Charismatic vs Evangelical

The two major sides in Christian circles revolve around these two words. Most people take these sides whether they know it or not. I believe this is the case because it is in human nature to go to extremes. The chasm caused by these two words is, quite frankly, despicable. Christians are supposed to be unified, but we are probably the most divided “unified” group out there, and the words “Charismatic” and “Evangelical” are at the center of it.

To begin with, I would like to say that this is more of a general overview of the difference between these two types of Christians. There are many examples that I won’t get into for this blog. The examples will typically come up throughout my other blogs as I address the teaching put forth by the two sides.

So, what are Charismatic and Evangelical Christians?

The term “charismatic” refers to the spiritual gifts given to Christians. The Greek word that Paul uses regarding the spiritual gifts is χάρισμα (charisma). Christians who are labeled “charismatic” tend to focus on the Holy Spirit and the experience of being a child of God. This almost always comes with a belief that all of the gifts are still active to this day. Thus, the label of “charismatic.” How this plays out exactly in each denomination is different, but it makes for a relatively good umbrella term.

The word “evangelical” essentially means “one who evangelizes,” or “one who spreads the Gospel.” Evangelism is always a major part of of the focus of “evangelical” churches. That said, it isn’t unique to them. Most “charismatic” churches also place a heavy emphasis on evangelism. This, of course, means that there must be more to what is meant by an “evangelical” church. Evangelical churches also focus heavily on the authority and centrality of Scripture and give a high value to the practice of the early church as being accurate to the Gospel. You may realize that this particular term is quite broad. That is primarily because it is. Every Christian should be an evangelical Christian based off of those three things. Yet, we often see these two terms (charismatic and evangelical) in conflict. Why?

To answer that, I want to break each side down further. Evangelical Christians are those who tend to focus on doctrine (teaching) and obedience. On the other hand, Charismatic Christians, as I said above, typically focus on the Holy Spirit and the experience of knowing God and being His child. The rest of this blog is devoted to understanding what these differences mean.

Before we go further: Both of these terms do not refer to a denomination. Rather, they reference a “type” of Christian. Many denominations fit under each term.

Now, people can fall on either side or somewhere in the middle of this conversation. That said, from what I have seen, it is pretty rare for someone to fall anywhere close to the center. This is probably due to what I said above about humans going to extremes. Humans, even Christians, like to feel like they belong somewhere. The middle space of any argument is a no man’s land. Typically, someone won’t feel like they belong if they are in this no man’s land. So, everyone tends to get lumped onto one side of the argument or the other. I land in the middle. I like that no man’s land. I firmly believe that the truth about which of these two topics is right is that they are both partially right, but they have both missed the mark. The truth lies smack dab in the middle of the two. I believe this is true of most doctrines that have these two opposing sides.

The foundation of who we are in Christ stems from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He comes into our lives when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is the Holy Spirit’s work that makes us into new creations, and it is through Him that we are sealed for salvation. It is through Him that our spiritual gifts are given. He gives these gifts to build up the church. Additionally, our relationship with God is made right through Christ’s death and resurrection. As Christians, we should, without a doubt, experience God. For, that is how relationships work. To know God is to know Him through experience and is not merely knowing about Him. After all, in James 2:19, James says,

You believe that God is one; Good! Even the demons believe-and shudder!

James 2:19

Of course, James is discussing the difference between faith with works and faith without works, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that knowing about God and knowing Him through experience are different things. To be sure, knowledge begins with knowing about something, but unless we experience that knowledge and put it into practice it is worthless.

The Holy Spirit and experiencing God are vastly important, but what happens when all we care about is the experience? Well, if we only focus on the experience, we run the risk of being deceived by spirits other than the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “for even Satan disguises Himself as an angel of light.” If experience is all we are after, then Satan can make that happen. Unless we add some solid teaching, studying, and knowledge into the mix, we won’t be able to tell the difference. In fact, we see this demonstrated fairly often in some of the more extreme examples of Charismatic Christianity. In these circles, nearly anything that is, or seems to be, spiritual must be good and from God. Yet, Scripture is clear that that is simply not true, and comparing these experiences with Scripture demonstrates the folly of experience without knowledge.

On the other side of things is doctrine and obedience to a sovereign God. We are commanded by God to show our love to Him by obeying His commands (John 14:23). But how can we obey Him if we don’t know what He wants? That is where doctrine comes in. We teach the truth that is taught in Scripture that we might know the truth so that we can show our love to God. After all, what man can show his wife that he loves her unless he has first studied her to see what she likes? In this same way, we must study Yahweh so that we can demonstrate our love to Him.

What is the danger here? Well, one of the dangers lies with legalism. If we do not also include the deep intimate relationship with God, then all we are doing is trying to earn our salvation through works. Rather than learning what is right so that we can show God our love, we learn what is right so that we can earn His favor. This is a critical error, and one to be avoided.

Additionally, we can become too “heady.” We can become hearers of the word rather than doers. We can have theological conversations/arguments all day long, but it often stops there. If our beliefs remain in our head and do not affect our lives, we have a significant problem. Knowledge without the application of that knowledge is a far cry short of what we have been commanded to do.

Charismatic and Evangelical Christians need to learn from each other. We need to see the truth that lies with each side and meld them together again. Separate, they are half-truths, but together they are a cohesive whole that can change the world. We need to come together and truly listen so that we can separate the chaff from the wheat.

As always, if you have questions feel free to contact me at ljandersonbooks@outlook.com and I will do my best to answer them. If you would like to stay up to date with my blogs and other writing projects then follow me on Facebook and Twitter.