What do you think?
Rate this book
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
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.
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
490 people are currently reading
7446 people want to read
About the author
J.I. Packer
446 books925 followersWhat do J. I. Packer, Billy Graham and Richard John Neuhaus have in common? Each was recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 652 reviews
November 16, 2016
Excellent. Listened to it again in November 2016. Still excellent.
April 22, 2023
Really good read on both the topics of God’s sovereignty and Evangelism. Packer’s main points were that we prove to believe in God’s sovereignty in salvation because we pray for the lost and we give thanks for our own conversion - because we know that it wasn’t our own wisdom that led us to Christ. He also spent a good bit of time talking about our methods of evangelism today and how they are ineffective. He said “The modern ideal is to achieve more and more by doing less and less” (116). He explained throughout this book how evangelism takes time, not just hosting big evangelistic events and then leaving, but truly giving up your life to love others, be a disciple and preach Christ daily to them.
February 10, 2025
Looking at the content that proceeds the first chapter of the book, we see an advocacy for both the relevance of this book and the character of Packer by Mark Dever. He defines what his book is on page 12. To paraphrase for the sake of time, it’s a piece of reasoning set to clarify the relationship between God’s Sovereignty, man’s responsibility, and the Christian’s evangelistic duty. He finishes up by stating that this book doesn’t explain in totality God’s sovereignty but rather an accurate view that is necessary for the Christian to rightly understand evangelism.
Chapter 1 starts off with a bang in the way that Packer presupposes that everyone who is a Christian believes in the sovereignty of God. How can this be since we have divisions even among denominations of Christianity? We have those who are Calvinist and those who are Arminian. His quote on page 21 summarizes his stance throughout the whole chapter, “On our feet we may have arguments about [God’s Sovereignty], but on our knees we have all agreed.” He argues that by our actions, as Christian’s we agree that God is sovereign. We don’t thank ourselves for our own salvation, no that would be heretical. We come before God in prayer knowing that he is sovereign, interceding for others. On top of that we pray for others to be saved knowing that God alone is who saves us. The discussion with John Wesley, who identifies as an arminian, or someone who leans more into man’s responsibility than God’s sovereignty. It was interesting in their discussion to note that despite disagreeing on paper, they all affirm the same beliefs.
Chapter 2 sets out to first explain the complex truth of God as King and God as Judge. To fan that out a little bit he’s trying to explain to the audience how God can be righteous to condemn a man based upon his actions but also how God is sovereign over all of creation. He defines the words antinomy and paradox. An antinomy is where two beliefs are 100% true but somehow seem to contradict each other. He uses the example that light is a wave but also a particle. Both are true but how do they fit together? That is what God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility is like. A paradox is not a contradiction of facts but rather a contradiction of words that make one true, memorable fact. A biblical example of this would be 2 Corinthians 12:10 which says when I am weak then I am strong. The fact here is that in Christ he may appear to be weak but is actually strong. Later on Packer shows two potential pits that someone may fall into, in regards to an overt fixation of just one of the facts. One of these is a focus on man’s responsibility and a forgetfulness of God’s Sovereignty. What does this lead to? A focus on getting results since it is all up to man to share the gospel and save the sinner. It turns into brain washing and other unethical techniques to lead people to Christ. The other side of this coin is a focus on God’s Sovereignty and an ignorance of man’s responsibility. This leads to laziness and the gospel not going out into the world since we don’t see it as a joyous responsibility to share the gospel.
Chapter 3 is packed full of relevant ideas and applications in relation to evangelism. It defines evangelism, its message (the gospel), motives behind evangelism, and what means and methods should be practiced. I’m going to focus on the latter two topics. Not in any way are the first two somehow less important, but to make my review and response palatable to the reader since I’ve already presented a plethora of things, I will only focus on the last two. The main thing that stuck with me from the motives behind evangelism was the idea of a personal relationship with who you are sharing. On page 74 the book talks about loving God and striving to glorify Him and then loving man and being concerned for his well being. Oh the countless social media bios that contain a similar message! “Love God, love others” is more common among Christians than a Bible without dust! However this book pointed out sin in my life. Why do I evangelize? If we’re being honest it is, first and foremost, for God but then it is for the glory of my own personal ministry. This is concerning because instead of viewing others as individuals to love and care, I’ve committed the sin of viewing them as projects; that if I could only see come to faith, would bring me glory. That leads into the next topic, what means and methods should be practiced. What means and methods should be practiced? It points out two very large, faulty forms of evangelism that are common in the church today. Cold evangelism and large evangelistic meetings. Time out, is Ray Comfort a heretic? I don’t think so, especially not based purely upon his evangelstic methodology. Tying in with motive, this form of evangelism, from a bad heart, is called on page 82, “Impersonal Evangelism.” The danger with this form of evangelism is that we can be sharing the gospel not for God or Man but purely for our own ministry crown, of which one more convert adds one more jewel. Moving onto large evangelistic meetings, the problem is that it doesn’t show people what following God is like. It romanticizes the idea of being Christian, doesn’t proclaim the Glory of God, and leads people into a rushed decision to follow God; often leading to false converts. We don’t need these large evangelistic meetings since the gospel being proclaimed every week, every service, at every church should be normative.
In the final chapter of this book (chapter 4), a bow is tied around all the concepts that have been previously introduced. He argues two points being, The sovereignty of God in grace does not affect anything that we have said about the nature and duty of evangelism; and The sovereignty of God in grace gives us our only hope of success in evangelism. How do we balance the two truths, this antinomy of God being sovereign and man being responsible? Well they work together to lead to a dependence and awe before God and a boldness and confidence before man. We get the privilege of preaching the gospel, the special revelation to dead men so that they may live. Knowing that God does the work and will ultimately save them, we go forth in boldness, patience, and dependence on God. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Chapter 1 starts off with a bang in the way that Packer presupposes that everyone who is a Christian believes in the sovereignty of God. How can this be since we have divisions even among denominations of Christianity? We have those who are Calvinist and those who are Arminian. His quote on page 21 summarizes his stance throughout the whole chapter, “On our feet we may have arguments about [God’s Sovereignty], but on our knees we have all agreed.” He argues that by our actions, as Christian’s we agree that God is sovereign. We don’t thank ourselves for our own salvation, no that would be heretical. We come before God in prayer knowing that he is sovereign, interceding for others. On top of that we pray for others to be saved knowing that God alone is who saves us. The discussion with John Wesley, who identifies as an arminian, or someone who leans more into man’s responsibility than God’s sovereignty. It was interesting in their discussion to note that despite disagreeing on paper, they all affirm the same beliefs.
Chapter 2 sets out to first explain the complex truth of God as King and God as Judge. To fan that out a little bit he’s trying to explain to the audience how God can be righteous to condemn a man based upon his actions but also how God is sovereign over all of creation. He defines the words antinomy and paradox. An antinomy is where two beliefs are 100% true but somehow seem to contradict each other. He uses the example that light is a wave but also a particle. Both are true but how do they fit together? That is what God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility is like. A paradox is not a contradiction of facts but rather a contradiction of words that make one true, memorable fact. A biblical example of this would be 2 Corinthians 12:10 which says when I am weak then I am strong. The fact here is that in Christ he may appear to be weak but is actually strong. Later on Packer shows two potential pits that someone may fall into, in regards to an overt fixation of just one of the facts. One of these is a focus on man’s responsibility and a forgetfulness of God’s Sovereignty. What does this lead to? A focus on getting results since it is all up to man to share the gospel and save the sinner. It turns into brain washing and other unethical techniques to lead people to Christ. The other side of this coin is a focus on God’s Sovereignty and an ignorance of man’s responsibility. This leads to laziness and the gospel not going out into the world since we don’t see it as a joyous responsibility to share the gospel.
Chapter 3 is packed full of relevant ideas and applications in relation to evangelism. It defines evangelism, its message (the gospel), motives behind evangelism, and what means and methods should be practiced. I’m going to focus on the latter two topics. Not in any way are the first two somehow less important, but to make my review and response palatable to the reader since I’ve already presented a plethora of things, I will only focus on the last two. The main thing that stuck with me from the motives behind evangelism was the idea of a personal relationship with who you are sharing. On page 74 the book talks about loving God and striving to glorify Him and then loving man and being concerned for his well being. Oh the countless social media bios that contain a similar message! “Love God, love others” is more common among Christians than a Bible without dust! However this book pointed out sin in my life. Why do I evangelize? If we’re being honest it is, first and foremost, for God but then it is for the glory of my own personal ministry. This is concerning because instead of viewing others as individuals to love and care, I’ve committed the sin of viewing them as projects; that if I could only see come to faith, would bring me glory. That leads into the next topic, what means and methods should be practiced. What means and methods should be practiced? It points out two very large, faulty forms of evangelism that are common in the church today. Cold evangelism and large evangelistic meetings. Time out, is Ray Comfort a heretic? I don’t think so, especially not based purely upon his evangelstic methodology. Tying in with motive, this form of evangelism, from a bad heart, is called on page 82, “Impersonal Evangelism.” The danger with this form of evangelism is that we can be sharing the gospel not for God or Man but purely for our own ministry crown, of which one more convert adds one more jewel. Moving onto large evangelistic meetings, the problem is that it doesn’t show people what following God is like. It romanticizes the idea of being Christian, doesn’t proclaim the Glory of God, and leads people into a rushed decision to follow God; often leading to false converts. We don’t need these large evangelistic meetings since the gospel being proclaimed every week, every service, at every church should be normative.
In the final chapter of this book (chapter 4), a bow is tied around all the concepts that have been previously introduced. He argues two points being, The sovereignty of God in grace does not affect anything that we have said about the nature and duty of evangelism; and The sovereignty of God in grace gives us our only hope of success in evangelism. How do we balance the two truths, this antinomy of God being sovereign and man being responsible? Well they work together to lead to a dependence and awe before God and a boldness and confidence before man. We get the privilege of preaching the gospel, the special revelation to dead men so that they may live. Knowing that God does the work and will ultimately save them, we go forth in boldness, patience, and dependence on God. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
February 4, 2021
2021 reads: 06/52
Rating: 4.5 stars
This was my second read of J. I. Packer's brief but classic treatment on evangelism and the sovereignty of God. Whilst readers might wish for a longer argument regarding man's responsibility and God's sovereignty, Packer provides a deft manoeuvre that highlights what's important in this heated discussion. Packer is of the opinion that unending rationalistic speculation and an unease with the mystery of God's operations often clouds this so-called debate. Meanwhile, in practice, and on our knees, every man and women prays for God's sovereign hand in turning sinners to himself—the two ideas of human responsibility and God's sovereignty are not enemies to be reconciled, but true friends existing in antinomy. Throughout the rest of the book, Packer unpacks God's sovereignty in evangelism, what evangelism is, and how we should go about it.
What really stood out for me was Packer's prose which was both measured and winsome. It seemed to push against the rhetoric today that can too often appear edgy, abrupt and lack generosity. Packer's is a gentle and generous spirit and this truly came through in the book. This makes for a book that is deeply pastoral and concerned about that the reader not come to tribal understandings about doctrine, but instead learn to place one's feet in a rich tapestry of biblical insight.
Finally, Packer's deep and abiding confidence and resolve to educate and engage readers was felt throughout. I think the way in which Packer subconsciously addresses his readers is something to imitate. The tempo is conversational and respectful of the reader, neither condescending nor scolding.
Perfect for new believers or those wanting encouragement in their evangelism—pick a copy up and read!
Rating: 4.5 stars
This was my second read of J. I. Packer's brief but classic treatment on evangelism and the sovereignty of God. Whilst readers might wish for a longer argument regarding man's responsibility and God's sovereignty, Packer provides a deft manoeuvre that highlights what's important in this heated discussion. Packer is of the opinion that unending rationalistic speculation and an unease with the mystery of God's operations often clouds this so-called debate. Meanwhile, in practice, and on our knees, every man and women prays for God's sovereign hand in turning sinners to himself—the two ideas of human responsibility and God's sovereignty are not enemies to be reconciled, but true friends existing in antinomy. Throughout the rest of the book, Packer unpacks God's sovereignty in evangelism, what evangelism is, and how we should go about it.
What really stood out for me was Packer's prose which was both measured and winsome. It seemed to push against the rhetoric today that can too often appear edgy, abrupt and lack generosity. Packer's is a gentle and generous spirit and this truly came through in the book. This makes for a book that is deeply pastoral and concerned about that the reader not come to tribal understandings about doctrine, but instead learn to place one's feet in a rich tapestry of biblical insight.
Finally, Packer's deep and abiding confidence and resolve to educate and engage readers was felt throughout. I think the way in which Packer subconsciously addresses his readers is something to imitate. The tempo is conversational and respectful of the reader, neither condescending nor scolding.
Perfect for new believers or those wanting encouragement in their evangelism—pick a copy up and read!
Read
July 28, 2011I think that every professing Christian should read this book, or (at the very least) those who go on mission trips/evangelistic outings. J.I. Packer delivers a comprehensive, but still brief, explanation of the seemingly incompatible relationship between human responsibility in evangelism and God’s sovereignty in salvation. There are many Christians who say that believers who emphasize the sovereignty of grace and unconditional election do so to the neglect of human responsibility and divine accountability. (I used to be one of them!) Packer explains how this can be attributed to an incomplete understanding of these two biblical doctrines; they are actually “friends” and work alongside one another. Truly, God is our only hope for the salvation of our friends and family; there is no other way for a dead heart to be made alive or for blind eyes to receive sight but through the power of God’s grace! Yet we are still responsible as bearers of this good news! We must allow these doctrines to exist as they do in Scripture; side by side! Chapter 3 is one of the best essays on evangelism that I’ve ever read, and Chapter 1 is an undeniably effective argument for God’s sovereignty. Packer is thorough yet easy to understand in his points and takes care to avoid misinterpreted extremes in his theology. In reading this book, I feel like I have found a biblically sound explanation of these topics…and I think the Holy Spirit agrees! Thanks to my girlfriend for suggesting this one!
November 1, 2024
This is an incredibly practical and encouraging book. I recommend every believer give it a read! Not only does Packer clearly articulate how the doctrine of God's Sovereignty, and man's free will can both be true, he shows how these doctrines spur us on to share the good news about Christ. I especially enjoyed the encouragement of why we share the Gospel joyfully, and the examples of how it should be done; both urgently and patiently, eager to share the truth, while also waiting on God's timing as we preserve alongside individuals. Truly a great read!
August 1, 2024
This is so frickin good. I was reading borrowed copies so I didn’t annotate but I would love to get my own copy and tear that thang up. Super helpful with how to view evangelism, but does a better job of taking a step back to evaluate why we evangelize which points to how good the gospel is. I honestly think this might be a good once-a-year book. Loved it!
August 23, 2023
Cogent, concise thoughts by this well-known author on a subject often derided by opponents. Packer shows in this 126 page book that belief in the sovereignty of God does NOT undermine or detract from that of evangelizing the lost with the gospel, but rather strengthens the argument for it.
Having come from a "high-pressure," "slick-salesman," approach to winning people to Christ, I found Packer's approach not only Biblical, but sound. He warns against the approach I just referred to while also arguing for all Christians to take their responsibility to evangelize seriously.
Four chapters consist of the following:
1. Divine Sovereignty
2. Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
3. Evangelism
4. Divine Sovereignty and Evangelism
Much of the "debate" chatter today from different camps speak against one other without actually reading and seeing if the "other side" actual believes/teaches what we have heard about them.
I found that I agreed wholeheartedly with Packer on the title's subject. In addition, he clarifies faith, repentance, conviction, sin, and a myriad of other Biblical truths that have been clouded in recent years. This book, written in 1961, might help some of my fellow believers have a better grasp on how evangelism and the sovereignty of God go hand-in-hand.
Here are just a few of the copious sections/thoughts that stood out to me:
*The following quote adequately described much of the "soulwinning" philosophy/techniques I was taught in Bible college:
"If we regarded it as our job, not simply to present Christ, but actually to produce converts to evangelize, not only faithfully, but also successfully our approach to evangelism would become pragmatic and calculating. We should conclude that our basic equipment, both for personal dealing and for public preaching, must be twofold. We must have, not merely a clear grasp of the meaning and application of the gospel, but also an irresistible technique for inducing a response. We should, therefore, make it our business to try and develop such a technique. And we should evaluate all evangelism, our own and other people's, by the criterion, not only of the message preached, but also of visible results. If our own efforts were not bearing fruit, we should conclude that our technique still needed improving. If they were bearing fruit, we should conclude that this justified the technique we had been using. We should regard evangelism as an activity involving a battle of wills between ourselves and those to whom we go, a battle in which victory depends on our firing off a heavy enough barrage of calculated effects. Thus our philosophy of evangelism would become terrifyingly similar to the philosophy of brainwashing. And we would no longer be able to argue, when such a similarity is asserted to be a fact, that this is not a proper conception of evangelism. For it would be a proper conception of evangelism, if the production of converts was really our responsibility." p.27-28
"Unconcern and inaction with regard to evangelism are always 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." p. 33-34
"He who does not devote himself to evangelism in every way that he can is not playing the part of a good and faithful servant of Jesus Christ." p. 34
"The way to tell whether in fact you are evangelizing is not to ask whether conversions are known to have resulted from your witness. It is to ask whether you are faithfully making known the gospel message." p. 41
"Every Christian has a God-given obligation to make known the gospel of Christ." p. 46
"Evangelizing, therefore, is not simply a matter of teaching, and instructing, and imparting information to the mind. There is more to it than that. Evangelizing includes the endeavour to elicit a response to the truth taught. It is communication with a view to conversion. It is a matter, not merely of informing, but also of inviting. It is an attempt to gain, or win, or catch, our fellow-men for Christ. Our Lord depicts it as fishermen's work." p. 50
"Preaching the gospel, as we have just seen, means inviting sinners to come to Jesus Christ, the living Saviour, who, by virtue of His atoning death, is able to forgive and save all those who put their trust in Him." p. 68
"It needs to be said that faith is not a mere optimistic feeling, any more than repentance is a mere regretful or remorseful feeling. Faith and repentance are both acts, and acts of the whole man. Faith is more than just credence; faith is essentially the casting and resting of oneself and one's confidence on the promises of mercy which Christ has given to sinners, and on the Christ who gave those promises. Equally, repentance is more than just sorrow for the past; repentance is a change of mind and heart, a new life of denying self and serving the Saviour as king in self's place. Mere credence without trusting, and mere remorse without turning, do not save. 'The devils also believe, and tremble.' 'The sorrow of the world worketh death.' " p.70-71
"He [Christ] had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed adherents who would melt away as soon as they found out what following Him actually demanded of them. In our own presentation of Christ's gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ, and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness." p.73
"There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love to God and concern for His glory; the second is love to man and concern for his welfare." p. 73
"It is a tragic and ugly thing when Christians lack desire, and are actually reluctant, to share the precious knowledge that they have with others whose need of it is just as great as their own." p. 77
"It is a great privilege to evangelize; it is a wonderful thing to be able to tell others of the love of Christ, knowing that there is nothing that they need more urgently to know, and no knowledge in the world that can do them so much good." p. 77
"We all can and should be praying for the salvation of unconverted people, particularly in our family and among our friends and everyday associates. And then we must learn to see what possibilities of evangelism our everyday situation holds, and to be enterprising in our use of them." p. 78
I love Packer's thorough explanation of evangelism here:
"Evangelism, we have learned, is a task appointed to all God's people everywhere. It is the task of communicating a message from the Creator to rebel mankind. The message begins with information and ends with an invitation. The information concerns God's work of making His Son a perfect Saviour for sinners. The invitation is God's summons to mankind generally to come to the Saviour and find life. God commands all men everywhere to repent, and promises forgiveness and restoration to all who do. The Christian is sent into the world as God's herald and Christ's ambassador, to broadcast this message as widely as he can. This is both his duty (because God commands it, and love to our neighbour requires it) and his privilege (because it is a great thing to speak for God, and to take our neighbour the remedy-the only remedy-that can save him from the terrors of spiritual death). Our job, then, is to go to our fellow-men and tell them the gospel of Christ, and try by every means to make it clear to them; to remove as best we can any difficulties that they may find in it, to impress them with its seriousness, and to urge them to respond to it. This is our abiding responsibility; it is a basic part of our Christian calling." p. 92-93
"The command to evangelize is a part of God's law. It belongs to God's revealed will for His people. It could not, then, in principle be affected in the slightest degree by anything that we might believe about God's sovereignty in election and calling." p. 96
"Whatever we may believe about election, the fact remains that evangelism is necessary, because no man can be saved without the gospel." p. 97
"They [the lost] must be told of Christ before they can trust Him, and they must trust Him before they can be saved by Him. Salvation depends on faith, and faith on knowing the gospel. God's way of saving sinners is to bring them to faith through bringing them into contact with the gospel. In God's ordering of things, therefore, evangelism is a necessity if anyone is to be saved at all." p. 97-98
"The Bible never says that sinners miss heaven because they are not elect, but because they 'neglect the great salvation', and because they will not repent and believe. The last judgment will abundantly prove that it is not the want of God's election, so much as laziness, the love of sin, unbelief, and unwillingness to come to Christ, which ruins the souls that are lost. God gives men what they choose, not the opposite of what they choose." p. 105
"There are two obstacles in the way of successful evangelism: the first, man's natural and irresistible impulse to oppose God, and the second, Satan's assiduity in shepherding man in the ways of unbelief and disobedience." p. 108
"Paul's confidence should be our confidence too. We may not trust in our methods of personal dealing or running evangelistic services, however excellent we may think them. There is no magic in methods, not even in theologically impeccable methods. When we evangelize, our trust must be in God who raises the dead. He is the almighty Lord who turns men's hearts, and He will give conversions in His own time. Meanwhile, our part is to be faithful in making the gospel known, sure that such labour will never be in vain. This is how the truth of the sovereignty of God's grace bears upon evangelism." p. 117-118
"There are two sides to the evangelistic commission. It is a commission, not only to preach, but also to pray; not only to talk to men about God, but also to talk to God about men. Preaching and prayer must go together; our evangelism will not be according to knowledge, nor will it be blessed, unless they do. We are to preach, because without knowledge of the gospel no man can be saved. We are to pray, because only the sovereign Holy Spirit in us and in men's hearts can make our preaching effective to men's salvation, and God will not send His Spirit where there is no prayer." p.124
Having come from a "high-pressure," "slick-salesman," approach to winning people to Christ, I found Packer's approach not only Biblical, but sound. He warns against the approach I just referred to while also arguing for all Christians to take their responsibility to evangelize seriously.
