Picturing God Book

I think that every professing Christian should read this book, or (at the very least) those who go on mission trips/evangelistic outings. J.I. Packer delivers a comprehensive, but still brief, explanation of the seemingly incompatible relationship between human responsibility in evangelism and God's sovereignty in salvation. There are many Christians who say that believers who emphasize the sovereignty of grace and unconditional election do so to the neglect of human responsibility and divine accountability. (I used to be one of them!) Packer explains how this can be attributed to an incomplete understanding of these two biblical doctrines; they are actually "friends" and work alongside one another. Truly, God is our only hope for the salvation of our friends and family; there is no other way for a dead heart to be made alive or for blind eyes to receive sight but through the power of God's grace! Yet we are still responsible as bearers of this good news! We must allow these doctrines to exist as they do in Scripture; side by side! Chapter 3 is one of the best essays on evangelism that I've ever read, and Chapter 1 is an undeniably effective argument for God's sovereignty. Packer is thorough yet easy to understand in his points and takes care to avoid misinterpreted extremes in his theology. In reading this book, I feel like I have found a biblically sound explanation of these topics…and I think the Holy Spirit agrees! Thanks to my girlfriend for suggesting this one!