J.I. Packer - Evangelism & God's Sovereignty

Throughout my walk with Christ and study of His Word, I have often pondered if it is possible for God to be completely sovereign and still allow man to be completely free. Basically, can man have free will and God elect a remnant?

In this work Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer delves into this question: how can we truly evangelize if God has already chosen a people to save? Can these two ideas be reconciled? Packer makes the argument that they can!

The book itself is small and succinct, totaling 135 pages (if this book were in a standard size publication, it would probably be around 80 pages). Even though it is succinct, no words are wasted and every sentence counts. The book is divided into four chapters: 1) Divine Sovereignty 2) Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility 3) Evangelism 4) Evangelism and Divine Sovereignty. I would like to address each of these chapters in this entry.

Divine Sovereignty

In his opening sentence, Packer informs the reader that he will not spend time giving biblical truths in support of this notion. He assumes that if you're reading the book, you are a Christian and you already believe in the sovereignty of God. This is proven by Packer in two areas: 1) the Christian's prayer life 2) the Christians salvation story. In prayer, the Christian is not trying to force God's hand or resort to a type of magic formula. Instead, the Christian prays because he is dependent and is in need of God's grace and help. In the Christian's salvation story, it is not God who gives thanks for your salvation, but just the opposite! The Christian always thanks God for saving their soul and not the other way around. With these presuppositions aside, Packer moves into the next chapter.

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

In the opening dialogue, Packer acknowledges there is a dissonance when these two ideas are brought together. The word used is antimony, which means "a contradiction between conclusions which seem equally logical, reasonable or necessary." Packer argues that there is an antimony in theology, which seem to be irreconcilable, but can neither be denied. The unfortunate reality is that we have finite minds and we are trying to grasp a divine reality. Packer uses the illustration of light. Physic also face an antimony concerning light. One side says that light is a wave whereas the other side says light is a particle. Both sides have ample evidence for their view and it seems that they cannot be reconciled. How do we deal with this theological antimony? Packer gives us an answer:

"Accept it for what it is, and learn to live with it. Refuse to regard the apparent inconsistency as real; put down the semblance of contradiction to the deficiency of your own understanding; think of the two principles as not rival alternatives but, in some way that at present you do not grasp, complementary to each other." (28)

Paul recognized this issue and addressed it in Romand 9:19. What was Paul's answer? "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" We have this idea that God is not consistent with His thoughts. What makes this idea ridiculous is that this charge is coming from finite, sinful men! God does not need to answer to us; rather, we need to answer to God! Isaiah 55 also states that God's ways are higher than man's ways. Packer states that this is a reality that we have to deal with: we are not going to have a nice, clean-cut answer for our corrupt, finite minds. Rather, we should trust in the Lord and acknowledge that He is in control and is working out all things for good.

Evangelism

Packer opens the chapter with the question: what is evangelism? Packer pulls from the Archbishop's Committee, which is overall a good definition, but Pack says it can be simple. Simply put, evangelism is just preaching the gospel. Packer then uses Paul as a paradigm for what evangelism is more specifically. For example, Paul saw evangelism as a task appointed to him by Christ (1 Cor 1:17). Paul also saw evangelism as teaching the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, Paul's aim in evangelism was to convert his hearers to Christ. How dos this look for us? Packer goes on in the rest of the chapter to give examples of how this mission of evangelism can be carried out (ex. personal evangelism, home bible study, etc.). Now the question must be asked: what is the message of evangelism, or the gospel? Packer simply states the gospel is a message about God, sin, Christ, and a call to repentance and faith. Packer then asks the question: what is our motivation to evangelize? First, it is to glorify God. Second, it is an outpouring of a love for our neighbor. Finally, how do we carry out sharing this message? There is controversy concerning the method, but this one truth should remain: the complete gospel should be presented.

Divine Sovereignty and Evangelism

Some may think there is an antimony between these two realities, but there is not. How are people saved? By the presentation of the gospel. There is no other way God brings a people to Himself without the direct hearing of the good news. This also does not lower the urgency of sharing the gospel because the fact still remains: people are going to hell. Also, knowing that God is sovereign gives us hope that this is not a feeble approach to save people, but is the work of Christ and it will be accomplished.