And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. Acts 18:6
At one point after the collapse of communism in Russia, that country’s doors were open to the Gospel and to the distribution of Bibles. A good many faithful people entered the country and found a vibrant interest in the Gospel and an inexhaustible demand for Bibles and Christian literature. The work became so successful that it came to the attention of the Russian Orthodox church, which persuaded the government to cut off outsiders from any religious activity in Russia. In one way, they might have had a point, because the open door was also grossly exploited by the cults who tried to flood Russia with their damnable heresies. But the door was slammed shut and very little opportunities exist for spreading the Gospel in Russia now. But when that door closed, God opened other doors elsewhere, as Paul experienced in Corinth.
Paul’s usual pattern when he entered a city was to approach the Jewish people. He was a Jew himself and longed to see other Jews reached. He could faithfully say ‘my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved (Romans 10:1). Unlike the pagan Gentiles, the Jews had a knowledge of the true God, a knowledge of the Scriptures from which Paul could begin speaking the Gospel. But the Corinthian Jews rejected his message. Although Paul must have felt badly, he knew there were others who would listen, and he turned his back on the Jews to concentrate on the Gentiles. I doing so, he reminded the Jews that they were responsible before God for their rejection of the Gospel. They were warned. Paul’s conscience was clear on that point. As he turned to the Gentiles, Paul would also find some opposition, but he also found great acceptance. The Gospel flourished in that city, and Paul and his companions were given cause to rejoice greatly. And the rejecting Jewish community was left behind forever.
We often find doors slammed in our faces when we seek to speak a word for our Lord. Some will ignore us, or refuse to hear us, or even directly oppose us. That is not our problem. We must, as Paul did, leave such people with God, and move on to those who will listen. Despite the rejecters, there will be some who will accept a tract or calendar, who will listen to our testimony, who will accept an invitation to attend a Gospel meeting. We move on when we need to, and leave the results to God, with a clear conscience.
If God closes a door, it is not up to us to keep our foot in the door and ignore others who need to learn about our Lord. -Jim MacIntosh