What Makes Someone Evangelical?

Writer

Updated August 11, 2023

When discussing Christian denominations, the differences between Protestants and Catholics are often obvious and well-defined. Due to centuries of documented conflict and cultural dominance, most people can identify the two denominations. But there is a third category, one that is often referenced but can be difficult to define.

Evangelicalism is a broad movement and way of thinking about God and the Bible that puts an emphasis on the relationship between the believer and God, and sharing the Gospel with others.

What Does Evangelical Mean?

Evangelicals believe in the new birth, that they have been saved by the blood of Jesus. They have a relationship with the living God, follow Him, and use the Bible as their guide. Evangelicalism in its true form believes the Bible is the inerrant, unchanging, perfect word of God, and does not supplement it with the Apocrypha, or any other additional texts beyond the 66. There is also usually a strong emphasis on evangelism, the sharing of the Gospel.

Evangelicals generally agree with Luther’s Five Solae, but not the way the Lutheran church is organized. The Five Solae are:

- Saved by grace alone

- Through faith alone

- In Christ alone

- According to Scripture alone

- For the glory of God alone

Martin Luther used the term to distinguish between the churches being born from his movement and the Catholic Church.

How Are Evangelicals Different from Other Protestants?

The distinction between Protestants and Evangelicals can seem blurry because they agree on quite a bit. They usually agree on salvation through the blood of Christ, in the inerrancy of the Bible, and in the priesthood of the believer – a phrase meaning a person can have a direct relationship with God through prayer, and does not need a priest. In essence, most Protestants would fall under the category of evangelical faith, but not all evangelicals would consider themselves Protestants.

The distinctions between the two tend to be generalizations, and not hard and fast rules.

Some of this discrepancy is because evangelical churches do not typically have a church hierarchy. Protestants usually have a formal hierarchy, and the minister commonly wears a collar or robe to distinguish themselves, which is less common in evangelical churches. From the pulpit, there is usually less of an emphasis on evangelism in Protestant churches. These churches also generally have a lens that the Bible becomes the Word of God when someone has an encounter with it, whereas evangelicals have a lens that the Bible is the Word of God all the time.

Historically, Protestant churches leaned liberal in their politics and theology, while evangelicals leaned conservative in their politics and theology. Historically, evangelicalism and fundamentalism had a close relationship, though this did change in the mid-twentieth century.

What Denominations Are Evangelical?

There are many denominations that would classify themselves as, or get classified as, evangelical. Many of them had their origins in the Protestant Reformation, but no longer fall in line with mainstream Protestant churches, such as Anglican, Episcopalian, or Lutheran. Instead, they have distinguished themselves enough to be considered a separate church.

These denominations and thought movements include:

Reformed/Calvinist: The reformed or Calvinist tradition was born from the Reformation, with an emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Bible, and covenantal theology. Key early figures include John Calvin, Martin Bucer, and Besançon Hugues. The movement began in the mid to late 15th century.

Methodist: The Methodist movement was born from the life and teachings of John Wesley, spurred on by his brother Charles and the preaching of George Whitfield. It distinguishes itself as being Arminian, meaning salvation is available for all rather than the elect, who chose it of their own free will. There is an emphasis on new birth and imparted righteousness. It began in the 18th century.

Many evangelical movements distinguish themselves from the Reformation that Luther started. Usually, this is because they started outside the reach of the movement, or before it. These denominations include:

Moravian: This church was born sixty years before the reformation of Luther. A movement called the Hussite movement rose up in the region of Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. It emphasized new birth, good works, and establishing Christian missions. Its most important figures were Jan Hus and Peter Chelchiky.

Pentecostalism: While this movement started in the mid-19th century and became popular in the 20th century, it sets itself apart from denominations born from the Reformation because of its emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. They embraced the teachings of Dwight Moody and Adoniram Judson Gordon. It started in America.

The Baptist denomination is different in that, historically, there have been some distinctions between whether or not they existed pre-Reformation, or only post-Reformation. The truth is difficult because multiple movements that could loosely be aligned with what is understood to be the Baptist movement arose at different places at different times. The one in England began in earnest in the 17th century. The Anabaptist movement on the continent also influenced the Baptist movement. Some thinkers, including Charles Spurgeon, think it can be traced even further back, potentially even older than the Catholic church.

Denominations that owe their origins to the Anabaptist movement, including the Mennonites and Baptist churches, generally agree the movement was beginning before or around the same time as Luther’s Reformation, but that it gained momentum because of it. They believed that baptism was only valid if it occurred after salvation, made as an informed decision; they rejected infant baptism. Michael Sattler presided over a meeting of Anabaptists in the early 16th century to come to an agreement about what they believed.

Conclusion

Evangelicalism continues to be a somewhat difficult movement to define, in part because someone can be evangelical and not attend an evangelical denomination. Believing in the fundamentals of Christianity, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, the word of God alone, and for the glory of God alone, generally creates an evangelical mindset. It rejects the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and emphasizes the importance of the relationship between God and man. Jesus died for the sinner, so the sinner could become saved.

Sources

Hutchinson, Mark and John Wolffe. A Short History of Evangelicalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Johnson, Marcus Peter. One with Christ An Evangelical Theology of Salvation. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013.

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.