J. I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. InterVarsity Press, 2009.
Referenced in: Theology and Practice of Evangelism – Missionally Responsive/Evangelical
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This brief, readable text is a recognized classic on the subject of the relationship between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility, and the relationship between these two doctrines and evangelism. It is divided into four chapters that develop the subjects in clear progression. He conveys a strong thesis: “In the Bible, divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not enemies. They are not uneasy neighbors; they are not in an endless state of cold war with each other. They are friends, and they work together.” (43)
Typical of Packer’s works, he exposes the errors resulting from over-focus on one side of the issue. For example, he advises against the temptations of exclusive concern on human responsibility:
“It is right to recognize our responsibility to engage in aggressive evangelism. It is right to desire the conversion of unbelievers. It is right to want one’s presentation of the gospel to be as clear and forceful as possible. If we preferred that converts should be few and far between, and did not care whether our proclaiming of Christ went home or not, there would be something wrong with us. But it is not right when we take it on us to do more than God has given us to do. It is not right when we regard ourselves as responsible for securing converts, and look to our own enterprise and techniques to accomplish what only God can accomplish. To that is to intrude ourselves into the office of the Holy Ghost, and to exalt ourselves as the agents of the new birth. And the point that we must see his this: only by letting our knowledge of God’s sovereignty control the way in which we plan, and pray, an work in his service, can we avoid becoming guilty of this fault. For when we are not consciously relying on God, there we shall inevitably be found relying on ourselves. And the spirit of self-reliance is a blight on evangelism.” (37)
On the other hand, to those who overemphasize divine sovereignty, he says:
“Unconcern and inaction with regard to evangelism are always, therefore, inexcusable. And the doctrine of divine sovereignty would be grossly misapplied if we should invoke it in such a way as to lessen the urgency, and immediacy, and priority, and binding constraint, of the evangelistic imperative. No revealed truth may be invoked to extenuate sin. God did not teach us the reality of his rule in order to give us and excuse for neglecting his orders.” (41)
He describes these extremes as “two opposite pitfalls.”
“Each is the result of partial vision, which means partial blindness; each reveals a failure to face squarely the biblical antimony of the responsibility of man and the sovereignty of God. Both unite to warn us not to put these truths against each other, not to allow either to obscure or overshadow the other in our minds. Both unite to warn us also against reacting from one extreme of error into the other.” (42)
Anyone who deals with either a legalistic over-emphasis on “fruit-bearing” that places the results of conversions on men’s shoulders, or an equally erroneous mystical “let go and let God” passiveness, will benefit from this text.
This is not an in-depth theology, but like most of Packer’s writings, he takes a complex subject that impacts devoted followers of Jesus and sheds the light of theology in an accessible fashion. For those whose questions regarding the theology of mission and evangelism center around these subjects, this book is quite helpful.
From the Publisher
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.
About the Author
J. I. Packer is Board of Governors Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also serves as contributing editor to Christianity Today. Packer’s writings include books such as Knowing God (IVP Books), A Quest for Godliness (Crossway), Growing in Christ (Crossway) and Rediscovering Holiness (Servant), and numerous articles published in journals such as Churchman, SouthWestern Journal, Christianity Today, Reformation & Revival Journal and Touchstone.
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