I posted this in a previous article but I thought it needed to be expanded upon.
Let me state again, that for those who believe Reformed Theology does not promote evangelism this is simply ignorance of a proper understanding of reformed theology.
Every Reformed bible teacher is an ardent evangelist, for evangelism is the foundation of Reformed theology and always has been. Some try to slander Reformed theology by saying that Reformed Pastors do not evangelise. This is 100% false. Again, the most fervent evangelists are those who preach the Sovereignty of God.
I have heard that there exists some “the hyper-Calvinist” who have the “God has chosen them so why witness” mentality, but I’ve never met one. If there are such persons, they are not reformed, and they have no concept of reformed theology. No one who has ever studied the Scriptures or the teaching of Berkhof, Strong, Grudem, Hodge or ever attended any seminary or countless other sources believe such things.
When you hold to election according to the Sovereign choice of an Almighty God, you preach harder and clearer and more fervently than an Arminian or “middle of the roader”. These are the people who while believing you can not lose your salvation, yet still believe that it’s completely your own choice, as if God is aimlessly banging away at your heart, begging you to let Him in.
The Baptist churches, and many other churches, were built by Reformed Evangelists, who travelled the country proclaiming God’s message of salvation as faithful servants calling the sheep to the Shepherd.
I wholehearted affirm that a pastor who is not Reformed does not have a biblical grasp of the message of repentance and thus salvation, and therefore is always presenting a gospel message that is watered down and impotent. But to be fair, more often then not, they are men who don’t have a grasp of deeper truths of the faith and are immature in the knowledge of theology. I admit remembering those days in my early ministry, but years of studying the Word moves us upwards and away from such immature things.
Here is a minute list of great reformed evangelists both past and present.
- John Bunyan (1628–1688), English preacher and author of The Pilgrim’s Progress
- Alistair Begg (b. 1952), Scottish-American pastor and author, host of the Truth for Life radio program
- William Carey (1761–1834), English missionary, Carey is known as the “father of modern missions”
- D. A. Carson (b. 1946), Canadian-American theologian and New Testament scholar
- Mark Dever (b. 1960),[2] American Calvinist preacher and founder of the 9Marks biblical ministry
- Andrew Fuller (1754–1815), founder of the Baptist Missionary Society
- William Gadsby (1773–1844), an early leader of the Strict and Particular Baptist movement in England.[3]
- John Gill (1697–1771), English theologian
- Wayne Grudem (b. 1948), American theologian and author
- Adoniram Judson (1788–1850), first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma
- Albert Mohler (b. 1959), American theologian and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Arthur Pink (1886–1952), English evangelist and Biblical scholar
- John Piper (b. 1946) American preacher and author
- David Platt (b. 1979), American pastor and former President of the International Mission Board
- Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), British preacher, author and philanthropist
- James White (b. 1962), American elder, author and apologist
- Matt Chandler (b. 1974), American pastor and President of the Acts 29 Network[7]
- Peter Masters, British author and Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London, UK
- Johnathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) An American revivalist preacher, philosopher, theologian. Edwards is widely regarded as one of America’s most important theologians.
- George Whitefield (1714 –1770) English Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.