What’s an Evangelical?

By: American Decency Staff

 What’s an Evangelical?

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” –John Quincy Adams

 As I listen to polls and reports, I hear about the “evangelical vote.”  Hearing of the masses of “evangelicals” voting for candidates who stand for things I find to be politically, morally, and Biblically offensive leaves me scratching my head and asking, “What exactly is an evangelical Christian and what does that mean for me?”  Please note I used the word “for” me, not “to” me. “For me” refers to the actions and decisions I am duty-bound to – as opposed to re-defining the word to match my desires and comfort.  We live in a day where words are twisted to mean something they’re not. That’s currently the case with the term “evangelical,” as those who don’t conform to its meaning are nonetheless being labeled as such.

On The Briefing, February 29, 2016, Al Mohler notes, regarding evangelicals and this election, “There clearly is a divide amongst evangelical voters, not just when it comes to candidates, but when it comes down to evangelical identity and how that gets translated into political choices. There are those who are identified as evangelical because just as a matter of habit; they are not identified with any other major religious groups, so political scientists and others classify them as evangelicals and they have generally voted as or with evangelicals in terms of recent Republican presidential cycles. But no more. These evangelicals, it turns out, aren’t so evangelical after all, certainly when it comes to being defined spiritually in terms of church attendance—theologically and doctrinally, morally when it comes to major issues of evangelical concern and, furthermore, what we would suggest is the even more basic level, and that is of the evangelical worldview. Biblically-minded Christians thus need to keep in mind that what we are seeing revealed in this presidential election cycle is not just something that is shocking political scientists and party insiders, it is something that draws to our attention the fact…that when it comes to core evangelical identity and core evangelical convictions, many of those, perhaps by the millions, who have been counted as evangelicals really aren’t so evangelical after all.” To hear the whole of this discussion click here.

So again, what’s an evangelical?

A fairly concise definition was written by J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), a great proponent for and writer of holiness.  He wrote in his tract, Evangelical Religion, from the book Knots Untied, that the leading features of Evangelical Religion are:

1.  “The absolute supremacy it assigns to Holy Scripture, as the only rule of faith and practice, the only test of truth, the only judge of controversy.”

2.  “The depth and prominence it assigns to the doctrine of human sinfulness and corruption.”

3.  “The paramount importance it attaches to the work and office of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the nature of the salvation which he has wrought out for man.”

4.  “The high place which it assigns to the inward work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of man.”

5.  “The importance which it attaches to the outward and visible work of the Holy Ghost in the life of man.”

Ryle expounds each of these points, then proceeds to explain what Evangelical Religion is not, and ends with “what makes much religion not Evangelical.”  To read the whole of this well thought out tract, click here.

Using these statements as a definition of what an evangelical is, perhaps we can look at it this way.  An evangelical is a wheel whose hub is Christ; everything in the evangelical’s life revolves around Jesus.  Stemming from that hub are spokes that go out to the tire.  These spokes represent the various areas of our life:  politics, church, play, entertainment, family, work, education, finances, and everything else each person has in his life.  Finally, there’s the tire; it’s where the rubber meets the road.  It’s our everyday life where the application of our religion takes place.  For the evangelical, Christ works and flows through each spoke, manifesting Himself in every area of our life.  As the Apostle Paul says, it’s no longer I that live but it is Christ living through me.

Well, that’s the working definition of an evangelical; so what does that mean for me? What is one’s responsibility when they call themselves an evangelical?

First, it means I must answer, with much sincerity and thought, the question we ask so glibly, “What would Jesus do?” Then I must put that answer into action. 

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the definition “evangelical” and the actions of an “evangelical.”  What we label ourselves should actually mean something, shouldn’t it?  Christ, the Word of God, should be the motive for our actions.  Too often people act (or vote) from fear, anger, rebellion, disgust with losing the culture wars, or some other war.  To secure our actions by the life and will of Jesus, instead of by our own feelings, Ryle gives good counsel once again:

“Prove all by the Word of God; measure all by the measure of the Bible; compare all with the standard of the Bible; weigh all in the balances of the Bible; examine all by the light of the Bible; test all in the crucible of the Bible.”

Secondly, as an evangelical, my reaction to others should be a conscious and constant action of holiness and love.  Francis Schaeffer exhorts us to this, in his book The Great Evangelical Disaster.

“In the midst of anger, frustration, and even self-righteousness, those who came out forgot what our calling as Christians always must be.  Our calling is to exhibit the existence of God and to exhibit His character, individually and collectively.  God is holy and God is love, and our calling is simultaneously to show forth holiness and love in every aspect of life—as parent and child, as husband and wife, in business, in our Christian organizations, in the church, in government, in everything—an exhibition of the character of God showing forth His holiness and his love simultaneously.”

Our character is on the line with every word, action, choice, and vote. We must carefully consider with who and what we align ourselves.  First and foremost, we need to align ourselves with Christ; our actions say something about ourselves and our relationship with Jesus.  The love and holiness of Christ in us must transcend political parties and denominations even when we cannot agree with another or support their views.  Let’s only find disunity when those views have departed from the living Word of God, when it isn’t what Jesus would do.

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