The word evangelical is derived from the Greek noun EUANGELION translated “gospel” (from the old English word “godspell” meaning a story about God). An evangelical church, therefore, is one which believes and obeys the truths of the gospel and whose members are Christian not only in name, but in heart (Matt. 7:15-23).
To be a true Christian, it’s not enough just to believe the Christian creed. The demons believe, but their belief does not make them Christians (]as. 2:19). Nor is it enough just to observe Christian ceremonies like baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Judas was baptized but not a true Christian (John 17:12; Acts 1:15-20).
A Christian, according to the gospel, is someone living in a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ by faith. By Gods grace they have turned resolutely from their sins in repentance and are trusting in Christ and His atoning death on the cross to save them from hell and the dominion of sin. We are sinners from birth (Psalm 51:5) and unable to obtain forgiveness for our sins. But “while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom.5:6). “All things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ ... not imputing (our) trespasses to (us) ... For He made Him who knew no sin to be s for us, in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:18, 19, 21).
But an evangelical Christian is not only a forgiven person, he is a changed person. For in saving us, God puts His Holy Spirit within us (Ezek. 36:26 27; Acts 2:33) and we who were spiritually dead in our sins are made spiritually alive with Christ and become “a new creation” (Eph. 2:1-10; 2 Cor. 5: 17)
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest evangelical (Bible- adhering) denomination in the world with over 41,000 churches and 16-million members. It was organized on May 10, 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, with the clearly stated purpose “to promote Foreign and Domestic Missions, and other important objects connected with the Redeemer’s kingdom, and to combine for this purpose such portions of the Baptist denomination in the United States as may desire a general organization for Christian benevolence.” The Domestic Board put missionaries on the field immediately. The Foreign Board took over the missionaries serving under the Baptist General Missionary Convention formed in April, 1814 (such as Adoniram Judson and Luther Rice), and in August 1845 appointed four missionaries to serve in South China. In 1999 the Convention had 4,800 foreign missionaries and over 5,000 home missionaries.
The SBC traces its beginnings in America to the efforts of three associations of Baptist churches. The first was the Philadelphia Baptist Association that was located in the only original colony with religious freedom. Five small churches formed this association in 1707, and in 1742 adopted the London Baptist Confession of 1689 with minor changes. This Philadelphia Confession, as it is known, is a Reformed statement of faith, and it enabled the Philadelphia Association to give a Calvinistic direction to the many churches that it planted throughout the South known as “Regular Baptist Churches.” The second association was the Charleston Baptist Association, formed in October 1751, and it also adopted a version of the 1689 London Confession in 1767. It was formed by the First Baptist Church of Charleston, who traced their beginnings to a small group of “Particular Baptists” transplanted from Kittery, Maine, in 1682, and the influence of the Philadelphia Association. The third association was the Sandy Creek Association formed by the “Separate Baptist Churches” of North Carolina in 1758. The Separate Baptists came out of the Congregational Churches formed by the Puritans of New England. Their Calvinistic heritage allowed them to join with the Regular Baptists in the great advancement of Baptist churches in the early years of religious freedom that followed the Revolutionary War and the birth of a new nation in America. The first six presidents of the SBC were Reformed in their theology, as were the first faculty of The Southern Baptist Seminary formed in 1859.
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A Baptist is a Christian who is distinguished by five major biblical beliefs. Firstly, Baptists believe in the sole authority of the Bible for belief and behavior. Creeds and catechisms are very helpful in stating and explaining the main tenets of the Christian Faith, but they are neither complete nor infallible (Mark 7:6-13; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).
Secondly, Baptists believe Christ’s Church is a gathered community of believers and believers only, whom God has called out of the world and given to His Son, Jesus Christ, and in whom He dwells by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 16:17-18; John 3:5; 6:37,44; Rom. 1:7; 8:9-11).
Thirdly, Baptists believe in the autonomy of each Local Christian church under Christ to exercise its own authority and regulate its own affairs without interference from any outside body. While each congregation is free to associate with other churches in wider organizations for fellowship and the propagation of the gospel, it cannot be compelled to accept any recommendation with which it disagrees. The local church, through its leaders and members, is the final arbiter in determining the will of God from the Word of God by the Spirit of God for its well-being and service (Matt. 18:15-17; Acts 13:1-3; I Cor. 5:4-5; 6:1-6).
Fourthly, Baptists believe Jesus Christ ordained baptism by immersion upon a public profession of faith in Him as evidence and a witness to the gracious work of salvation experienced by them. Therefore, baptism is required for church membership. In our judgment the baptism of infants (being incapable of offering a personal confession of faith) subverts the doctrine of the church as an assembly of people God has called out of the world for Himself. Similarly, baptism by sprinkling is unable to symbolize the essential truth that the new Christian has been united by faith to Christ crucified and risen, and as a result has died with Christ to his old life of sin and been raised with Christ to five a new and holy life (Matt. 28:18- 20; Acts 8:36-39; Rom. 6:1-4).
Fifthly, Baptists believe in absolute liberty of conscience and freedom of religion for every person under the sun. Toleration is not enough. Baptists insisted before anyone else that every person has the right not only to worship God in their own way without interference from anybody, but also the right to express their views in public through speech or in print, so that others may be able to understand them and perhaps be persuaded to adopt them. It is the singular and distinguished honor of Baptists to be the first to contend and suffer for religious freedom in the world (Acts 5:29; I Cor. 4:3; 10:29).
The word “reformed” refers to the teachings of our Lord and His apostles which were recaptured at the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 15 century by such men as Martin Luther in Germany, John Calvin in Switzerland and John Knox in Scotland. These reformers were given grace to see that man’s salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. These cardinal truths had been buried under 1,000 years of man-centered traditions.
The heart of the teaching of the Reformation is its God-centeredness. It defines all truth in relation to God. So, for instance, sin is horrible because it is rebellion against God and an affront to Him. Salvation is wonderful because it is God’s work from start to finish and glorifies Him alone. Heaven is heaven because it is the place where God is all in all. Hell is hell because it is the place where God expresses His righteous anger.
A person may say lots of true things about sin (that it is short-sighted, self-destructive and leads to misery), but if there is not the God-centered perspective that it is an offense against God, the most important emphasis of all has been missed. The same is true of salvation. If God does not pay the penalty for the sinner’s sin, and then turn him away from his sin, and bring him in faith to submit to Christ, and keep him faithful to Christ to the end, he will never be saved. Salvation is all of God and there is nothing a sinner can do to save himself but humbly ask God to have mercy upon him. These teachings of the Reformation are called the doctrines of grace, because they reveal as nothing else can God’s mercy to sinners who do not deserve to be saved (Luke 18:9-14; Eph. 2:8-1O; Titus 2:11-14).
But the reformers also taught that God-centered doctrine must work itself out in God-centered living. That means we must be obsessed with God Himself (His majesty, beauty, holiness, grace and power). Others may say that evangelism or missions or holiness or social reform is their great concern; but our first and greatest concern is to know God and to see Him glorified. We refuse to prioritize any other objective. The salvation of the lost is important to us because above all else it leads to the hallowing of God’s Name and the coming of His kingdom. The purifying of society is important to us because above all else it leads to the doing of God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. Worship and Bible study and prayer are important to us because above all else they lead us into communion with God and thereby are His means of grace to make us like Him.
This is the heart of Reformed Christianity which is again in danger of being lost, because more and more the aim of church leaders is to give people what they feel they want and to avoid at all costs confrontation through the truths of the gospel. SOLI DEO GLORIA (glory to God alone) was the watch cry of the Reformation.
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RGBC facts