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We are admonished to make ourselves a living testimony of our faith and tell all that any who call upon the Lord will be saved.
God uses these actions as but one of the means by which His ends are accomplished, for He ordained the very means for His ends. We do not know who the unregenerate elect are, so we promiscuously share the Good News to all persons of every stripe. It is God who does the saving, not ourselves. God grants faith using the means of our obedience, the foolishness of preaching, what He has commanded.
A caution is needed here, however. It is one thing to proclaim that any who call upon the Lord will be saved and not turned away. It is indeed quite another thing, and grievous error, to begin that proclamation of the Good News with "God loves YOU!" While there is sense of God's love for all mankind, in that He restrains evil, pours out the rain upon the evil and the good. Yet that love is not a saving love, a love before time wherein God has set His preference upon another, that is reserved only for those that call upon the Lord, His chosen children.
Some of the most dedicated and admired evangelists since the time of the Reformation were Calvinists (Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, etc.). And they were consistent with their doctrine. They realized that God not only ordains whomsoever will be saved; He ordains the means by which they will be saved -- namely, the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit moves the believer to spread the gospel, for that is his commission and one of the chief ends for which he was saved.
Then Arminians embrace a contradiction. And no matter how they dress it up with pithy sayings or sanctimonious platitudes, in the end it's still a contradiction. Thank goodness that logical consistency and sound reasoning aren't requisites to salvation in Christ.
Yes, the gospel is to be preached to all men and women. Moreover, it should be delivered persuasively and with conviction (Acts 18:28; 2 Cor 5:11). We do not know who the elect are, whose eyes the Spirit will open and whose stone heart God will replace. That is a secret not revealed to us (Deuteronomy 29:29).
As in the parable of the seed and the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), the evangelist is not to be a "soil sampler". Instead, he scatters the seed on all ground, preaching the good news of God's Kingdom to all men. Yet it is only the good soil that may receive the word in such a way that it takes root (c.f., Ezekiel 26:24-17 and John 3:1-12). The soil is not good in and of itself (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18). God makes it good (Matthew 12:33). And His word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent (Isaiah 55:11).
Anti-Calvinists can bash Calvinism and try to set it against evangelism, but history will sharply rebuke them. Calvinism has been and continues to be a strong motivation for preaching to the lost. I mentioned Edwards, Whitefield, and Spurgeon because they are well known (if in name only) to most Arminians. But the evangelistic zeal of Calvinism did not live and die with them. There is also William Burns, who led spiritual revival in China. Rowland Hill, who preached in England prior to Spurgeon. Robert Murray M'Cheyne of Scotland. David Brainerd, William Carey, John Flavel, Benjamin Keach, John Rippon, Christmas Evans, John Clifford, Archibald Brown, J. B. Moody, H. B. Taylor, I. M. Haldeman, Jeremiah Burroughs, George S. Bishop, T. T. Eaton, and Martin Lloyd-Jones. Latimer, Knox, Wishart, Perkins, Rutherford, Bunyan, Owen, Charnock, Goodwin, Watson, Henry, Watts and Newton.
• John Calvin: Calvin sent missionaries from Geneva into France and as far away as Brazil. Most of these young men sent to France died a martyr's death, but the church of Geneva continued to send them.
• John Eliot: A missionary sent to the American Indians in the 1600's. He is believed to be the first missionary among this people group. As many have said, if William Carey is the father of the modern mission's movement, then John Eliot is its grandfather.
• David Brainerd: A missionary to the American Indians in the 1700's. Many historians believe that he has sent more individuals into the mission field than any other person in the history of the church via his diary, An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend David Brainerd.
• Theodorus Frelinghuysen: The great evangelist and preacher, who set the stage for the First Great Awakening in the middle colonies.
• Jonathan Edwards: The great theologian, writer, and preacher of the First Great Awakening. He was also a missionary to the Indians.
• George Whitfield: The great voice and preacher of the First Great Awakening. He journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean thirteen times and scholars believe he preached over 18,000 sermons.
• William Tennent: He founded the Log College, which later became Princeton University. This college trained pastors and provided many of the revivalist preachers of the First Great Awakening.
• Samuel Davies: The famous President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), preacher of the First Great Awakening, and evangelist to the slaves of Virginia. It is believed that hundreds of slaves came to saving faith through his evangelism efforts.
• William Carey: He is the famous missionary to India and is considered the father of the modern mission's movement.
