Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

J.I. Packer
(Summary by Eder Machuca)

Introduction

The main theme in this book is Evangelism, as it is always and everywhere

servants of Christ are under the mandate to evangelize. And evangelism is spoken of in
relationship with the Sovereignty of God. The only aspect of the Sovereignty of God that will be addressed
in this book is, the Sovereignty of God in grace: its powerful action of bringing to the
sinners towards Himself through Christ.

Chapter 1
Divine Sovereignty

This book begins by talking about the Sovereignty of God and gives us great evidence that
It proves to us that every Christian believes that God is sovereign over His world.

"I do not intend to dedicate my time to the task of proving to you the general truth that God is"
sovereign over his world. This is not necessary, because I know that if you are a Christian already
I believe it. How do I know this? Because I know that if you are a Christian, you pray; and the
recognition of the Sovereignty of God is the foundation of your prayers” J.I. Packer.

When we pray, we always ask for things or thank God for them, and the reason for this
We do this because we recognize that God is the author and source of all
goods that we have and all the goods that we hope for in the future. The prayer of a
a believer is not an attempt to force God's hand, but rather a humble recognition of
your own incapacity and dependence on Him. When we kneel before Him,
we know that it is not us who control the world; that it is not in our
to be able to meet our needs through our own efforts; and that every good thing
What we could wish for ourselves and for others must be sought from God, and it will come.
if he really comes, like a gift from his hands.

The fact that a believer prays is a positive proof that they believe in the lordship of their
God.

I am also not going to take the time to prove that God is Sovereign in salvation. Because that
You also believe it now." J.I. Packer

Two facts show this:

We thank God for our salvation: we know that we have not saved ourselves.
it is not ourselves, but God who saved us.
We pray for the conversion of other people: we pray to God asking Him to save.
We ask God to open the eyes of their understanding, to soften their...
hard hearts, that renew their fallen natures, and that move their will so that
welcome to the savior.

There are some controversies because some believe that God is totally Sovereign in
salvation and others not. when we are standing we can have arguments about this,
but when we are on our knees, we all agree.

Chapter 2
Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

What interests us here is the apparent contradiction between the Sovereignty of God and the
human responsibility, or to put it more biblically, between what God does as
King and what He does as Judge. The Scriptures teach us that as King, God orders and
controls all things, even human actions, according to its purpose
eternal. (Gen. 45:8, 50:20; Prov. 16:9, 21:1; Mt. 10:29; Acts 4:27; Rom. 9:20; Eph. 1 and 2).
The Scriptures also teach that as Judge, God holds man responsible for what he does.
that this chooses to do and by the paths that man decides to walk (Mt. 25; Ro. 2:1-
16; Ap. 22:13). Thus, those who hear the gospel are responsible for their reaction; if
they reject the good news, then they are guilty of their unbelief. (Jn. 3:18)

The Sovereignty of God and human responsibility are taught in Scripture.

together with the other; sometimes it is found in the same verse (Luke 22:22; Acts 2:23).
Both truths are affirmed by the same divine authority and therefore, both are
truth. Therefore, both must be held together and not turned into enemies
one from the other. Man is a responsible moral agent, although he is also a creature
controlled by God; man is divinely controlled, although he is also an agent
moral responsible. The Sovereignty of God is a reality, and so is responsibility.
humanity is. This is the antinomy (apparent contradiction) revealed in the Scriptures, and
these are the terms we need to take into account when thinking about the
evangelism.

We should not be surprised to find mysteries in the Scripture, since the Creator
it is incomprehensible to its creatures. (Is. 55:8-9)

The antinomy we are facing now is just one of several that we encounter in
the Bible. We can be sure that all find their reconciliation in the mind and the
God's counsel, and that we can also expect that we will understand them in heaven.
the same. But in the meantime, our wisdom will consist of holding both truths with
equal emphasis, and keep them in the same relationship that the Bible places them, and recognize that
We are faced with a mystery that we cannot solve in this world. And we must take care of ourselves.
of the two following temptations:

There is a temptation to focus solely on human responsibility.

It is necessary to take human responsibility very seriously, both in its effect on the
preacher, as about the listener of the gospel. But, we must not allow it to take away the
reality of God's Sovereignty in our minds. While it is ours
responsibility to proclaim salvation, we must never forget that it is God who
salvation. It is God who brings men under the sound of the gospel and it is God who
leads to faith in Christ. Our evangelistic work is the instrument that God uses to
this purpose, but the saving power is not in the instrument, rather it is in the
hands of the one who uses the instrument.

If we forget that only God can give faith, then we will begin to think that the
producing converts will depend not on God but on us; and we will conclude incorrectly.
that the deciding factor lies in the way we evangelize. And this line of thought
will distance us from biblical teaching.

It is correct to acknowledge our responsibility to participate aggressively in the

evangelism. It is correct to desire the conversion of the unbelievers. It is also correct
We desire that the presentation of our gospel be as strong and clear as possible. If
we would prefer that the converts were few, and if we did not care about the impact of our
the proclamation of Christ, then we would say that something is wrong with us. But it is not
It's correct when we try to do more than what God has entrusted to us. It's not correct.
when we consider that it is our responsibility to produce conversions, and we depend
of our effort and tactics to do what only God can do. To do this,
we meddle in the work of the Holy Spirit and exalt ourselves as
agents of the new birth.

There is an opposing temptation that also threatens us: that is, the temptation to focus ourselves.
exclusively in Divine Sovereignty.

There are some believers whose minds are continuously occupied with thoughts
about the Sovereignty of God. They see that, since God is always in control,
then they should not fear that God will suffer losses or damages, and that they should limit themselves to
to serve him in the way that God has indicated in His Word. They also see that the
a believer should never consider himself as indispensable to God, and that
much less behave as if this were the case. The God who sent him, and who deigns to
use it in his work, he can work without Him. However, they are prone to fall into the
opposite temptation to the one we saw earlier. In their zeal to glorify God through
to recognize their Sovereignty in grace, and by refusing to imagine that their services are
indispensable for God, they are tempted to lose sight of the responsibility of the
church to evangelize.

This temptation consists of weighing it in the following way: 'Alright, the world is wicked;
But surely, the less we do about this, the more God will be glorified.
when he finally intervenes to change the situation. The most important point for
We have to be careful not to leave all the initiative in their hands.

Therefore, they are tempted to suspect all evangelistic efforts, whether they are
organized at the ecclesiastical level or at a personal level, as if there were something in them
essentially anthropocentric (something that is done to exalt man). They are
obsessed by the fear of trying to move ahead of God, and feel that there is nothing else
urgent that the need to protect oneself against that danger.

His mistake was not also taking into account the evangelistic responsibility of the church.
with the same seriousness. He was forgetting that the way God saves men
yes, sending his servants to communicate the gospel, and that the church has been commissioned
to go to the whole world with this purpose.

The commandment of Christ means that we must dedicate all our resources and
efforts, to the task of communicating the gospel through all possible means and to
all possible people. God did not teach us the reality of His Sovereignty, in order to
give us a pretext to neglect His commandments. (Mt. 5:14-16)

So, here we have two opposing dangers. Each one is the result of a vision.
partial of the truth, which means a partial blindness. Both dangers come together to
warn us of the risk of placing these truths against each other, or of allowing in our
minds that one darkens the other. We must ensure that we create both.
doctrines with all our being, and to continuously keep both doctrines before
we for them to guide and govern our lives.

On one occasion, C. H. Spurgeon was asked if he could reconcile these two truths,
And he replied that he would not try because friends do not need to reconcile. This is the
Point that we have to understand. In the Bible, the Sovereignty of God and responsibility.
Humans are not enemies but friends and they work together. What the Bible does is affirm.
both truths together, with the strongest and clearest language possible, as two facts
Immutables. This is the position we must hold in our thinking.
 Chapter 3
Evangelism

In this chapter, the following questions will be answered:

What is evangelism?

