If God Is Sovereign, Why Bother to Share Your Faith?

God did not teach us the reality of His rule in order to give us an excuse for neglecting His orders. — J.I. Packer

The sovereignty of God in the matter of salvation is controversial to many, but the Scriptures are clear that the identity of those who will be saved is ultimately God’s choice. This is offensive to many because, they say, “it is not fair.” The Bible refers to those who are chosen by God as His “elect:” His sovereignty in election is seen throughout Scripture. Of all who were alive in the ancient world at the time, God chose Abram, through whom He would establish a nation to worship and glorify Him. From all the nations of the earth, God chose Israel to be His people. Here is the rationale:

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. (Deut. 7:7–9)

Notice the emphasis that the ground of God’s choice was nothing about the people in particular but rather all about His sovereign love exercised in His plan and purpose.

When we look in the New Testament, we have the same language applied to those who have come to faith in Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:3–6, emphasis added)

The origin of our salvation, and every blessing that comes with it, is in God’s choice. This choice could not have ultimately been ours because it was “before the foundation of the world.” In case we have any doubt about what he intends by this language, Paul adds, “In love he predestined us for adoption” and that this is “according to the purpose of his will.” Our salvation finds its origin in God. R.C. Sproul observes: “The redemption of His people, the salvation of His church, my eternal salvation, these actions are not a postscript to the Divine activity. Instead, from the very foundation of the world, God had a sovereign plan to save a significant portion of the human race, and He moves heaven and earth to bring it to pass.”¹

Specifically, bringing all these blessings to pass required the mission of Jesus to come into the world and pay the penalty for the sins of the elect. This is why we are reminded that these blessings are “in Christ,” that God chose us “in him,” that we are predestined to adoption “through Jesus Christ,” and that all are “in the Beloved.”

Paul doesn’t end there. He reemphasizes God’s sovereign grace in our salvation by adding, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:11–12). Again, the emphasis is on His purpose and His will.

Similarly, John focuses on this in the prologue to his gospel. After observing that many did not welcome Jesus, he adds, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13 ). John notes that there are those who do “receive” and “believe,” but that the ultimate determining factor is not their will but God’s. Here we see that balance between human responsibility and God’s sovereignty, but there is no doubt that the preeminent component is the will of God.

In His remarkable nighttime conversation with the inquiring Nicodemus, Jesus declares, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Interestingly, the very familiar language of being “born again” is the translation of the Greek words “born from above.”² Leon Morris describes the contrast between human birth and the new life in Christ: “The new birth is always sheer miracle. All human initiative is ruled out. Men are born ‘of God’: They can be born in no other way.”³ Similarly, you can hear the divine initiative in these words of Jesus: “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (John 6:37); “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). As both contexts reveal, this does not dismiss the human response of faith but rather focuses on the divine origin of salvation.

Paul reminds his readers that faith itself is a gift from God. Returning to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells his readers: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). Even the faith that saves is “the gift of God.” This is what grace is all about. Our salvation from start to finish is God’s gift to sinners. The Puritan Samuel Bolton writes:

This leaves no room for human boasting. If there was anything of man’s bringing, which was not of God’s bestowing, though it were never so small, it would overturn the nature of grace, and make that of works which is of grace.⁴

If there were one iota of human merit or effort in our salvation, there would always be “room for boasting.” But salvation is not merely a change of attitude or a change in the way we think; it is a total transformation, beginning with the heart.

When it comes to the decision to believe, the Scriptures teach that, yes, humans choose, but the divine choice comes first. People choose, but God chooses first. In the words of Jesus, “You did not choose me,* but I chose you* and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (John 15:16, emphasis added).

After clearly articulating the doctrine of election in Romans, Paul anticipates objections to the preeminence of God’s choice:

You will say to me then, ‘Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?’ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? (Rom. 9:19–21).

He writes, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills” (Rom. 9:18). Do you hear what Paul is saying with regard to the matter of salvation? “God is God and I’m not.”

So What’s the Problem?

