Simply Christians

When a person asks, “What are you?” in a religious conversation they usually aren’t expecting the answer, “A Christian.” They may even follow up by saying, “Yeah I know, but what kind?” As you discuss religion with more and more people, you’ll find it’s not uncommon for someone to use two or three extra words in order to be identified religiously. One may be a Southern Baptist Christian, another a Roman Catholic Christian, still another an Apostolic Oneness Pentecostal Christian. Faced with this backdrop of religious confusion, how should one describe members of the family of God? What kind of Christians are we?

Even the question itself is problematic. According to the Bible, there are not multiple varieties of faithful followers of God. There is only one kind, Christians! So, you can understand the issue of trying to fit that teaching into the modern world of religious pluralism. The church we read about in the Bible cannot properly be labeled as Catholic or Protestant. The church is not a denomination. In fact, to be true to the Bible, we must reject the separations present in denominationalism. Put another way, Christ’s followers must not be divided because He is not divided (1 Cor 1:10-13). We are simply Christians.

We strive to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) without input from manmade creeds or religious manuals. Based on both internal and external evidence, we believe that the Bible is authored by God (1 Thess 2:13). Scripture contains scientific foreknowledge, specific predictive prophecies, and consistent unity of message. It is God-breathed, inerrant, and all-sufficient (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:3; Jude 1:3). As such it is our only source of religious authority. The Bible only makes Christians only.

We don’t look to man’s teachings to learn about salvation either. One is saved by God’s grace seen in Christ’s sacrifice (Acts 4:8-12), through hearing the Gospel (Acts 10:33), believing its message (Acts 8:12), repenting of sins (Acts 17:30), confessing Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 8:37), and being immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Furthermore, one is not added to the church by men but by the Lord (Acts 2:47) and remains in a right relationship with God only by faithfully obeying His word (Acts 11:23).

We have no earthly headquarters, human council, or conference which holds authority over multiple congregations. Each local church answers to its own eldership and is self-governing (Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1-3). The New Testament shows that all Christians, including all elders, answer to Christ (John 12:48; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 5:4). He is the head of the church, both locally and universally (Matt 10:32; Col 1:18; 2 Jn 1:9).

We should also beware of the temptation to declare ourselves “Church of Christ Christians” or “Church-of-Christ-ers” (creating yet another denomination). It is true that Christians are described in scripture as the churches of Christ (Rom 16:16), but this is not the only way the Bible refers to Christians. While it is important for the church to wear a scriptural name, please remember the term “church of Christ” is simply a description that denotes ownership. It means “the church that belongs to Christ.”

It is possible for us to be simply Christians who simply follow the Bible. To accomplish this, we must strive together to use Scripture as our only backing and reject the doctrines of men. Since there can be salvation in no other name but His (Acts 4:12), let’s simply be Christians!