the dust off their feet if the people do not welcome or listen to their message.
Luke 9:5: Jesus commanded to “shake the dust off your feet” - that appears only four times in the New Testament. In each the directive was from Jesus to His disciples when He sent them out two by two (Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5). In Mark 6:11 Jesus says, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." Will you accept Jesus or reject Him and his gospel?
And when the conversation is over, whether the hearer says yes, no, “not now,” or walks away angry, the Christian can still show love by saying something like:
“Lord Jesus, I believe I have done what You gave me to do caring and sharing truth.. your way, not my way. This person belongs to You. I want to spend eternity in heaven with them. The results belong to You. The glory belongs to You alone. Now show me where You want me to go next.. to who next. Father God, please guide me to those who might be open for what's really so.. in Jesus' Name. Amen.”
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