What is the message of evangelism?

What is the reason to evangelize?

What are the means and methods we should use to evangelize?

What is evangelism?

Evangelizing is presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to men.
fishermen, so that they can put their trust in God through Christ, receiving Him
as your Savior and serving Him as your King in the communion of His Church

This is an excellent decision. It admirably declares the goal and the purpose of the
evangelism and excludes many of the inappropriate and erroneous ideas. To begin with, it makes
emphasizes the fact that evangelism means declaring a specific message. According to
this definition, evangelism does not consist of the mere act of teaching general truths
about the existence of God or about moral law. Evangelism means presenting
to Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was incarnated at a specific moment in history
of the world in order to save a lost race.

According to this definition, evangelism means presenting Christ Jesus himself, as the
Living Salvador and the Lord who reigns. Evangelism does not consist in presenting Christ
simply as a friend and helper without reference to his saving work on the Cross. The
evangelism is presenting Jesus as the Christ; God's anointed servant who fulfills
the tasks of his office as Prophet, Priest, and King.

We must present Christ as the only mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5);
like the one who suffered once for the unjust, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). We must
present Christ as the only one to whom people can turn to put their
trust in God, according to the claim that he himself made (John 14:6) Christ must be
proclaimed as the Savior, that is, the one who came into the world to save sinners
Ti. 1:15) and who redeemed us from the curse of the law, made by us a curse (Ga.
(1 Thess. 1:10) and Christ must also be proclaimed as King (Rom. 14:9)
Evangelism is a call to turn and also to trust; it is the announcement not only of a
divine invitation to receive the Savior but also a divine command to repent of the
sin. And there is no evangelism unless this specific application is made.

Evangelism is the work of man, but granting faith is the work of God.
the results of preaching depend not on the desires and intentions of men
sino de la voluntad de Dios Todopoderoso. Esta consideración no significa que debemos ser
indifferent regarding the fruit of our testimony for Christ. If there is no fruit then
we must seek the face of God to know why. But this consideration means that
we should not define evangelism in terms of the results achieved.

According to the New Testament, evangelism is the preaching of the gospel, the good news.
It is a work of communication in which believers are spokespersons of the divine message of
mercy for sinners. Since the divine message culminates in a plea from
from the Creator so that the rebellious world may turn and put its faith in Christ, then the
communication of this message includes the fact of calling the listeners to conversion. The
The way to know if we are truly evangelizing is not by asking if things have happened.
conversions to Christ or not, but rather, asking ourselves if we are communicating
faithfully the message of the gospel (2 Cor. 2:1-5). As an example, we have the Apostle Paul.
Pablo saw himself as sent by Christ, not only to open the minds of
the men teaching them the gospel, but also to turn them back to God by exhorting and
applying the truth to their lives. Their goal was not only to spread information but to save
the sinners (1 Cor. 9:22) (2 Cor. 5:19-20). Paul was more than a teacher of the truth, He
he was also a shepherd of souls sent not to give them a lecture but to love them (2 Thess.)
2:7-8) (2 Co. 12:14-15)

What is the message of evangelism?

The evangelical message is a message composed of four essential elements:

A) The Gospel is a message about God:

The gospel tells us who God is, what His character is like, what His rules are, and what it is ...
what it demands from us its creatures. It tells us that we owe our own
existence to Him, and that for better or for worse, we are always in His hands and under His gaze,
and what He has done for us so that we may adore Him and serve Him, and so that we may praise Him and live.
for His glory. The Christian message begins, that is, with the affirmation that man
he is completely dependent on his Creator. (Acts 17:24-30)

It is only when we have learned this that we can see what sin is, and
Only when we see what sin is, can we understand what the good news is.
from the salvation of sin. We must know what it means to call God our Creator,
before we can understand what it means to speak of Him as our Redeemer.
B) The Gospel is a message about sin:

The gospel tells us how we have fallen and find ourselves so far from divine standards; how
we have become guilty, unclean, and incapable because of sin, and how is it that we are
under the wrath of God. It tells us that the reason we sin continuously is because of
that by nature we are sinners, and that nothing we do or could do for
we ourselves can justify or bring us back into the favor of God. The Gospel
shows us ourselves as God sees us. And teaches us to think of ourselves.
the same way that God thinks of us. Thus, this leads us to despair
of ourselves, which is a necessary step. Until we have understood our
the need to be reconciled with God and our inability to achieve it with our
Through our own efforts, we will not be able to know the Christ who saves from sin.

