A couple of months ago someone asked me ‘what do you mean by evangelical Christian?’ I am not sure that I gave a very good response. I have given some thought to the question since.
Evangelical Christians are found in many denominations and some denominations owe their origins to evangelical revival (e.g. the Methodist Church). It is not unusual for an evangelical to feel that they have more in common with evangelicals in other denominations than they have with non-evangelicals in their own. While evangelicals disagree on some theological issues (e.g. modes of baptism) they agree on what they believe are the essentials of Christian faith (as outlined in such documents as the Evangelical Alliance statement of faith).
The historian David Bebbington says that evangelicals share four characteristics (using the words conversionism, activism, biblicalism, and crucicentrism). Here is my spin on these four words.
1. Conversionism (the need for personal faith). The Bible says that without faith in Jesus people are spiritually dead, in slavery to sin, and under God’s condemnation. The Bible also holds out God’s offer of forgiveness and acceptance to those who put their trust in Jesus.
2. Activism: Evangelicals believe that the Christian life is an active life. Indeed a transformed life provides the evidence that we have been made alive in Christ. That life involves sharing the good news about Jesus with others (some in their eagerness and lack of tact have been accused of ‘Bible-bashing’) and demonstrating compassion (Wilberforce and Dr. Barnardo were notable evangelicals).
3. Biblicalism (the Bible as the ultimate authority). In the preface to his collected sermons the John Wesley declared, ‘Let me be homo unius libri [a man of one book].’ The reformer Martin Luther criticised someone saying ‘you stand above God’s word and judge it; I stand under it and let it judge me.’ Evangelicals seek to believe and live in line with the Bible’s recorded revelation.
4. Crucicentrism (the cross is central to the gospel): John Stott writes, ‘If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.’ Among the things that Jesus did on the cross evangelicals believe that he experienced God’s anger for our rebellion (as affirmed in the doctrine of penal substitution). The cross should be central to our thinking, living, preaching, and singing.
Evangelical Christians are found in many denominations and some denominations owe their origins to evangelical revival (e.g. the Methodist Church). It is not unusual for an evangelical to feel that they have more in common with evangelicals in other denominations than they have with non-evangelicals in their own. While evangelicals disagree on some theological issues (e.g. modes of baptism) they agree on what they believe are the essentials of Christian faith (as outlined in such documents as the Evangelical Alliance statement of faith).
The historian David Bebbington says that evangelicals share four characteristics (using the words conversionism, activism, biblicalism, and crucicentrism). Here is my spin on these four words.
1. Conversionism (the need for personal faith). The Bible says that without faith in Jesus people are spiritually dead, in slavery to sin, and under God’s condemnation. The Bible also holds out God’s offer of forgiveness and acceptance to those who put their trust in Jesus.
2. Activism: Evangelicals believe that the Christian life is an active life. Indeed a transformed life provides the evidence that we have been made alive in Christ. That life involves sharing the good news about Jesus with others (some in their eagerness and lack of tact have been accused of ‘Bible-bashing’) and demonstrating compassion (Wilberforce and Dr. Barnardo were notable evangelicals).
3. Biblicalism (the Bible as the ultimate authority). In the preface to his collected sermons the John Wesley declared, ‘Let me be homo unius libri [a man of one book].’ The reformer Martin Luther criticised someone saying ‘you stand above God’s word and judge it; I stand under it and let it judge me.’ Evangelicals seek to believe and live in line with the Bible’s recorded revelation.
4. Crucicentrism (the cross is central to the gospel): John Stott writes, ‘If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.’ Among the things that Jesus did on the cross evangelicals believe that he experienced God’s anger for our rebellion (as affirmed in the doctrine of penal substitution). The cross should be central to our thinking, living, preaching, and singing.
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