THEY WERE SIMPLY CHRISTIANS
Mike Johnson
If someone asked me what I am religiously, I would say, “I am a Christian.” The person might look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “But what kind of Christian are you?” Many religious groups today wear names to refer to themselves other than a name, which exalts Christ and receives sanction from God’s Word. Even though Jesus prayed for unity (Jn. 17:22-23), and his apostles taught the necessity of it (1 Cor. 1:10), some religious people, seeking to distinguish themselves from others, put a prefix before the word Christian. Instead of referring to themselves only as Christians, they refer to themselves as some “kind” or “brand” of Christian. For example, instead of just referring to themselves as Christians, they identify themselves as “Baptist-Christians,” “Methodist-Christians,” “Presbyterian-Christians,” etc. In apostolic times, in contrast, God’s people were simply Christians – no prefixes, no suffixes.
Consider a few passages. Acts 11:26 says, “…So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” In Acts 26:28, Paul did not try to persuade Agrippa to become a Methodist or a Baptism but only a Christian. Agrippa responded to Paul by saying, “…You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Peter said in 1 Peter 4:16, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.”
God’s Word does not sanction man-made denominationalism. Religious groups with their different names, teachings, and practices are unknown to the Scriptures, and God’s Word does not authorize them. Wearing human names only helps to promote division.
So what are you? Are you able to say simply, “I am a Christian” Do you have to add a denominational name? We should be Christian only, forsaking denominationalism!