The name “Lutheran” was applied to the early reformers to insult them, to imply (quite falsely) that they were followers of Luther, rather than of Christ. The name these Lutherans applied to themselves, however, was “Evangelical”. In fact, many Lutheran congregations have as part of their official names the word “Evangelical” to this day. However, in America, the name Evangelical refers to a certain segment of American Protestant Christianity, and that is what I am going to address here. (The term “Evangelical” also has a political meaning in America, as in the “Evangelical Right”. I will not be discussing that.
Similarities
Evangelicals and Lutherans share the Reformation belief, held by most Protestants, that an individual Christian’s salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and is worked by the Holy Spirit. Evangelicals, like Confessional Lutherans such as the Missouri Synod, share a high view of Scripture. That is, we all believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and indeed, infallible Word of God, and adhere to the Reformation principle of Scripture Alone. Evangelicals and Confessional Lutherans share an aversion to Theological Liberalism, and adhere to traditional, orthodox doctrines regarding the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the Atonement, the Resurrection, and the Second Coming. We also share a traditional understanding of the Moral Law. Regarding certain divisive social issues, Evangelicals and Confessional Lutherans tend to see things similarly as well. We are all Pro-Life, for example, and generally consider homosexual unions to be contrary to God’s law and His Will. Because of these similarities, Confessional Lutherans are sometimes grouped (loosely) with Evangelicals.
Differences
The most important differences between Confessional Lutherans and Evangelicals are treated in the discussion of Lutheranism and Protestantism. Beyond that, since there is no single denomination called “Evangelical”, specific differences between Lutherans and different Evangelical denominations, such as Southern Baptists, for example, or Calvinists, are better treated separately.