I came across this article last night, and found it very interesting. Please feel welcome to share your thoughts:
God's Sovereign Grace in Evangelism
Historically Reformed Christians have declared and celebrated God's ultimacy and sovereignty in the cosmos; the providential hand in the midst of human affairs; and electing, regenerating grace in human redemption. Reformed Christians have also taken seriously the necessity and urgency of evangelism and fidelity to Christ's mandate to make disciples of all nations. Yet while the above is an eminently compelling and attractive vision of the divine Creator and Sustainer and God's gracious way of salvation, at times either the affirmation of sovereignty or the practice of evangelism have been met with a certain amount of resistance or neglect. Questions regarding the compatibility of divine governance and human freedom, the necessity of faith in light of election, and motivation for meaningful evangelism have not infrequently been raised. The purpose of this paper, in response to an overture from the 2000 General Synod, is to seek some clarity on these issues; to show what difference a Reformed perspective on the gospel might make to its proclamation; and to give fruitful reasons for the winsome articulation of the gospel message to persons in our culture, world, and era.
What Difference Does Sovereignty Make to the Evangelistic Message?
In short, Reformed Christians affirm the biblical vision of the supremacy and majesty of God in all things. We acknowledge the spiritual deadness of humanity due to sin and humanity's natural inability to choose God; the incomparable salvation accomplished by God's extravagant and undeserved grace alone; the deity's sovereign and gracious choosing of the covenant people based solely on God's good pleasure and will; God's overwhelming grace poured out in the human heart through the Holy Spirit's initiation of the new birth; the resulting and necessary faith placed in God by a repentant believer; Christ's justifying sufferings and crucifixion for God's people; the life-giving spiritual union between believers and Christ; and therefore God's fatherly and unbreakable embrace by which we can never truly fall away from faith. This is the Christian euangelion, the evangel, the good message, the gospel.
Divine Sovereignty and the Evangelistic Message
Examining the constituent parts of this evangelistic message gives insight as to the unique Reformed emphases and their implications for evangelism. Reformed theology--indeed a biblically informed Christianity--starts and ends with its intense preoccupation with the nature and mystery of God. "The central theme of Calvinist theology, which holds it all together, is the conviction that every human being has every moment to do with the living God."1 As Moses discovered in the talking flames of a bush, God simply is. God is self-sufficient, not dependent on anything, unencumbered by physical or intellectual boundaries, perfect in fullness and richness of being, lacking nothing.2 The triune God, relational and communal by very nature, enjoys perfect, whole, and harmonious fellowship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Accordingly, God does not strictly need even human relationships, as if the trinitarian bond lacked anything. Rather, the divine creation of humanity flowed from the abundance and self-giving love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's creative activity is natural but not necessary. Thus even the creation of humanity--indeed the creation of the entire universe--is not a matter of necessity but of bounteous grace. This covenant God, self-identified as I AM, is worthy of our worship, the only being capable of centering human life. Therefore God alone is supremely important. As Reformed Christians we attempt to define all our doctrine and practice in a theocentric way. Sin is horrible because it is an affront to God. Salvation is wonderful because it brings glory to God. Heaven is heaven because it is the place where God is all in all. A Christian can commend much true doctrine, say, about sin (sin is damaging, sin leads to wretchedness, etc.), but if there is not the God-centered perspective, the most important emphasis of all has been missed.3
Other Christians may say that evangelism, or mission, or revival, or justice is their great concern. While these are all crucial, Reformed Christians have only one--God--to know God, to mirror God, and to see God glorified. Reformed Christians refuse to absolutize any other objective. The justice of a society is important to us only in so far as it leads to the doing of God's will on earth as in heaven. Bible study and prayer are important to us only in so far as they lead us into communion with the three persons of the Trinity. The salvation of the lost is important to us only in so far as it leads to the honoring of God's name and the coming of his kingdom.4 Troeltsch points out that for Calvin "the chief point is not the self-centered personal salvation of the creature, and the universality of the Divine Will of Love, but it is the Glory of God."5 The chief end of humanity, in the familiar words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is to glorify and enjoy God forever (Q1).
