Text: Selected Scriptures

• Illus. People need to know who they are, where they came from, in order to help them determine where they are going. A church has the same need.
• Begin a series in which we will explore what it means to be a fundamentalist. This will help in determining direction and association of the church.
• Answer such questions such as: With whom am I to associate with? Is there such a thing as secondary separation taught in the Bible? What about personal associations as opposed to ecclesiastical associations?
• Tonight will be a brief introduction to the subject

1. Definitions
1. Evangelical

A religious conservative who holds to the fundamental doctrines of the faith. Evangelicals are difficult to characterize because the word itself is very broad and inclusive. As we study the history of the church we will be better to get a handle on the various ways this label is used.

2. Fundamentalist

A sub-type of evangelicals. They are characterized by a militancy in contending for the faith and separation from those who have departed from the faith.

George Marsden: "A fundamentalist is an evangelical who is angry about something. That seems simple and is fairly accurate....Amore precise statement of the same point is that an American fundamentalist is an evangelical who is militant in opposition to liberal theology in the churches or to changes in cultural values or mores, such as those associated with 'secular humanism.' In either the long or short definitions, fundamentalists are a sub-type of evangelicals and militancy is crucial to their outlook. Fundamentalists are not just religious conservatives, they are conservatives who are willing to take a stand and to fight."

3. New Evangelical

1. Neo-orthodox

One who held to conservative religious views but to a wrong view of inspiration. They believed the right things about Christ, but questioned the inspiration of the Bible.

2. Ecclesiastical Separation

The doctrine of separating from churches or institutions that have departed from the faith.

3. Personal Separation

The practice of living in such a way that a person does not follow the culture, but instead, separates form the sinful elements in the culture. It is separating oneself form sinful practices as well as sinful associations or anything that might give that appearance.

4. Secondary Separation

2. Descriptions/Characteristics
1. Evangelical
1. Academically oriented
2. Broad in their associations
3. Usually does not practice secondary separation
4. Emphasizes the unity of the church over the purity of doctrine
5. Often practice ecumenical evangelism
2. Fundamentalist
1. Separates ecclesiastically from false doctrine
2. Emphasizes purity of doctrine over unity
3. Practical emphasis as opposed to academic one
4. Militant in his defense for the faith
5. Usually has higher personal standards
6. Practices personal separation to a greater degree than the evangelical
7. Withdraws from culture rather than participates in it
3. New Evangelical
1. See evangelical
3. Differences
1. Purity vs. Unity of the church
2. Evangelism vs. Edification emphasis
3. Academic vs. Practical
4. Infiltration vs. separation
5. Militant vs. Irenic
6. Cultural withdrawal vs. Cultural change
4. Conclusion
1. Doctrinally the big issues dividing fundamentalist and evangelicals are:
1. The nature of the church
1. Unity vs. purity
2. Local vs. universal
2. Ecclesiastical Separation
2. Practically
1. Methods
2. Attitudes
3. Personal separation

• We will examine these issues in detail in the up-coming weeks.
• Look at the history of evangelicals and fundamentalists
• Look at the issue that distinguish us from one another
• Build a biblical model for our church