• Robert Moffat: The first missionary to reach the interior of Africa with the Gospel. He translated the entire Bible and Pilgrim's Progess into Setswana.
• David Livingstone: Arguably, the most famous missionary to the continent of Africa.
• Robert Morrison: The first Protestant missionary to China and the first to translate the Bible into Chinese.
• Peter Parker: An American physician and missionary to China who first introduced Western medical techniques to the Chinese. He also served as the president of the Medical Missionary Society of China.
• Adoniram Judson: The famous missionary to Burma, translated the Bible into Burmese, and established multiple Baptist Churches in Burma. His mission work led many to enter the mission field and was foundational for forming the first Baptist association in America.
• Charles Simeon: The vicar of Holy Trinity Church and the founding figure of the Church Missionary Society. This organization was instrumental in leading many students to the mission field. The Society itself has sent more than 9,000 missionaries into the world.
• Henry Martyn: The renowned missionary to India and Persia. He preached in the face of opposition and translated the New Testament into a number of languages.
• Samuel Zwemer: He is affectionately known as "The Apostle to Islam." His legacy includes efforts in Bahrain, Arabia, Egypt, and Asia Minor. His writing was used by the Lord to encourage and mobilize an entire generation of missionaries to labor in Islamic countries.
• John Stott: Scholar, preacher, pastor, and evangelist of the twentieth century. He was one of the principle authors and the influential leader in establishing the Lausanne Covenant, which promoted world-wide evangelism.
• Francis Schaeffer: Pastor and found of L'Abri, which has been used by the Lord to draw many to saving faith as they intellectually wrestled with the tenants of Christianity.
• D. James Kennedy: The founder of Evangelism Explosion, which many believe is the most widely used evangelistic training curriculum in church history.
• John Piper: Pastor, writer, and theologian, who has been used by the Lord to define missions and send many young people into the mission field.
The list goes on and on an on, completely shattering the anti-Calvinist's misguided notions about Calvinism and evangelism. The truth is that wherever Calvinism is embraced wholeheartedly, the gospel of Jesus Christ thunders forth with Spirit and conviction. Only in Arminian caricatures, wrought from warped and vain imaginations, do we find Calvinists ignoring the Great Commission.
AMR
God uses these actions as but one of the means by which His ends are accomplished, for He ordained the very means for His ends. We do not know who the unregenerate elect are, so we promiscuously share the Good News to all persons of every stripe. It is God who does the saving, not ourselves. God grants faith using the means of our obedience, the foolishness of preaching, what He has commanded.
A caution is needed here, however. It is one thing to proclaim that any who call upon the Lord will be saved and not turned away. It is indeed quite another thing, and grievous error, to begin that proclamation of the Good News with "God loves YOU!" While there is sense of God's love for all mankind, in that He restrains evil, pours out the rain upon the evil and the good. Yet that love is not a saving love, a love before time wherein God has set His preference upon another, that is reserved only for those that call upon the Lord, His chosen children.
Some of the most dedicated and admired evangelists since the time of the Reformation were Calvinists (Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, etc.). And they were consistent with their doctrine. They realized that God not only ordains whomsoever will be saved; He ordains the means by which they will be saved -- namely, the preaching of the gospel. The Spirit moves the believer to spread the gospel, for that is his commission and one of the chief ends for which he was saved.
Then Arminians embrace a contradiction. And no matter how they dress it up with pithy sayings or sanctimonious platitudes, in the end it's still a contradiction. Thank goodness that logical consistency and sound reasoning aren't requisites to salvation in Christ.
Yes, the gospel is to be preached to all men and women. Moreover, it should be delivered persuasively and with conviction (Acts 18:28; 2 Cor 5:11). We do not know who the elect are, whose eyes the Spirit will open and whose stone heart God will replace. That is a secret not revealed to us (Deuteronomy 29:29).
As in the parable of the seed and the sower (Matthew 13:1-9), the evangelist is not to be a "soil sampler". Instead, he scatters the seed on all ground, preaching the good news of God's Kingdom to all men. Yet it is only the good soil that may receive the word in such a way that it takes root (c.f., Ezekiel 26:24-17 and John 3:1-12). The soil is not good in and of itself (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18). God makes it good (Matthew 12:33). And His word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent (Isaiah 55:11).