In the Bible, the very idea of sin is that of an offense against God, which hinders
the relationship between man and God. Unless we see our faults in the light of the law and
the holiness of God, then we will not be able to see them truly as sins.

C) The Gospel is a message about Christ:

Christ the Son of God incarnate; the Lamb of God dying for sin; Christ the
Lord resurrected and Christ the perfect Savior.

We must clarify two points about the preaching of this part of the message:

a. We must not present the person of Christ separated from his saving work.

Nothing about the historical Jesus can be understood unless something is understood about
of the incarnation, that is to say, that this Jesus was actually the Son of God made man
to save sinners according to the eternal purpose of his Father. It cannot be
to understand something about his life, unless something is known about his sacrifice, is
to say that he lived as a man in order to die as a man, for men; and that
his sufferings and death were actually his saving work of taking away the sins of
world. It is also not possible to know under what terms we can approach Him, unless
that something is known about his resurrection, ascension, and intercession; that is to say, that Jesus has
has been resurrected, enthroned, crowned, and lives to eternally save all those
that recognize his lordship. These doctrines, not to mention others, are essential to
gospel. Without them, there is no gospel, only a confusing story about a
man named Jesus.

b. We must not present the saving work of Christ as something separate from his
person.

Sometimes we have made this mistake. In our concern to focus attention on the
propitiatory death of Christ, as the only sufficient basis on which sinners
can be accepted by God, we have presented the call to saving faith in the
following terms: "Believe that Christ died for your sins." The effect of this exposure
The saving work of Christ is presented in terms of something past, something separate from
Your person in the present, and this past work becomes the object of our trust. But
It is not biblical to isolate the work from the one who performed it. Nowhere in the New Testament.
we will find the call to believe expressed in such terms. The New Testament
calls us to faith in Christ, with reference to the person of Christ and about Christ himself; it is
to say, it calls us to place our trust in the living Savior who died for sins.
Therefore, strictly speaking, the object of saving faith is not the sacrifice, but
rather the Lord Jesus Christ who made the Sacrifice.

In presenting the gospel, we must not separate the Cross and its benefits from the Christ who was
dead on the Cross. Because the people to whom the benefits of Christ's death
belong, are those who trust in their person and believe, not simply about their
saving death, but believe in Him, the living Savior. (Acts 16:31) (Matt. 11:28)

Our task in evangelism is to reproduce the New Testament emphasis as

faithfully as possible. Go beyond the New Testament or distort its point of
To view or change its emphasis is always a mistake.

The gospel does not consist of saying: 'Believe that Christ died for the sins of all and for what'
so much, for his own,
"the sins of certain people and perhaps not for their own." The Gospel says "Believe in the
Lord who died for sins, and now offers himself as your Savior.
It is the message that we must take to the world. It is not up to us to ask them to put their
faith in a certain doctrinal position regarding the scope of atonement; our task is to
to show them the living Christ, and to call them to trust in Him.

D) The Gospel is a call to faith and repentance:

Repentance and faith are considered matters of our duty, by virtue of the
divine commandment, and therefore, impenitence and unbelief are highlighted in the
New Testament as the gravest sins (Lk. 13:3,5) (2 Th. 2:11) Together with those
universal mandates, go the universal promises of salvation for all those who
they obey the gospel. (Acts 10:43) (Rev. 22:17) (Jn. 3:16)

It is necessary to say that faith is more than a mere optimistic feeling, and that the
Repentance is more than a feeling of sadness and remorse. Faith and the
Repentance is an act of the whole man (mind, emotions, and will). Faith is more
than a simple belief; faith is essentially clinging to and resting oneself with all
his confidence in the promises of mercy that Christ has given to sinners,
clinging and resting in Christ who made those promises. Likewise, the
repentance is more than a simple sadness for our past; repentance is a
change of mind and heart, a life of self-denial and service to
Savior as King, instead of ourselves.

