Does your Church measure up: Fundamental Beliefs:

It ‘should’ believe;

‘The WHOLE Bible, LITERALY and WITHOUT question or omission’.

Within a belief and faith in the Bible we have the following truths;

THE BIBLE
The Bible is the inspired Word of God; that it is inerrant and infallible, the supreme and ultimate authority in all matters of faith and conduct, understood only through the Illumination and teaching of the Holy Spirit.

OUR BEGINNINGS
The 6 Day Creation as described in Genesis where all that is was spoken into existence by the WORD. A family line back to Adam which promotes a young earth not one which is billions of years the evolutionist’s state.

GOD
The Godhead exists co-equally and co-eternally in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that these three are one God. He can be everywhere and anywhere and has no limitations.

SATAN
Lucifer, Satan the Devil is a created being, an Angel who is the adversary of God and man who will be ultimately thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the Millennial reign of Christ. He cannot be everywhere and has many limitations, but never ridicule or underestimate him.

LORD JESUS CHRIST
A belief in the true and proper deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; in His virgin birth; in His real and complete humanity, in His sinless life, in His authoritative teaching; In His substitutionary and atoning sacrifice through His shed blood; in His bodily resurrection; in His ascension to the right hand of the Father; His heavenly intercession; in His personal, pre-millennial and pre-tribulation return (cause of great debate pre or post) to receive His church and to establish His millennial kingdom.

OUR PRESENT STATE
We are all Sinners, born into Sin, inherently Sinful, due to Adams disobedience in Eden.

OUR STRENGTH AND HOPE
We now have the Holy Spirit in the world who’s work is to convince the world of sin, righteousness and judgement; to teach; to guide into all truth; to bring the word of Christ to remembrance; to glorify Christ; to show things to come; to produce fruit in the life of the believers; to equip believers for effective service and ministry.

Does your Church measure up: The workings of the Church:

It ‘should’ continually;

‘Teach the Word, prepare and mature the Church for God’s work and ministry and especially for His return’.

BIBLE
There should be sound teaching in the Word for all age groups within the Church. The Word should take precedence.

LEADERSHIP
There should be ONE overall leader who is inspired and led by God who controls the spiritual welfare of the congregation during meetings. There should be Spiritual not emotional leadership.

STRUCTURE
Meetings should ALWAYS be open to the movement of God but be driven on sound doctrine not ‘feelings’.

CONTENT
Emphasis should not be on physical enjoyment (the satisfaction of the flesh) but on Teaching and Praise and the satisfaction of the spirit. Time should be given to praise and worship as well as teaching and prayer. However you should be open at all times to the leading of the Spirit. Preaching should be Bible based and not ‘life’ based. Psychology, philosophy and humanistic thinking is not a foundation God can build on, Scripture is.

PURPOSE DRIVEN
The church should be driven by the will of God and His purpose here on earth, it should be inclusive not exclusive, it should be visible in the local community and members should be active not only in the church but outside, doing God's work. The church is not a castle that should be protected from strangers, but an open door, ready always to recieve new people God may want to send to you.

If it doesn’t measure up:

You need to be asking why? Ask the Pastor, Leader what ever they are called why they don’t believe in a particular point and explain it with scripture. If you don’t know what they believe then again ask, it is no good being taught from someone who doesn’t have the truth of the Word in them.

You MUST believe in the WHOLE Bible, we might not understand all of it, but that doesn’t mean you dismiss it. You might also think or be told there are contradictions, a quick scan round the Internet or talking to a mature Christian will show you there are no ‘supposed’ contradictions.

Problems arise because people read the wrong version of Bible in which words are translated incorrectly or changed to make it easier to read but detract from the truth. There is a big difference between reading and studying but either way do some research and pick a bible which is closest to the original. Many modern versions pamper to the ease of reading and miss out on the message God intended, so choose wisely.

If you think you can change your church then pray and stick with it, if not pray and get out, after all it’s your eternal Soul that’s at stake.