Here is Part 2 of the response by J.I. Packer to the Sovereignty of God and Evangelism question.
(2) The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the urgency of evangelism.
Whatever we may believe about election, the fact remains that men without Christ are lost, and going to hell (pardon the use of this tarnished phrase: I use it because I mean it).
‘Except ye repent,’ said our Lord to the crowd, ‘ye shall all . . . perish.’[Lk xiii.3,5]
And we who are Christ’s are sent to tell them of the One—the only One—who can save them from perishing. Is not their need urgent? If it is, does that not make evangelism a matter of urgency for us?
If you knew that a man was asleep in a blazing building, you would think it a matter of urgency to try and get to him, and wake him up, and bring him out. The world is full of people who are unaware that they stand under the wrath of God: is it not similarly a matter of urgency that we should go to them, and try to arouse them, and show them the way of escape?
We should not be held back by the thought that if they are not elect, they will not believe us, and our efforts to convert them will fail. That is true; but it is none of our business, and should make no difference to our action.
In the first place, it is always wrong to abstain from doing good for fear that it might not be appreciated. In the second place, the non-elect in this world are faceless men as far as we are concerned. We know that they exist, but we do not and cannot know who they are, and it is as futile as it is impious for us to try and guess.
The identity of the reprobate is one of God’s ‘secret things’ into which His people may not pry. In the third place, our calling as Christians is not to love God’s elect, and them only, but to love our neighbour, irrespective of whether he is elect or not. Now, the nature of love is to do good and to relieve need.
If, then, our neighbour is unconverted, we are to show love to him as best we can by seeking to share with him the good news without which he must needs perish. So we find Paul warning and teaching ‘every man’:[Col. i.28] not merely because he was an apostle, but because every man was his neighbour.
And the measure of the urgency of our evangelistic task is the greatness of our neighbour’s need and the immediacy of his danger.
Please tell me your thoughts on J.I.'s views on this subject.
Comment here or by e-mail.
5 comments:
if i knew no matter what i did the man in the fire was going to get out safely anyway why should i put myself under unnecessary pressure. or if i knew the man couldn't be saved no matter what i did why put pressure on myself.the belief of packer like other calvanists nullify's the need for evangelism.predestination for the elect means salvation for sure without human input.predestination for the reprobate means no chance of salvation regardless of human input.
LYNN HELTON
Round two, Lynn. You say "predestination means salvation for sure without human input." This is not what reformed soteriology teaches. The Bible teaches equally the sovereignty of God (in all things) and the responsibility of man. We see it Gen 50:20 (Joseph and his brothers); Isaiah 10 (the invasion of Israel, orchestrated by God and punishable by God); and Acts 4:27-28 (the crucifixion, ordained by God, carried out by men who were judged by God for their acts). There's a mysterious tension there that we must live with.
It is simply incorrect to use such language as "no matter what I do" or "regardless of human input" in this conversation.
Lynn and Jeff thanks for the comments.
J.I. Packer is one of my favorite writers. I love his view on Calvinism and election.
First, Lynn thanks for your thought out response, most who respond to this question do so out of emotion and not study or prayer. You obviously are different.
Take into consideration what Paul said. Remember that whenever Paul wrote to a church or a group of people he always mentioned election. First and foremost. Check for yourself. The question is not election because to deny election is to deny the very words of God.
So when it comes to election we ask, is it:
Unconditional election or
Conditional election.
Regardless of our choice of the 2 types of election that are in the Bible (one is right and one is wrong) -you must choose for yourself.
Paul said this, Timothy 2:10, "Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."
Hard to argue with this verse.
Regardless of conditional or unconditional election we evangelize because of obedience....
I evangelize because God told me to... And I trust Him for he results.
This is all I will say now because I will post another point by Packer tom......
Second, Dr. Spry----
Good to hear from you and good point.
jamie,packer says we should not be held back by the thought that if they are not elect they will not believe us and our efforts to covert them will fail.he then says that is true.his view of election is that of unconditional election.if i implied that election wasn't biblical it was to question the validity of his view of election.at 2nd tim.2:10 paul says therefore i endure everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in christ jesus,with eternal glory.could paul have been talking about unconditional election and believing that his effort could change gods decree?
no Paul is saying-- i can't save anyone but God has called me to evangelize out of obedience.
Paul knew he was the means to many, many coming to Christ.
REad his list of sufferings in his letter to The Church at Corinth: shipwreck, beatings, getting robbed....etc.
And he still said "I do this for the sake of the elect."
Example:
Greg Laurie made this statement the other day about Crusade evangelism
"I preach and give the invitation and many come and make decisions. Some are sincere and others are not. Only God can save a soul and His elect are always sincere."
This doesn't mean we don't evangelize, it means we evangelize more and persuade men, but we trust God for the saving of a soul.
Election doesn't change evangelism just who we give the credit to!
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