To the Door-To-Door Evangelists, to Make Much of Everyone’s Time

I don’t answer the door when someone knocks; lots of sales people and others go through our neighborhood on a regular basis. I usually check the doorbell camera, verify that it’s a stranger, and wait till they go away. Yesterday, I couldn’t find my phone, so I opened the door to two young women, modestly dressed, asking if I know what happens when I die, or something like that.

I told them that I was happy to talk, but they wouldn’t get anywhere, and that I can sometimes be a bully when it comes to theology. They looked at me with a very kind, accepting, “bring it, fool” kind of look, so I grabbed my coffee and we began our tussle.

I threw a few quick philosophical jabs, but they were quickly parried, so I went in for the haymaker, asking, “How is one made right with God?” This is where evangelicals and Jehovah’s Witnesses widely differ.

Most brands of Christianity – Mormon, Catholic, etc. – can’t find agreement here.

For students of the bible, it’s complicated: we all agree that Jesus died on the cross to remove the sins of humanity on some level. But does that apply to everybody? Only the devout? Only certain sins?

My JW friends told me that one has to behave in order to make it to heaven. It doesn’t matter what you believe, or what religious mandates you adhere to. Without good behavior, you’re screwed. I don’t agree, but tried to be respectful and listen, trying to keep my bully impulses in check.

I brought up St. Paul’s view of how one gets right with God, one that’s much more universal in its scope (my paraphrase):

In the exact same way that sin came into the world through Adam, and affected all people, justification (the removal of sin) came into the world, affecting the exact same people, through Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 5:18-19

My friends were quick to point to a few other scriptures that seem to peddle a much more conditional message, but at this point I got frustrated, not because they didn’t agree with me, but because this is one of the clearest passages to address salvation, sin, etc. It should take center stage when we talk about this stuff. Instead, us bible folk gravitate towards beliefs that put us in the driver’s seat.

Paul’s passage addresses the problem of sin and compares it directly to what Jesus did on the cross. According to him, sin entered all of humanity – dead, alive, and yet to be born –  through the sin of one man. If you’re human, sin is on you, there’s nothing you can do to get rid of it. Jesus came along and somehow removed sin, that too affecting all people, regardless of religion, race, caste, moral code, personal choice, etc.

There is no religion that proposes anything close to this.

To folks who believe in God, sin, bible, etc., it’s really good news. To the Jewish people of Jesus’s day, it would be unthinkable. According to their faith, it was only through the blood sacrifice of animals that sin could be removed, and that was only available to devout Jewish people.

Paul and others compared Jesus’ very bloody death to this sacrificial system, claiming that, in his death, no more sacrifice is needed, all sins have been forgiven, washed away, like they never existed.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. ~ John 1:29

For some reason, this isn’t what gets preached. Us religious folk love our conditions, rites, rules, procedures, tribal adherence. When it comes to the removal of sin, every expression of Christianity has their own brand of “if you do X, you’ll be right with God.”

Evangelicals do this too: sin isn’t removed until one believes that Jesus died on the cross to remove one’s sins. That’s why, in our discussions about faith, we gently push people to a “decision point” where they acknowledge their sin and express faith in Jesus’ remedy. Depending on the brand of evangelicalism, one might have to embrace a few other theological points, maybe even some politics, before they’ll be considered a “believer.”

From God’s perspective, all sin, regardless of what the sinner believes, has been forgiven. There are no conditions, requirements, behavioral adjustments, further sacrifices, etc. that are required.

If you’re going to go door-to-door, gettin’ weird with people you’ve never met, wouldn’t this be a much easier message to peddle? You’d still get rejected, but not nearly as much; it’s one that few are peddling, and it’s actually good news.

To my Christian friends, before you accuse me of heresy, or making salvation too easy, remember the most violent thing that Jesus said to his God-fearing detractors who were guilty of conditional salvation:

If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have an extremely large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ~ Matthew 18:6

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day had made a racket out of salvation, placing all manner of barriers between God and the people who wanted to be close to him. Again, that spirit is alive and well in modern Christianity because the “free and easy” way to salvation is anathema to us. Surely there are requirements and conditions. Doesn’t God care about things like obedience, correct theology, and righteous living?

Ultimately, Jesus didn’t warn people about making salvation too easy, he warned them about making it too hard, placing conditions in front of people who would otherwise be intimately close to him.

If I suffered the way Jesus did in order to clear all obstacles between me and those I hold dear, I’d get upset too if someone went around, claiming to be my representative, rebuilding the walls that I just knocked down.

Therefore, to the door-to-door crowd, or to anyone who wants to talk about Jesus, instead of some cutesy introductory topic that’s going to sound weird anyway, say this:

Hi, my name is __________ and I have an important message for you: all of your sins have been wiped clean, removed, obliterated. There are now no barriers between you and God. Everything has been forgiven, even the stuff you haven’t perpetrated yet. You are now free to have an intimate relationship with Him, full of the hope and peace that I’ve found there. Would you like to hear more? No? Cool, I’ll get off your porch.

I can’t tell you how many people need to hear that God has forgotten their most horrible perpetrations. This would get much more traction than standing on someone’s porch with a look on your face like you want to suck the life out of them for the next 30 minutes.

Sure, there are a great many other people who have no interest in God whatsoever, and our awkward, time sucking presence on the entryway to their home isn’t going to change that, no matter the message. Might as well make this as easy as the scriptures will allow, have many, many more conversations, and stay out of trouble with Jesus.

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash