People have different reactions when one claims to be an Evangelical. For some, they react with emotionalism based upon what they see on religious TV. For others, they allege evangelicals advocate a form of self-righteousness. Then there are the memories many of us who were raised evangelical: strong, caring family environments; a sense of belonging, with friends who like to talk about the “things of the Lord.” Regardless of our background, it’s important to understand the meaning of the term “evangelical.”Martin Luther employed the word evangelical to denote a specific doctrinal tradition. He used it to define those Christians who stressed justification “by faith alone.” He also emphasized the Bible as the final authority in contrast to the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical system, which allowed a place for tradition and good works along with faith. In essence, the word arose around truths that are summarized in three ‘solas.’
The first of these was Sola Scriptura – ‘By Scripture alone.’ This entailed the conviction that God’s objective truth was supremely revealed through his Word in the Old and New Testaments, and that the Bible must always take precedence over reason, tradition, ecclesiastical authority and individual experience.
The second was Sola Gratia – ‘By grace alone.’ This was the conviction that God takes the initiative in salvation and the outworking of his plan for the world. It held that we know the truth first and foremost not because we deduce it rationally from observation of nature, but because the God of truth has revealed it to us.
The third was Sola Fide – ‘By faith alone.’ This emphasized that although God takes the initiative in salvation, he nevertheless elicits our response and ‘includes’ us intellectually, emotionally and physically in the outworking of his purposes.
Our definition of Evangelical reflects these three ‘solas’. We define Evangelical as,
Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the sole source of salvation through faith in him, have personal faith and conversion with regeneration by the Holy Spirit, recognize the inspired word of God as the only basis for faith and Christian living, and are committed to Biblical preaching and evangelism that brings others to faith in Jesus Christ.Against this definition, the following pillars support this definition:
- Christ-Centered – We believe that God’s eternal Word became human in the historical man Jesus of Nazareth, who definitively reveals God to humanity with salvation only comes through Jesus.
- Conversion – We believe that salvation comes through personal faith and repentance – that is, a discernible reorientation of the sinner’s mind and heart toward God.
- Biblicism – We believe that through the Scripture, God reveals universal and eternal truth to humankind so that all can grasp it.
- Commission – We believe that we should actively propagate the Gospel truth through preaching and evangelism.
