Born Again vs. Evangelical
Blessings in the Name of Jesus:
Your question is very important about a Born Again Christian and an Evangelical Christian in today’s Christian arena. I will start with a couple of Bible verses.
Acts 21:8-9 “Paul's host there was Philip the evangelist. He was one of the Seven who ministered to widows in Jerusalem.”
Paul speaking to Timothy: 2 Tim 4:5 “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
John 3:3 “In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again ."…….and…….John 3:5-7 “Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.”
So, you see that both the terms Born Again and Evangelist are mentioned in the Bible but not necessarily expounded upon. Let’s look a little at both.
BORN AGAIN
What is a Christian? A recent national survey found that about fifty percent of the American population claimed to be "born-again Christians." What is meant by the term "born-again Christian," and what is the understanding of those people who call themselves "born-again Christians?"…………….. The term "Christian" comes from the Greek word "christianos," which means Christ-man, or an adherent of Jesus Christ………. Thus, a Christian is a person who is totally full of Christ, occupied by Christ, living for Christ, living out Christ to express Christ, and even living Christ. By this definition, most people who call themselves Christians actually are not. They might have believed and received Christ, yet they are not living as adherents of Jesus the Christ.
What did Jesus do for us? Christ Jesus lived a genuine and perfect human life to express God. He went to the cross to die for man because He was the only man throughout history qualified to be a substitute. The righteous One died for the unrighteous ones. He Jesus (God the Son) also crushed Satan to free man from his power of darkness. By receiving Christ as our Savior, we are born of God.
How to be Born Again? If you sense the oldness and deadness, the emptiness and vanity, the confusion and frustration, and the tragic destiny of the first life, you need Jesus. Only He can enliven you by bringing the life of God into you to give you a new birth, a new life. Only thus can you be born again to be a Christian, a Christ-man, an adherent of Jesus Christ, full of life, joy, peace, rest, purpose, and fulfillment in God.
…………Say to Him boldly, "Lord Jesus, I need You as my Savior. Save me from eternal death. Give me God's life. I want to be born again of God. Repent, turn away from your sins. Make me a Christian." Then you will receive the life of God to make you a born-again Christian.WWW.OCF.BERKELEY.EDU/~THETRUTH/TRACTS
The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." Nicodemus had a real need. He needed a change of his heart—a spiritual transformation. New birth, being born again, is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the person who believes ( 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1-4, 18). John 1:12, 13 indicates that "born again" also carries the idea "to become children of God" through trust in the name of Jesus Christ.
The question logically comes, "Why does a person need to be born again?" The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins..." (NKJ V). To the Romans in Romans 3:23, the Apostle wrote, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So, a person needs to be born again in order to have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.
A Born Again Christian is supposed to follow the commandments and the live of Jesus.
The concept of being Born Again differs from being an Evangelical Christian as indicated below.
E VANGELICAL CHRISTIAN
"What is an Evangelical Christian?"
Answer: To begin, let’s break down the two words. The term "Christian" essentially means "little Christ." "Christian" is the term given to followers of Jesus Christ in the first century A.D. ). The term "evangelical" comes from the Greek word that means "good news." Evangelism is sharing the good news of the salvation that is available through Jesus Christ. An evangelical, then, is a person dedicated to promoting the good news about Jesus Christ. Combined, the description "evangelical Christian" is intended to indicate a believer in Jesus Christ who is faithful in sharing and promoting the good news.
In Western culture today, there are many caricatures of evangelical Christians. For some, the term "evangelical Christian" is equivalent to right-wing, fundamentalist Republican. For others, "evangelical Christian" is a title used to differentiate an individual from a Catholic Christian or an Orthodox Christian. Others use the term to indicate adherence to the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. In this sense, an evangelical Christian is a believer who holds to the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and salvation by grace through faith alone. However, none of these is inherent in the description "evangelical Christian."
