I bought a dictionary in the fall of 1985 when I started my first and only year of college. I still have that dictionary today. I used it to look up the word “Fundamental.”
When did “Serving as an original or generating source, Primary, Basic, Of central importance” become a bad thing? I’ve always thought being authentic, rather than fake, was a good thing, and something to be sought after and pursued.
If you are a bike rider, you want to ride a bike that has all the BASIC parts: Tires, Frame, Seat, Peddles, Handlebars, brakes.
If you go to a pet store to buy a puppy, you don’t ask, “Do you have any in the back, maybe one with a broken leg and only one eye?” No…You want one with all the BASIC parts!
If you buy a house, you want it to have all the BASIC parts: Footer, Floor, Walls, Roof, Windows, Doors, Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom.
If you must have surgery, you want your doctor to have all the BASIC knowledge, education, internship and residency.
Why is it that when so many people look for a CHURCH, they don’t mind it being a mamby pamby, wishy washy, anything goes, double minded, anyway you want it, quickshod, inkblot, quicksand kind of assembly?
COME ON NOW!
Shouldn’t we expect THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD to be comprised of the ORIGINAL, Bible-based, Non-negotiable, BASIC PARTS???
And shouldn’t we expect that when we hold churches accountable to those BASIC INDICATORS OF TRUTH, that we aren’t labeled “FUNDAMENTALISTS,” as though it meant the same thing as HERETIC or BLASPHEMER or ABOMINATION?
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I take God at His Word, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I stand on Deuteronomy 6:4, “Here O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” and NOT A TRINITY, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe what Jesus told Nicodemus, Unless a man is born of water and Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God, So be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe the basic plan of salvation that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two is the New Birth that Jesus spoke of, so be it.
-If Fundamentalist means that I believe NO PERSON AFTER THE DAY OF PENTECOST will be saved and see the kingdom of God without being born again of the WATER (which is Jesus’ name baptism) and the SPIRIT (which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance), SO. BE. IT.
-If Fundamentalist means I believe a Christian must live a sanctified life of HOLINESS, “without which no man shall see the Lord,” so be it.
People may look at me narrowly and say, “She’s one of those Fundamentalists. Basically, she thinks the Bible means just what it says, and God really expects us to repent, be baptized in Jesus’ name, receive the Holy Ghost, speak in tongues, dress, act, speak and live a certain way…and Oh, she doesn’t even believe in the trinity.
I’m sure those people will mean this description as an insult, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I will take it as a COMPLIMENT.