Anti-Calvinists can bash Calvinism and try to set it against evangelism, but history will sharply rebuke them. Calvinism has been and continues to be a strong motivation for preaching to the lost. I mentioned Edwards, Whitefield, and Spurgeon because they are well known (if in name only) to most Arminians. But the evangelistic zeal of Calvinism did not live and die with them. There is also William Burns, who led spiritual revival in China. Rowland Hill, who preached in England prior to Spurgeon. Robert Murray M'Cheyne of Scotland. David Brainerd, William Carey, John Flavel, Benjamin Keach, John Rippon, Christmas Evans, John Clifford, Archibald Brown, J. B. Moody, H. B. Taylor, I. M. Haldeman, Jeremiah Burroughs, George S. Bishop, T. T. Eaton, and Martin Lloyd-Jones. Latimer, Knox, Wishart, Perkins, Rutherford, Bunyan, Owen, Charnock, Goodwin, Watson, Henry, Watts and Newton.
• John Calvin: Calvin sent missionaries from Geneva into France and as far away as Brazil. Most of these young men sent to France died a martyr's death, but the church of Geneva continued to send them.
• John Eliot: A missionary sent to the American Indians in the 1600's. He is believed to be the first missionary among this people group. As many have said, if William Carey is the father of the modern mission's movement, then John Eliot is its grandfather.
• David Brainerd: A missionary to the American Indians in the 1700's. Many historians believe that he has sent more individuals into the mission field than any other person in the history of the church via his diary, An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend David Brainerd.
• Theodorus Frelinghuysen: The great evangelist and preacher, who set the stage for the First Great Awakening in the middle colonies.
• Jonathan Edwards: The great theologian, writer, and preacher of the First Great Awakening. He was also a missionary to the Indians.
• George Whitfield: The great voice and preacher of the First Great Awakening. He journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean thirteen times and scholars believe he preached over 18,000 sermons.
• William Tennent: He founded the Log College, which later became Princeton University. This college trained pastors and provided many of the revivalist preachers of the First Great Awakening.
• Samuel Davies: The famous President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton University), preacher of the First Great Awakening, and evangelist to the slaves of Virginia. It is believed that hundreds of slaves came to saving faith through his evangelism efforts.
• William Carey: He is the famous missionary to India and is considered the father of the modern mission's movement.
• Robert Moffat: The first missionary to reach the interior of Africa with the Gospel. He translated the entire Bible and Pilgrim's Progess into Setswana.
• David Livingstone: Arguably, the most famous missionary to the continent of Africa.
• Robert Morrison: The first Protestant missionary to China and the first to translate the Bible into Chinese.
• Peter Parker: An American physician and missionary to China who first introduced Western medical techniques to the Chinese. He also served as the president of the Medical Missionary Society of China.
• Adoniram Judson: The famous missionary to Burma, translated the Bible into Burmese, and established multiple Baptist Churches in Burma. His mission work led many to enter the mission field and was foundational for forming the first Baptist association in America.
• Charles Simeon: The vicar of Holy Trinity Church and the founding figure of the Church Missionary Society. This organization was instrumental in leading many students to the mission field. The Society itself has sent more than 9,000 missionaries into the world.
• Henry Martyn: The renowned missionary to India and Persia. He preached in the face of opposition and translated the New Testament into a number of languages.
• Samuel Zwemer: He is affectionately known as "The Apostle to Islam." His legacy includes efforts in Bahrain, Arabia, Egypt, and Asia Minor. His writing was used by the Lord to encourage and mobilize an entire generation of missionaries to labor in Islamic countries.
• John Stott: Scholar, preacher, pastor, and evangelist of the twentieth century. He was one of the principle authors and the influential leader in establishing the Lausanne Covenant, which promoted world-wide evangelism.
• Francis Schaeffer: Pastor and found of L'Abri, which has been used by the Lord to draw many to saving faith as they intellectually wrestled with the tenants of Christianity.
• D. James Kennedy: The founder of Evangelism Explosion, which many believe is the most widely used evangelistic training curriculum in church history.
• John Piper: Pastor, writer, and theologian, who has been used by the Lord to define missions and send many young people into the mission field.
The list goes on and on an on, completely shattering the anti-Calvinist's misguided notions about Calvinism and evangelism. The truth is that wherever Calvinism is embraced wholeheartedly, the gospel of Jesus Christ thunders forth with Spirit and conviction. Only in Arminian caricatures, wrought from warped and vain imaginations, do we find Calvinists ignoring the Great Commission.
AMR