Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

JI Packer has long been a prominent voice in evangelical theology, and many of his writings reflect solid teaching and wisdom. This book is no exception. This book makes an attempt to deal with one of the principle objections to Reformed theology particularly, and the sovereignty of God generally - if God is in control of everything and has already determined who will be saved, what purpose does evangelism serve? This book provides one of the more substantive responses to this objection.Packer makes clear early on that it is impossible to get around two clear Biblical teachings without jettisoning whole sections of the Bible. Those two clear teachings are that God is absolutely sovereign and fully in control, and that man is responsible for his own actions and will be held accountable for his life. These two truths, which appear to be in competition with each other, have long proven to be a formidable theological question for theologians of all stripes. Arminians are often accused of elevating man's responsibility and thus forcing a watered down version of God's sovereignty that appears to be in contradiction with Scripture. Calvinists are often accused of elevating God's sovereignty to the point where human beings necessarily become little more than puppets, and that this seems to be in conflict with Scripture. Finding a reconciliation of the two truths that continues to preach the two truths in a way that's faithful to what Scripture actually says is where the rub has been. In this book, Packer does not offer a detailed compatibilist proposal, but indeed affirms the classic Reformed understanding that God's complete sovereignty is undeniably expressed in Scripture, and that this is a significant issue when it comes to the topic of evangelism.The best section of the book is where Packer discusses the actual practice of evangelism and what it should look like. I think many readers will gain fresh insights about what evangelism actually is, and that Scripture is rather clear about what it is. Readers who are in the missions field or are in a heavily evangelistic role in their church or community will find this section to be very helpful, in addition to laypeople who are likewise called to evangelize the territory that God has given them.Packer concludes by eloquently discussing how evangelism, without the recognition that God is sovereign, is a worthless enterprise that will yield no fruit. Packer persuasively argues that those who believe that winning converts is based upon their own evangelism techniques or charisma are utterly out of touch with what Scripture clearly says about the human condition in its natural state and its complete unwillingness to grasp or accept the things of God absent a work of God in unregenerate hearts. And it is here that Packer proposes that the sovereignty of God, contrary to eliminating the need for evangelism, is actually the one sure-footed basis upon which to conduct fruitful evangelism. Packer rep

The relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility is a very confusing one. On the one hand, we see in the Bible that God is sovereign over even the actions of man, since God has "mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth" (Rom. 9:18). Even Christ's death on the cross was not done outside God's control, but He was "delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 3:23). This is all good and glorious as we can rest assured in God's providence and care for us, knowing that nothing will separate us from the love of Christ, not even our own sins.But some people lean too far toward God's sovereignty and forget all the places in Scripture that refer to commands to *do* something. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). Though we know that Christ is sovereign over our works, we also know that we are entirely responsible for our works, and we mustn't forget either principle.Having said all this, I really enjoyed this book because J.I. Packer helped me understand all this. He showed that divine sovereignty and human responsibility are really not at odds with each other, but both promote sanctification in God's people. He showed that there is an antinomy between the two (which has been mentioned in another comment) and even though we don't entirely understand this paradox, we must accept it as God's Word shows it to be true.Having dealt with this issue, Packer then applies it to evangelism. He shows that only assurance of the sovereignty of God can give us true success in evangelism, because then we will not have to come up with clever methods to get people into church, or to entice them into the faith. When you are assured that God is the one that brings people to faith, you can simply proclaim God's gospel with love, and God will bring converts.Packer also shows that a proper understanding of human responsibility helps in evangelism as well. The burden of evangelism is still pressed upon you, and you don't sit back as the hyper-calvinists do. In addition, you can be confident in your calls for repentance and for your audience to be baptized and enter God's Church.Only when you hold to both sides of this paradox can you understand evangelism properly. Packer gets the paradox, and he explains and defends it *very* well.

That God allows a sinfull and fallen creation to join Him in the accomplishment of His eternal plan is an awsome privilege and an irresistable proposition!! J. I. Packer does a very good job of explaining the irrefutable and plain teaching of Holy Scripture, that although God has elected from eternity who shall be saved, it is our responsibility and awsome privilege to be the means which bring that salvation about. We are simply God's mouth-peice, proclaiming the glorious gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world, it is up to God to make it effectual in the hearts of the elect. This is both comforting and encouraging in that: 1.) It assures us that our work is never in vain for God's word will always accomplish exactly what He wants it to accomplish, and 2.) It takes all the pressure off of us in that we do not have to judge the quality of our work by it's success. Every evangelistic encounter is a success because we have been obedient in proclaiming the gospel. This deep truth runs contrary to pathetic and shallow human minds. However, those who truley know God (that is: the God of the Bible, as opposed to a god of their own making), will love and cherish this wonderful truth and come to appreciate God and His amazing gift of grace in a brand new demension that unfortunate and worldly Christians tragically fall far short of. If you are a truth seeker and not just out to validate your own oppinions about God and the Bible, this book will be of eternal blessing to you. God Bless. SM

A little book that will help the reader understand the relationship between the sovereignty of God and man's free will. Dr. Packer wrote this book as many young preachers in England were leaning towards hyper-Calvinism as a consequence of their discovery of the Puritan writers and reformed theology. Far from diminishing evangelistic zeal, the sovereignty of God empowers our efforts to proclaim the gospel!