“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed” (2 John 10)

My doorbell rang. Through the peephole, I saw two cleancut men. They were strangers to me, but I had an inkling about why they were at my door. After a few words among us, they answered my direct question, confirming that they were part of a well-known cult. They wanted, at least, to attract me to their cult and, at most, to convert me to it. What happened–and didn’t happen–next may be useful to you.

First, I was determined to be kind. Paul’s straightforward principle says it well: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). I was sure that these men had met with unkindness at some doors. They had probably encountered everything from shrugs to curses. Beware the temptation to throw out the messenger because of his or her horrendous message. I didn’t want my rejection of their doctrine to translate to personal hatred. The Lord Jesus had, after all, died for the sins of all three of us who stood on my porch. 

Next, I was determined to be clear. “Do you believe that Jesus is God in the flesh?” I asked pointedly. They squirmed a bit, talked around my question, but finally said, “No”. A little too quickly while stepping back inside the house, I said, “Then, we have nothing to talk about”. Because these men brought another gospel instead of the true gospel which John called “this doctrine”, I knew I couldn’t welcome them, have fellowship with them, or bid them Godspeed (2 John 10).

In my haste to be kind and clear, however, I had failed to be fully biblical. Proud of myself for having kept my cool (mostly) and for having carried out John’s admonition not to receive them (2 John 10) and thereby be a “partaker of [their] evil deeds” (2 John 11), I had closed the door on an opportunity as surely as I had closed the door on them. A good ambassador of the Lord Jesus would have said something like this: “Before you ring the next doorbell, be warned that your teaching will lead people astray. I plead with you to place your trust in Jesus, the God-man, who is your only hope of salvation”. Such a warning would have been like Paul’s in Colossians 1:27,28: “Christ…the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man…”. Such a plea would have been like Barnabas’s in Acts 11:23,24: “...he…exhorted them all…and much people was added unto the Lord”. Would the men have heeded a warning to stop spreading their false gospel? Only God knows. Would they have trusted Christ before they had left my porch? Only God knows. I had been determined to be kind and clear. Great. My kindness and clarity without a warning and a plea fell short. Maybe next time I (and you?) will do better.