Hello, I am a Christian!

It is a clear, biblical truth that is very basic, liberating, and exciting! In fact, it underlies everything we are and do as God’s people. Yet it can also be difficult to maintain and explain, especially in our confused, divided religious world.

It is the idea that we can be and must be just Christians.

That’s it!

How blessed we are to wear the name of Jesus Christ!

When those among us repented of our sins and were baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, the Lord gave us that name. He added us to the body of Christ, the family of God, the church of God, the church of Christ, as described and defined in the New Testament. That’s all we became, all we are, and all we ever will be – just Christians.

“Christian?” What’s that? Let’s go back to where it all started and let the original Christians speak for themselves.

Let’s see what happened in Acts 26, when Paul was on trial before the Roman governor Festus and the Jewish king Herod Agrippa II.

First and Always – Christ

As we outline the chapter, we note that it’s all about Christ.

26:1-11      Paul’s Opposition to Christ

26:12-18     Paul’s Encounter with Christ

26:19-23     Paul’s Message about Christ

He had to suffer and rise.

He would proclaim light.

26:24 Festus: “Paul, you’re smart but crazy!”

26:25-27     Paul: “Agrippa knows and believes!”

From “Christ” – to “Christian”

Now let’s consider the conversation that followed.

Ac 26:28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”

Paul pled with Agrippa to become only what he himself was – a Christian. If he had, the Lord would have added him to His same one church as all the disciples. He would have followed the apostles’ inspired teaching regarding faith, worship, and service. That’s all we aim to be and to do!

Let’s ask some simple yet profound questions.

What did Paul try to get Agrippa II to become?

Just what Paul himself was (except for his chains) – a Christian.

If he had said yes, what would he have done?

He would have confessed Christ, repented and been baptized for the forgiveness of his sins.

At that point, what would the Lord have done?

He would have forgiven him and granted him the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To what would the Lord have added Agrippa?

To the body of believers, the congregation of Christians, the church belonging to Christ.

Which church would that be? With whom?

There was only one body (church), just as there was only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, etc. (Eph 4:1-6)

What would he have been taught to believe?

The apostles’ doctrine, as given to them by the Holy Spirit.

How would he have worshipped and lived?

According to the teaching given to the early church.

How important was the name of Christ in the NT?

“The Name of Jesus Christ”

The frequency in Acts is overwhelming.

2:21, 38 Call on, repent and be baptized (---).

3:6, 16; 4:7-18 Crippled beggar healed (---).

4:12 No other name by which we must be saved.

4:17 Forbidden to speak in this name.

5:27-28, 40-41 Teaching, suffering shame (---).

8:12 Kingdom of God, name of Jesus Christ.

Name That Name!

9:14-16 Saul / Paul to bear My Name to Gentiles.

10:43, 48 Forgiveness, baptism (---).

11:26 Disciples called “Christians” first in Antioch.

19:17 (---) was being magnified.

21:13 Paul ready to die (---).

22:16 Baptized – wash away sins – calling (---).

26:9 Before conversion, Paul was hostile to (---).

Our Simple Plea

Let’s teach what they taught …

Believe what they believed …

Do what they did …

Be added to what they were added to …

Worship as they worshiped …

And be what they were. Just Christians.

Let’s Be Clear

“Churches of Christ” (Ro 16:16) – “congregations of Christians,” as the church is defined in the NT.

Jesus said, “I will build My church” (Mt 16:18).

We can be Christians, added by God to that same one church that belongs to Christ, without joining anything man-made!

We must stick to NT teaching, pure and simple.

We must offer its pure message to the world.

Not, “Follow us,” but, “Together let’s follow Jesus Christ!”

The fact is that, when some people hear “church of Christ,” they think it refers to some man-made body, with its own creeds and doctrines. They will ask about “church-of Christ doctrine.”

Sometimes I hear a person say, “I’m church-of-Christ.” Some will mention a “Church-of-Christ preacher, church, program, preschool, university,” etc.

Such language would have been foreign to those in the first-century church. In fact, “church of Christ” is never used as a denominational name in the Bible. It is simply one designation given in the New Testament to describe the body of Christ.

Instead of using “church of Christ” in that way, how can we biblically answer the question, “What’s your religion?”

I might say, “I’m a Christian, working with a thriving non-denominational congregation of Christians seeking to follow the faith, teaching, and practice of the first-century church. We wear the name of Christ, and so we are part of the body of Christ or church of Christ that we read about in the Bible.”

If I am asked, “What does your church believe about ___?” or, “What does the church of Christ believe about ___?” I will change the question and ask, “Could we study what the Bible says about that? After all, that’s all that really matters.”

Let’s Reject Man’s Names & Claims

Man’s names reflect human founders, specific doctrines, church structures or methodologies, types of theology, scope, or targeted communities. Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Reformed, Catholic, and Community are among these terms. In addition, some churches have trendy names that forego all “religious” terms entirely.

I found a website titled, “What Should I Call My Church? Best Practices for Naming Your Church.” It noted that there are actual churches called Rhythm Church, Pulse Church, Beat Church, and Dynamic Church. Of course there are many more with “cutting-edge” names. In fact, there is a church called the “Edge Church.”

Recently on a neighborhood website someone was looking for a church. Others responded by saying, “I belong to _____ Church. You should come to our church because …” The great majority of those responses omitted any mention of Jesus Christ. What a contrast that is to the message of the New Testament.

By definition non-biblical names and claims are …

non-biblical names and claims.

… and they minimize or omit the name above all names: Jesus Christ!

Also, a church named for a biblical doctrine must obviously omit other important but less appealing doctrines. One may often see a “Grace Church” but perhaps never see a “Repentance Church,” though both are vital parts of the gospel message.

Let’s Heed God’s Prohibition

The problem started very early. Christians in Corinth began to divide the one body of Christ, wearing the names of men. They distinguished themselves from each other based on their preacher preferences.

Note the very strong rejection of such behavior.

1 Co 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

According to Scripture, the church or body of Christ must not be divided. One should wear the name, not of Paul, but of the One who was crucified to save us, the One in whose name we were baptized.

That’s the name of Jesus Christ!

If Paul forbade others to wear his name … how opposed we must be to any name that adds to, detracts from, minimizes, or removes the name of Jesus Christ!

Because We Wear Christ’s Name

We Sing Christ’s Praise.

We Remember Christ’s Cross.

We Preach Christ’s Word.

We Pray for Christ’s Glory.

We Give for Christ’s Cause.

as directed by nothing but the Word of God.

Maybe Reviled, but Never Ashamed!

We find the “name of Christ” and “Christian” again in 1 Peter.

1 Pe 4:14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

The Offer Still Stands!

As at the beginning, so it is today.

Ac 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Ac 2:40 … he kept on exhorting them …

Ac 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

Will you accept that invitation?

I am a Christian. You can be, too!