The argument goes that if God has ordained the number of those who will be saved, then why bother to share the gospel? The extreme expression of this view would go so far as to say that we shouldn’t even bother to send missionaries to the “lost:’ If they are elect, God will save them without your help, thank you very much. There is no need for missionaries, preachers, or evangelists, according to this viewpoint. This is an unfortunate and inaccurate mischaracterization.

We must reiterate the biblical emphasis on human responsibility. Whenever one speaks of the sovereignty of God, as we have seen several times, it is important to be reminded of the Bible’s emphasis on human responsibility. Being a sovereigntist is not to embrace a “let go and let God” attitude toward life but rather to live one’s life in faith and obedience. Though Paul was completely secure in Christ and convinced of God’s promise to bring him to his heavenly home, he was also convinced of his own responsibility to follow in faith. After assuring the Philippians of their security in Christ, he goes on to remind them to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12–13). He is saying that our salvation is a wonderful gift that is to be put to good use. We are called to yield to the Lord and walk in His ways through the power He provides. Paul describes his own attitude with the words of the runner moving toward the finish line: “press on,” “straining forward,” and “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12–14). The Bible teaches God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. J.I. Packer relates Charles Spurgeon’s words on the topic:

C.H. Spurgeon was once asked if he could reconcile these two truths to each other. “I wouldn’t try,” he replied; “I never reconcile friends.” Friends?—yes, friends. This is the point we have to grasp. In the Bible, divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not enemies. They are not uneasy neighbors; they are not in an endless state of cold war with each other. They are friends, and they work together.⁵

Therefore, the answer to the question “Why bother to share your faith?” is the same as it was for the question “Why bother to pray?” God has ordained not only the end but the means to that end. He has ordained not only who will be saved but how they will be saved. If the end or goal is the salvation of the elect, the means ordained to bring them to that end is the preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, died for sin, and rose from the dead.

Paul describes it this way:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Rom. 10:13–15).

This is the divine dynamic that the Lord has designed to occur in the salvation of the elect. He has entrusted the precious gospel of salvation to fallen yet redeemed people. This is truly an amazing privilege and responsibility for Christians. As we will see next, the sovereignty of God in salvation should motivate us to embrace this task.

Since God Is Sovereign, Share Your Faith Fervently

Since we know that there will be those who will respond to the gospel, we should be the most zealous in proclaiming the good news. I think you would agree that Paul was a sovereigntist, one who believed in the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. Believing these truths didn’t cause him to shrink from gospel preaching because God would save His elect. No, the man who most clearly articulated this truth was arguably the most passionate and effective missionary in the history of the church. Why? Because he knew that God’s elect were out there and would respond to the good news. He is known to us through the narrative of his gospel exploits throughout the Mediterranean world.

Luke, the chronicler of Paul’s ministry in the book of Acts, gives an important note after the remarkable response of the whole city of Pisidian Antioch to the gospel. He tells us that “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). The analysis of their success did not focus on their human effort. Luke doesn’t write, “Paul was really on fire today!” Their proclamation of the gospel was made effective when joined with the transforming power of the Spirit in the hearts of the elect, who were among the listeners.

The greatest evangelists in history were sovereigntists who believed that the Lord would use their proclamation of the gospel to bring people to faith in Jesus. This includes John Calvin, who was one of the most prolific church planters in history. John Starke reinforces this point:

By 1555, Calvin and his Geneva supporters had planted five churches in France. Four years later, they had planted 100 churches in France. By 1562, Calvin’s Geneva, with the help of some of their sister cities, had planted more than 2,000 churches in France. Calvin was the leading church planter in Europe. He led the way in every part of the process: he trained, assessed, sent, counseled, corresponded with, and prayed for the missionaries and church planters he sent.⁶

Calvin himself contradicted the caricatures that suggest that those who believe in election should merely sit on the sidelines and let God save whom He will save. No, he knew that God would use the faithful scattering of the seed of the gospel to bring about a great harvest.