“A plea for New Testament Christianity”

Monday, November 08, 2021

There are two rival conceptions of the church held by many today. One holds that the church is a conglomerate of sorts, being composed of all Christ-believing individuals, regardless of the “church” to which they belong. The other view maintains that while the church is composed of every saved individual on earth, only those who have done just what the Bible requires are in fact saved. Which view is correct?

It cannot be denied that Christ desired unity among His followers. In the shadow of the cross, the Savior prayed that His disciples might be “one,” so “that the world may believe” that He was sent from the Father (cf. John 17:20–21). The early church was a model of this prayer for unity. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul” (Acts 4:32).

Sadly, the religious world today is anything but united. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of competing religious bodies, each vying for our attention and subsequent allegiance. Most, if not all, teach conflicting doctrines and practice varying rituals. From a rational vantage point, it seems the only unity that can rightly be claimed for all such endeavors is superficial at best.

In stark contrast to the present state of affairs, there is a beautiful simplicity to Christianity. When the apostle Paul delineated the heart of the gospel, he did so in this fashion: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. When the same apostle wrote to the Romans, he indicated that we submit to a “form” of this teaching (cf. Romans 6:17) when we die to the unrestrained practice of sin, are buried with Christ in baptism, and then raised to walk in “newness of life” (cf. Romans 6:2–4; Colossians 2:12). All who have done so are members of the body of Christ, the church (cf. Ephesians 1:22–23; Colossians 1:18, 24). The name God would have them wear is “Christian”—nothing more, nothing less. —Brandon Renfroe

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