Buy used: $9.52

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Monday, February 13 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

J. I. Packer

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Ivp Classics) Paperback – December 2, 2008

by J. I. Packer (Author), Mark Dever (Foreword)

739 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$10.25

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$25.95

$36.98

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.95

$21.30

Paperback, December 2, 2008

$9.52

$12.00

$2.36

Audio CD, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$18.19

—

Kindle
$10.25 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$25.95

2 Used from $36.98 7 New from $25.95
Paperback
$9.52

10 Used from $2.36 1 New from $12.00
Audio CD
$18.19

1 New from $18.19

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

View Kindle Edition

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 new edition to the popular IVP Classics 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. With over 100,000 copies in print, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is truly a classic that should be read by every Christian.

Print length

136 pages
Language

English
Publisher

IVP Books
Publication date

December 2, 2008
Dimensions

4.25 x 0.5 x 7 inches
ISBN-10

0830834125
ISBN-13

978-0830834129
See all details

Will Metzger
122
Paperback
55 offers from $6.80
John S. Dickerson
263
Paperback
120 offers from $1.59
Gregory Koukl
3,607
Paperback
82 offers from $8.11
J. I. Packer
3,664
Paperback
98 offers from $1.49
J. I. Packer
483
Paperback
69 offers from $8.66
Donald S. Whitney
1,981
Paperback
63 offers from $5.93

From the brand

Scroll to the right to see more

Who Are We?

Since 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) has been publishing thoughtful Christian books that shape both the lives of readers and the cultures they inhabit. Throughout these seventy-five years, our books and authors have established a legacy of speaking boldly into important cultural moments, providing timeless tools for spiritual growth, and equipping Christians for a vibrant life of faith.
Shop Favorites

Visit the Store
Kids Books

Visit the Store
Strengthening Relationships

Visit the Store
Award Winning Books

Visit the Store
Prepare for Lent & Easter

Visit the Store

Editorial Reviews

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.)

Review

"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."

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ IVP Books (December 2, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 136 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0830834125
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0830834129
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.5 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,193 in Evangelism

Customer Reviews:
739 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

J. I. Packer

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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."

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

739 global ratings

5 star		88%
4 star		8%
3 star		3%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		1%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Bradley Jones

Rating is for the contents, not the actual book itself.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 2, 2023

Verified Purchase

As mentioned, there are notes and underlines and such, but it's still very legible. I now have two printings of this book, and the smaller printing is certainly better in regard to consistency in printing, no notes, etc. however the blown-up text in this printing makes for easier reading generally.

As far as the content of the book, it's a must-read for every Christian in my opinion! Packer categorizes the relationship between God's call for all Christians to evangelize their neighbors and His complete sovereignty over all aspects of salvation as an "antinomy". Read to find out more!

Helpful

Rebekah C.

Just for the paperback version

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

The book itself is excellent. I’ve always loved Packer’s writing and his way of simplifying things others make complicated. The problem is with the paperback version sold here. It seems like it was photocopied from someone’s existing, *used* book. There are even pages where the handwritten underlines and notes from the original owner remain, but in photocopied form, and not as if I was sent a used copy by accident. If it weren’t for the quality of the work itself, I would have given this one or two stars for that reason. I’m keeping it because I need it for a seminary class. Otherwise, I would be looking into returning.

Helpful

PughKidz

Read it and Share the Gospel!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 3, 2008

Verified Purchase

I had read J.I. Packer's classic Knowing God soon after I had become a Christian. Knowing God has been a foundational book in understanding the character and attributes of God. An attribute that is particularly clear throughout Scripture is God's absolute sovereignty. God is sovereign over all activity under heaven, and He is sovereign in the salvation of sinners. Equally clear throughout Scripture, believers are commanded to be evangelizing, i.e. sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. What is the relationship between both of these imperatives? If God is sovereign in salvation (and He is), how does that impact a Christian understanding of evangelism? If there are some that are chosen to salvation, does it matter whether or not we share the gospel since it is already foreordained?

