A "Bible-believing" church?

Recently, I heard the phrase “Bible-believing church” in a sermon.  I started thinking about that phrase.  It wasn’t the first time I heard it used before.  Yet this time, I really started wondering what that actually means.  Was I in a “Bible-believing church”?  Am I a “Bible-believing” Christian?  Is the phrase code for something?  What do people mean when they say it?  What’s the operational definition of a “Bible-believing church”? Doesn’t just about every church, tradition, or denomination claim to be “Bible-believing”?  

As I chewed on those questions for a couple weeks, I had the chance to ask a potluck group of mixed ages this question: “What is a Bible-believing church?”  We didn’t get very far and no definition was given.  We pondered what threshold for adherence to the Bible constituted or met the definition of being “Bible-believing”.  What percentage of the Bible (and which parts for that matter) ensure a church or Christian is “Bible-believing”?

What about the Roman Catholics who utilize the Apocrypha?  The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Bible, right?  The Mormons believe the Bible, no?  

Looking to the Protestant wing of Christendom, most groups affirm the Bible as their book of choice and “believe” it.  Yet, within the large umbrella of Protestantism there are myriad sets of interpretations.  Some claim universal salvation for all people.  Some justify other definitions of marriage and use the scriptures.  Some believe the church started after the book of Acts in a different dispensation.  Some believe its okay to kill others/enemies in certain circumstances.  Some believe “once saved, always saved” and others disagree.  Some believe in a triune God, while others believe three manifestations of one God and essentially deny the Trinity.  Some believe Jesus’ teachings were for a different dispensation and not to be followed literally by Christians today.  Some teach that women should pray with their head covered while others state otherwise.  Some teach divorce after remarriage is prohibited and some do not. This list could on and on (i.e. wearing of gold, foot washing, pre-tribulation rapture, post-tribulation rapture, practicing a kiss of charity, etc.).  All groups “believe” the Bible.

So, what does it mean to be a “Bible-believing church”?  With thousands of competing and contradicting interpretations in the umbrella of Christianity, it seems prudent for every professing Christian to know the Bible, understand the historical perspective of the New Testament, and put Jesus at the centerpiece of any interpretative lens.  If we question the status quo, seek to understand the historic faith (early Church), and are willing to confront our own presuppositions, Christians may be lead to a better place than our current condition.  If we know what the Christian religion is, what it teaches, and how its adherents should practice their religion, we may start to bridge the enormous gaps that exist.  At a minimum, every professing Christian should seek truth and align with others practicing the true faith that Jesus entrusted to his disciples.  If more Christians knew what the Bible actually teaches, particularly the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, I presume less people would be Christians.  Or, and more ideal, they would repent of their false ideas about the faith once delivered to the saints, realize the good news of the Kingdom of God, and seek to establish a pattern for the Church that already exists in the New Testament.  Perhaps, then, unity could increase and we all could have better discernment.  We may be able to then answer the elusive question, “What is a Bible-believing church?”