Four chapters consist of the following:
1. Divine Sovereignty
2. Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
3. Evangelism
4. Divine Sovereignty and Evangelism
Much of the "debate" chatter today from different camps speak against one other without actually reading and seeing if the "other side" actual believes/teaches what we have heard about them.
I found that I agreed wholeheartedly with Packer on the title's subject. In addition, he clarifies faith, repentance, conviction, sin, and a myriad of other Biblical truths that have been clouded in recent years. This book, written in 1961, might help some of my fellow believers have a better grasp on how evangelism and the sovereignty of God go hand-in-hand.
Here are just a few of the copious sections/thoughts that stood out to me:
*The following quote adequately described much of the "soulwinning" philosophy/techniques I was taught in Bible college:
"If we regarded it as our job, not simply to present Christ, but actually to produce converts to evangelize, not only faithfully, but also successfully our approach to evangelism would become pragmatic and calculating. We should conclude that our basic equipment, both for personal dealing and for public preaching, must be twofold. We must have, not merely a clear grasp of the meaning and application of the gospel, but also an irresistible technique for inducing a response. We should, therefore, make it our business to try and develop such a technique. And we should evaluate all evangelism, our own and other people's, by the criterion, not only of the message preached, but also of visible results. If our own efforts were not bearing fruit, we should conclude that our technique still needed improving. If they were bearing fruit, we should conclude that this justified the technique we had been using. We should regard evangelism as an activity involving a battle of wills between ourselves and those to whom we go, a battle in which victory depends on our firing off a heavy enough barrage of calculated effects. Thus our philosophy of evangelism would become terrifyingly similar to the philosophy of brainwashing. And we would no longer be able to argue, when such a similarity is asserted to be a fact, that this is not a proper conception of evangelism. For it would be a proper conception of evangelism, if the production of converts was really our responsibility." p.27-28
"Unconcern and inaction with regard to evangelism are always 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." p. 33-34
"He who does not devote himself to evangelism in every way that he can is not playing the part of a good and faithful servant of Jesus Christ." p. 34
"The way to tell whether in fact you are evangelizing is not to ask whether conversions are known to have resulted from your witness. It is to ask whether you are faithfully making known the gospel message." p. 41
"Every Christian has a God-given obligation to make known the gospel of Christ." p. 46
"Evangelizing, therefore, is not simply a matter of teaching, and instructing, and imparting information to the mind. There is more to it than that. Evangelizing includes the endeavour to elicit a response to the truth taught. It is communication with a view to conversion. It is a matter, not merely of informing, but also of inviting. It is an attempt to gain, or win, or catch, our fellow-men for Christ. Our Lord depicts it as fishermen's work." p. 50
"Preaching the gospel, as we have just seen, means inviting sinners to come to Jesus Christ, the living Saviour, who, by virtue of His atoning death, is able to forgive and save all those who put their trust in Him." p. 68
"It needs to be said that faith is not a mere optimistic feeling, any more than repentance is a mere regretful or remorseful feeling. Faith and repentance are both acts, and acts of the whole man. Faith is more than just credence; faith is essentially the casting and resting of oneself and one's confidence on the promises of mercy which Christ has given to sinners, and on the Christ who gave those promises. Equally, repentance is more than just sorrow for the past; repentance is a change of mind and heart, a new life of denying self and serving the Saviour as king in self's place. Mere credence without trusting, and mere remorse without turning, do not save. 'The devils also believe, and tremble.' 'The sorrow of the world worketh death.' " p.70-71
"He [Christ] had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed adherents who would melt away as soon as they found out what following Him actually demanded of them. In our own presentation of Christ's gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ, and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness." p.73
"There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love to God and concern for His glory; the second is love to man and concern for his welfare." p. 73
"It is a tragic and ugly thing when Christians lack desire, and are actually reluctant, to share the precious knowledge that they have with others whose need of it is just as great as their own." p. 77
"It is a great privilege to evangelize; it is a wonderful thing to be able to tell others of the love of Christ, knowing that there is nothing that they need more urgently to know, and no knowledge in the world that can do them so much good." p. 77
"We all can and should be praying for the salvation of unconverted people, particularly in our family and among our friends and everyday associates. And then we must learn to see what possibilities of evangelism our everyday situation holds, and to be enterprising in our use of them." p. 78
I love Packer's thorough explanation of evangelism here:
"Evangelism, we have learned, is a task appointed to all God's people everywhere. It is the task of communicating a message from the Creator to rebel mankind. The message begins with information and ends with an invitation. The information concerns God's work of making His Son a perfect Saviour for sinners. The invitation is God's summons to mankind generally to come to the Saviour and find life. God commands all men everywhere to repent, and promises forgiveness and restoration to all who do. The Christian is sent into the world as God's herald and Christ's ambassador, to broadcast this message as widely as he can. This is both his duty (because God commands it, and love to our neighbour requires it) and his privilege (because it is a great thing to speak for God, and to take our neighbour the remedy-the only remedy-that can save him from the terrors of spiritual death). Our job, then, is to go to our fellow-men and tell them the gospel of Christ, and try by every means to make it clear to them; to remove as best we can any difficulties that they may find in it, to impress them with its seriousness, and to urge them to respond to it. This is our abiding responsibility; it is a basic part of our Christian calling." p. 92-93
"The command to evangelize is a part of God's law. It belongs to God's revealed will for His people. It could not, then, in principle be affected in the slightest degree by anything that we might believe about God's sovereignty in election and calling." p. 96