Packer's objective in writing this book: "The aim of the discourse is to dispel the suspicion...that faith in the absolute sovereignty of God hinders a full recognition and acceptance of evangelistic responsibility, and to show that, on the contrary, only this faith can give Christians the strength that they need to fulfill their evangelistic task." (page 8)

How should we view evangelism in light of God's sovereignty?
- Recognize that we are not responsible for the securing of converts. Only God can accomplish this. "Only by letting our knowledge of God's sovereignty control the way in which we plan and pray, and work in His service, can we avoid becoming guilty in the fault [of thinking we are the agents of the new birth]." (page 29)
- View divine sovereignty and human sovereignty as working together. We may not understand, but our lack of understanding makes neither any less true. We should not "over-simplify the Bible by cutting out the mysteries..." or "subject scripture to the supposed demands of human logic." (page 16)
-- Christ both came to specifically save those whom the Father had given Him, but also offers Himself freely to all men as Savior, and guarantees to bring to glory everyone who trusts in Him as such (John 6:8) (page 102-103)
- Do not define evangelism in terms of achieved results. Instead, it is the faithful preaching of the Gospel. The results are God's responsibility (page 41). We are steward's of the message (page 42)
- Understand that evangelism is not just a matter of informing sinners, but also inviting them. It is an attempt to gain, win, or catch our fellow man for Christ (as fishermen's work) (page 50).
- Present the Gospel as a summoning for faith and repentance. It is a Command by God to repent and believe the Gospel (Acts 17:30) (page 70). Our goal in presenting the Gospel is "to lead sinners to abandon all confidence in themselves and to trust wholly in Christ and the power of His redeeming blood to give them acceptance with God." (page 71)
- In sharing the Gospel, we should "ask for grace to be truly ashamed of ourselves, and to pray that we may so overflow in love to God that we shall overflow in love to our fellow-men, and so find it an easy and natural and joyful thing to share with them the good news of Christ." (page 78)
- Test new "methods" of evangelism by this: will it in fact serve the word? Does it clarify the meaning of the message? Or rather, does it overlay and obscure the realities of the message, or blunt the edge of the application? (more tests of methods on page 87-90)

This week, I was discussing the reality of God's sovereignty with a man who had left our church fellowship over this issue. Among other arguments, he expressed that a complete acceptance of God's sovereignty in salvation would diminish the need to evangelize. Oh, how I wish I could convince this man otherwise! As this book so persuasively argues, faithful, Biblical evangelism is nothing but buttressed by a complete acceptance of our God's sovereign hand.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stephen W. Hiemstra ﻦ

Packer Explains God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

We live at a time of spiritual lethargy, which is often rightly equated with laziness. In part, this lethargy is the result of philosophical postmodernism that winsomely accepts ideas in obvious tension. Tension arises when my reality and your reality differ, but rather than work out the differences we just ignore the tension, as if it would just go away. But when the subject turns to God, this tension will not simply go away because God’s salvation is not defined by our convenient, custom realities; God defines the one reality that matters because he created it. If we are going to understand God’s reality, then we need to study theology.

In his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J. I. Packer addresses the question: “if God is in control, why should we do anything at all?” (8) Packer answers the question by first observing that the apparent contradiction between divine sovereignty and human response is just that “an appearance of contradiction” (24), not a real contradiction, which arises because God is both king and judge (27). As king, God makes the rules; as judge, he holds us accountable. Packer writes:

“What the objector has to learn is that he, a creature and a sinner, has no right whatsoever to find fault with the revealed ways of God. Creatures are not entitled to register complaints about their Creator.” (28)

Because we are created by God as moral agents, we must not be tempted neither to believe that we alone are responsible for the Gospel’s effectiveness nor that God will sovereignly bring the Gospel to everyone on his own (30-40).

Packer sees evangelism as “to present Christ Jesus to sinful men in order that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they may come” (44) to him in faith and as having only two motives—the love of God and the love of mankind (74).

