For many years the Bible worker has been cheered on in her work for the Master by the following messages of instruction and encouragement:
"The plan of holding Bible readings was a heaven-born idea. . . . By this means the word of God has been given to thousands, and the workers are brought into personal contact with people of all nations and tongues. The Bible is brought into families, and its sacred truths come home to the conscience. Men are entreated to read, examine, and judge for themselves, and they must abide the responsibility of receiving or rejecting the divine enlightenment. God will not permit this precious work for Him to go unrewarded. He will crown with success every humble effort made in His name."
"The presentation of Christ in the family, by the fireside, and in small gatherings in private houses, is often more successful in winning souls to Jesus than are sermons delivered in the open air, to the moving throng, or even in halls or churches."—"Gospel Wockers," pp. 192, 193.
House-to-house ministry has held a very distinct and unique place in the advancement of the gospel in all ages. In every great reform movement there has been recognition of the fact that no decided advance could be made until the word of God had become available to the people in their homes. It was in the home primarily that seeds of truth were sown in honest hearts, and from the home issued the glorious results of the living word as revealed in transformed lives, against which the powers of evil could not prevail.
The example of our Saviour when here upon earth has placed distinctive glory about the house-to-house ministry, which can never be superseded by any method of proclaiming the gospel. Let us briefly review some of the incidents in the life of Christ, and see how closely all His ministry is linked to the home and its inmates.
1. It was in the home that His first miracle was performed. John 2:1-11.
2. It was in the home that the mother of Simon Peter's wife was healed of a fever. Mark 1:29-81.
3. It was in the home of Zacchmus that a knowledge of salvation was brought to this wealthy chief of publicans, and as a lasting memorial of the visit of the Saviour to Zacchseus' home, we have that comforting statement that " the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:1-10.
4. The home of Simon the Pharisee, who had been cleansed of leprosy, was situated in the little town of Bethany, and because Jesus visited that home, we have the wonderful lesson of the alabaster box of ointment, which has brought comfort and healing to stricken hearts through all the years of human history since that time; and through the portals of this home we hear that wonderful parable of the two debtors. Mark 14:1.9; John 12:1-7; Luke 7:36-50.
5. Into the home of Matthew Levi Jesus entered, and was introduced to Matthew's business associates. And from that home we hear Him say, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:27-32.
6. There was a house in Capernaum into which He entered, and as soon as it was known that the Great Teacher was there, a crowd quickly gathered, until "there was no room to receive them, no not so much as about the door: and He preached the word unto them." Here was a cottage meeting which stands as a monument to houseto-house ministry in all history. And it was on this occasion that there was demonstrated that great exhibition of faith on the part of the palsied man, and of his friends who removed a portion of the roof of the house in order to let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay, that Jesus, the Teacher in that home, might look upon the afflicted, believing soul and speak the healing word.
7. The parting words of Jesus to His disciples (as recorded in the thirteenth to the seventeenth chapters of John) were uttered in the privacy of the home. Knowing that the time had come for separation from His beloved followers, he said, "Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him. . . .
I will keep the Passover at thy house with My disciples." Matt. 26:18. In the large room prepared for Him, in the home of a resident of Jerusalem, Jesus revealed the mysteries of the kingdom, as He washed the disciples' feet, and instructed them to do as He had done to them. It was here that He partook with them of the last supper, revealing the deeper meaning of the bread and the wine which were to be perpetual reminders of that scene and the climax which immediately followed. Jesus could not impart these sacred truths to His disciples while in the crowds of the temple courts, nor surrounded by the multitudes on the seashore. The home afforded the most appropriate environment for presenting the parting words of truth which were to guide His followers to the end of time.
8. After His death and resurrection, we find that Jesus did not reveal Himself to the multitude in a public way, but He joined the two disciples on their way to their home, and followed them into its quiet atmosphere. And as they journey along the road, Jesus gave such a Bible study as caused His hearers to see a new meaning in the law, the Psalms, and the prophets, and the plan of redemption became more than a teaching, it became actual experience; it affected their hearts, and they exclaimed, "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32.
9. After the ascension, and the disciples had come to a full realization of the tremendous task allotted them, they followed the Master's method of house-to-house ministry, as we see by the following incidents:
a. Simon Peter was sent to the home of Cornelius, the centurion, to teach him and his kinsmen and near friends regarding the crucified and risen Saviour, and it was in the atmosphere of the home that the Holy Spirit impressed upon Peter's mind that the gospel was to go to the Gentiles. Acts 10.
b. It was to the home of Judas, on "Straight" street, in the city of Damascus, that God sent Ananias on a mission to Saul of Tarsus, who in that home was praying for light. It was in that private home that Saul's eyes were opened and he was ordained to the gospel ministry among the Gentiles. Acts 9:10-18.
c. That which the praying and singing of Paul and Silas in the prison of Philippi could not do for the jailer, was accomplished when, after the midnight earthquake, they were brought into the house of the jailer, for we read that "they spake unto him [the jailer] the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. . . . And when he had brought them into his house, he . . . rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." Acts 16: 25-34.
d. Apollos was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, yet it was in the home of Aquilla and Priscilla that the word of God was expounded unto him more fully; and because of these expoundings, or Bible readings, as we would say today, Apollos "learned the way of God more perfectly," and became a more efficient minister for God. Acts 18:24-28.
These are only a few examples of house-to-house ministry as recorded in the Bible for our instruction, as we, upon whom the ends of the world are come, seek to do our part in finishing the work which Christ has committed to human instrumentalities. The Master gave more of His time in helping the individual than in preaching to large companies, and by His example we are taught that the personal touch is the greatest force in the world for winning the hearts of men and women. It was in the personal interview with Nicodemus, which took place at night, that the mystery of the new birth into the kingdom of God was so clearly set forth. When talking to the woman with whom Jesus came in contact at Jacob's well, He announced that wondrous fact that He was the Messias, the Christ, and explained so explicitly the secret of true worship. "The result of the work of Jesus, as He sat, weary and hungry, at the well, was wide-spread in blessing. The one soul whom He sought to help became a means of reaching others and bringing them to the Saviour. This is ever the way that the work of God has made progress on the earth."—"Gospel Workers," page 195.
To be called to follow in the footsteps of the Saviour, going from house to house and teaching the Scriptures, is the greatest and most exalted honor which can be conferred upon Christian women. Let us never forget our specific instruction for this our day and opportunity: "To all who are working with Christ I would say, Wherever you can gain access to the people by the fireside, improve your opportunity. Take your Bible, and open before them its great truths. Your success will not depend so much upon your knowledge and accomplishments, as upon your ability to find your way to the heart."—Id., p. 193.
