The word evangelical was first
popularized during the 16th century reformation period.
Since that time it has morphed without control, so that few in the
modern era know its true meaning and its true purpose. It has become
a blanket that covers the entire “Christian” world regardless of
belief or conviction. There was a time when the moniker,
evangelical, was of those that stood on the very principals of
Christianity and the Gospel itself, but has now been watered down to
a mere fraction of the potency it once was.
As Martin Luther blew the reformation
wide open in the in the early 1500's, with which started as a
smaller argument, the church in Rome could do little to extinguish
the fanned flames. Luther's early conviction to defy the church on
its teachings of indulgences, soon formed into a schism on the very
core of salvation itself. The many differences that separated Luther
and his followers from the church can easily be reduced to but one
material and formal cause. The latter is that of authority.
The first is that of justification.
Justification was the primary or material difference between the two
groups while the authority of the church and Pope were the backdrop
in front of which it all played. I can dig into each parties' views
on each at a latter time.
Luther
and those to follow that were of the same mind stood firmly on the
two following principals. Sola fide and sola Scriptura were the
words that could be heard ringing from every reformers' lips, and
embraced to the very core of their being. Sola fide is simply that a
man can be justified by faith alone, and sola Scriptura is that only
the sacred Scriptures can be relied upon as infallible and
authoritative. This stood in sharp contrast to the church of Romes'
faith+works and grace+merit = justification teachings. And also the
view of the church and Popes infallibility and authority over
scripture.
Those
that held true to sola fide and sola Scriptura as the very foundation
of the Gospel became known as Protestants or Evangelicals. The root
of evangelical is evangel, which means “Gospel”. To be
evangelical in its classic sense is to hold fast to sola fide and
sola Scriptura as the primary doctirines of the Gospel of Christ. If
one says they believe the Gospel and does not hold true to sola fide,
“thru faith alone” and sola Scriptura, “authority of scripture
alone”, they cannot be counted as evangelical in its true sense.
It
is now the 21st
century with hundreds of “Christian” denominations and
sub-denominations are en-grafting themselves to the evangelical name.
The new evangelical has no belief requirement other than to simply
state they are Christian. Both the term Christian and evangelical
have been so infused with false teaching and dilution, that it is
almost an embarrassment for those that hold true to the old faith
principals to be included. I believe this is what happens when the
church great or small does not study and remember its history and
looks down on theology only for theologians. The knowledge God has
for us is not just a morning graze on Scripture or a 5 minute
devotional booklet, there are great jewels and treasures for us. If
we would only take the time to mine them.