"Whatever we may believe about election, the fact remains that evangelism is necessary, because no man can be saved without the gospel." p. 97
"They [the lost] must be told of Christ before they can trust Him, and they must trust Him before they can be saved by Him. Salvation depends on faith, and faith on knowing the gospel. God's way of saving sinners is to bring them to faith through bringing them into contact with the gospel. In God's ordering of things, therefore, evangelism is a necessity if anyone is to be saved at all." p. 97-98
"The Bible never says that sinners miss heaven because they are not elect, but because they 'neglect the great salvation', and because they will not repent and believe. The last judgment will abundantly prove that it is not the want of God's election, so much as laziness, the love of sin, unbelief, and unwillingness to come to Christ, which ruins the souls that are lost. God gives men what they choose, not the opposite of what they choose." p. 105
"There are two obstacles in the way of successful evangelism: the first, man's natural and irresistible impulse to oppose God, and the second, Satan's assiduity in shepherding man in the ways of unbelief and disobedience." p. 108
"Paul's confidence should be our confidence too. We may not trust in our methods of personal dealing or running evangelistic services, however excellent we may think them. There is no magic in methods, not even in theologically impeccable methods. When we evangelize, our trust must be in God who raises the dead. He is the almighty Lord who turns men's hearts, and He will give conversions in His own time. Meanwhile, our part is to be faithful in making the gospel known, sure that such labour will never be in vain. This is how the truth of the sovereignty of God's grace bears upon evangelism." p. 117-118
"There are two sides to the evangelistic commission. It is a commission, not only to preach, but also to pray; not only to talk to men about God, but also to talk to God about men. Preaching and prayer must go together; our evangelism will not be according to knowledge, nor will it be blessed, unless they do. We are to preach, because without knowledge of the gospel no man can be saved. We are to pray, because only the sovereign Holy Spirit in us and in men's hearts can make our preaching effective to men's salvation, and God will not send His Spirit where there is no prayer." p.124
August 25, 2019
I would give this book 4.5/5 if I could. It is clear, concise, and punchy. It is obvious to me why this is a classic in the extant Reformed and Evangelical literature on evangelism.
Packer’s main thesis is that the biblical belief in the sovereign God both supports and impels earnest and confident evangelism. He also argues convincingly that evangelism is defined by its content (the gospel) and faithful practice (explanation and application for the purpose of conversion) rather than by its results. The fact that Packer’s arguments seem rather non-controversial (to me, anyway) in 2019 is perhaps due to how effective Packer was in making those arguments in 1961. But it may also be attributable to my own settled convictions at this point in my life.
My only (very minor and humbly submitted) critique of the book is that Packer doesn’t adequately qualify his position (drawn from Ephesians 6:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 5:19-20) that every Christian is an ambassador for Christ. Especially the latter text speaks of the ordained servant of God being an ambassador for Christ in a distinctive way that Packer doesn’t spell out on page 49 (or during his recapitulation on page 91). To his credit, he does suggest elsewhere that different people have different levels of intensity to employ in their evangelism, and this line of reasoning would admit for a distinctive sense in which the ordained servant is especially an ambassador for Christ.
I would like to end with two positive remarks expressing my appreciation for this excellent book. First, Packer achieves his aim (from the Preface) “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.” Second, the following observation is one of the greatest and most important insights of the entire book, found on page 89: “We need to remember here that spiritually it is even more dangerous for a man whose conscience is roused to make a misconceived response to the gospel and take up with a defective religious practice than for him to make no response at all. If you turn a publican into a Pharisee, you make his condition worse, not better.” That should be printed, framed, and mounted in every pastor’s study.
Packer’s main thesis is that the biblical belief in the sovereign God both supports and impels earnest and confident evangelism. He also argues convincingly that evangelism is defined by its content (the gospel) and faithful practice (explanation and application for the purpose of conversion) rather than by its results. The fact that Packer’s arguments seem rather non-controversial (to me, anyway) in 2019 is perhaps due to how effective Packer was in making those arguments in 1961. But it may also be attributable to my own settled convictions at this point in my life.
My only (very minor and humbly submitted) critique of the book is that Packer doesn’t adequately qualify his position (drawn from Ephesians 6:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 5:19-20) that every Christian is an ambassador for Christ. Especially the latter text speaks of the ordained servant of God being an ambassador for Christ in a distinctive way that Packer doesn’t spell out on page 49 (or during his recapitulation on page 91). To his credit, he does suggest elsewhere that different people have different levels of intensity to employ in their evangelism, and this line of reasoning would admit for a distinctive sense in which the ordained servant is especially an ambassador for Christ.
I would like to end with two positive remarks expressing my appreciation for this excellent book. First, Packer achieves his aim (from the Preface) “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.” Second, the following observation is one of the greatest and most important insights of the entire book, found on page 89: “We need to remember here that spiritually it is even more dangerous for a man whose conscience is roused to make a misconceived response to the gospel and take up with a defective religious practice than for him to make no response at all. If you turn a publican into a Pharisee, you make his condition worse, not better.” That should be printed, framed, and mounted in every pastor’s study.
May 2, 2021
I’ve been searching for a book like this. Packer helps the reader understand the tension between obeying God’s command to share the Gospel and the call to be patient knowing that it’s His sovereignty and exclusive power to win souls. I walked away with a fresh desire to press into those opportunities that God gives to evangelize while at the same time gaining a renewed willingness to persevere in prayer when there’s no visible fruit. Good book.