Therefore we can conclude by saying that the gospel demands both faith and the
repentance and both repentance and faith.
What is the reason to evangelize?

There are two reasons that should motivate us to evangelize. The love of God and a
concern for His Glory, and love for men and a concern for their well-being.

A) The first reason is primary and fundamental. The main good of man is that of
Glorify God. The biblical rule of life is: 'Do everything for the glory of God' (1 Co.
We glorify God by obeying His Word and fulfilling His will.
revealed (Jn. 14:21) (1 Jn. 5:3). Evangelism is one of the activities that the Father and the
Son has been ordered. Christ says that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world.
as a testimony and according to the gospel of Mark it says that "it is necessary" (Mt. 24:14 and
Mr. 13:10)(Mt. 28:19-20). Therefore, if we love God and care about his
Glory, we must obey his commandment to evangelize.

There is another detail regarding this thought. We glorify God through evangelism.
not only because evangelism is an act of obedience, but also because in the
evangelism we are telling the world the great things that God has done for the
salvation of sinners. When the great works of His grace are made known,
Then God is glorified (Ps. 96:2-3). The fact that a Christian speaks to the
unbelievers about the Lord Jesus Christ and saving power, is in itself something that honors and
glorify God.

Personal note: It is important to understand that we glorify God when we do what pleases Him.
he is pleased, and there is nothing more pleasant for the Father than the Son being announced in all the
nations. There is nothing more pleasing to God than the greatness of His glory being shown.
in the Cross of Christ (2 Cor. 2:15-17)

B) The second reason that should drive us to persist in evangelism is the

love for our neighbor and the desire to see our fellow beings saved.
12:31 and Luke 10:27) (Galatians 6:10). What greater need does every man have than that of
to know Christ? What greater good can we do for every man than to put him before Him
the knowledge of Christ? To the extent that we truly love our
neighbor as ourselves, we will wish that He enjoys the same salvation,
which is so precious to us. In fact, this should not be something about which
we need to think a lot, not to mention discuss it. The drive to evangelize should
to be born spontaneously in us when we see the need that our neighbor has
of Christ. (2 Cor. 5:14)

Evangelism is not the only task our Lord has given us, nor is it a task
in which we can all perform in the same way. Not all of us are called to
to be preachers; nor are the same opportunities given to all of us or
abilities to personally deal with the men and women who need
Christ. But nonetheless, we all have some evangelistic responsibility which does not
we can neglect, while not failing at the same time in our love for God and for our
neighbor. To begin with, we can all and should be praying for the salvation of people
inconversations and learning to see what the possibilities are to evangelize and be timely
to take advantage of opportunities.

What are the means and methods that should be used in evangelism?

There is a central principle that should guide us in our evaluation of these and others.
possible methods of evangelism that could be proposed or practiced.

What is the central principle? There is only one means of evangelism; that is, the gospel of
Christ, explained and applied. Christ himself empowers his through the Holy Spirit.
servants to truly explain the gospel and apply it with effectiveness and power. From the
in the same way, Christ himself, through his Holy Spirit, opens the minds and hearts
so that they may receive the gospel and thus brings them in a saving way to himself. (Luke 24:45)
Hch. 16:14 with Jn. 12:32) (Ro. 15:18-19)

So, in the final analysis, there is only one method of evangelism: that is, the explanation.
and the application of the gospel message. Therefore, we can conclude that the
the central principle we are looking for has to be the following: the proof for any
strategy, technique or style of evangelism is whether it truly communicates the Word. Is the
method that we are considering something calculated to be a means to explain the
true and complete gospel and apply it deeply and exactly? To the point
in which it is designed to achieve this goal, it is a lawful and correct method; and to the extent
which tends to obscure and overshadow the realities of the message, is an anti-biblical method and
wrong.

