Introduction
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, the theological claim of Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) that “house to house” means “door to door” was analysed to get a better understanding of how this is derived from Scripture, and whether this interpretation is supported by the Bible as well as the WTBTS[i] quoted reference works and scholars.
In Part 1, the JW interpretation of the Bible through various references in their literature were examined, and the Greek words “kat oikon” translated “house to house” analysed in context, specifically for three verses, Acts 20:20, 5:42 and 2:46, as these have very similar grammatical constructs. It became clear that it does not refer to “door to door”. It more probably refers to the gathering of believers in each other’s homes. This is supported by Acts 2:42, which reads “And they continued devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles, to associating together, to the taking of meals, and to prayers.”[ii] Four specific activities were undertaken by the new believers. All four could have taken place in the homes of believers. This is reinforced by considering the four other occurrences of the words “kat oikon” in Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15 and Philemon 1:2. These provide an indication of how believers fellowshipped in each other’s homes.
In Part 2, the five scholarly references quoted in the Revised New World Translation Study Bible 2018 (RNWT) footnotes were examined in context. In every case, the scholars responsible for the references understood the words as 'meeting at the homes of believers' and not preaching “door to door”. This was deduced by reading all the quotes fully in context. In one case, the WTBTS omitted a key sentence that completely reversed the meaning.
In Part 3, we will consider the Bible book Acts of the Apostles (Acts) and examine how the early Christian congregation carried out its evangelistic mission. The book of Acts is the oldest document that provides a window on the growth and spread of the nascent Christian faith. It covers just under 30 years and provides an insight into Apostolic Christianity. We will examine the ministry methods used together with their associated locations. From this contextual setting, we can draw conclusions on the spread of early Christianity and the methods used to propagate this new faith. We will examine whether the “door-to-door” ministry method used and taught by JWs was significant in the time of the Apostles. In addition, we will consider if Acts promotes a primary form of ministry that could be referred to as a trademark of early Christianity.
Background to the Acts of the Apostles
The author of this work is Luke, and this document along with his earlier work, the Gospel of Luke, was written for Theophilus. In Acts 1:8, Jesus gives specific direction on how the ministry will spread and grow.
“But you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the most distant part of the earth.”
Jesus gives a clear statement to his Apostles on how the ministry would expand and grow. It begins in Jerusalem, expands to Judea, followed by Samaria, and finally to the rest of the world. Acts follows this pattern in its layout of the narrative.
The first six chapters deal with the message being proclaimed in Jerusalem starting at Pentecost 33 CE. Then the persecution begins, and the message moves to Judea and Samaria, covered in Chapters 8 and 9, followed by the conversion of Cornelius in Chapter 10. In Chapter 9, the Apostle to the Nations is chosen on the road to Damascus. From chapter 11, the emphasis shifts from Jerusalem to Antioch, and then it tracks the message carried by Paul and his companions to the nations and finally to Rome. Interestingly, there are two central characters in carrying the message, Peter and Paul. One leads in spreading the message to the Jews, while the other focuses on the pagan nations.
Now the question is, what specific methods are mentioned in propagating the message to the people in the various lands?
Methodology
The approach is very simple and direct. The goal is to read the entire book of Acts and highlight every instance of the message being preached or a witness being given. At each instance, a note is made of the specific scripture(s), the setting or location, the type of ministry, the outcome and any comments from commentators or the author’s personal observations.
For the type of ministry, it will look to state if the setting is public or private, and type of verbal witness being given. Within the comments, there are observations on the baptisms recorded and the speed of conversion and baptism. In addition, there are points that arise that require further research.
Please download the document, “Ministry work in the Acts of the Apostles”, outlining all the above with notes.
For the three scriptures discussed previously, Acts 2:46, 5:42 and 20:20, a variety of commentaries have been consulted and findings included. The idea of “house to house” is not theologically controversial for most other commentators, and hence the level of bias is probably significantly lower for these three verses. These have been included to provide the readers with a wider perspective on these scriptures.
