Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God [Paperback]

J. I. Packer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 1991

If God is in control of everything, can Christians sit back and not bother to evangelize? Or does active evangelism imply that God is not really sovereign at all? J.I. Packer shows in this classic study how both of these attitudes are false. In a careful review of the biblical evidence, he shows how a right understanding of God's sovereignty is not so much a barrier to evangelism as an incentive and powerful support for it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The mystery and seeming paradox between evangelism and God's sovereignty has been causing disagreements and confusion among Christians since the beginning of the 20th century. In Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer reveals that a faulty understanding of the Bible leads to the assessment that these doctrines are foes rather than friends. By debunking the erroneous view that "robust faith in the absolute sovereignty of God is bound to undermine any adequate sense of human responsibility" toward evangelism, the author adeptly moves through the obstacle course of tricky theology with ease and grace, allowing the reader a more complete understanding of the mystery of salvation. Packer manages to tackle an overwhelming piece of doctrinal truth and contain it within the subject of evangelism by concisely determining what evangelism is and what it is not. "It is our widespread and persistent habit of defining evangelism in terms, not of a message delivered, but of an effect produced in our hearers." This error is corrected when one is renewed in his or her knowledge of the sovereignty of God. Of course, fault is found on the other side as well, with those who so heavily rely on God's sovereignty to save the lost that they are lazy in obeying God's command to share the Gospel. Packer insists that love for God, at the very least, should draw one out of this stagnation and that the coupling of these seemingly diabolical doctrines will make one bold in speech, patient in God's timing, and prayerful for the salvation of others. --Jill Heatherly

Review

"A short but exceedingly powerful book. Packer shows that rather than precluding evangelism, God's sovereignty provides the most powerful incentive and support for it. . . . [C]ontains impressive depth and contains a thorough and satisfying treatment of the subject." (Discerning Reader )

"I've often recommended this book to faithful Christians who are confused about how they are to think about prayer, missions, giving--any area in which our efforts could be wrongly pitted against God's own necessary action. Packer introduces us to clear truths, handles Scripture with exemplary care, and supplies us with just the right amount of illustrations and application." (From the foreword by Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (November 5, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 083081339X
• ISBN-13: 978-0830813391
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #593,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.I. Packer currently serves as the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. An ordained Anglican minister, he hold a D.Phil. from Oxford University. Dr. Packer's many published works include "Rediscovering Holiness, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God," and the best-selling "Knowing God."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sovereignty and responsibility. July 25, 2002

By Joshua M. Clark

Format:Paperback

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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book December 10, 1999

By Scott Sjoblom

Format:Paperback

Packer does an wonderful job of bringing together two subjects which on the surface would seem to be at odds with each other. As he points out in the book, God's Sovereignity and man's call to evangelize are both Biblical principles and therefore have to be considered by Christians. Dr. Packer has a way of clearly explaining both subjects and showing how God's sovereignity drives the Christian to be a witness for Him.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How Does God's Control Work with Man's Will? December 6, 1997

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

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!