Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God
The mystery and seeming paradox between evangelism and God's sovereignty  has been causing disagreements and confusion among Christians since the  beginning of the 20th century. InEvangelism & the Sovereignty of God,  J.I. Packer reveals that a faulty understanding of the Bible leads to the  assessment that these doctrines are foes rather than friends. By debunking the  erroneous view that "robust faith in the absolute sovereignty of God is bound to  undermine any adequate sense of human responsibility" toward evangelism, the  author adeptly moves through the obstacle course of tricky theology with ease  and grace, allowing the reader a more complete understanding of the mystery of  salvation. Packer manages to tackle an overwhelming piece of doctrinal truth and  contain it within the subject of evangelism by concisely determining what  evangelism is and what it is not. "It is our widespread and persistent habit of  defining evangelism in terms, not of a message delivered, but of an effect  produced in our hearers." This error is corrected when one is renewed in his or  her knowledge of the sovereignty of God. Of course, fault is found on the other  side as well, with those who so heavily rely on God's sovereignty to save the  lost that they are lazy in obeying God's command to share the Gospel. Packer  insists that love for God, at the very least, should draw one out of this  stagnation and that the coupling of these seemingly diabolical doctrines will  make one bold in speech, patient in God's timing, and prayerful for the  salvation of others.--Jill Heatherly