We can also ask the following questions:

Is this method of presenting Christ designed to impress men with the

Is the fact that the gospel is a word that comes from God? Is it a method for
divert the man's attention and direct it towards God and his truth? Will it result in that the
People think deeply and directly about God and about themselves in relation.
with Him? Is it a calculated message to awaken the mind or to lull it? Is this
the way of presenting Christ is designed to communicate to people the doctrine of
gospel and not simply a part of it, but its entirety? Is this method of presenting
Christ is designed to communicate the truth of the gospel in a way that
does it correspond to the seriousness of this matter?

By asking questions like these, we can examine and reform our methods.
evangelistic. The central principle is that the best method of evangelism is the one that gives the
clearer testimony of the divine origin of the message, of the transcendental nature of the
issues that are at stake in the gospel (matters of life or death). It is the method
which provides the most complete explanation of the good news of Christ and the most accurate and
insightful application of the gospel. It is the method that most effectively engages the minds of
the listeners and makes them aware that the gospel is the word of God, addressed
personally to them in the current situation in which they find themselves.

Chapter 4
The Sovereignty of God and Evangelism

How does our belief in the Sovereignty of God affect evangelism? Knowing that all
things really happen under the direct dominion of God, and that God has already
the future predestined by His own decree, and has determined who shall be saved
And to those who do not, then, how does this affect our duty to evangelize?

The biblical answer can be stated in two propositions, one negative and one positive.

1. The Sovereignty of God in grace does not affect anything we have said about the
nature and the duty of evangelism.

The standard of our duty and the measure of our responsibility is the divine will.
revealed by precept and not its secret will of purpose or decree. We must order
our life in the light of his law and not based on our assumptions about his plan.
29:29

Therefore, we can say:

The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the need for evangelism.

The gospel is necessary because no man can be saved without the gospel.
No one can be saved without invoking the name of the Lord, and certain things have to
happen before someone can do this (Ro.10:14). It is necessary for someone to...
talk about Christ before they can trust in Him, and they have to trust in Him so that
may be saved by Him. (Mt. 22:9-10)

b. The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the urgency of evangelism.

Men without Christ are lost and are on their way to hell. (Luke 13:3) Is it not
urgent your need? If the answer is yes, then doesn't it make evangelism
urgent for us?

We must not be stopped by the thought that, if they are not chosen, then we do not...
they are going to believe and our efforts to convert them will fail. This is true; but we do not
concerns us and should not affect our action. (Col. 1:28)

c. The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the sincerity of the
invitations of the gospel, nor the truth of the promises of the gospel.
God in the gospel truly offers Christ and promises salvation to all who believe.
the invitation is only for
sinners, but for all sinners without exception. Let us note the universal aspect of
these promises. Christ is offered to all those who need him, to all those who
they return to Him, to all those who have sinned. None is left out of this mercy
except for those who remain outside due to their own impenitence and unbelief.

The belief that God is sovereign in grace does not affect the responsibility of the sinner.
regarding your reaction to the gospel.

It remains a fact that the person who rejects Christ becomes the cause of their own
own condemnation. To the unsaved, life was truly offered through the gospel, and
He could have received it if he had wanted to, he is responsible for having it.
rejected and now, he has to suffer the consequences of his rejection (Ezek. 18:31) (John 5:40)
(Jn. 3:19). The Bible never says that sinners lose heaven because they are not chosen,
but because they neglect such a great salvation and because they do not want to repent and believe.

2. The Sovereignty of God in grace gives us our only hope of success in

evangelism.

The sovereignty of God in grace is the only thing that prevents evangelism from being without.
meaning. Because the Sovereignty of God creates the possibility, in fact the certainty that the
evangelism will bear fruit. If it weren't for the Sovereignty of God, evangelism would be the
the most useless and vain task that the world has ever seen, and the preaching of the gospel would be
a complete waste of time.