August 7, 2023
"There is no magic in methods, not even in theologically impeccable methods. When we evangelize, our trust must be in God who raises the dead. He is the almighty Lord who turns people's hearts, and he will give conversions in his own time. Meanwhile, our part is to be faithful in making the gospel known, sure that such labor will never be in vain."
May 7, 2022
God did not teach us the reality of his rule in order to give us an excuse for neglecting his orders 🔥
December 23, 2023
I was very impressed with this book. Packer answers the question, “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?” Packer does not separate divine sovereignty from human responsibility but rather partners the two together and demonstrates that man cannot have one without the other. Evangelism produces new believers ONLY by the divine hand of God. And by Gods sovereignty man is able to continue in evangelism because the elect (who are not believers yet) are scattered throughout the world, which means God still desires to bring them into His fold.
June 9, 2024
4.5 - inconsistent in one point where Packer stresses the urgency of the gospel, but then writes to build a relationship. He states it may take 5 minutes or sometimes months.. regardless of the relation between you and the individual you are speaking with, share the gospel. As much as depends on you share, present the entire gospel with urgency.
March 11, 2024
Though it is often too academic for the average and a bit redundant at times, this work covers most the bases that come to mind on the subject and is faithful to conveying the truth.
My favorite two excerpts that are in the same section:
“With some people, you may establish such a relationship in five minutes, whereas with others it may take months. But the principle remains the same. The right to talk intimately to another person about the Lord Jesus Christ has to be earned, and you earn it by convincing him that you are his friend, and that you really care about him.”
“The truth is that real personal evangelism is very costly, just because it demands of us a really personal relationship with the other man. We have to give ourselves in honest friendship to people if ever our relationship with them is to reach the point in which we are justified in choosing to talk to them about Christ and in speaking to them about their own spiritual needs—without being either discourteous or offen-sive. If you wish to do personal evangelism, then—and I hope you do; you ought to—pray for the gift of friendship. A genuine friendliness is in any case a prime mark of the man who is learning to love his neighbor as himself.”
My favorite two excerpts that are in the same section:
“With some people, you may establish such a relationship in five minutes, whereas with others it may take months. But the principle remains the same. The right to talk intimately to another person about the Lord Jesus Christ has to be earned, and you earn it by convincing him that you are his friend, and that you really care about him.”
“The truth is that real personal evangelism is very costly, just because it demands of us a really personal relationship with the other man. We have to give ourselves in honest friendship to people if ever our relationship with them is to reach the point in which we are justified in choosing to talk to them about Christ and in speaking to them about their own spiritual needs—without being either discourteous or offen-sive. If you wish to do personal evangelism, then—and I hope you do; you ought to—pray for the gift of friendship. A genuine friendliness is in any case a prime mark of the man who is learning to love his neighbor as himself.”
September 3, 2023
Me reading this = 🤯🤯🤯
The opening section on how our prayers to God (of thankfulness for our own conversion and of intercession for the salvation of others) actually points to God’s sovereign grace in saving people hooked me from the start.
I also loved:
- his writing on how we share about the person and work of Christ in evangelism (the stuff about the extent of the atonement was also really interesting).
- his critique of seeker sensitive meetings and how we must not exalt the messenger over the message / or that our desire for an “evangelistic method” must not trump an evangelistic lifestyle
- his emphasis on prayer and how evangelism will be fruitless and pointless without God’s sovereign grace
The last chapter on election was a little confusing to me, but his exposition of John 6:38-40 was helpful! All in all, this was a great read on what it means to pursue faithful and patient evangelism with a clear and full presentation of the Gospel!
The opening section on how our prayers to God (of thankfulness for our own conversion and of intercession for the salvation of others) actually points to God’s sovereign grace in saving people hooked me from the start.
I also loved:
- his writing on how we share about the person and work of Christ in evangelism (the stuff about the extent of the atonement was also really interesting).
- his critique of seeker sensitive meetings and how we must not exalt the messenger over the message / or that our desire for an “evangelistic method” must not trump an evangelistic lifestyle
- his emphasis on prayer and how evangelism will be fruitless and pointless without God’s sovereign grace
The last chapter on election was a little confusing to me, but his exposition of John 6:38-40 was helpful! All in all, this was a great read on what it means to pursue faithful and patient evangelism with a clear and full presentation of the Gospel!
March 22, 2023
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is J.I. Packer’s attempt at answering the question “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?” Up to date, this concise response to those questions, is the best treatise on the subject. Packer successfully delivers biblically cogent responses to these eternally important inquiries. Packer masterfully demonstrates the compatibilistic nature of Scripture in describing the Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man to respond to the gospel by repenting and trusting in Christ. Highly recommend this classic!
Read again March 2023. Still one of the best introductory titles on the great question: God being sovereign, how can man be truly free? This has tremendous implications for our Great Commission work.
Read again March 2023. Still one of the best introductory titles on the great question: God being sovereign, how can man be truly free? This has tremendous implications for our Great Commission work.
March 18, 2025
Wow so good. Some things I’ve heard and other things I hadn’t yet considered, all put simply and graciously. Would definitely return to and recommend.
“For where we are not consciously relying on God, there we shall inevitably be found relying on ourselves”
“For where we are not consciously relying on God, there we shall inevitably be found relying on ourselves”
October 21, 2024
Packer stretches your mind on balancing Evangelism and resting in the sovereignty of God. He sincerely challenges you to be bold and share Christ because that is our calling, yet helping us understand we cannot win souls. God is alone in who can save the souls of sinners.
A few of my favorite quotes:
-The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgement of helplessness and dependence.