A table has been constructed below to outline the various stages recorded in Acts with ministry engagement or a defence in front of a judicial or magisterial authority.
| Scriptural Setting | Locations | Number of times “witness” giving mentioned | Key individuals |
| Acts 2:1 to 7:60 | Jerusalem | 6 | Peter, John Stephen |
| Acts 8:1 to 9:30 | Judea and Samaria | 8 | Philip, Peter, John, Jesus our Lord, Ananias, Paul |
| Acts 10:1 to 12:25 | Joppa, Caesarea, Antioch of Syria | 6 | Peter, Barnabas, Paul |
| Acts 13:1 to 14:28 | Salamis, Paphos, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Antioch of Syria | 9 | Paul, Barnabas first missionary journey |
| Acts 15:36 to 18:22 | Philippi, Thessalonica, Beroea, Athens, Corinth, Cenchrea, Ephesus | 14 | Paul, Silas, Timothy, second missionary journey |
| Acts 18:23 to 21:17 | Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, Troas, Miletus, Caesarea, Jerusalem | 12 | Paul, Silas, Timothy, third missionary journey. |
| Acts 21:18 to 23:35 | Jerusalem | 3 | Paul |
| Acts 24:1 to 26:32 | Caesarea | 3 | Paul |
| Acts 28:16 to 28:31 | Rome | 2 | Paul |
In total, there are 63 occasions where Peter, Paul or one of the other disciples are recorded as giving a witness about the faith. Some of these events with Cornelius, Sergius Paulus, the Ethiopian official etc are given a witness at their home or on their travels. The remaining places mentioned are public places such as synagogues, marketplaces, a school auditorium etc. There is NO mention of any Christian engaging in the “door to door ministry”.
Furthermore, this form of ministry is never mentioned in any of the New Testament books. Does this mean that it was not practiced? The Bible is silent and anything beyond that is pure conjecture. The only conclusion is that the Bible does not provide any explicit evidence for the “door to door” ministry, neither is there any implied statement that supports such a ministry being undertaken at the time of the Apostles.
Conclusion
In Part 1 of this series there was quote from a WTBTS publication “'Bearing Thorough Witness' About God’s Kingdom” (bt) 2009 that states the following on pages 169-170, paragraph 15:
"There are many ways to reach people with the good news today. Like Paul, we strive to go where the people are, whether at bus stops, on busy streets, or in marketplaces. Yet, going from house to house remains the primary preaching method used by Jehovah’s Witnesses (Bold for emphasis). Why? For one thing, house-to-house preaching gives all an adequate opportunity to hear the Kingdom message on a regular basis, thus demonstrating God’s impartiality. It also allows honesthearted ones to receive personal assistance according to their needs. In addition, the house-to-house ministry builds the faith and endurance of those who engage in it. Indeed, a trademark of true Christians (Bold for emphasis) today is their zeal in witnessing “publicly and from house to house.”"
In our study of the book of Acts, there is no indication that early Christians had a “primary preaching method”. Neither is their mention of a preaching “trademark of true Christians”. If anything, meeting people in a public place seems to have been the main method of reaching them. Those who were interested seem to have met in groups at the homes of various believers to grow in their faith. Does this mean that a person should not undertake a systematic approach of going “door to door” to share the message about Jesus? No! An individual might decide this is an effective method for them personally, but they cannot claim it is biblically based, nor mandated. There should be no cajoling or coercing of fellow believers into this or any other form of ministry.
If a JW repeats the statement “we can’t expect to get everything right but who else is doing the preaching work”, we can in a spirit of mildness help the person see that this understanding is not scripturally based. In dealing with any JW, it is critical that we start off by only using their literature to reason with them. This will prevent the charge of using unapproved and even so-called “apostate” literature.
We can now demonstrate from the RNWT Study Bible 2018 in conjunction with the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures:
- The term “house to house” in Acts 5:42 and 20:20 does not mean “door to door” but most probably at the homes of believers as seen in Acts 2:46.
- We may follow this up by getting them to read Acts 20:20 in the context of Acts 19:8-10. They will be able to see how Paul accomplished his ministry in Ephesus and how the message got to everyone in that region.
- For Acts 5:42, a verse-by-verse reading of Acts 5:12-42 will help them to see what the Bible teaches. It would be useful to play the animation on Solomon’s colonnade, that is now part of the RNWT Study Bible and for JWs to see how WTBTS explains this verse.
- For the scholarly references quoted in the footnotes on Acts 5:42 and 20:20, help them read the quotes in context. On the omission of the final sentence in AT Robertson’s commentary on Acts 20:20, we could ask, “How did the researcher/writer overlook this sentence? Was it an oversight or an example of eisegesis?”
- Using the table in the document "Ministry work in the Acts of the Apostles", we can ask the question, "Why in 63 places where a witness of the faith is given, the “door to door” ministry is never mentioned?" If this was a trademark of early Christianity, why do the New Testament writers not mention it? More importantly, why did the holy spirit leave it out from the inspired canon?