Why is it like this? It is due to man's inability in sin. Paul explains this to us:

The fallen man has a blind mind and therefore is unable to understand the truth.
spiritual.(1 Cor. 2:14)

Man has a wicked and ungodly nature (Rom. 8:7)

The man is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2)

Satan constantly works to keep sinners in their natural state (Eph.

2:2 (2 Cor. 4:4)

Man is completely incapable of a positive reaction to the word of God.

deaf to the voice of God, blind to the revelation of God, dead in trespasses and sins. And
also the diligence of Satan in guiding men in the ways of unbelief and
Disobedience is a great obstacle.

What are the implications of this for evangelism?

It simply means that evangelism, as we have described it, cannot have
success. No matter what we do, it is impossible for man to respond. From the
From the perspective of a human task, evangelism is a desperate task. Unless
there is another factor in this situation, a factor beyond our human efforts, all
evangelistic activity will be destined to fail.

So, what can we do?

We must learn to place all our hopes of bearing fruit in evangelism, in the
omnipotent grace of God.

God does what man cannot do. God works by His Spirit through His Word.
in the hearts of sinful men to bring them to repentance and faith. The
Faith is the gift of God (Phil. 1:29) (Eph. 2:8). Repentance is also the gift of God.
(Acts 5:31) (Acts 11:18). We cannot make the sinners repent and
They create in Christ only by our words; but God works Faith and Repentance.
in the hearts of men by his Holy Spirit.

God works in sinners so that they may understand and respond to the invitation of the gospel.
It is a work of creative power; through it, God gives a new heart to men,
freeing them from the bondage of sin, nullifying their inability to understand and obey the
truth of God, and guiding them to turn back to God and trust in Christ as their Savior
1:13) (2 Co. 4:6) (1 Co. 2:10) (Ez. 36:26) (Jn. 6:44) (Fil. 2:13)

As we become increasingly aware of the reality that, from the perspective of

being a human task, evangelism is a desperate task, we feel tempted to
fall into this discouragement. But Paul did not become discouraged because he kept his eyes firmly
fixed in the Sovereignty of God in grace. (Isa. 55:11) Paul knew that in all places
in which the gospel was preached, God would raise people from spiritual death. He knew
that the preaching would result in the smell of life for some of the listeners.

Pablo's trust should be ours too. We cannot trust in our

counseling methods or how to manage evangelistic cults. There is no magic in the
methods, not even in the methods that are theologically correct. When
we evangelize, our trust must be placed in the God who raises the dead.
He is the Almighty who changes the hearts of men, and He will bring conversions to His
time. Meanwhile, it is our turn to be faithful in spreading the gospel, confident that
that our work can never be in vain. This is how the truth of Sovereignty
God's grace affects our evangelism.

This confidence in the Sovereignty of God must lead us to be brave, patient, and to
persevere in prayer.

The way forward for us in evangelism is the following: that we be

taught again to testify of our Lord and of his gospel, publicly and in
private, in preaching and personal evangelism; with courage, patience, power,
authority and love; and that at the same time we be taught again to pray for the
divine blessing over our testimony, with humility and with persistence.

So, what should we say regarding the suggestion that a firm faith in Sovereignty
Would saying God be harmful to evangelism? Are we forced to say that any person
what this suggestion does is demonstrate that it has simply failed to understand what the
the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God means.

The Sovereignty of God not only supports evangelism and sustains the evangelist but also
it also teaches us to combine prayer and preaching. It also makes us brave and
confident before men, in the same way that it makes us humble before God.

It is a great comfort to know that we are not serving a god who has no control over
all things, to a god who does not have the power to save those he wants. On the contrary,
we serve the Almighty God, He who does everything according to the counsel of His
will. The Sovereignty of God is what drives us to preach the gospel, since only
God is the one who can give life to the dead, only God is the one who can shine in him.
heart of the unbelievers and save them.