In reality, all Christians should be evangelical Christians. The Bible is consistently instructing us to be witnesses of the good news ( Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 1 Peter 3:15). There is no better news than Jesus! There is no higher calling than evangelist (One of the gifts of the spirit). There is no doubt that holding to the fundamentals of the Bible will result in a certain worldviews. www.gotquestions.org
"Evangelical" comes from the Greek word for "gospel," so we might expect that an evangelical Christian puts a high priority on the gospel — but this is not always the way the word is used. In some places, evangelical simply means Protestant; in others places it practically means Pentecostal. Some people want to define the term narrowly and others more broadly. Some people desire this label; others despise it.
Sociologists use the term evangelical for believers and churches that are more conservative than average. This segment of Christianity is growing (though that says nothing about its theological accuracy), and its members report more commitment to their faith and more involvement in their churches. This category includes churches that belong to the NAE as well as congregations and individuals that are in mainline Protestant denominations or in the Roman Catholic tradition.
Evangelical is often distinguished from "fundamentalist" — a term that originally meant Christians who believed in five major fundamentals of the faith, but which eventually came to be associated with ultraconservatives.
So what is an evangelical? Alister McGrath, an evangelical Anglican, offered six major distinctives of evangelical Christianity: 1) The supreme authority of Scripture, 2) Jesus Christ as incarnate God, 3) the Holy Spirit, 4) personal conversion, 5) evangelism, and 6) the importance of the Christian community (Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity, Inter Varsity Press, 1995, pp. 55-56). These six beliefs are not a hard and fast boundary, but in general they serve to mark the boundary between evangelicalism and mainstream Protestantism. (A different list of beliefs and practices would be needed to describe the boundary between evangelicalism and fundamentalism.)
The death of Jesus is of central importance. The ceremony that Jesus gave us to remember him is a memorial of his death. That is how he wanted to be remembered, and that is indeed the most distinctive feature of the Christian faith. Jesus died for us, for our sins. There are several theories of why his death saves us, but Scripture repeatedly says that we are saved through his death — he died for us, for our sins. Stott puts it this way: "Christ died as our substitute — instead of us — so that we might not have to die for our sins…but he also died as our representative, so that when he died we died with him".
Justification is the theological link between Christ’s crucifixion and our salvation. Because of what Christ did on the cross, we can be justified — counted as righteous — accepted by God — completely forgiven — our sins no longer counted against us. (Scripture uses a variety of words to convey the idea.) Stott sees five important aspects of justification: 1) it comes by grace, 2) it is based on Christ’s death, 3) we must be "in Christ" — united to him and his church, 4) it is received by faith — and faith is not a "work" that earns our salvation. "Faith has no function but to receive what grace freely offers" justification is given so that we are led by the Holy Spirit in a new life — "created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Eph. 2:10).
Faith and works are both enabled by the Holy Spirit, the third essential element of evangelical faith. Christian life begins with a spiritual rebirth, a regeneration. The Holy Spirit comes into us and we are born anew, born of the Spirit, born from above. We have been given a new life, and the Spirit within us assures us that we are indeed God’s children. We can know, we can have confidence, we can be sure, because our salvation does not rest upon our fallible performance, but upon the work Christ has already finished.
This side of Jesus’ return, evangelicals will probably never have organizational unity. We will always come to different conclusions on peripheral doctrines, and we will always have different denominations promoting those different conclusions. These doctrines may be important, but they should never become so important that they become our focus, nor should they be mental barriers that prevent us from recognizing other believers as Christians. They should not prevent us from worshipping with and working with people who share the essentials of the faith: respect for God’s revelation, a trust in salvation by grace based on Christ’s crucifixion, and a recognition of the necessity of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. www.wcg.org
In short, All Evangelicals (*See note below) are Born Again Christians but not all Born Again Christians are Evangelists. Hopefully the descriptions above explain the differences.
*There is an exception. Imagine a modern day Pharisee, whether a pastor or a layman, who is pompous and wants attention, that person may not be a Born Again Christian.
In closing, preach the Gospel of Jesus as He directed us to do. And use a good translation like the KJ V, NKJ V or the AS V.
