Lesson 5: Evangelicalism and the Gospel Priority

► A student should read Ephesians 1:4-9 for the group. What significant doctrines are taught in this passage?

An evangelical church is a church that teaches the scriptural gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. No good works by humanity added to the atonement of Christ can help us to deserve salvation.

Proclaiming the true gospel is the priority of an evangelical church because people who believe the gospel know that it is more important than anything else.

The gospel is the special treasure entrusted to the church by God which it desires to share with the world.

There are some characteristics that are typical of most evangelical churches:

1. Evangelicals believe in the absolute authority of the Bible. To deny the authority of the Bible would be to make the gospel questionable.
2. Evangelicals believe in the historical, foundational doctrines of Christianity. To deny those doctrines would be to contradict the gospel. For example, cults that deny the deity of Christ also deny that his atoning work is sufficient for salvation and teach, instead, a gospel of works.
3. Evangelical churches emphasize personal spiritual experience. This characteristic exists because they believe in individual conversion and conscious faith. Because of this belief, evangelicals emphasize evangelism of unbelievers and spiritual formation of believers.

► How does your church demonstrate these characteristics? Are there also other characteristics that show that the gospel is the priority?

The gospel gives the church its mission. A church that does not make the gospel its priority has forgotten the mission given by God.

We have studied the Great Commission given in Matthew 28:18-20. What is the primary mission of the church?

The gospel creates the church wherever it is preached. The true church throughout history is found where the gospel is preached. The heritage of the church since the time of the apostles is not found in the continuity of institutions, but in the continuity of faithful gospel preaching.

All institutions created by the church should serve the priority of the gospel. For example, a program for training pastors should prepare them to lead the church in fulfilling its mission of evangelism and discipleship. [1]

Institutions tend to take on their own existence and forget the original mission. A renewed emphasis of the gospel always leads to reform of institutions.

The church develops traditions of beliefs, worship forms, Christian living, and church policy; but a renewed emphasis of the gospel leads to the reform of tradition.

[1]“There is a direct connection between the Lordship of Christ and the world mission of the church. This comes out clearly in Matthew’s account of the Great Commission. It is precisely because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given by God the Father to God the Son that the church has the responsibility to make disciples of all nations.”
- J. Herbert Kane, “The Work of Evangelism”

Example 1

As the church works at fulfilling the mission of evangelism, it is necessary to make plans, form teams, develop programs, and find support. The church forms institutions to serve practical purposes. Often, institutions are formed during times of spiritual revival when people are committed and the church is motivated to accomplish its mission.

Institutions are necessary. An institution is simply the long-term organization of people and resources. Without institutions, there would be no church buildings, no foreign missions, no publishing of Bibles or any other literature, no Christian schools or educational programs, and no financial support for ministry. Even the local church is an institution that does not exist unless a group of people commit to it.

If an institution is successful, it may become large, with many people and a large budget. To maintain the institution takes much effort and expense. Sometimes the people who work in the institution begin to feel that building the institution is the primary goal. They think their work is to keep the institution going rather than to fulfill the original mission of the institution.

Though institutions are necessary, they must frequently be evaluated and reformed by the priority of the gospel.

Example 2

Because ministry has the potential of earning money, some people have started ministries as businesses. It is not wrong for a ministry to sell things to help with the expenses of ministry, and it is not wrong for a ministry to look for financial support. However, if a person is motivated more by money than by the gospel priority, his heart is wrong and his work does not please God (1 Peter 5:1-2, 2 Peter 2:3).

Simon was a man who wanted a spiritual gift so he could have status and financial profit, but the apostle told him that his heart was wrong (Acts 8:18-23).

► What is wrong with the situation of a pastor who tries to sell his church? What is wrong with his understanding of what the church is?

Example 3

Syncretism is the mixture of Christianity with contradictory beliefs and practices from another religion. An example of syncretism from New Testament times is the Samaritan religion. Foreigners who worshipped idols moved into the territory of Israel and mixed the religion of Israel with their idolatry; Jesus said that they did not know what they worshipped (John 4:22).

Another example of syncretism is from the history of Haiti. When Haiti was a French colony, slaves from Africa were required to convert to Christianity. They mixed their former religions with Roman Catholicism. Many Haitians still practice Voodoo, which is worship of spirits, but use Christian symbols and the names of Christian saints.

Sometimes syncretism happened because Christianity was associated with a nation that dominated another nation. People needed to please the dominant nation, so they accepted its religious customs but kept their original beliefs.

► What examples of mixture between Christianity and other religions have you seen?

Worldly motives can cause syncretism. If people think that accepting the gospel will bring them financial benefit, political influence, or favor from influential people, they may accept the appearance of Christianity without really being converted. Then, they continue to follow their old beliefs and practices but call them by Christian names. It is best when the church can evangelize without offering things that cause people to respond with wrong motives.

Christianity can seem like a foreign religion when the gospel is brought by foreign missionaries. That is why it is important for Christianity to be planted in each culture and take a form that is at home in that culture. It should not continue to look like a foreign religion. However, it is important for missionaries and evangelists to discern what details of a culture cannot fit with Christianity. This discernment is a process that must be assisted by local believers and cannot be finished quickly.

Example 4

Sometimes a religion is considered the established religion of the nation. For example, in some nations, most of the people are Muslim. In other nations, most people consider themselves to be Roman Catholic. Many of the people do not truly follow the moral standard of their religion and only occasionally practice the religious customs; but they say they are followers of that religion.

Many people call themselves Christians because in their social circles all good people are considered Christians. They have not really repented. They follow their own standard of morality.

The gospel is a call to repentance and submission to Christ. Jesus said that a person cannot be his disciple unless he accepts a death of self-centeredness and becomes a true follower (Luke 9:23).

The definition of a Christian cannot be adapted to be popular in a sinful society. The normal morality of a society is always much lower than Christian morality, and a Christian contrasts with the world.

► How is popular Christianity without repentance often demonstrated in your society?

Example 5

We cannot expect that all believers will agree on all doctrines. There are differences among believers, even though they accept the Bible as their authority for doctrine.

Sometimes churches most emphasize the doctrines that distinguish them from other churches, but those doctrines are not as important as the foundational doctrines of Christianity. A church should not say that other churches are not truly Christian, if those churches teach the essential gospel.

A church should not establish its identity by fighting other churches. It should establish itself first with the gospel, then by building the fellowship of the committed group of members.

► On what basis should a church accept another church as truly Christian?

Example 6

Even a true doctrine can be emphasized to such an extent that it seems to contradict other truth. By emphasizing grace, a church can seem to minimize the need for obedience to God. By emphasizing the moment of conversion, a church may seem to forget about the process of discipleship. While emphasizing God’s faithfulness to the backslider, the church may fail to warn against the danger of apostasy. While honoring spiritual gifts, the church may neglect deep spirituality and Christian character.

Imbalance in doctrine shows up over time and has long-term effects. Any teaching that (1) causes carelessness about sin, (2) takes away the possibility of assurance of salvation, (3) puts extra difficulties in the way of the person who would respond to the gospel, or (4) hides the gospel is a teaching that is doctrinally imbalanced.

At times in the history of the church the gospel seems to have been forgotten by the great institutions. Errors such as institutionalism, syncretism, and doctrinal imbalance seemed more visible than the gospel. Leaders were supposed to be spiritual examples but seemed to demonstrate the wrong motives, wrong character, and interest in worldly things.

God has sometimes sent great revival to the church. Revival with long-term and broad results has three aspects.

1. There is theological reformation, when a neglected spiritual truth is recovered.
2. There is spiritual renewal, with much prayer, fervent worship, and numerous conversions.
3. There are new ministry methods, as the church finds new ways to evangelize and disciple.

The Protestant Reformation (throughout Europe in the 1500s) was a recovery of the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Thousands of people experienced conversion. Scripture was translated into the common languages and made available.

The Anabaptists (throughout Europe in the 1500s and later) were people who were concerned because many followers of the Reformation thought that believing the right doctrines was sufficient for salvation. Many people professed to accept the truth of the gospel but had not experienced conversion. The Anabaptists emphasized personal conversion.

The Pietists (late 1600s in Germany) were people who realized the importance of discipleship. They developed small group ministries and systems for training believers for Christian maturity.

The Methodist Revival (late 1700s in England) started with the ministry of John Wesley. Most of the priests of the Church of England denied that personal assurance of salvation was possible. Wesley preached that each person can know that he has a living faith in Christ and an assurance of salvation from the Holy Spirit.

► What great truth do you need to emphasize in your society?

Many Christian institutions, large and small (including local churches), started with commitment to the priority of the gospel. Over time, many of them get diverted from that priority.

To renew the effectiveness of the church, we do not need strange new doctrines or new revelation. What we need is a recovery of the evangelical principle of the priority of the gospel.

You will begin the next class with a test over Lesson 5. Study the test questions carefully in preparation.

(1) What are three characteristics of evangelical churches?
(2) What are six ways that a church may lose the gospel priority?
(3) What are four signs that a doctrine is imbalanced?
(4) What are three aspects of long-term revival?
(5) Write a true statement about each of the following:

• The Protestant Reformation
• The Anabaptists
• The Pietists
• The Methodist Revival