The media can’t stop talking about Evangelicals. Presidential candidates can’t stop talking about Evangelicals. To borrow from one of the greatest movies of all time, The Princess Bride, “you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

Someone cannot “self-identify” as an Evangelical any more than they can self-identify as an NBA Basketball player. If I said, “I am an NBA Basketball Player”, you would judge that statement to be true or false based on the definition of what it means to be an NBA Basketball player: does the National Basketball Association pay you to play basketball? Likewise, “Evangelical” has concrete meaning and is a theological perspective that can be defined by a number of key points. Below are five things that help us define what it means to be an evangelical.

1. Gospel.

Evangelicals believe the gospel. "Evangelical" means "gospel-person" and comes from the Greek word euangelion which means good news or gospel. Jesus is the gospel: his virgin birth, his sinless life, his substitutionary death, his victorious resurrection, and his forthcoming, triumphant return. By this gospel, through faith alone, we are saved. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and evangelicals are devoted to proclaiming this message. If someone does not believe in the historical reality of this good news, they are not an evangelical. 

2. Bible. 

Evangelicals believe in the authority of scripture, which is fully trustworthy as God’s Word. Their whole worldview from beginning to end is shaped by the narrative given to us in Scripture. I’m not talking about ripping a verse out of context so that it suits your agenda. I’m not talking about quoting the “feel good” verses while simultaneously working to pass laws that violate clear commands in scripture. I mean, full-fledged belief that where the Bible speaks, God speaks. Without forgoing the real work of interpreting Scripture, when an evangelical disagrees with something in the bible, they change their opinion to line up with what God has said in Scripture. If someone does not believe in the authority of scripture, they are not an evangelical. 

3. Conversion.

Evangelicals believe that one must be converted, or be “born again” through faith and repentance. When Jesus said “You must be born again” (John 3:1-17) he meant that one must enter into a new world (one in which God is God) and leave behind an old world (one in which you were “god”). To be born again means to enter into a new reality: one in which you find your identity in the narrative given to us in Scripture. Someone cannot be a Christian without asking God for forgiveness and turning from their sin (Repentance) or if they do not trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Faith). If someone does not believe in the need for people to be born again, they are not an evangelical. 

4. Church.

Evangelicals believe that the church is the bride of Jesus. Evangelicals believe the church is the body of Jesus. That gathering of messy people who, with mixed success and massive amounts of failure, seek to reflect the gospel of Jesus to the world is the family of God. Evangelicals “do not forsake the gathering” (Hebrews 10:25) and see the value in weekly church attendance. Someone cannot reject the body of Christ and accept Christ. If someone does not believe in the Church, they are not an evangelical.

5. Kingdom.

Evangelicals believe that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20) and that our commitment to the Kingdom must transcend and shape all other commitments. The Kingdom has a King and his name is Jesus. The Kingdom of God has been breaking into history since the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus (Mark 1:15, Acts 13:30-35) and it will be finally established at the Return of the King (Revelation 21:1-5). Evangelicalism is inherently political because every time it is said, “Jesus is King!” it is simultaneously affirmed that, “Caesar is NOT King!” Evangelicals are not a subset of an American political party; they are a political community unto themselves. They are ambassadors of a foreign kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20), they are refugees in a foreign land (1 Peter 2:11), and they are exiles seeking to help their cities flourish (Jeremiah 29:7). Their deepest hope is not to that an earthly kingdom will be made great, but rather Jesus has conquered the grave and will return to consummate his Kingdom. If someone’s first priority is not the Kingdom, then they are not an evangelical.

Conclusion

Evangelicals believe in the gospel of Jesus, the authority of scripture, the need for conversion, the value of church, and the priority of the Kingdom. Evangelicals won’t cave to cultural trends, Evangelicals won’t give up their moral values for the sake of political victory, and Evangelicals will continue to repent of their failures and trust in Jesus: “the man on the throne in heaven [that] is a dark-skinned, Aramaic-speaking ‘foreigner.’”