This distinctive Reformed vision of the nature of God can also be seen in the divine works, including God's supremacy and majesty in the cosmos, history, salvation, and the human heart. To begin with, the supremacy of the triune God is evident not only in ex nihilo creation, but also in the deity's caring sustenance of the cosmos. Indeed, according to Calvin divine creation and divine maintenance are inseparably joined (Institutes I.16.1.), this sustaining action a sort of creatio continuata, a continuation of the creative process. This is the providence of God. It is, as the Heidelberg Catechism eloquently expresses, "the almighty and ever present power by which God upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaves and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, and everything else, come to us not by chance but from God's sustaining hand" (Q27).6
Related to providence is divine sovereignty, a term familiar to ancient cultures. Sovereignty is the acting out of a king's or queen's reign and controlling governance. As the psalmist puts it, the Lord's throne is established in the heavens, and God's sovereignty rules over all (Psalm 103:19). From the biblical narrative we learn that God governs inanimate matter such as Egyptian plagues, Sodom's hailstorm, the parting Red Sea, the stars (Matthew 2:9), and the elements of the earth (Psalm 147:15-18). Christ himself calms the sea, heals sickness, and withers a fig tree. The biblical narrative further describes a benevolent divine governance of animals in cases such as wildlife drawn to the Noahic ark and cattle guided while pulling the arc of the covenant (1 Samuel 6), and as seen by divine curses of frogs and gnats in Egypt. In continuity with divine sovereignty elsewhere, God is also supreme in the human heart and will. God directs the hearts of kings (Proverbs 21:1), and while humans make their plans it is God who determines their steps (Proverbs 16:1). God is not reactively formulating divine intentions and plan, waiting to see what sort of decisions humans will make to see how history unfolds, but rather works all things after the counsel of the divine will (Ephesians 1:11-12). In this same vein Jesus Christ understands his earthly purposes in terms of the kingdom of God, that is, the dominion of God as King. "The term 'kingdom of God,'" explains H. Richard Niebuhr, "puts all the emphasis on the divine initiative."7
So the first implication is that the doctrine of divine sovereignty necessitates a theocentric message. Reformed Christians will highlight the awe-inspiring supremacy of God in all things, including salvation.8 "The whole Christian enterprise must regard itself as witness of the ultimate majesty, which is sovereign over the whole of history...The servants of faith must not confuse this witness with their own puny interpretations of the divine sovereignty, which presides mysteriously over the drama of history."9 Such a message extols the excellency of divine providence: the greatness, power, security, and steadfastness of God and of God's Son Jesus Christ. Such a message must not portray the deity as one to be pitied, begging the unbeliever to change his or her mind in order that God not be disappointed. We dare not imply, "Poor God wants people to have faith and believe, but they just will not listen." It will speak instead of the living God's compassionate governance in the universe, of God's power to restrain evil and to free a slave from whatever captivity binds him or her. No natural or human obstacle, addiction, or resistance is too powerful for the grace of a sovereign God. Sovereignty represents hope when confronted with the seemingly overwhelming darkness of the world and the blight of human evil.
Human Inability and the Evangelistic Message
In addition, Reformed Christians believe the sobering truth regarding the spiritual deadness of humanity due to sin and humanity's natural inability to choose God. All human beings, male and female, are created in the image of the triune God, thus are relational beings intended for fellowship with our covenant-making Creator. However, human beings now find themselves, so to speak, "natural born sinners," "dead men walking," never to escape their sinful Alcatraz. As to the spiritual life and capacity to desire God, human beings are dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). As to the scope of this spiritual death there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is no one who seeks for God (Romans 3:11). As to the supposed spiritual freedom of human beings, they are in truth slaves of sin (Romans 6:17); in fact, Jesus himself declares that "everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). Because of this universal sinful disposition no one can come to Christ, "unless drawn by the Father who sent me" (John 6:44). This is affirmed often in our Reformed creeds. For instance, the Heidelberg asks, "But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil?" The answer: "Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God" (Q8).10
Thus a second implication is that the message will make clear, in a sensitive yet forthright manner, the truth regarding human misery, alienation, and impotence. The biblical diagnosis of the human condition should not be compromised. It is not discouraging but liberating to finally come to terms with a chronic illness, especially when the cure is at hand. It is certainly good news to the person who feels dead inside to be offered new vitality. The gospel message will call for a response, but need not be preoccupied with the human decision. The Christian message should instead confute all human notions that imply that both God and humanity possess sovereign wills. It is not the sovereign choice of the human that provides the sine qua non of the evangel, but rather the divine purposes. The gospel message will instead highlight that all persons desperately need God. "Thou hast formed us for Thyself," cried Augustine, "and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee."11
Extravagant Grace and the Evangelistic Message