The presentation of the Gospel message, according to Packer, has 4 parts: it is a message about God, sin, Christ, and a summons to faith and repentance (60-71). Of course, the details here matter. For example, Packer see the true conviction of sin as having 3 aspects:

1. Awareness of a wrong relationship with God;
2. Conviction of sins always includes conviction of particular sins.
3. Awareness of our sinfulness—complete corruption and perversity in God’s sight. (64-65)

Another obvious detail is that the person of Christ and his divine work should not be separated (66-67).

At the time of publication, J.I. Packer was a professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) and is best known for his book, Knowing God. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is written in 4 chapters:

1. Divine Sovereignty.
2. Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility.
3. Evangelism.
4. Divine Sovereignty and Evangelism.

These chapters are preceded by a foreword, preface, and introduction.

One of the more memorable points that Packer makes, is also one of his first:

“…what we do every time we pray is to confess our own impotence and God’s sovereignty. The very fact that a Christian prays is thus proof positive that he believes in the lordship of his God” (16).

Yes, yes, yes! Unfortunately, not everyone prays and prayer can be difficult in the absence of a clear theology to lead us. In a period of spiritual lethargy, when theology is held in contempt, this can clearly be a challenge.

As here in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer is distinguished by his clear exposition of biblical truth. Oftentimes, his clarity makes the Gospel seem simpler than the many theological controversies would lead us to believe—thank goodness.

Reference

Packer, J.I. 1993. Knowing God. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

43 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Elginson

Makes the connection brilliantly

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

J.I. Packer has been one of the great evangelical writers of the 20th century. Perhaps best known for his 'Knowing God', this is a slimmer volume and easier to read. Basically Packer deals with the nature of evangelism and its essential connection to God's sovereignty. He makes the point that evangelism needs to be defined as a message delivered, not by the effect on its hearers. We do not measure evangelism by the number of conversions but by the faithfulness with which the message is delivered; it is a process of proclamation. Evangelism, however, contains more than information, it also brings an invitation: the call to believe. He goes on to make the point that evangelism is not a separate species of preaching but is contained in all true preaching, namely the proclamation of the good news of Christ.
Packer takes the reader through issues such as sin, repentance and faith, showing that faith is a commitment to a new life, not just a mental assent. In the last third of the book he explores the significance of God's sovereignty to evangelism: how it does not remove human responsibility or the need for a personal response. He makes it clear that our only hope in evangelism is, in fact, the sovereignty of God, as is the security of the believer. In short that not only is there no conflict between evangelism and God's sovereignty, but that one cannot function without the other. God calls on all to repent and believe, and those who respond in faith are justified. The response is itself evidence of the sovereign call of God, and that call is expressed through evangelism.
This is a beautifully prepared and written book, very clear to follow and Biblically grounded. For anyone involved in telling others the Christian gospel it has very important things to say, and for the person exploring Christianity it is enlightening. Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

Neil Richardson

Outstanding in both theology and application

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

The go-to book to understand how God sovereignty works to choose persons to be part of his Son’s Bride, but also how he calls upon believers (both individually and corporately) to reach out to the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ.

2 people found this helpful

David Upton

Packer gives brilliantly practical advice on how our evangelism should be shaped ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Packer gives brilliantly practical advice on how our evangelism should be shaped by the sovereignty of God and the necessity and responsibility we have to share the good news of Jesus with others. Obviously written from a very Calvinistic viewpoint, but is very much grounded in scripture, and is refreshingly practical in the midst of a debate that is so often very unpractical.

One person found this helpful

michael blades

This an excellent book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

50 years ago I heard J.I.Packer speak at my old Theological College.Re-reading his work brought my memories back to mind.This an excellent book.

One person found this helpful

John Edgar Hollins

An encouragement to evangelical Christians

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 7, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is an updated reissue of a most valuable book from
this writer. It shows how the truth of Election is an encouragement
to evangelists and evangelising people that their work is not in vain.

See all reviews

Follow the Author

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Ivp Classics) Paperback – December 2, 2008

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

From the brand

Shop Favorites

Kids Books

Strengthening Relationships

Award Winning Books

Prepare for Lent & Easter

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

J. I. Packer

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries