Introduction
Calvinism in 21st century America is a very interesting landscape. Those who support it are few yet passionate, and its detractors are likewise a small but very loud tribe. It’s not hard to find intense debates on the subject, with impressive (and not so impressive) people on both sides. Still, those discussions seem to be on the fringe of theological discourse today, with the center being occupied by classical apologetics and a “Mere Christianity-esque” ecumeism.
That, then, leaves a very large group of Christians in the middle who simply don’t have an opinion on Calvinism either way. Most Christians (especially those of the American evangelical/non-denominational fold that I am familiar with) seem to have never explored or even heard of the Doctrines of Grace, and, when presented with them, often have lots of questions.
I personally have been a Calvinist for a number of years. I remember the very long process that I underwent to hear the arguments, to weigh the biblical data, and to reach a Christ-honoring conclusion. I remember the first time I read John 6, Romans 9, and Ephesians 1 carefully, and I remember my initial enthusiasm for trying to show other people the divine truths that I had freshly understood.
Since those first few months post-conversion (if you want to call it that), my attitude has certainly tempered out. I still hold strongly to the doctrines of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints—possibly with even more fervor and definitely with stronger Scriptural convictions—but my desire to make everyone around me a Calvinist has substantially decreased. My focus has been more upon using the Doctrines of Grace to answer theological questions, letting them inform my own personal convictions, and leaving it at that. If someone wants to know my stance on Predestination, I’ll be happy to cite Romans 8, Ephesians 1, and the Westminster Standards… but I feel it’s a topic best treated with a ‘speak when spoken to’ kind of approach.
Still, conversations abound, as the topic is bound to come up with some frequency (it is all over the Bible, after all). And in my experience of discussing TULIP with thoughtful brothers and sisters throughout the years, there’s one question that always comes up: “If Calvinism is true, then why would we evangelize?”
And, due to the frequency at which I hear this question, and due to its legitimate merit, I’ve decided to take it head-on in this article. My goal here is not to argue for the truth of Calvinism. If you would like to hear solid, biblical evidence for TULIP, I will refer you to the studies I’ve already published on John 6, Romans 8, Romans 9, and Ephesians 1 (find the “Bible Studies” page and browse them at your leisure). Instead, the goal here is to provide an explanation of why, as a Calvinist, I find it both good and necessary to engage in evangelism. My hope is that this will be a sufficient and persuasive answer that allows for better dialogue and biblical exploration.
What’s The Question?
The first thing we should do as we unpack the biblical answers to this question is to identify why the question even makes sense in the first place. Again, the question is this: “If Calvinism is true, then why would we evangelize?”
First, let’s identify what we mean by “Calvinism.” When I refer to “Calvinism” throughout this article, I’ll be referring (as I think most people are) to the “Doctrines of Grace,” often summarized with the acronym “TULIP.” Here’s what each piece of TULIP means, with a few Scripture references if you’re interested:
T - Total Depravity: Because of the effects of sin, each individual person is, by his own power, incapable of either keeping God’s Law or coming to Christ in faith. As Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him” [John 6:44]. No one in their natural, fallen state, is able to come to the Lord Jesus. As a result, in order for someone to place their faith in Jesus, he must first be born again [John 3:3, 5] by the Holy Spirit and set free from slavery to sin [John 8:34].
U - Unconditional Election: God, seeing the helpless state of mankind under sin, for the purpose of demonstrating His love, goodness, and glory, chose to have mercy upon a particular group of people called the “elect” [Matthew 24:22; Luke 18:7; Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12; Revelation 17:14].
God “chose” these people “in Christ before the foundation of the world” and “predestined” them to salvation [Ephesians 1:4 - 5]. God is free to do so because He is the sovereign Creator of the world, who “has mercy on whom He has mercy” [Romans 9:15, 22 - 23].
In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith: “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men are predestined unto everlasting life… and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished.”
L - Limited Atonement: God, to bring about the salvation of the elect, provided the atoning sacrifice of Christ, whereby all the sins of the elect and only the elect were paid for and expiated. Christ, on behalf of the elect, laid down His life [John 10:14 - 18, 26], bore the penalty of sin in His own body [1st Peter 2:24], was made sin on their behalf [2nd Corinthians 5:21], and brought about full justification [Romans 8:33 - 34].
I - Irresistible Grace: All those whom God has predestined, and for whom Christ has died, will be drawn to saving faith by the effectual calling of God [John 6:44; Romans 8:28 - 30].
P - Perseverance of the Saints: All those whom God has predestined, and for whom Christ has died, and who have been drawn to faith in the Lord Jesus will be preserved by the providence of God so as to never lose saving faith, but to persevere in true devotion to Christ and increasing good works [John 6:37 - 40; Romans 8:28 - 30; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24 - 25].
I believe those to be accurate articulations of not only my own position but also of Calvinism in general, and hope they are helpful for you as well. Do not read into how much was provided for each point as if those that have less written are less biblical—I merely spent more time on what I believed to be the most important points to understand.
And now, let’s finally unpack the question. The reasoning is as follows: If God not only knows who will be saved, but has chosen (U) who will be saved, and will certainly bring it about (I & P) so that the number of those who are saved cannot be increased or decreased, then why evangelize at all? If someone is elect, then they are predestined to be saved regardless of what we do. In that case, what’s the point of evangelism? Isn’t evangelism either pointless (if you’re speaking to a non-elect individual) or unnecessary (because the elect will be irresistibly drawn regardless)?
Paul’s Answer
The first place that we ought to turn for answers to this question is, of course, the Bible. As already stated and briefly demonstrated, the Doctrines of Grace are present all throughout the New Testament—and so is the call to evangelize. We should not see these two realities as contradictory to each other, but should start from a position that seeks to affirm them both as true. It is better to believe in both Unconditional Election and the Great Commission, even without fully knowing how they work together, than it is to ignore one of them and thus fabricate a resolution that props up the other. I strongly believe, however, that Scripture does give us all we need to see how Unconditional Election and the Great Commission are to be reconciled in our thinking.
The Apostle Paul is, by all accounts, a first-rate theologian. He was also the most active missionary in the early Church, and is responsible for not only half the books in the New Testament, but also for much of Christianity’s rapid spread across Europe and Asia Minor. As such, he appears to be our best possible source for understanding how God’s sovereignty in salvation and the command to evangelize come together.
Let’s start by analyzing key sections in Paul’s most robust epistle, The Letter to the Romans. Romans is the key theological work of the New Testament, and makes some of the most direct claims regarding man’s deadness in sin, God’s sovereign election, Christ’s substitutionary work in the atonement, and the perfect assurance that believers enjoy. In chapters 8 & 9, Paul enters a full-fledged discourse on such things, making striking statements such as:
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.” [Romans 8:28 - 30]
“What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’
So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy… So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” [Romans 9:14 - 18]
“And what if God, wanting to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction, and in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory?” [Romans 9:22 - 23]
The only defensible conclusion of these passages is, in my mind, the total sovereignty of God in salvation. Yet, how does Paul immediately follow this discourse? With a call to evangelism! He transitions straight from chapters 8 & 9 into chapter 10, where he makes two essential points. First, he quickly restates The Gospel:
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.’” [Romans 10:9 - 11]
Then he asks this question:
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!’” [Romans 10:14 - 15]
Here is where we find the answer to our question. Paul is able to hold firmly to both God’s full sovereignty in salvation and the necessity of evangelism because he sees evangelism as the means by which the elect are brought to faith. We could spell it out in this way:
1. God sees the sinfulness of humanity and wills salvation for the elect.
2. God provides Jesus as the sacrifice for the sins of the elect, to be received by faith.
3. God ordains evangelism as the means by which He will bring the elect to faith.
As Calvinists, we engage in evangelism because we understand that God does not execute His sovereignty in a vacuum. That is, God not only ordains the ends (salvation for His elect), but also the means (how, when, and where each elect individual will be saved). God’s mechanism for bringing about salvation is through the preaching of The Gospel, which (when made effective by the Holy Spirit) brings about faith in those who hear. God doesn’t need us in order to accomplish His purposes, but He invites us to be His coworkers. We evangelize because God has graciously welcomed us into His plan to redeem the world through The Gospel of Jesus Christ!
But why, if in fact God is fully capable of bringing about the salvation of the elect by any means that He chooses, would He choose evangelism? Paul answers this question in 1st Corinthians chapter 1:
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe…
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may abolish the things that are, so that no flesh may boast before God.” [1st Corinthians 1:18 - 21, 25 - 29]
Put simply, God has chosen evangelism as the means of reaching and saving the elect so that He may demonstrate His sovereign grace and power. Paul’s point here in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 is that The Gospel message, on its face, is so crazy that no one would believe it. The idea that God became a human being, lived in some occupied Roman province, was crucified, rose from the dead, and now demands repentance and faith would be unthinkable. Now, add the fact that this message is to be preached by fallible, still-sinful men, to hopelessly sinful and ungodly men, and it becomes clear that the only reason people believe The Gospel is because God works powerfully and effectively in their hearts. Evangelism is the chief way in which we see God demonstrate His miraculous grace—why wouldn’t we want to involve ourselves in such an activity‽
In light of this, it should become clear why the Apostle Paul says to Timothy and Titus:
“For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” [2 Timothy 2:10]
“Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.” [Titus 1:1]
Paul understood his entire missionary calling as a service to God’s elect, furthering God’s redemptive plan, presenting himself as a vessel for God to demonstrate His sovereign grace and power. For Paul, evangelism is the means by which God brings about His ends—we ought to believe the same.
How This Plays Out In Scripture
I think that Paul’s writings clearly demonstrate the equal reality of God’s sovereignty and the need for Gospel missions, but how does this actually play out? Are there any examples of election and evangelism coexisting in the pages of Scripture? As a matter of fact, there are! Let’s walk through four examples: two from Jesus, and two from the Apostles.
Matthew 11:25 - 29; Luke 10:21 - 22
The first event that we can examine is, actually, existent in two parallel passages from Matthew and Luke. Both passages record the same event, with slight variation, but the central point is present and clear in each of them.
Because both passages narrate the same historical event, their contexts are the same. Immediately before the verses that we will examine, Jesus has pronounced judgment on two unrepentant cities. He says to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes… Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” [Matthew 11:21, 24]
After declaring judgment on these two cities, Jesus then says:
“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” [Matthew 11:25-27]
At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” [Luke 10:21-22]
I want you to really grasp what is going on here. Jesus has just pronounced judgment and hell upon two cities that rejected Him and His message of The Gospel. Then, immediately, he turns around and praises God the Father for His sovereign will that hid The Gospel from them. Jesus says that His message was “hidden” from the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, and from all the “wise and understanding” (best understood as a sarcastic jab at all unbelievers; compare to 1st Corinthians 1:18 - 29), and has instead “revealed it to infants.” Jesus understood His ministry of evangelism in the context of God’s sovereignty.
This becomes even more clear in the second half of Jesus’s statement. Not only does He state that the truth of The Gospel has been hidden from those who don’t believe, but He asserts His total freedom to reveal the truth to those whom He wills: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” It is extremely remarkable that Matthew and Luke record this quotation of Jesus word-for-word, as that is a rare instance in the New Testament. Here, Jesus says that knowledge of the Father is kept for only those to whom the Son grants it… that’s election playing out in real time.
What may be most important for our discussion are Jesus’s final words in Matthew’s record of this event: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” [Matthew 11:28-30]. Did Jesus perceive a contradiction between God’s sovereignty, election, and the free call to “come”? Clearly not, and neither should we. Jesus preached The Gospel to all, even while fully recognizing that it was up to His and the Father’s sovereign will that anyone comes to faith.
John chapter 10
The next passage from Jesus should be a very familiar one: The “Good Shepherd” discourse from John chapter 10. Technically, the discussion recorded here takes place over a number of weeks (or, more accurately, there are two parts with weeks in between), yet John records it all as one narrative in order to draw out a clear point. Here are the verses that we’ll be looking at:
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.”
…
The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us openly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
[John 10:11, 14-17, 24 - 30]
Like I said, this passage ought to be well-known and familiar to you—not just because of the theological richness found here, but also because of the comfort that these verses bring Christ-followers. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who loves us and laid down His life for us. What a beautiful thing to meditate on!
Still, the theological depth of the passage needs to be examined, specifically, Jesus’s identification of who is and who isn’t one of His sheep. Let’s walk through the passage. In verse 11, Jesus identifies Himself as the shepherd of the sheep, who lays down His life on their behalf—that’s easy enough to understand. Then, in verse 16, Jesus says that not only does He have some of His sheep presently before Him, but that He has more sheep “which are not from this fold” (best understood as a reference to later Gentile Christians).
So Jesus has two folds of sheep, Jew and Gentile, and He lays down His life for them. But what is the distinguishing mark of Christ’s sheep? That they listen to His voice [vv. 16, 27]. Jesus’s sheep listen to His voice, and follow Him. We might observe here, though timidly for now, that it is being a sheep that determines whether one hears Jesus’s voice, not the other way around.
So why does this passage matter for our discussion of evangelism? Because of what Jesus says to the Pharisees only a few verses later: “You do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Jesus directly states that the Pharisees are not His sheep. Now, how would a first century shepherd end up with his sheep? By choosing them. So once again, we see Jesus identifying the root of someone’s coming to faith: His own will. We can now confidently observe that being a sheep is the determining factor of faith, as Jesus does not say, “You are not of my sheep because you do not believe,” but rather, “You do not believe because you are not of My sheep.” Jesus knew full well that the people He was talking to were not of His sheep and not going to believe, yet He preached The Gospel to them anyway; I say again, we are to simply follow in His example.
Acts chapters 2 & 13
Those two examples from Jesus are rather striking to me, and I’m sure they were to the Apostles as well. It should be no surprise, then, that the Apostles had no problem with the coexistence of election and evangelism—in fact, we see them together in Peter’s very first sermon!
In Acts chapter 2, the Apostles have just received the Holy Spirit, and find themselves preaching The Gospel to all those around them. In response to their fervor (and their speaking in tongues) the crowds around them accuse them of drunkenness. But Peter, seizing the opportunity, stands up to refute their mockery and proclaims The Gospel to them. In response to his preaching, the crowd was “pierced to the heart” and asked Peter, “What should we do?” [Acts 2:37]. To this question, Peter says:
“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” [Acts 2:38-39]
It’s that last phrase that I want to give particular attention to. Peter had preached a fiery Gospel sermon, called the crowd to repentance and faith, and even tasks these questioners with actions of personal responsibility—yet he understands the truth that The Gospel is for those “whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Peter fully recognized God’s sovereignty in calling a particular people (as we cannot from this passage say that God calls all men equally; that would lead to universalism), and didn’t have any hangups about preaching The Gospel indiscriminately to a whole crowd of people. He couldn’t have known if those people were elect or not, he just preached The Gospel and let God figure out the rest—what stops us from having the same attitude?
In Acts chapter 2, Peter makes it clear that if someone is going to come to faith in Jesus, God must take the initiative. But whereas Peter speaks indicatively about the need for God’s sovereign call, in Acts chapter 13, Luke is able to retroactively identify the reality of divine election playing out in real time. After a large crowd of Gentiles come to faith, Luke writes: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” [Acts 13:48]
Luke, seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in applying The Gospel to new believers, is able to recognize that their newfound faith is the in-time fulfillment of eternal predestination. When we see our evangelistic efforts result in someone's genuine faith and conversion, we should be able to come to the same conclusion.
