Acts 17 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. It contains the account of Paul teaching in Athens, to the Areopagus. After Paul presents his case, we see three responses to his teachings.
“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
Acts 17:32-33 (NKJV)
Three responses. Some mocked. They rejected Paul, not having anything to do with him. There is a lot of rejection is scripture, here they mocked, but we see accounts of stoning, beating, and other violent forms of rejection. Some agreed to hear more. They were undecided, but curious. They wanted to hear more of Paul’s teaching. Most likely some would still reject, and some would believe. Some joined Paul and believed him. These are the ones who decided it was important enough to believe right away. This is the outcome we all hope for when we share the gospel with someone.
There were three responses, but Paul did not have a choice over which the people would choose. Obviously if he did, they would have all believed. We cannot force someone to obey the gospel. We cannot decide for them. We are not responsible for their choices. We are supposed to present to gospel, to anyone who will hear it. Consider the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. The sower casts the seed, he does not decide where it lands. He throws it to all kinds of ground. Some are profitable, some are not.
It is our responsibility to sow the seed, spread the word of God, to all people. We should not pick and choose the types of people we teach to, and we cannot make them choose salvation. We can only teach them and pray for them to choose the best outcome.