Evangelical at it's root simply means "of the gospel", but to understand how that applies to the "evangelical movement" within the church must look at the long history of the church.

 

The Start

In the New Testament Jesus chose many disciples to follow him in his earthly ministry, twelve of them had a particular emphasis throughout the gospels. eleven remained faithful to Jesus by the end of the gospels and in the first chapter of the book of Acts, Judas the unfaithful disciple, was replaced. The book of Acts is significant for the study of the history of the Church, because it is in Acts chapter two that we see the Holy Spirit descend upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost and the with that the birth of the Church. From that point on as you continue to read the New Testament you see the church grow through missionary endeavors throughout the Mediterranean as recorded in the Books of Acts. You also see how the apostles gave doctrinal, spiritual, and practical encouragements to the infant church in the Apostolic letters, and finally the hope of the last things revealed in the apocalypse of John. These writings; the gospels, the letters, and the apocalypse, along with the Jewish scriptures, are the fundamental authoritative writings that then carried the church through history after the death of the apostles.

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The First Millenium

After the death of the apostles, the church had to learn to go on without their authority. The different churches that had been founded throughout the Mediterranean, and possibly even much father, all chose to handle this challenge in different ways. Some relied on their best efforts to interpret the scriptures, some relied on the authority of the disciples of the apostles, and some, like the church of Rome, claimed to hold the authority of Peter himself as the first among the apostles and therefore the church of Rome set itself up as the first among the churches. The best evidence shows that this was a gradual progression, but eventually the authority of Rome came into question by the other churches, and thus the Papacy was established in response to those concerns. Eventually this, among many other theological disputes, let to various splits within the church, the most significant being when the eastern church split from the western in the year 1054. Our history as protestants does not focus much on this event, but it is worth bringing attention to the fact that the reformers were not the first to oppose the authority of Rome.

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The Pre-Reformation

In the centuries leading up to the reformation one can see how the church was preparing herself for the need of reform. The scholastic period was coming to an end and the renaissance was  beginning. In the scholastic era there was a revival of philosophy within the church, specifically the philosophy of Aristotle. Through this revival many of the scholastic theologians started to use philosophical terms to define theological ideas.

One of the most impactful theological developments in this time, especially leading up to the reformation, was the teaching of transubstantiation. There was always debate within the church as to the extent of Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper, but in the scholastic era, through the influence of Aristotelian metaphysics, the scholastics presented the church with a name and a way to explain a belief that already existed to a certain extent within the church. This idea of transubstantiation took hold within the Roman Church and eventually was made dogma through the Fourth Lateral Council in 1215. The impact of this decision can be seen fairly quickly. Because the church taught that Christ was truly physically present in the bread and wine, the church began teaching that the bread and wine were deserving of worship that was due only to God alone. The elements also began to be treated more practically with a holy transcendence causing the clergy to withhold the wine from the laity because they weren't worthy to partake. This was a problem for many of the early reformers in the centuries leading up to the reformation, and was a principal issue during the reformation itself.

The main theological development that sparked the reformation, however, was the church's teaching on indulgences. Through the centuries the church developed the idea that the only way to atone for post-baptismal sins was through a system of penance. The church taught however that penance did not suffice to atone for the guilt of sin and therefore that one needed to go through a type of punishment, either on earth or in purgatory to cover the guilt of sin. This led to the teaching of indulgences. That one could receive either a plenary (full) indulgence, or a partial indulgence. These indulgences could generally only be given by the pope, arch-bishop, or some bishops, and would serve to reduce or remove the guilt of sin for the believer thus reducing or removing the amount of penance or time in purgatory one needed to serve. The first time indulgences were promulgated by the church was during the first crusade in which Pope Urban II promised a plenary indulgence to all who fought to retake the Holy Land. Over time the church, in need of money, began to sell indulgences in order to cover the costs of building projects like St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and even personal debts like that of the archbishop Albert of Mainz, who borrowed money in order to buy his position in the church and was obligated to pay back his debts.