Some Philosophy For You
We’ve now looked at a lot of biblical data that should, for all intents and purposes, provide a sufficient answer to the question at hand. Still, I think it would be beneficial to look beyond the Scriptural testimony for a moment and explore the work of faithful Christians who have wrestled with the question in the past. In particular, I would like to examine the answers found in the Westminster and London Baptist confessions of faith. On this subject, the respective assemblies wrote:
From Westminster:
“God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor the is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.” [3.I]
“As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto.” [3.VI]
“Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently. God in His ordinary providence makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them at His pleasure.” [5.II - III]
From the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith:
“Those whom God has predestined unto life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by His word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature.” [10.I]
“God did from all eternity decree to justify the elect, and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rise again for their justification; nevertheless, they are not justified personally, until the Holy Spirit does in time actually apply Christ unto them.” [11.IV]
The point here is to acknowledge the distinction between God’s eternal decree as the primary (or ultimate) cause of someone’s salvation, and time-bound actions as the secondary (or immediate) causes of someone’s salvation. According to the statements above, God works through means (secondary, immediate causes) in order to accomplish His will. This is what I meant earlier in the article when I said, “God does not execute His sovereignty in a vacuum.” God uses real human actions to bring about His eternal plan. Evangelism is the real human action that brings about the faith of God’s elect.
The Thing Everyone Does That Calvinists Can’t Do
It is clear to me that Calvinism and evangelism are by no means at odds with each other, but are actually the biblical standards. Jesus, Paul, Peter, and Luke all identify evangelism as the real-time activity that God uses to accomplish His eternal decree. That understanding should provide a sufficient answer to the question at hand. Why does a Calvinist evangelize? Because we recognize that evangelism is the means that God has ordained to bring about His ultimate end—the salvation of the elect, for the demonstration of His own glory. With the question answered, then, let’s examine the particulars of how this plays out in practice. We’ve explored why Calvinists continue to evangelize, now let’s look at how.
To start, let’s address the elephant in the room. There’s one evangelism technique that is incredibly popular among Christians today that no faithful Calvinist can promote or practice: as a Calvinist, I cannot simply approach someone on the street and say, “Jesus loves you, died for you, and wants a relationship with you.”
Whenever I talk to my non-Reformed brothers about evangelism, this issue is sure to arise. Think about it: what’s the most popular evangelistic message for American Christians today? In my experience, most people understand The Gospel message to be something along the lines of, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Or, perhaps put a different way: “Jesus wants to have a relationship with you so much that He died for you to make it happen.” At their worst, these “Gospel” presentations are nothing more than emotional appeals that try to gain a ‘decision for Christ’ by stirring up someone’s feelings. They say nothing of sin, judgment, or repentance—they put sinners in the place of judgment over Christ: “Jesus really wants you to accept Him, and He gave His life for you, won’t you just love Him back?”
Of course, that kind of an appeal is an extreme example, and thankfully it does not represent the majority of evangelicals. But even the best Gospel sermons, which preach sin, judgment, hell, and repentance, are unusable for Calvinists if they contain the notion of universal atonement. We deny, based on Scripture-built convictions, that Jesus died for every single person who has ever lived. We believe that Jesus’s death was intended only for the elect, perfectly bringing about their salvation, so that the atonement does not forgive anyone’s sins but theirs. This obviously puts us at odds with the vast majority of Christians, and the vast majority of evangelistic material, but we only enter into such an unpopular situation because we are genuinely convinced of Limited Atonement from Scripture.
So no, as a Calvinist, I can’t preach The Gospel to someone by saying, “Jesus loves you, died for you, and wants a relationship with you.” But here’s the thing that so many Christians miss: the Apostles didn’t do that either. Nowhere in the New Testament does an Apostle tell an unbeliever that Jesus died for him. When Jesus came preaching The Gospel, He never said to anyone in particular, “I am going to die for you.” The only time the atonement is actually applied to someone personally, it is done so to believers, the Church, the elect. Likewise, there is not a single passage in the New Testament where non-believers are told that Jesus died for them.
Now, does the lack of such a passage prove Limited Atonement? No, not entirely. Limited Atonement is a much more carefully-constructed doctrine that takes into account lots of different biblical evidence. However, the lack of such a passage does do two things:
One, it absolves Calvinists from having to violate their doctrinal commitments. If someone wants to attack Calvinists for not saying “Jesus loves you, died for you, and wants a relationship with you” to unbelievers, then that same person will have to attack the Apostles as well. If the Apostles were able to start the Church without preaching universal atonement, then certainly Calvinists can be forgiven for simply following their example.
