Articles
Who Do You Belong To?
WHO DO YOU BELONG TO?
Greg King
The Bible calls God's people Christians, priests, children, disciples, saints, or brethren (Acts 11:26; Rev. 1:6; Gal. 3:26; Col. 1:1-2). Acts 11:26 tells us that “the disciples were called Christians”. Christians are taught to do all in the name (by the authority) of Jesus rather than by the authority of any man or woman. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
A name identifies who we are. A name can also identify our beliefs. Just look at this list of names that people use to identify themselves and their belief. (Adventists, Amish, Anglicans, Apostolic, Baptist, Catholics, Congregationalist, Deist, Episcopalians, Holiness, Jehovah Witnesses, Jews, Lutherans, Masons, Mennonites, Methodist, Mormons, Nazarenes, Orthodox, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Protestants, Quakers, Reformed, Unitarians, Universalists, the list could go on and on!!) Where are any of those names located in the scripture? Why would someone claim to be a child of God and then wear a name that does not identify them as a follower of Christ?
The above human man-made names keep the religious world divided. "Christian" is the new name given by God (Isa. 62:2; Acts 4:10-12; Acts 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16). Believers must be willing to discard all human religious names and wear the name "Christian" only... for the name you wear tells who you belong to (1 Cor. 3:3-9)!
