“What are Gospel People?”

“Gospel People” — Week 1 Reflection

Coffee and Christians

I don’t like coffee. And before you completely judge me and everything else I write, I have good reason. First off, it’s bitter and makes you run for the bathroom. Plus, liking coffee is basic, and those who are into coffee too much can be snobby about it with their Chemex and scale. But, I think the biggest reason I don’t like it is because it leaves a bad taste in your mouth for a while. It lingers and not in a good way. I don’t like coffee, but at least I can just not drink it. Life is too short. Tea is better anyway.

But, in our society, ‘Christians’ are known as evangelicals. The unbelieving world and the media throw this word around so much like evangelicals are another group of people for their statistics. And it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Because when I hear the word Evangelical, it makes me think of politics and people who ‘believe’ in Jesus that end up revealing themselves to be corrupt. People who say and do crazy things that are not very Gospel-like. The word is identified with a lot of distasteful things. However, unlike with coffee, I cannot escape or ignore being an evangelical. Because evangelical comes from the word Gospel. It literally means a gospel one or a gospel person.

Redefining Evangelicalism

And Michael Reeves understands this exact problem. Evangelicalism has been changed in a negative way. It is a term referring to people who call themselves Christians, including people who are not actually Christians. So, in this book Michael is doing the important work of carefully defining what it means to be an evangelical, so that we can reclaim this word that has so much value for those who believe in the Gospel. He says, “Evangelicalism, then, must be defined theologically. To be evangelical means to act, not out of cultural or political leanings, but out of theological, biblical convictions.” The most important thing for an evangelical is the Gospel for the words are one in the same.

This is important work so that we as evangelicals can clearly identify those who are not truly gospel people. People who tarnish the name of the church and the name of Jesus. So when the world points to an evangelical who is doing things that are not aligned with the gospel, we also can point and say they are not truly evangelical. The world sees evangelicals as a group full of hypocrites, super conservatives, and whatever else. People who call themselves evangelicals and don’t live as gospel people. And that is dangerous to the church and the image of Jesus.

United by the Gospel

But, knowing what it means to be a true evangelical will also help us cooperate with all those who are gospel people, even if they don’t look exactly like us, or our church. We are not the only true church. We are not the only Christians. The world is filled with good evangelicals. I don’t agree with every other Christian on everything. I don’t even agree with some people in this church on everything. But, understanding what a true evangelical is helps us to not be divisive when we don’t need to. We might be at different churches because of different secondary beliefs, but I will still call them Christians, evangelicals, brothers and sisters in Christ.  

So, understanding what an evangelical is helps us to distinguish ourselves from people who should not be considered evangelical and cooperate with legitimate evangelicals. It will truly help us unite as a gospel people. And eventually, the bitter taste of using evangelical will slowly become something that has a restored meaning.