Conviction, belief or opinion

It can be said of any Christian witness that for the first generation of believers their faith will be a matter of conviction, for the second generation it will only be a belief and by the time of the third generation it will be nothing more than an opinion. They may openly proclaim the same faith, yet in reality their attachment to those truths is vastly different from the generations before them. Although this may be most apparent in the youth of the church, yet it can also be the case in older believers also. It is evident today that many professing Christians have fallen away from that position of conviction which their predecessors have held and are 'carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness'. Their faith has become at best a belief and at worst an opinion. In considering what the difference is between those three positions it is easiest to reject that of an opinion, for opinions are subjective to the desires and views of those holding them. One opinion can never be truly considered to be of greater value than another opinion. As such we should never consider our scriptural standards as opinions, for John 17:17 says that ‘thy word is truth'. The doctrines of the Bible are not opinions but God’s revealed truth, a truth that is absolute and unchangeable and what it teaches can never be considered on a par with other ‘truths’.

Why I am a Free Presbyterian

Why am I a Free Presbyterian? First and foremost I am of course a Christian, but why do I attend the Free Presbyterian Church? Perhaps it is a question you would also do well to ask yourself if you too attend the Free Presbyterian Church. If attend another denomination it may also cause you to ask some questions about the church which you attend. Yet first of all there are issues which we must clearly state are NOT the reason we are Free Presbyterians.

Family influence: Perhaps you are a Free Presbyterian simply because your parents and grandparents before were before you. This is a very perilous position to be in, to be without a personal conviction about the stand of the denomination but to be part of it just because those before you were also. Personal conviction about the truth of God’s word is essential for the future of the denomination if we are to stand steadfastly in times of testing and trial. I am a Free Presbyterian because it is the church I choose, not because of others.

Hope of salvation: I am not a Free Presbyterian because I believe it save my soul. If you hope that your Free Presbyterianism will somehow help you in the day of judgement then you are greatly mistaken. If you have not accepted Christ as your own and personal saviour then you may as well have sat in the chapel all the days of your life listening to a priest blaspheme the name of Christ for it will do you as much good as having been a Free Presbyterian. Acts 4:12 says that ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’. Salvation is not found in any church but in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.