-Evangelism is the inalienable responsibility of every Christian community and every Christian man.
-Only when we see what sin is can we understand the good news of salvation from sin. We must know what it means to call God creator before we can grasp what it means to speak of Him as redeemer.
-If we truly care for the person, and if our heart truly loves and fears God, then we shall seek to present Christ to them in a way that is both honoring to Him and respectful to them. We should not violate their personalities or exploit their weaknesses.
-The knowledge, then, that God is sovereign in grace, and that we are impotent to win souls, should make us pray, and keep us praying.
A few of my favorite quotes:
-The prayer of a Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgement of helplessness and dependence.
-Evangelism is the inalienable responsibility of every Christian community and every Christian man.
-Only when we see what sin is can we understand the good news of salvation from sin. We must know what it means to call God creator before we can grasp what it means to speak of Him as redeemer.
-If we truly care for the person, and if our heart truly loves and fears God, then we shall seek to present Christ to them in a way that is both honoring to Him and respectful to them. We should not violate their personalities or exploit their weaknesses.
-The knowledge, then, that God is sovereign in grace, and that we are impotent to win souls, should make us pray, and keep us praying.
January 4, 2023
Just finished for the second time. Packer manages to speak peace into fiery debates including the tension between human responsibility/divine sovereignty as well a brief section on the extent of the atonement. At the same time he does not flinch on conviction and manages to strengthen a case for a strong belief in the full sovereignty of God. He shows the reader that divine sovereignty gives us confidence and should drive us to our knees in prayer for our fellow man. Convicting and encouraging.
January 7, 2023
This book effectively gets to the root of evangelism in a simple way. It focuses on our responsibility to share with dependence on God being the one changing hearts. Packer reminds us of God using our works for His glory. Only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is I’m not the biggest fan of Packers writing style
February 13, 2021
Brilliant. Packer explains complex and difficult truths with such clarity. I wish more Christians read this!
September 25, 2022
The best book I’ve read on evangelism - short, convicting, and jam packed with truth!
August 21, 2025
brilliant holding of the two truths of God's sovereignty and man's need to evangelise together. interesting read alongside growth and change which seems to over priorities man's agency as a corrective to the perceived 'hypercalvinism'. packer does a great job holding both together
March 25, 2022
Love this book. Very brief but comprehensive of how God's sovereignty and human responsibility are related - they are not enemies, but friends! Praise God!
August 14, 2025
Like a shot in the arm for weary evangelists.
September 14, 2025
I’m not rating this 3/5 because I disagree with it but just because that’s how interesting/helpful I (personally) found it while reading. I did skim some, so that’s on me.
I loved the explanation of antimony, and the comparison of how light is equally made of particles and waves by fact and is true; this is how God’s sovereignty & free will work in evangelism. Helpful.
I really liked the explanation of the sin aspect of the gospel, breaking it down into how it is conviction of sin against God, our “sinfulness” as a person, and “sins” in specific—just sin in general. That was really good.
Also, the last chapter and final encouragement to evangelize was good.
I guess the writing approach and style of writing didn’t seem to match with the content, maybe? Or the audience I’m thinking of?
I felt like there was a lot of content on the “question” rather than the “answer,” which is probably needed but sometimes felt like he rushed through the answer portion and kept dragging on about the “question,” if that makes sense. There were a few things he said that made me have more questions (like small ones) even if he did address the “big question,” and wished he would’ve dove deeper. Also, (I know this is helpful for others because I’ve read other reviews) but the first chapter felt a bit presumptuous. The type of persons I’m thinking of with questions coming to read this book aren’t the type to have never really thought about God’s sovereignty before but grew up in church with all the right reformed answers. I’m sure there are plenty reading this who are. But I was hoping for some more words geared toward that audience that really struggles to understand and evangelize in light of the tension of sovereignty and free will. I do think the antimony thing gets at this though.
Lots of other good stuff in this book too but these were the things, positive and negative, that stuck with me after reading.
I loved the explanation of antimony, and the comparison of how light is equally made of particles and waves by fact and is true; this is how God’s sovereignty & free will work in evangelism. Helpful.
I really liked the explanation of the sin aspect of the gospel, breaking it down into how it is conviction of sin against God, our “sinfulness” as a person, and “sins” in specific—just sin in general. That was really good.
Also, the last chapter and final encouragement to evangelize was good.
I guess the writing approach and style of writing didn’t seem to match with the content, maybe? Or the audience I’m thinking of?
I felt like there was a lot of content on the “question” rather than the “answer,” which is probably needed but sometimes felt like he rushed through the answer portion and kept dragging on about the “question,” if that makes sense. There were a few things he said that made me have more questions (like small ones) even if he did address the “big question,” and wished he would’ve dove deeper. Also, (I know this is helpful for others because I’ve read other reviews) but the first chapter felt a bit presumptuous. The type of persons I’m thinking of with questions coming to read this book aren’t the type to have never really thought about God’s sovereignty before but grew up in church with all the right reformed answers. I’m sure there are plenty reading this who are. But I was hoping for some more words geared toward that audience that really struggles to understand and evangelize in light of the tension of sovereignty and free will. I do think the antimony thing gets at this though.
Lots of other good stuff in this book too but these were the things, positive and negative, that stuck with me after reading.
December 14, 2022
“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.”
I like how focused this book is in staying within the scope of the title. Packer is clear, gentle, yet exhorting.
I like how focused this book is in staying within the scope of the title. Packer is clear, gentle, yet exhorting.
February 1, 2018
I don’t think God has called me to be a Calvinist.
October 26, 2022
La présentation la plus compréhensible des rapports entre souveraineté de Dieu et liberté de l'homme d'un point de vue calviniste.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 652 reviews