RADFORD, VA - A homeowner's clever ploy to stop would-be package thieves in their tracks has gone viral after the man left preacher and missionary Paul Washer out in a box on the porch over the weekend.

As the thief crept up the porch to steal the large cardboard box left out on the doorstep, Washer burst out of the container and began to lecture the man on his guilt before a holy God.

"You will stand before a righteous God one day to give an account, and you will be found GUILTY!" Washer cried as he leaped from the package.

"Bwah!" the thief screamed as he turned to run.

"I don't know why you're running - I'm talking about you!" Washer passionately preached as the man froze in terror. A tearful Washer then opened his Bible to 2 Corinthians 5 and preached on the man's need to gain Christ's imputed righteousness and have his sin debt transferred to Jesus' substitutionary death on the cross.

After an hour of preaching, the man is reported to have placed his faith in Christ alone, though Washer was adamant that it was "not an altar call per se."

Package theft is down to zero in the neighborhood, according to law enforcement. "In fact, a few previous thieves have begun returning boxes to the porch with long, apologetic notes attached to them."