To begin with.

The term "evangelical" is not the result of an intentional choice: it was given to us by others. But it fits us because of its original meaning: evangelical comes from the word "evangel" which means "good news"-the good news of Jesus Christ. Perhaps some people think we are Protestants, but who knows the meaning given to this name when it was first used? Its origin comes from the declaration that 14 cities and 5 regional states made in Speyer on April 19, 1529 before the German imperial parliament, "We solemnly declare before God our only Creator, Redeemer, Savior, who will one day call us to judgment, and before all men, that we are in no way willing to accept an approach contrary to God, His Word, our conscience and the salvation of our souls." Who would not subscribe to such a declaration? Now, since "solemnly declaring" was called "Protestants," the epithet of Protestants served to define those of the protest, those who placed the Word of God as the foundation of their salvation.

In every age there have been authentic Christians who have longed for a return to the gospel, its purity and sufficiency. We evangelicals are heirs to this will. We believe that that obscure carpenter from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, is the only Lord. We are convinced, based on the Bible, that outside of Him it is not possible to be saved. We read in Acts 4:12 "...there is under heaven no other name by which we have to be saved." What Christ came to proclaim is truly the Gospel, the good news: "You do not have to do anything, I have accomplished everything; you do not have to save yourself, I have saved you; you do not have to try to attain a certain standard of righteousness, I am your righteousness; you do not have to atone for your sins, I have atoned for them." In one fell swoop all our attempts at personal purification through religious practices (fasting, pilgrimage, suffering or otherwise) are shown for what they are - so many "dirty laundry" before God's holiness. Jesus is for us the only mediator between God and man. There is no other bridge between us and Him.

Man would know little, very little about God if God had not spoken and if He had not revealed Himself in His Word. The Bible is the means through which God communicates His truth to man. Through it He wants to free man from all his illusions, addressing to him a sure word for his salvation. Every man has the opportunity to approach the truth of the Bible without the guidance of other men. The power and clarity of God's Word are such that it needs no support. Everyone who believes, the richest as well as the poorest, the mightiest as well as the humblest, is placed, in his dealings with God, on the same plane: all are priests. There is neither hierarchy nor power, but humility and service. Everyone is a brother. We do not want to be gathered around men, but around the Word of God.

We are evangelical Christians because, like the early Christians, we want to follow Jesus Christ and practice what He taught; we believe we need a savior. The Bible teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Sin is not just stealing, killing or transgressing a commandment, but is something that taps into the innermost essence of our being. The gospel of Christ proclaims the total forgiveness of all sins by God's grace. It is a free and gratuitous gift from the God who loves us and calls us by name. It is not an invitation to improve, but to change! It is not about updating, but about conversion.

We say sola Scriptura because we believe that the Bible is the supreme authority for thought and conduct; an authority sufficient and final to be obeyed. It comes before church tradition, reason and feeling. This does not mean that it is left to the "free examination" of the individual; rather, it means that its interpretation depends on the action of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16).

We say solus Christus because only the Lord Jesus, begotten by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, by his atoning sacrifice was able to fulfill God's requirements. Thanks to him any other hypothesis of salvation is excluded because in him dwells all fullness. He was, in fact, fully sufficient to deliver from the devil's dominion and from the corruption in which man was because of sin (John 14:6).

We say sola fide because God-given faith is the only basis for the sinner's justification. The Holy Spirit is able to apply the truth of the Word to the human heart by producing the Christian life in its principle and effect. Indeed, the gospel excludes all forms of cross-breeding between God and man (Ephesians 2:8).

We say sola gratia, because the only answer to man's perdition before God's holiness is his grace alone. No one is, in fact, able to do anything to be saved and reconciled to God (Ephesians 1:7).

We say soli Deo gloria, because God's sovereignty is total. He must be at the center of interests, purposes and actions, and everything must give him glory. Thanks to Christ, a new world is possible, a world in which God is truly God (Romans 11:36).