What Is An Evangelical Christian?

What is an evangelical Christian? Why are some called evangelicals? What is the meaning of this word?

Evangelical

What comes to mind when you hear the word “evangelic” or “evangelical?” Something that is evangelic pertains to the gospel of Jesus Christ but who are evangelicals and specifically, evangelical Christians? Are they different from other Christians or is every Christian an evangelical? Is it a denomination? Typically, Catholics are not referred to as evangelical Christians and only Protestants are but I think this is wrong since the Catholic Church also holds to the same beliefs about Christ and the cross. Catholics and Protestants, in the strictest sense, are evangelicals. The word itself comes from the Greek word that means “good news.” Anyone who is called an evangelical Christian is someone who promotes or shares the gospel of Jesus Christ and by their sharing their faith, they are “evangelizing” so an evangelical Christian is a Catholic or a Protestant and one who professes Christ to others.

Evangelizing

Jesus came to bring us the best of news; that we could be saved from the wrath of God by believing in Him (John 3:36) and He expects us to share this message of hope with those who have no hope. In the so-called Great Commission, Jesus said “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20). We are not only to proclaim the gospel to the lost; we are to make disciples of all who we encounter. We may not all be able to go to the ends of the earth but at least we can go to the end of our block. Before Jesus ascended back up to heaven He told His disciples “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This actually came true for the disciples of Jesus. Their testimony did go out to the ends of the earth in the form of the written Word, the Bible. They did make disciples of all nations by their gospels or epistles (letters) in the New Testament.

Mainstream Christianity

All Christians are evangelical and of course this includes all Protestants and Catholic’s as we are all under the command to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to be His witnesses (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). To evangelize is to be proclaiming the gospel or tell others the good news that Jesus Christ brought about repentance and belief (Mark 1:15). The good news is that Christ died for sinners to reconcile us back to God because our sins had cut us off from a relationship with a holy God (Isaiah 59:2). Because of this, there is no more condemnation for the sinner (Rom 8:1) “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). Why wouldn’t we feel compelled to share this best of news with others? Why keep this precious pearl of great price to ourselves? By not sharing our faith we are living in disobedience to Christ’s command. This is tragic because we fail to unleash the power that if found in the gospel as Paul wrote “the gospel…is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). God promises us that His “word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

What Evangelicals Believe

I once read the results of a Bible survey given out to Americans at random. Only one in three knew what an evangelical Christian was. Just under half could give an answer that showed that evangelical tied into Christianity but few understood that it meant we are to evangelize and in fact, many knew so little about the Bible that some thought that the epistles were the wives of the Apostles. An evangelical is someone who believes that the Bible is the inspired Word of God; that the Bible is authoritative; that we are commanded to seek and save those who are lost; that we reveal to the world that we are new creations in Christ; and that means you are to explain your beliefs to others with the view that they might want to adopt your beliefs and be saved. The “good news” includes the sinless-ness of Christ, His virgin birth, His perfect substitutionary sacrifice to atone for our sins, that He was raised from the dead on the third day, and that His Word, the Bible, is without error.

Conclusion

Are you an evangelical? Do you evangelize the lost? Do you share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you dogmatically believe in God’s Word? Do you believe that every word is inspired by God? If so, you are an evangelical, whether you know it or not. Now, go out there and evangelize.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.