At the heart of being an evangelical is humility. That might seem a laughable claim amid all the empire-building and hubris that has blackened the name of evangelicalism.
And there is something about evangelicalism that can make it a fertile soil for pride. Evangelicals are people of the word, and so learning is in the blood. Yet learning so commonly fosters arrogance.
Then there is that confidence that we have the truth, an assurance that can buckle into a pharisaical censoriousness that makes many seek refuge elsewhere.
What effect should the gospel have on us, though? ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:30). For in the gospel is revealed the glory of the living, triune God, and in His light we creatures and sinners are exposed for the little wretches we are.
The more we see of the gospel, the more the three persons of the Trinity (and their work of revelation, redemption, and regeneration) are glorified, and so the more we diminish. Through the gospel, we come to realise that without God’s revelation, we are left groping in the darkness of ignorance. Without the redemption of the Son, we are utterly lost in our guilt and alienation from God. Without the Spirit’s work of regeneration, we are helplessly mired in our sin. In the gospel, God is exalted, and we delight to be abased before Him. And only then, when He is lifted up, are people drawn to him (John 12:32).
Times of reformation and renewal in the church have always been marked by this perspective. A fresh sight of the glory and grace of God awakens people both to who He is and to who they are. Unlike how they once thought, they realise that He is great, glorious, and beautiful in His holiness – and they are not. At the sounding of the gospel and the lifting up of Christ, they are like Isaiah, whose vision of the Lord in glory, high and lifted up, caused him to cry: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’ (Isa.6:5). Alternative gospels, where sin is a small problem and so Christ a small saviour (or assistant), never have the same effect.
That sight of God in His glory – now by faith, but one day face to face – is what we are made for. It is through that wonderful sight that we are transformed into His image and become more fully alive and human (2 Cor. 3:18). The humility we learn at the foot of the gospel, glorying in Christ and not ourselves, therefore turns out to be the wellspring of all evangelical health.
When our eyes are opened to the love of God for us sinners, we let slip our masks. Condemned as sinners yet justified, we can begin to be honest about ourselves. Loved despite our unloveliness, we begin to love. Given peace with God, we begin to know an inner peace and joy. Shown the magnificence of God above all things, we become more resilient, trembling in wonder at God, and not man.
This was the evangelical transformation Martin Luther experienced through the gospel. Luther often described himself as an anxious young man, being so wrapped up in himself that everything frightened him. Even the sound of a leaf blown in the wind would make him flee (see Lev. 26:36). That changed through his encounter with the gospel of Christ, to notable effect, as described by biographer Roland Bainton:
‘No longer did Luther tremble at the rustling of a wind-blown leaf, and instead of calling upon St Anne he declared himself able to laugh at thunder and jagged bolts from out the storm. This was what enabled him to utter such words as these: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” ’
The evangelical humility Luther found before the majesty and mercy of God was not gloomy or timid, forlorn or feeble. It was full-throttled, joyous, and valiant.
That is the stamp of the humility that is found in the gospel, and the look of evangelical integrity. It is the bearing of one refreshed by the gospel. Captivated by the magnificence of God, such evangelicals will not be so drawn to man-centred therapeutic religion. Under the radiance of His glory, they will not want to establish their own little empires. Their tiny achievements will seem petty, their feuds and personal agendas odious. He will loom large, making them bold to please God and not men. They will not dither or stammer with the gospel. But aware of their own redemption, they will share His own meekness and gentleness, not breaking a bruised reed. They will be quick to serve, quick to bless, quick to repent, and quick to laugh at themselves, for their glory is not themselves but Christ. This is the integrity found through the lifting up of Christ in His gospel.
Evangelicalism is in need of much healing, but it needs no other cure than the gospel itself. It needs only integrity.
Michael Reeves (PhD, King’s College, London) is President of Union, leading its Publishing, School, Research and Mission ministries. He teaches regularly worldwide and is the author of numerous books includ-ing Evangelical Pharisees, and Preaching.
