Our Charter of Freedom

We must hold fast to the "regulative principle" as understood by the New Testament. This is the foundation of Christian Liberty, because only the Bible can bind a person's conscience. If what the preacher says doesn't flow out of the biblical text, he has no right to impose it on other people, and it has no place in the pulpit.

It isn't enough that a position doesn't contradict Scripture; the teaching must itself be Scriptural, that is, based on Scripture. The Church doesn't have the authority to dictate to the people of God what the Scripture itself doesn't teach.

It is no light thing to add to the Word of God, as can be seen in 1 Timothy 4:1-5. To forbid what God allows is perverted (1 Timothy 4:3); indeed, it is a doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).

While civil governments may require us to obey and their authority is only limited by their not being able to command us to sin (Romans 13:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-14; Acts 5:29), church authority is strictly limited to what the Bible itself requires, so that believers have the right and responsibility to demand that church leaders show them the biblical basis for their teachings and commands (Colossians 2:20-23).