The whole human race is not, however, left in corruption, guilt, and spiritual impotence. In continuity with God's sovereign and caring providence, and due to humanity's inability to choose reconciliation with their Creator, Reformed Christians believe our incomparable salvation to be accomplished by God's extravagant and undeserved grace alone. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God; not the result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). This grace is commenced by the Father's sovereign and merciful choice of the covenant people, based solely on God's good pleasure and will, not contingent on a foreseen good or faith residing in given individuals or groups. In other words, since we are saved by grace alone, we must also be elected by grace alone. The theocentric focus of sovereign grace is continually set forth in Scripture: God's affection was set on the Israelites though they were the fewest in number; God calls the elect according to God's purposes, predestines us to be conformed to the Son's likeness, and chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God chooses the foolish, weak, and lowly things to shame the wise, strong, and privileged (1 Corinthians 1:27-30). God says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So it does not depend on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy (Romans 9:10-24).12
God's sovereignty is demonstrated further by the sending of God's Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for the sins of humanity (Matthew 1:21). The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the central content of the Christian gospel. In Christ's perfect attitudes, actions, and life he demonstrates his supremacy over all human tendencies toward that which is corrupt, unjust, cruel, hateful, and petty. Christ's death upon the cross reigns supreme over sin, death, and evil. Christ provides the mediatorial bridge of reconciliation between a holy God and a sinful people. Finally, Christ is raised from the dead in victory over death and ushers in a new age in which God's good, acceptable, and perfect will reigns supreme, an age which fulfills the promise of resurrection life for God's people.13
This sovereign choice is demonstrated when God's overwhelming grace is poured out in the human heart through the Holy Spirit's initiation of the new birth. The Holy Spirit, in unison with the Word, transforms a human heart from a disposition toward love of self and corruption to love of God and repulsion toward sin. "God saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to God's mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). As Dort explains, "By the effective operation of the same regenerating Spirit, God also penetrates into the inmost being of people, opens the closed heart, softens the hard heart, and circumcises the heart that is uncircumcised. God infuses new qualities into the will, making the dead will alive, the evil one good, the unwilling one willing, and the stubborn one compliant. God activates and strengthens the will so that, like a good tree, it may be enabled to produce the fruits of good deeds" (Dort, III/IV, Art. 11). In other words, God's renewing activity demonstrates that God is an evangelist, the supreme evangelist.14 God is the hound of heaven, seeking to save the lost, dead, and enslaved. God is compassionate, concerned, and active, wanting full restoration, redemption, and shalom for his (temporarily) broken universe, including his wayward people. Because of this sovereign, efficacious grace poured out through the Holy Spirit, God's redemptive purposes are guaranteed to be successful. The new heavens and new earth will not be empty.
Thus a third implication is that the evangelistic message will draw special attention to God's abundant, free grace in both creation and redemption. Such a message extols the excellency of the divine mercy: the goodness, love, and compassion of God and of God's Son Jesus Christ. Stories of grace and reconciliation abound in the biblical narrative and gospel parables: the prodigal son, the lost coin, the lost sheep, and, of course, none more so than the passion narratives. Communicating the goodness and efficacious grace of the sovereign God, and the promise of reconciliation, supremely expressed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the heartbeat of the evangel.15
Cosmic Redemption and the Evangelistic Message
God is concerned not solely for human creation but also for the redemption of the entire creation. The whole of creation fell with the first Adam, and now God is in the process of reconciling the world through the second Adam. "In Christ the world was reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:19). The "world" (Greek kosmos) here means that there is a cosmic effect from Christ's reconciliation. This should not be taken as an endorsement of some form of salvific universalism, for it does not mean that every last person on earth has or will be reconciled to God. What it does mean is that though the creation groans for its redemption, longs for freedom from its slavery to corruption, and awaits release from its subjection to futility (Romans 8:19-22), God's created order will ultimately receive its redemption, freedom, and release through Christ's saving work. This demonstrates that God is concerned with material creation, not merely Platonic ideas or immaterial souls. The divine will is to make whole again the entire creation, and will do so when the new heavens and new earth is revealed (Revelation 21:1).
It may be further noted that because regeneration occurs before the eschatological consummation, and because God is concerned for material well-being in the here and now, salvation is not merely the obtaining of an afterlife. Salvation is not simply "living in heaven after death," but a new life in the present now-and-not-yet of God's kingdom. Biblical salvation involves the spiritual life of the believer before death and does not admit of any disregard for physical welfare, health, and goodness in this life. The resurrection implies the redemption of the whole person, and this holistic salvation begins at new birth, not at the parousia.
God's sovereignty over all creation--not merely a "spiritual realm"--and God's concern for its wholeness, imply a message which speaks not merely of "saving souls" but of redeeming creation. Hence the evangel construed broadly, while never a substitute for the saving message of new life in Christ, must also involve decisive action: feeding the hungry, stewarding the earth, clothing the naked, protecting the weak and vulnerable, and creating shalom for those in pain and grief (Matthew 25; Luke 4:16-21).
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