First John 5:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” This verse displays that obedience to God’s commands confirms the presence of God-oriented love. One of Jesus’ commands to us is to make disciples, an act that, in part, requires evangelizing the lost. There are times when the command to make disciples through evangelism feels rather burdensome. Does this mean we love God less?  Sometimes, we Christians do not evangelize because our fear of man eclipses our love for God. Packer puts it this way,

“We should not, therefore, be reluctant and backward to evangelize on the personal and individual level. We should be glad and happy to do it. We should not look at excuses for wriggling out of our obligation when occasion offers to talk to others about the Lord Jesus Christ. If we find ourselves shrinking from this responsibility and trying to evade it, we need to face ourselves with the fact that in this we are yielding to sin and Satan. If (as is usual) it is the fear of being thought odd and ridiculous, or of losing popularity in certain circles, that holds us back, we need to ask ourselves in the presence of God: Ought these things stop us loving our neighbor?” (page 78).

In this, Packer addresses the fear of man, but also the preservation of self. The timid evangelist may be held back by fear of man’s rejection of their message, fear of incurring negative consequences upon themselves, or both. Packer urges the Christian to move forward in the act of evangelism as a demonstration of faithful love to both God and man, 

“What we need to do is to ask for grace to be truly ashamed of ourselves, and to pray that we may so overflow in love for God that we will overflow in love for our fellow man, and so find it an easy and natural and joyful thing to share with them the good news of Christ” (page 78).

Packer claims that love for God overflows into love for man, which is displayed in evangelism. The Apostle Paul’s missionary ministry was marked by love for God that overflowed into love for his fellow man. “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess. 2:8). Packer, while teaching of Paul’s love for the lost, writes, 

“As an Apostle of Christ, he was more than a teacher of truth; he was a shepherd of souls, sent into the world, not to lecture sinners, but to love them . . . Such was evangelism according to Paul: going out in love, as Christ’s agent in the world, to teach sinners the truth of the gospel with a view to converting and saving them” (pages 53-54).

When love for God eclipses fear of man, the result is love for man through evangelism.

We have highlighted just a few of the many lessons in J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. From cover to cover, Packer resoundingly rests in the sovereignty of God in salvation, yet never shies away from the Christian’s role and responsibility before God in evangelism. We are grateful for God’s provision of Christians, like J.I. Packer, who come alongside those of us who are eager to relearn and refine our motives and methods in evangelism. 

God is faithful.