The Eve of Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is an active Christian movement, derived from the Protestant Reformation (16th century) and Puritanism (17th century). It is an expression of the Christian faith, among many other expressions (e. g. Roman Catholicism; Greek Orthodoxy; Pentecostalism; Liberalism; etc.). It is Protestantism with an affinity for the Bible and the evangel.
The evangel is the Gospel message. Evangelicals believe the emphasis in Christian labors is the preaching and teaching of Christ crucified from the Scriptures (Rom 1:16–17; 1 Cor 1:23; 2:2, 4; 2 Tim 4:2). The result is heart change for sinners, who become more Christ-like (godly) upon conversion (Rom 8:29). This is over and against frenzied emotionalism, social gospel, and formalism.
Evangelicals hold the Bible as their authority, which is distinct from tradition and claims to papal authority over Christ’s church. Jesus Christ is the head of His church (Col 1:18), and His vicar on earth is the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26; 15:26; 2 Cor 3:17). He is our guide into all truth (Jn 16:13), our Teacher, Helper, and Comforter (Jn 14), who gives us assurance of salvation, by living in the regenerate (Jn 3:1–8; Rom 8:9, 11; 1 Pet 1:3), and working sanctification (causing obedience) in the believer (Ezek 36:27; Rom 8:1–17; 1 Pet 1:2).
With the Word and the Spirit, Evangelicals enjoy a vital relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord. Resembling the early church in Acts of the Apostles, Evangelicals give themselves to the Apostles’ teaches (New Testament), along with that of the prophets (Old Testament). The two sacraments ordered by Jesus are adhered to in the quest for obedience (baptism/Lord’s Supper). Evangelicals are simply Christians with a simple faith and a simple expression of worship and adoration, of the Most High God, through Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).
The most significant divisions in the Christian church are the result of differences in Bible interpretation. The art of hermeneutics is ever-longing to be a science, with a dependable method for reading the Bible, with accurate understanding. God is not the author of confusion, and He has spoken. Our creaturely duty is to obey all that He has commanded (Mt 28:19–20).
Without a uniform interpretation of the Bible, new ideas about what Scripture says and means is always changing. This leads to unwanted confusion and everyone doing what is right in their own eyes (problematic for Israel in the period of the Judges [c. 1350–1051 B.C.). When people are confused, they are frustrated. When people are frustrated, they get angry. When people get angry, they fight with one another. Evangelicals are people, too.
There is a cancer at the core of Evangelicalism. It is eating away at the unity of the movement, which fared better when standing in opposition to Christian expressions that were clearly not Evangelical. The problem with Evangelicals is that they have no distinguishable identity. Roman Catholics have their Pope, their Vatican, their Mass, etc. Liberals have their LGBTQ flags flying in their sanctuaries, along with their soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc. The Evangelical witness is for the conversion of unbelievers into believers, which the Evangelical knows is only by the Word of God preached.
Cancer attacks different vital organs in the body, but the principle is the same. Rogue cells accumulate to the point of taking over a territory. This is not unlike what Islam is doing in the United States, be it in Dearborn or Minneapolis. New ideas are introduced, and they prevail upon the status quo. Bad ideas will render the body, first to be sick, but then they will kill their host.
Evangelicalism is sick. It is dying from rogue doctrines and practices, introduced from the culture (world environment) around it. In response, some Evangelicals are enticed to leave for formalism (e. g. Hank Hanegraff; Peter Kreeft). Others are dismayed with the seeming lack of compassion for sinners (especially when their children opt for a lifestyle of sexual deviance). Still others want more energetic expressions in worship.
When the world presses its mold onto the church, Evangelicals are easy targets because they have no distinct identity. For instance, when the feminist quest for power finds expression in the church, disobedience to Scripture is accomplished by twisting the interpretation, to meet the cultural demand. History is re-written and a new normal is established in one generation, and then, it is fully embraced in the next (see The Overton Window).
The Bible warned us that Eve would rise up against Adam and the creation-mandated male headship in the family and the church (Gen 3:16; Eph 5:21–33; 1 Tim 2:9–15; 3:1–8). The disobedient spirit of Jezebel has always threatened the church (Rev 2:20), and today, it is called “egalitarianism.” One would expect these Christian expressions, less interested in the Bible (e. g. Liberalism; Pentecostalism), to fall prey to the feminist intrusion, and indeed, they have fully succumbed, regardless of the denomination (e.g. Methodism; Episcopalian; Presbyterian; Pentecostal; Reformed Church (RCA); American Baptist; etc.). The Alliance Church is in the process of succumbing as I write, while the Southern Baptists remain double-minded in theory and practice.
Ironically, tradition has protected Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy. Evangelicals are caught in the middle. Because they cannot turn and answer feminism with tradition, they must turn to the Bible, but a Bible that is not believed, or twisted in interpretation, is a dull sword at best.
“The Eve of Evangelicalism,” has a double-meaning. A disobedient Eve is in the Evangelical house, and she is evidence of a setting sun on the movement known as Evangelicalism. May God have mercy and hold the sun in place on this day of battle, as he did for Joshua, or may He put His sword into the heart of Evangelicalism and resurrect it with a truly Reformed view to doctrine and practice.
Christian, do not be afraid. If the church you attend has succumbed to cultural pressures, then you must look to church history and recognize your Spirit-led desire to leave Babylon. The best place in the world is in a true church that will prepare you for an eternity in the perfect church of heavenly Zion.
The pattern in the Bible and in church history is separation to Reformation…not an attempt to reform what has already apostatized. Good men have wasted much time, money, and effort to fix the malignant expressions of Christianity, but regarding the Eve of Evangelicalism, we must be wiser to look for the new day dawning. Semper Reformanda!
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
October 17, 2022
