On our church sign and literature you will find that we refer to ourselves as Bible Believers. This means that we believe the Holy Scripture and endeavor to live by it. Our church verse is Philippians 1:17b, “set for the defense of the gospel.” We take the Word of God for what it plainly teaches and practice it by faith without apology. To please the Lord Jesus Christ and live for eternity is our ambition. We are for what God is for and against what God is against. Our aim is to encourage and convict so that the child of God may be fruitful in their Christian walk. We do not add or take away from the doctrines of scripture. When necessary, we warn the precious souls in our congregation against false teaching as commanded in the Bible. For those instances when the Bible is not clear we encourage our people to pray and seek God’s will and develop their own convictions as God leads. We believe this to be the true sense of Christian Liberty as taught in Romans 14. It is not our purpose to straighten every crooked stick or to force our views on anyone, only the Holy Ghost, through the Word of God and by the power of God can accomplish that task. We love and respect every truly born again child of God, eventhough we may not agree with their doctrine or practices.
We have been called legalists by more liberal Christians because we believe and obey the Bible and do not agree with their opinions. The more militant Christians have likewise labeled us as liberals. Because we do not agree with all of their convictions, we are viewed as on the fence and not taking a stand. We are neither legalists nor liberals, but Bible Believers. My experience with those on the left has been that their beliefs are in some part based on what they think and how the feel and not solely based on Scripture. My experience with those on the right has been that their convictions have been placed above their beliefs and what they hold to generally comes from the views of a well known preacher and not from the Bible. As independent churches, we are to stand on the doctrines of the Bible and respect each other’s convictions. It is human nature to gravitate towards extremes. We only become compromisers when we depart from God’s Word, either to the right or to the left. The only label that I care to pursue is that from the Lord Jesus himself, “well done thou good and faithful servant.” Amen