J. I. Packer’s proposition is found in the introduction: most people may believe effective evangelism means pretending that God is not sovereign, but that is simply not true, and Packer aims to show why. Packer writes that God’s sovereignty is the very doctrine that undergirds the entire enterprise of evangelism (p. 10). In developing this proposition, Packer deals briefly with the sovereignty of God, extensively with the nature and composition of evangelism, and finally with how those two interact. It is a persuasive book, and one that could be considered a definitive doctrinal statement on evangelism.
In the opening chapter, Packer briefly explains what he means by the term “divine sovereignty.” The answer is succinct; he means the traditional, reformed, Calvinistic view of God’s relation to creation. Noting that no Christian would glory in himself over his own salvation, and that all Christians pray for the salvation of others, Packer concludes that all Christians secretly believe in divine sovereignty. “On our feet we may all have arguments about it, but on our knees we are all agreed” (17).
The books stated purpose is to explain how this secret belief shared by all Christians is actually the basis of evangelism. The most substantial (and helpful) portion of the book is Packer’s thorough treatment of the nature of evangelism. He defines its basis: the glory of God, the greatness of salvation, and the commands of God. He defines its content: the nature of sin, the truth of Christ, belief and repentance. He gives the motivation: the glory of God and the love of the lost. He describes the method: proclaiming God’s truth to our friends and acquaintances. The most helpful part was his description of the goal of evangelism: primarily it is to glorify God by proclaiming his truth; not to make converts. Beyond that, he also notes that true evangelism is not a call to merely believe in Jesus. Beyond the need for a decision, true evangelism is primarily a call to become a disciple of Christ and a servant of God.
The key to his description of evangelism is his statement that its goal is to glorify God. Weather Packer is willing to say so or not, his book is written polemically against the cartoon-illustrated, seeker-oriented, user-friendly evangelism prevalent in the occidental and American church. Most who drink at that shallow well justify their methods by claiming that the motive and goal of evangelism is to produce converts. Packer’s point, and thus his antidote to the illness their view of evangelism causes, is that the goal of evangelism is to glorify God. The number of converts is left to God, and our job is to be used by God in proclaiming his truth.
Packer is both thorough and precise in his treatment of evangelism. Even though it is short, it is a substantial defense of the true nature of evangelism. He uses the Westminster Catechism with authority, giving the impression that his view of evangelism is nothing new. He quotes famous evangelists from history, showing that his view is shared by them. It adds an air of credibility demanded by those skeptical of the use of ‘evangelism’ and ‘sovereignty’ in the same sentence.
I read this book shortly after I became a Christian, and it largely shaped the way I view both evangelism and the sovereignty of God. It was good to reexamine it, as I found that the system of beliefs and theology that I have formed since then are in accord with its words and admonitions.

http://kcarmstrong.blogspot.com/2006/... ( )

Great book!! Packer demonstrates that evangelism is NOT incompatable with Calvinism...in fact, Packer proves that only Calvinists have the grounds for assurance in evangelism!! 8^D ( )

"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?" These questions Packer aims to answer in this study as two wrong responses to divine sovereignty, but I find the volume valuable even outside the scope of their implications—a good examination of the nature of and impetus for evangelism in general. I recommend it. ( )

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. ( )