Defining the "evangelical Christian church" 1
The term "evangelical" conjures up different images for different people. Sometimes these images are positive, sometimes negative, but rarely are they related to evangelism. The term, is often hijacked to refer to a specific sub-group of Christianity.
It is evangelism that is at the heart of the Christianity - spreading the good news of the risen Lord Jesus. It's a beautiful word!
And so, at Reclaiming "Evangelical", the evangelical Christian church is defined by its three words
- Evangelical 1.1- Dedicated to taking the message of the gospel throughout the entire world
- Christian 1.2 - Believing in the reality of the risen Lord, Jesus Christ
- Church 1.3 - The group or body of believers bound together in their love of Christ
Lines in the sand 2
The evangelical Christian church is not a visible organization. A person is part of the evangelical Christian church if he or she knows and loves God intimately through Jesus Christ, and is obedient to Jesus' call to lovingly spread this good news. As such, it isn't bounded by denomination or a list of doctrines. Only God knows who belongs to him; no-one else can truly see into the heart of another person.
None-the-less, there are some lines in the sand, although not many, which we have drawn up at this website that illustrate, although imperfectly, features that describe Christianity. Some of these appear a little out of place and you may wonder why they have been included. They have been presented here because of specific divisive issues that are current in the Christian church today. If this was written one hundred years ago, or a hundred years from now, they could be omitted. But they are addressing pressing concerns in the church today.
- One God in three persons: The Trinity 2.1
- God is the creator of all things 2.1.1
- Sinfulness of humanity 2.2 - All humans have sinned and separated themselves from God
- Sexual sin 2.2.1 - God's design is for sex to occur only within the bounds of the marriage between a man and a woman
- Jesus Christ: Fully man and fully God 2.3
- Historical death and resurrection 2.3.1 - Jesus Christ was a real figure in history who was crucified and raised from the dead
- Salvation and grace - Jesus died to save humans from death 2.3.2
- Eternal life 2.4
- Faith in Jesus is sufficient for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God 2.4.1
- Life transformed through faith 2.5
- Love is the hallmark of life in Christ 2.5.1
- God reveals himself through the Bible 2.6
Unity 3 with diversity 4
How should the evangelical Christian church then look? How should the institutional visible denominational churches of today fit into this pattern?
Well, firstly these churches can maintain their denominational identity. The congregation members within them make up the evangelical Christian church and it is through them that there should be a unity of purpose and a unity in love with the congregations of other churches, in other denominations.
In practical terms, this unity would ideally be see, predominantly at the local level, with
- Shared Mission 3.1
- A common goal of seeing the gospel spread with multi-denominational decision-making and shared support in all areas of mission, both local and distant
- Shared resources 3.2
- Sharing of resources, including teachers and leaders (to the utmost level within denominational restrictions) buildings among congregations of different denominations
This unity should never be used to overpower by force conformity of doctrine. In addition to the definition of the evangelical Christian church, as well as lines in the sand stated above, there are of course, many different views of many more issues of doctrine. Matters of doctrine are certainly very important, but, they are not as important as bringing the good news of salvation through Jesus to the world. It should be recognized that there are differing views on these issues. It should also be recognized that Christians (as well as specific denominations) will continue to have firm views that are at variance with other Christians (and denominations). However, these differences do not have to be resolved for the evangelical Christian church to be unified in its mission and sharing of resources. And so, there would be a new ecumenism where there can be evangelical Anglican Churches, evangelical Uniting Churches, evangelical Baptist Churches, evangelical Lutheran churches and so on, all striving to serve the Lord in loving shared mission and sharing resources.
These issues of acceptable diversity of opinion include doctrines related to
- Inerrancy and infallility of Scripture 4.1 | Canon of Scripture 4.2
- Salvation of those who have not had a chance to know Jesus 4.3 |Free will and predestination 4.4
- Ordinances (or sacraments) 4.5 |Baptism 4.6 |Lord's supper 4.7
- Baptism in the Holy Spirit 4.8
- Speaking in tongues 4.9
- Church structure 4.10 |Apostolic succession 4.10.1 |Authority of church leaders 4.10.2
- Women in ministry 4.11
- Creation account of Genesis and evolution 4.12
- Hell 4.13
Concluding remarks
This idea is a work in progress. It always will in some sense be a work in progress and should be adaptable.
In the end, wouldn't it be wonderful if we accepted that we will have our differences and we all looked with one mind towards our saviour Jesus! Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if, Christians in the different denominations could work together to be positive and to bring the good news of Jesus to those who live around them, and to those far away! And, wouldn't it be wonderful, if they could unite together, sharing their resources with other local churches for the spiritual building up of their congregation members!
Please, email me your comments: reclaiming.evangelicalism@gmail.com