Two, it calls into question whether our modern evangelistic strategies are actually biblical. If it is true that the best method for evangelism is to tell the unbeliever that they are loved, desired, and atoned for, then why didn’t the Apostles preach that message? Why were Peter and Paul so dead-set on calling their audiences to repentance if all they needed to do was convince their would-be converts that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives?
What Does It Look Like For A Calvinist to Evangelize?
So then, if I can’t say, “Jesus loves you, died for you, and wants a relationship with you,” then what does it look like for a Calvinist to evangelize? Well, as is the case for all of our doctrinal commitments, our goal is to simply emulate the Apostolic example as closely as possible. When a Calvinist evangelizes, the goal is to be a present-day Peter or Paul. We may need to be innovative in how we enter into Gospel conversations, sure (and there is certainly Apostolic precedent for having situational discernment), but the message that we preach in those Gospel conversations must be one-and-the-same with what the early Church declared. So, to find out what this message should be composed of, let’s examine five different Gospel sermons given by the Apostles in The Book of Acts.
Acts 2:14 - 41
The first place we should look is, of course, the first evangelistic message that the Apostles preached post-resurrection. For the sake of space, I will not be posting the full text of each passage we examine, but I will present my summary of the contents, along with verse references, and I encourage you to read the full passages for yourself.
Peter opens this landmark sermon with a simple contextual address: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel…” [vv. 14 - 16]. The tongues controversy is Peter’s ‘in’—his point of relevance that allows him to grab the crowd’s attention.
He moves from this hook straight into a lengthy citation of Joel chapter 2, which he then exposits by explaining the facts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection [vv. 22 - 24]. He follows this by another citation of Scripture, paired with another declaration of Christ’s resurrection and the evidence thereof [vv. 25 - 32]. Lastly, Peter finishes his message by citing one final Scripture, exalting the person of Jesus, and commanding repentance and faith from his audience for the forgiveness of their sins [vv. 34 - 41].
Acts 3:12 - 26
Here, only a few days after the events of Acts chapter 2, Peter and John are walking by the Temple and heal a crippled man. The crowd is astonished by this, and seizing their attention, Peter again stands up and preaches The Gospel to them [v. 12]. He goes immediately into a recounting of Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection [vv. 13 - 15], before exhorting the crowd to faith in Him [v. 16]. In the latter-half of his address, Peter makes numerous references to the Scriptures [vv. 18, 22 - 25], emphasizes the resurrection of Jesus as a historical fact [v. 26], and calls the crowd to repentance for the forgiveness of their sins [v. 19].
Acts 10:34 - 43
Acts chapter 10 is a pivotal moment in Church history, as it records the first instance of Gentile converts to the faith. In this chapter, Peter is sent to preach to a man named Cornelius, who is seeking to hear The Gospel. Peter begins his address by exalting the character of God [vv. 34 - 35], and then narrates the life events of Jesus, centering upon His death and resurrection [vv. 37 - 40], identifying himself and the other Apostles as eyewitnesses of these things [vv. 39, 41]. He notes that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead [v. 42], says that the Scriptures prophecy of Him [v. 43], and promises that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins [v. 43].
Acts 16:16 - 41
This is the first of Paul’s sermons that we will examine. Here, he and Barnabas are sitting in on a synagogue service when they are asked to give a word of encouragement to the group. Seeing this as his opportunity, Paul stands up and addresses the crowd with a thousand-foot overview of Jewish history [vv. 16 - 22]. He follows this Old Testament recap with a narration of the life of Jesus, presenting Him as the fulfillment of the Scriptures [vv. 22 - 31]. His retelling reaches its climax with the resurrection of Jesus and his appearance to eyewitnesses [vv. 30 - 31]. Paul then cites numerous Scriptures directly [vv. 33 - 35], declares the forgiveness of sins by faith in Jesus [vv. 38 - 39], and warns the audience against unrepentance, which leads to destruction [vv. 40 - 41].