- We should be careful not to make any explicit statements about the JW Organisation or its Governing Body. Let the word of God reach their hearts (Hebrews 4:12) to help them reason on the scriptures. One possible response might be, "How do you recommend carrying out the ministry?"
The answer might be: Each Christian must make a personal decision on how to share the Gospel. Each one is answerable to Jesus Christ the reigning King and will give an account to him, and him alone. Jesus clearly stated in Matthew 5:14-16:
"You are the light of the world. A city cannot be hid when located on a mountain. People light a lamp and set it, not under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. Likewise, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens."
These verses are not referring to a preaching work, but need to be read in context, starting at Matthew 5:3. The thrust of Jesus’ words is for each person to transform from within and to develop the new Christian character. This new person in Christ will then share the wonderful light about Jesus with a heart full of love and gratitude. The Lord Jesus can lead any person to our heavenly Father. We are all channels or conduits that Jesus can use to accomplish this goal. The hardest part for any JW to grasp is that there is no prescriptive answer on how to carry out the ministry, and this thought needs to be sown and given time to grow. Remember that a Christian is always looking to build up in faith and never tear down.
Finally, a question arises now that we have examined the ministry methods of JWs: "What is the message to share with people?" This will be considered in the next article titled, "Theology Unique to JWs: The Ministry Message".
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[i] WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA (WTBTS)
[ii] All scriptural references will be from the RNWT 2018 unless otherwise stated.
Archived Comments
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Comment by Mike Felker on 2018-12-19 13:16:56
You made a very powerful and devestating argument here; one that I somehow never thought to made. This being, there is not one single example of a witnessing encounter happening in a “door to door” format in the book of Acts. And it’s hard to imagine why there wouldn’t be, if this was the primary evangelism method of the early church. So even if we grant their interpretation that door to door evangelism was happening, it’s extremely noteworthy that no single interaction was ever recorded.
An interesting historical investigation would include a survey of Jewish and Gentile households to see if a door to door method would even be feasible. Was it even socially acceptable to go door knocking in those cultures? My impression is that you simply did not have door to door evangelists any more than you had door to door salesmen in those cultures. I could be wrong, but if would be a very interesting study for someone to undertake.
Comment by jamesbrown on 2018-12-20 17:42:45
Good morning Eleasar, Very good article.
Its really so strange the articles that I am reading on our website are the exact conversations I have had with the elders.
A while ago I read the book of Acts and I came to the same conclusion as you have, so I approached one of the elders and asked, which comes first, (Knowledge - Baptism – Preaching) OR (Knowledge – Preaching – Baptism). He stated 2nd one.
So, I asked, why does the bible say differently according to the book of Acts & I quoted the examples that you stated, his response was, they came to worship Jehovah, so they were already in a relationship with him, they only “adjusted” their faith slightly, not much, without preaching.
I asked again what about the Catholics why don’t they have their faith “adjusted” and get baptised immediately after getting accurate knowledge without PREACHING first? He responded by saying, that’s the direction we get from GB, I was quick to respond, I have the inspired word of God Pitched against the uninspired word of Man… Needless to say he wasn’t happy when he walked away.
Reasoning with JW’s from the scriptures IS the only way to go thanks again Eleasar.
Comment by jamesbrown on 2018-12-21 00:58:24
Remember how we used to have people writing in to commend/complain about our articles, well this is one of them.
I recall reading this from awake 22/8/1984 p28...... Your issue of December 8, 1983, was one of the most appealing, absorbing and sensitive in recent memory. Your critical analysis of the Pope’s spiritual, political, moral and social activities was authoritative, balanced, sane and backed by an array of insurmountable Biblical facts. It exposes with conviction the fallacies and dangers of modern Catholicism. Awake! has once again enhanced its stand as the true light of the entire family irrespective of the latter’s “spiritual ideology.”
You all loved it, didn’t you? You couldn’t resist taking a shot at the Catholic Church, could you? I will never forgive the way you mercilessly tore down the Pope. If Jehovah’s Witnesses must refer to cheap shots in attempting to bring down other religions, they’re in more trouble than the Catholics.
