By Rollin Grams, Bible and Mission.
Of the various definitions one might give to the term ‘Evangelical’, I would commend the necessary one that Evangelicals regularly read the Scriptures. While not a sufficient definition—the Devil himself is quite versed in God’s Word—it is surely in the bedrock of whatever Evangelical movement is inspired by and emerges from the careful and regular reading of Scripture.
Evangelicals do not just believe that Scripture is the Word of God and therefore the fountain of all theological and ethical teaching for the Church. They find various ways to express this and the further claim that this Word is without error. Yet to be an Evangelical is also to read the Scriptures, to know them, and to study them. Claiming that the Bible is God’s inspired Word is translated further into an active reading of the Word, a love for God’s Word, and a life formed and transformed by God’s Word.
We might trace the history of those who framed their faith by the Scriptures right back to the first century, but the designation ‘Evangelical’ should be reserved for that part of history beginning with the Reformation. While we might suppose this to be the 16th century, beginning with Martin Luther, we really need to step back a little in time, perhaps to the year 1378. This is the year that John Wycliffe, after circulating a tract against popery and having recovered from an illness, set about translating the Bible into English. At the time, two persons claimed the seat of Peter: Pope Urban and Pope Clement. The reason for associating Wycliffe with what would come to be the Evangelical movement is that this desire to make the Scriptures available to all was also met with opposition from the established Church. The bishops tried to suppress his work. The Scriptures contradicted certain accumulated teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and Wycliffe, in 1381, next opposed the doctrine of transubstantiation. He also challenged Pope Urban when the latter called for Christians to kill Christians supporting his rival, Pope Clement. We see the seed of the Reformation planted as Scriptural authority began to challenge that of the Pope and of ecclesiastical teaching that found no footing in God’s Word.