Should Christians evangelize, given the doctrine of predestination?

By John Lee

Yes, Christians Should Evangelize

Christians should evangelize because it is Jesus’ command. He told his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-19)

In the Bible, we see many examples of Jesus’ followers evangelizing, such as Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:16-18 and 1 Thessalonians 2:4-16.

In 1 Corinthians 9:16-18, Paul sees evangelism as a necessity, with no ground for boasting; and he feels good to be able to offer the gospel free of charge whether he preaches voluntarily or out of a sense of obligation.

In 1 Thess 2:4-16, Paul avers that God entrusts us to preach the gospel to others, and that we should do this with holy, righteous, and blameless lives. We should encourage, comfort, and urge others to live lives worthy of God.

Christians are followers of Jesus Christ, who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. They have faith in His teachings and His promises, and they strive to obey His commands. They also trust what the Bible as the inspired Word of God tells them.

Does Predestination Make Evangelism Unnecessary?

Predestination is a complex doctrine that can be difficult to understand. This space is not for discussing the various theological views on predestination. Whatever your theological position, I would say, for the reasons below, that predestination does not make evangelism unnecessary.

The Bible teaches that God has chosen certain people to be saved. This is known as predestination. However, the Bible also teaches that we are commanded to evangelize. This means that we are to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

So, how can we reconcile predestination with evangelism?

God often accomplishes His plans and purposes through our actions, even when we don’t realize it.

For example, in the Old Testament, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. But God used this evil act to bring about His good plan. Joseph eventually became the second most powerful man in Egypt, and he was able to save his family from starvation.

The story of Jonah is another example. Jonah was a prophet who was called by God to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to the people there. But Jonah didn’t want to do this, so he ran away. But God pursued him and brought him back on track.

Jonah eventually went to Nineveh and preached to the people. The people repented of their sins, and God forgave them. Jonah was angry that God forgave the Ninevites, because he wanted them to be punished.

But God told Jonah that He is a merciful God, and that He wants everyone to repent and be forgiven. God also told Jonah that He is in control of everything, and that He can use even the unwilling to accomplish His purposes.

The Jonah story is a reminder that God can use us to evangelise in wide-ranging ways (preaching, teaching, knocking on doors, distributing tracts, by lifestyle evangelism, etc.) even when we don’t feel like it.

Predestination is a mystery. We don’t fully understand how it works or how it can be reconciled with human free will. We can think a lot about the varied theological explanations until the cows come home.  But the Bible tells us to trust in God and obey His commands, even when we don’t understand everything. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

One of God’s commands is to evangelize, to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. We know that God wants everyone to hear the good news, and He has commanded us to share it.

Trust & Obey

Still not sure whether Christians should evangelise, given the doctrine of predestination?

Let’s trust and obey, and let God take care of the rest.

Our job is to follow God’s commands, even when we don’t understand everything – including how the divine factor (predestination) and human factor (evangelism) work together in salvation.

And we can trust that God will use our work under His grace to accomplish His good plans.