M. C., Florida
We surely were not trying to take cheap shots at the pope or the Catholic Church, nor were we criticizing Catholics. The Catholic Church occupies a very significant position in the world and claims to be the way of salvation for hundreds of millions of people. Any organization that assumes that position should be willing to submit to scrutiny and criticism. All who criticize have the obligation to be truthful in presenting the facts and fair and objective in assessing such. In both respects we try to live up to that obligation.—ED.
I wonder if they can take it as much as they dish it out.
Love to all
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2018-12-24 04:58:26
This weeks Bible reading at Acts 18:4 tells us that when Paul settled in Corinth "he would give a talk in the synagogue and would persuade Jews and Gentiles". No mention of anything else. Is the implication that Greeks came to the synagogues ? However, we do know that Paul would seize any opportunity that came to him, as evidenced by Acts 17.
Reply by Bernardbooks on 2018-12-24 05:39:13
This weeks meeting doesn’t mention the wonderful example of the Beroeans, not too surprising considering last weeks emphasis to exercise humility and patience, trust the organization and obey the governing body, but of course they’ve even twisted this account before to fit their view.
w61 11/15 p.692 paragraph 16
Remember also the Bible-reading Jews in Beroea in Macedonia.
To understand the Bible for their salvation they had to have it explained through God’s organization.Reply by Leonardo Josephus on 2018-12-24 12:44:54
So far this year I have noticed that when the Bible reading for the week covers some awkward verse (from the Organisation's point of view) it usually does not get discussed at all.
Reply by Bernardbooks on 2018-12-24 17:28:11
I’ve noticed that trend also.
The meetings often include parts that are called “discussions” but of course they are not anything like a real life discussion between people.
Irving Janis, a research psychologist from Yale University noted one cause of groupthink as being a lack of impartial leadership: leaders can completely control the group discussion, by planning what will be discussed, only allowing certain questions to be asked, and asking for opinions of only certain people in the group. Closed style leadership is when leaders announce their opinions on the issue before the group discusses the issue together.
This reminded me of what Rutherford said in his 1937 recorded talk entitled “Exposed”.
“Men who deceive the public never desire their statements or teachings to be publicly discussed for fear that truth will expose them to ridicule and contempt.”
Reply by Eleasar on 2018-12-24 09:23:21
Leonardo,
Based on history and other records there were 3 groups who attended the synagogues. The Jews by birth, the proselytes (those who converted and underwent circumcision and the “God-fearers”, those who liked the message but did not fully convert. Often prominent women in the cities would also associate. This comes out in the NT writings. In Athens, Acts 17:17 states “So he began to reason in the synagogue with the Jews and the other people who worshipped God and every day in the marketplace with those who happened to be on hand.” Interesting that the Org did not choose to make this the primary method of ministry rather than “door to door”. I wonder if Rutherford read this first, whether that would have been jw history.????
Comment by Truth-Seeker on 2018-12-24 05:02:25
I agree with you wholeheartedly, Eric. How Christianity on a large scale would be so wonderful, if only practiced. Unfortunately, "organisation" gets in the way.
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2018-12-31 04:21:51
Is it always worthy of note, Eleasar, as I have only just spotted it, that the footnote to Acts 20:20 - in the Reference Bible - states that the expression Kat Oi'kon means "and in private houses" - literally "according to houses", but the 2013 edition simply decides to give a footnote reference to the word "profitable", explaining it as "for your good". As a result they have added nothing to our knowledge, but actually hidden what they were already aware of. I was not sure whether you had mentioned this in your writings, so am sorry if I am duplicating things.
?Reply by Eleasar on 2018-12-31 06:33:28
Hi LJ, Thanks for that point. I had included it in Part 1 of this series published on Nov 22nd. I agree on adding nothing. In Part 1 of this series I examined the use of the Greek word Kat Oikon and it clearly could not be shown to be "door to door" but more likely meant in the homes of believers. In Part 2, I examined the 5 references sources used by WTBTS and in fuller context ALL the sources believed it meant homes of believers. In Part 3, the book of Acts does not have ANY mention of "door to door". This basically means the so called primary method of ministry promoted by WTBTS does not have validation or support in the bIble. Since this is one of the key methods JWs use to deflect difficulties on teaching, we can hopefully now reason with them and ask based on their literature how they conclude "door to door' in based on the Apostolic model. Let's pray and hope that some will see it and begin to awaken and then grow into belief in the bible.
Comment by Theology Unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses: The Ministry Method, Part 2 - Beroean Pickets - JW.org Reviewer on 2020-01-09 14:04:43
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