Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

I am a Calvinist. I think that most people who read this blog know that I am. I do not act like it is a dirty word and I do not shy away from human terms meant to try to explain theological ideas. It is just easier to admit what I am. Most people do not even know what that means or what I believe as a result of it because there are so many misunderstandings concerning what Calvinists believe. Having said all of that, the question I get most about my beliefs is "Why witness to people if you believe that those that God has chosen are going to come to know Christ no matter what - since they are predestined?" My typical response is "because God told us in Romans 8 that they will not know God without hearing the gospel and because God commanded it (not suggested it) in Matthew 28: 19-20 and Acts 1." Simple enough, right? Yet people do not seem satisfied with that answer. The God commanded it part should be reason enough. As J.I. Packer says in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, "We are to order our lives by the light of his law, not by our guesses about his plan." Now I am going to suggest that people read the book, and perhaps purchase copies to give to them.

J.I. Packer does not set out to convert people to Calvinism in this book. He just lays out a case for why the Calvinists' (although I am not sure that he uses that term - I am just using it because it is easy) view of the sovereignty of God is not inconsistent, and is instead a motivation for evangelism. Packer addresses some of the most common misconceptions that people have or overstatements that people make in response to a view that declares God is sovereign in salvation. Packer then points out what should be contained in a presentation of the Gospel. Finally, Packer ends with what should motivate persons to engage in evangelism.

In the presentation of the gospel portion, Packer does an excellent job of providing a framework for evangelism. Too often in our churches we use terms like "repent and give your heart to Jesus" or "accept that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died for your sins, and confess your sins (ABC)." However, this language is not presenting the gospel. The gospel has to start with God. Without a realization of the One who has a right to demand holiness and sinlessness, why would we even need to believe we sin? The gospel then moves to man who is a hopeless sinner, and the sin is against a holy God. Not just hurting others or hurting yourself, because even people who are atheist would admit those "sins", but a realization that it is God man is sinning against, and man is hopelessly dying in his sin. Next, people often say "Jesus died for sin" - all about the work of Christ. Packer points out that this is only half of it. The person of Christ, who He is, is why He was able to carry out the work. The person of Christ should be emphasized over the work because it is motivation behind the work. Finally, there is a need to call the sinner to repent and believe, to encourage an act of faith.

Packer ends the book by pointing out that the view of God as sovereign is a motivation to evangelism instead of a hinderance. Obviously God commanded us to share the gospel and has ordained that it is by hearing God's word that sinners come to repentance. A belief in the sovereignty of God motivates one to know the gospel because it is the sharing of the gospel that God uses. It also motivates because the presenter knows that God is behind the effectiveness, not the presenter. The burden is lifted for me to convince someone, and possibly fall into the trap of being persuasive to the point of false conversions. It is impossible for me to use the excuse that I just cannot effectively present the gospel or that I am a failure because my presentations are not resulting in immediate conversions. I do not feel pressure to learn the best method because I just need to know God's word and use His words to share the gospel. It is a liberating view of evangelism, not a hinderance.

If anyone, whether they are a Calvinist or non-Calvinist, does not share the gospel with people, it is a sin whatever the person's reason for not sharing. Packer makes it clear that those Calvinists who believe that God will take care of saving all the elect without following God's command to share are sinners, just as those who feel like they do not have the gift of evangelism and cannot present the gospel effectively are sinners. We all have sinned by failing to present the gospel at some point. No theological or soteriological belief system should be used to justify failure to follow God's command to share the gospel. A love for people, especially lost and dying people, should motivate the Christian to share his or her faith.

I highly recommend this book to non-Calvinists and those Calvinist that are not practicing evangelists. To the non-Calvinist, it is a non-threatening look at what Calvinists believe about salvation and the command to evangelize, and why Calvinists are motivated to evangelism. To the Calvinist, it is a reminder of why evangelism is necessary and can provide a framework that may make it easier to answer the big question so often encountered. Of the books I have read about evangelism or methods I have been taught, I think that this is probably the most helpful because of its emphasis on communication of the gospel and the motivation behind the gospel. Get Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, read it, and become a practicing evangelist!