Acts 17:22 - 31
Lastly, let’s look at Paul’s famous sermon in the Athenian Areopagus. He starts by making reference to the religious practices of his pagan audience, capturing their attention [vv. 22 - 23]. He follows this by declaring the uniqueness of the biblical God [vv. 23 - 27]. He follows this by citing various works of Greek philosophy, appropriating their claims for his own argument [v. 28]. He presses the Athenians to repent of their idolatry [v. 30], declares the resurrection of Jesus as a historical fact [v. 31], and promises that He will return in judgment [v. 31].
What do we glean from these passages? I see five key elements of evangelism that are present in each of these examples:
First: In each of these passages, the Apostles find a point of relevance that gives them an opportunity to preach The Gospel. Whether it’s being in a synagogue, being surrounded by an already-intrigued crowd, or observing actively-ongoing sins, the Apostles were key to finding something that would get the crowd’s attention.
Second: Over and over again, we see the Apostles going back to Scripture as a foundational defense of their message. Usually in the context of Christ-confirming prophecy, the Apostles did not see the Scriptures as something that needed to be defended, but as proof of the truth of The Gospel.
Third: The central point of each of these sermons is the historical fact of Jesus’s resurrection. The Apostles aren’t concerned with philosophy, or with trying to convince their audience of an abstract idea, but came to preach the resurrection of Jesus. They relied upon their own eyewitness testimony and boldly declared that Jesus being risen is an incontrovertible fact.
Fourth: The main point of application in most of these sermons is the need for repentance in light of coming judgment. In each example, the Apostles are clear that their audience stands guilty before God and must repent of their sin.
Fifth: To close their Gospel presentations, the Apostles exhort their listeners to receive forgiveness of sins by faith in the Lord Jesus. Faith in Jesus is the next point of application for someone who repents of their sin. In reality, the two actions are practically inseparable. The Apostles didn’t just want their audience to believe that Jesus loved them (as a matter of fact, such a statement is completely absent in the examples above), they wanted their audience to experience grief for their sins and to flee for refuge in Christ by faith.
The Apostolic example of evangelism, and the one that Calvinists strive to faithfully emulate, is one that focuses on the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus and communicates individual responsibility to repent of sin. We preach sin, hell, and judgment, just like the Apostles did, and when our listeners have experienced Spirit-born conviction, we exhort them to believe in the name of Jesus and receive forgiveness. We present The Gospel as a fact—one that is to be believed by the merit of its truthfulness—and we bring to bear one’s personal responsibility before the Almighty. Once we’ve done our job of declaring the truth of The Gospel, we entrust our listeners to the care and will of God, trusting that He will water the seeds we’ve planted as He sees fit.
Λοιπόν - FINALLY
So, why do Calvinists evangelize? Because we understand that evangelism is God’s appointed means for accomplishing His eternally decreed end. In and through faithful Gospel preaching, God is able to demonstrate His sovereign power in taking the words spoken by weak, fallible men, and making them powerful enough to turn a dead heart into a living one. The mission of evangelism is God’s invitation for us to join Him in His work of redeeming the world—an invitation that no Christian should refuse.
As a smaller note, evangelism is also a deeply sanctifying endeavor. Nothing will force you to wrestle with your faith, learn the Scriptures, and rely upon God’s power more than routinely staring down unbelievers and proclaiming divine truth. A pastor once told me, “Do you want your faith to stop feeling stagnant? Do you want your walk with Jesus to be more exciting? Then go out and start spreading The Gospel—you’ll be surprised at how quickly your relationship with God is rekindled.” In my experience, those words have rung true without fail.
The Doctrines of Grace are biblical and glorious; the Great Commission is undeniable and awesome. There is no contradiction between the two; rather, both coexist within God’s comprehensive plan to redeem the world and bring glory to His Son. And, even if we cannot fully comprehend how they work together (though I do firmly believe that Scripture gives us the reconciling answer), we can still march forward with confidence to fulfill our God-given task.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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