Date
7-2020
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
Rodney Earls
Keywords
Religion, Christianity, Evangelism, Sovereignty, God, Jesus
Disciplines
Christianity | Religion
Recommended Citation
Verser, Christopher Lee, "Deep Doctrine and Passionate Proclamation: How Understanding the Relationship Between God's Sovereignty and Evangelism Increases Evangelistic Zeal" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2594.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2594
Abstract
The gospel must be accurately communicated to a lost man for that individual to have the opportunity to be saved. It is the responsibility of Christians to be ambassadors of Christ and proclaim this gospel to all men. All Christians can grow in their zeal for evangelism. Many Christians have very little zeal for evangelism due to several reasons. This lack of evangelistic zeal can be increased by a robust understanding of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and the relationship between God’s sovereignty and evangelism. In the Scripture, Christians are taught that doctrine directly affects behavior and action. The more a Christian understands and applies (by the strength of Holy Spirit) God’s truth to their life, the greater zeal they will have. The doctrine of the sovereignty of God is one that has been misunderstood and neglected for many Christians. This is especially true regarding the relationship between God’s sovereignty and evangelism. Understanding how these two doctrines interlace will result in greater zeal for evangelism in the Christian’s life and local churches. This study provided an opportunity for Christians to take a survey to determine their level of evangelistic zeal, then participate in five Bible studies on the doctrines of God’s sovereignty and evangelism. Finally, the participants took the same survey after these Bible studies to determine whether the teaching altered their evangelistic zeal in the five-week period.
