When is it time to give up evangelizing proselytizers?

[hsmom2four]

We (my husband & I) have been in conversation with an Seventh-Day Adventist evangelist who has been canvasing our neighborhood the past few months. He has been promoting what he called a “non-denominational” Bible study, but in reality, it is full of SDA theology.

We agreed to meet with him weekly to go over the Bible study, our main purpose is to show him the truth of the Catholic Church. (Of course, his purpose is to get us into the SDA denomination.) Our plan was to take his Bible study and show him, using Scripture, the errors of the theology presented.

How does one know when it’s time to quit? Part of me feels a moral obligation to continue with this – after all, God landed this young man at OUR doorstep. I also know that we are here to just sow the seeds; I realize we may never see the fruit it produces, and that’s okay. We felt we were doing some good just by the fact that when he is at our home, he is NOT evangelizing to someone else. But the thought of having to plow through another one of these Bible studies is putting me in a near occasion of sin!

And yes, I have prayed about it, but the answer has not been very clear. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

You’re under no moral obligation to continue such studies. Simply because someone rings your doorbell does not mean that God is obligating you to take on the task of evangelizing that person. That you tried to do so is commendable, just not required, especially for anyone who is not well-educated in their own faith and in the faith of the proselytizer. It is certainly not required for you to do so to the point of causing distress or neglecting other responsibilities.

To break this off in a friendly manner, all you need do is say that you’ve enjoyed the time spent on the study but that other responsibilities make it impossible to continue the study at this time. If he asks when you’ll be ready to resume the study, have him leave contact information and then say, “We’ll contact you should we decide to resume the study.” Should he contact you after that, asking about your plans to resume, you can then say, “You’ll hear from us when we decide to do so.”