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The Reformation

Through these, and many other theological developments, many different reformers arose within the church who spoke out in hope to see the church leave behind many of the dogmas that had corrupted church teaching and practice. Some of these important pre-reformation reformers are John Wycliff in England, John Hus in Bohemia, Savonarola in Florence, and others. The one reformer however that ignited the period of Church History we now call the reformation was Martin Luther.

In April of 1517 Martin Luther came up with 97 thesis against scholastic theology which mostly went unnoticed. At this time it was normal, when in search of discussion or debate, to compile a series of organized points of discussion or thesis and post them publicly in hopes of sparking discussion or even debate. After Luther's first series of thesis went unnoticed, he posted another se of 95 thesis against indulgences on the church door in Wittenburg on October 31, 1517. It was these 95 thesis that sparked the reformation.

Luther was not vandalizing the church but doing this, as stated before he was simply posting discussion points on the town discussion board. At this time Johann Tetzel was traveling around Germany selling indulgences to support the construction of St. Peter's Basilica and also paying back the debts owed by Archbishop Albert of Mainz, in Germany, the same archbishop Luther reported to. Due to the corrupt nature of the sale of indulgences in Germany, Albert and Pope Leo X did not want attention to be brought to this particular church practice. Because these 95 thesis spread quickly throughout the region, Albert was made aware of the debate regarding the sale of indulgences, and after him Pope Leo X himself was now aware. Luther was obviously asked to leave the situation alone, but he became more and more firm in his convictions, especially as his perspective began to shift in other matters of theology.

It is important to note that Luther, being a monk within the Catholic Church, did not wish to divide the church. It took years of growing in conviction through a study of the Bible as the first a foremost authority in the church, and the subsequent push back of Rome, that Luther decided to accept his fate as a heretic and lead those who would listen in opposition to Rome. Many other reformers arose within the church as the message spread and Rome's authority began to wane as the authority of scripture began to take precedence in church communities in Germany, Switzerland, France, England and parts of Italy. Luther may have sparked the reformation, but it became what it is now due to the added efforts and influence of people like Philip Melanchthon, Urlich Zwingli, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, and John Knox. Through these men the Scriptures were given first authority within the church and therefore many of the teachings of Roman Church that were based solely on the authority of Rome or later tradition, were made subject to the authority of Scripture and could not stand against it.

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The 5 Solas

No reformer took the place of the Pope within the reformation movement, that would have contradicted the whole movement away from the institutional authority of the Church of Rome and her traditions. Through the development of reformation thought and theology, however, 5 principles have come about to act as a guide for protestants. Those 5 principles are known was the 5 Solas:

• Sola Scriptura

• Solus Christus

• Sola Fide

• Sola Gratia

• Soli Deo Gloria

Each of these principles represents a departure from catholic and orthodox emphasis in worship and practice.​ 

Sola Scriptura was a departure from Papal authority, and the authority of tradition, placing the scriptures as the only infallible authority for the church. Solus Christus was a departure from the idea of a treasury of merit, giving all credit back to Jesus for earning our salvation by his sacrifice on the cross. Sola Fide was a departure from the idea that man, through any works of his own, could earn his own salvation, only faith in the works of Christ could bring us to saving grace. Sola Gratia was a departure from the penitential system, no work is required by man to attain, or maintain salvation, only the grace of Jesus given to believers saves us and empowers us to live the life of faith. Soli Deo Gloria was a departure from the veneration of saints and images, emphasizing and redirecting worship and glory to God alone.

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The Reformation Today

The influence of the 16th century Reformation is lasting and seen widely throughout the world today. Throughout the centuries the movement grew, spreading first throughout Europe and then throughout the whole world. Eventually the term "Protestant" was given to the adherents of the movement in Germany because of their protesting the decision of the Diet of Speyer, but other protestant movements preferred to be called "Reformed" and some "Evangelicals". Today, the term protestant is used to identify the movement in general, but within the movement there now exists many different churches of "denominations" that all represent different theological convictions and practices. 

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Calvary Chapel

Calvary Chapel was born out of the protestant movement as an outreach to the hippies in souther California in the 1960's. Through the teaching and influence of Chuck Smith, and many other leaders within the movement, Calvary Chapel has grown into a worldwide community of churches united in a love for Scripture and preaching the gospel.