Evangelical Identity

Reformatted excerpt from AN EVANGELICAL MANIFESTO:

A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment

May 7, 2008; Washington, D.C. (http://www.anevangelicalmanifesto.com/docs/Evangelical_Manifesto.pdf)

To be Evangelical,

and

to define our faith and our lives

by the Good News of Jesus

as taught in Scripture,

is to submit our lives entirely

to the lordship of Jesus

and

to the truths and the way of life

that he requires of his followers,

in order that they might

become like him,

live the way he taught,

and

believe as he believed.

As Evangelicals have pursued this vision over the centuries,
they have prized above all certain beliefs
that we consider to be at the heart of the message of Jesus
and therefore foundational for us

— the following seven above all:

First, we believe

that

Jesus Christ is fully God become fully human,

the unique, sure, and sufficient revelation

of the very being, character, and purposes of God,

beside whom there is no other god,

and

beside whom there is no other name by which we must be saved.

Second, we believe

that

the only ground for our acceptance by God

is what Jesus Christ did on the cross

and what he is now doing through his risen life,

whereby he
exposed and reversed the course of human sin and violence,
bore the penalty for our sins,
credited us with his righteousness,
redeemed us from the power of evil,
reconciled us to God,
and empowers us with his life “from above.”

We therefore bring nothing to our salvation.
Credited with the righteousness of Christ,
we receive his redemption solely by grace through faith.

Third, we believe

that

new life,

given supernaturally through spiritual regeneration,

is a necessity as well as a gift;

and that

the lifelong conversion that results

is the only pathway

to a radically changed character and way of life.

Thus for us, the only sufficient power

for a life of Christian faithfulness and moral integrity in this world

is that of Christ’s resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, we believe

that

Jesus’ own teaching and his attitude

toward the total truthfulness and supreme authority of the Bible,

God’s inspired Word,

make the Scriptures our final rule

for faith and practice.

Fifth, we believe
that

being disciples of Jesus

means

serving him as Lord in every sphere of our lives,

secular as well as spiritual,

public as well as private,

in deeds as well as words,

and in every moment of our days on earth,

always reaching out as he did

to those who are lost

as well as

to the poor,

the sick,

the hungry,

the oppressed,

the socially despised,

and being faithful stewards

of creation and our fellow-creatures.

Sixth, we believe

that

the blessed hope of the personal return of Jesus

provides both strength and substance

to what we are doing,

just as what we are doing

becomes a sign of the hope of where we are going;

both together leading to

a consummation of history

and the fulfillment of an undying kingdom

that comes only by the power of God.

Seventh, we believe

all followers of Christ are called

to know and love Christ through worship,

love Christ’s family through fellowship,

grow like Christ through discipleship,

serve Christ by ministering to the needs of others in his name,

and share Christ with those who do not yet know him,

inviting people to the ends of the earth and to the end of time

to join us as his disciples and followers of his way.

At the same time, we readily acknowledge

that

we repeatedly fail to live up to our high calling,

and all too often illustrate

the truth of our own doctrine of sin.

We Evangelicals share the same “crooked timber” of our humanity,
and the full catalogue of our sins, failures, and hypocrisies.

This is no secret

either to God

or to those who know and watch us.