There are two views in the religious world regarding the church. One view is that the church is simply a conglomerate, composed of all folks who believe in Christ, regardless of which denominational body to which they belong. The other view maintains that while the church is composed of every saved person on earth, only those who have complied with what the New Testament requires are in fact saved (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 1 Timothy 4:16).
According to the inspired Scriptures, our Lord desired unity among His followers. As He was facing the horrible aspects of the cross, he prayed that His disciples might be “one” so that the world might believe that He was sent from His Father (cf. John 17:20-21). The first century church was the model of His prayer for unity. We see this coming to fruition in Acts 4:32 when “the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul.”
It is indeed sad but true that the religious world today is anything but united. There are hundreds, yea thousands of competing religious bodies each vying for man’s attention and allegiance. These religious bodies teach conflicting man-made doctrines and practice varying rituals based on the traditions of men (cf. Mark 7:6-9). In stark contrast, there is a beautiful simplicity in biblical Christianity. When the apostle Paul defined the heart of the gospel, he referred to the fact that (1) Christ died for our sins; (2) was buried; (3) and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
When Paul wrote to the brethren in Rome, he indicated that when we die to the practice of sin, are buried with Christ in baptism, and are raised to walk in “newness of life” (cf. Romans 6:2-4; Colossians 2:12). we submit to a “form” or pattern of this teaching (cf. Romans 6:17). All who have willingly complied with this pattern of teaching are then deemed members of the body of Christ (Acts 2:46-47) — the church that our Lord gave his life for (cf. Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18,24).
The only authorized name we are to wear is the name “Christian” (Acts 11:26; cf. Isaiah 62:2) — a simple follower of Christ — nothing more, nothing less. This is simple New Testament Christianity.
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
According to the inspired Scriptures, our Lord desired unity among His followers. As He was facing the horrible aspects of the cross, he prayed that His disciples might be “one” so that the world might believe that He was sent from His Father (cf. John 17:20-21). The first century church was the model of His prayer for unity. We see this coming to fruition in Acts 4:32 when “the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul.”
It is indeed sad but true that the religious world today is anything but united. There are hundreds, yea thousands of competing religious bodies each vying for man’s attention and allegiance. These religious bodies teach conflicting man-made doctrines and practice varying rituals based on the traditions of men (cf. Mark 7:6-9). In stark contrast, there is a beautiful simplicity in biblical Christianity. When the apostle Paul defined the heart of the gospel, he referred to the fact that (1) Christ died for our sins; (2) was buried; (3) and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
When Paul wrote to the brethren in Rome, he indicated that when we die to the practice of sin, are buried with Christ in baptism, and are raised to walk in “newness of life” (cf. Romans 6:2-4; Colossians 2:12). we submit to a “form” or pattern of this teaching (cf. Romans 6:17). All who have willingly complied with this pattern of teaching are then deemed members of the body of Christ (Acts 2:46-47) — the church that our Lord gave his life for (cf. Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18,24).The only authorized name we are to wear is the name “Christian” (Acts 11:26; cf. Isaiah 62:2) — a simple follower of Christ — nothing more, nothing less. This is simple New Testament Christianity.
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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