Ep 534 | Simply A Christian - Cohen Osburn 1/21/24

The focus of our study this morning is about what it means

for us to be Christians. And here today we are gathered

as Christians, and I think a lot of the time we can take what

that means for granted. If you've ever been asked what

church do you go to? What denomination are you a part

of? XYZ questions of that nature.

Then this is a study that hopefully is helpful in helping

us to answer those questions. So there are three main

questions that we're going to answer that are going to be the

structure for our study. First of all, what about the

name? Where do we get the name

Christian from? Secondly, different pasts to the

same place. Is that valid?

We'll get a little bit more into that.

I won't explain what that means right now, but and then thirdly,

we'll ask united by what? What should we expect

Christchurch to be united by? What are we and all other

Christians in the world united by?

So first of all, what about the name?

The name Christian is not one that we came up with.

It's actually used three times in the Bible.

And what this means to me is that the Holy Spirit inspired

these men of faith to write this down, to write this name down.

Meaning that we have a scriptural basis for continuing

to use this, use this name. We have a scriptural basis for

calling ourselves Christians. In Acts Chapter 11 in the

Acts 11 · chapter mention

second-half of verse 26, we find it used for the first time.

Says there, and the disciples were first called Christians in

Antioch. Then in Acts chapter 26 verse

Acts 26:28

28, it's used again says Then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost

persuade me to become a Christian.

What we can learn from this verse is that the name Christian

was widespread enough enough so that Paul was easily recognized

by this name, even by kings. As a Christian, this wasn't some

confusing term that nobody really knew what it truly meant,

but it was rather a clear identifier of someone who

followed after Christ. And I think it's interesting too

that Agrippa says to Paul, You almost persuade me to become a

Christian. Becoming Christian is not

something that we're forced into.

It is something that we're persuaded to become.

And that means that it is reasonable.

We can reason within ourselves, and the faith that we have is

not blind, we can reason it, we can be persuaded.

And then thirdly, in First Peter chapter 4, verse 16, it says Yet

1 Peter 4:16

if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be

ashamed, but let him glorify God.

In this matter here we find more about what it means to be a

Christian. A Christian is someone who

follows Christ even to the point of suffering because of it.

Being called a Christian is not representative of some casual

connection that we have to Jesus, but it is.

It is rather a strong inward devotion that we are willing to

be persecuted for obviously we are not seeking after

persecution doesn't feel good. We don't want to have to endure

that. But if we're willing to bear the

name of Christian, we must also be willing to suffer for

Christ's sake. And not only do we endure it,

but we rejoice in it. Because when we suffer for

Christ, we glorify God when we let our faith stand up to those

who hate us for it. So the question that arises is

Christian an umbrella term for all those who claim to have

faith in Jesus Christ, or is it a more specific identifier of

those who are members of Christ's true church?

Essentially what we're asking is, are denominations supported

by Scripture? Is it true that those in the

denominational world are Christians, as the Bible

describes a Christian to be? What's often said is that

denominations are just different paths to the same place.

We're all going about it different ways, but we're all

going to end up in heaven, right?

And that's something that can be easy to, you know, maybe agree

with it sounds pleasant. But let's see what the Bible has

to say about denominationalism this saying different paths to

the same place. The most prevalent argument that

I've heard in favor of denominationalism, and maybe

you've heard different ones, but from reading about it and from

talking to other people, most of them go to John, the 15th

chapter. It says there in verse 5, this

is Jesus talking to his disciples on the night in which

he would be betrayed. It says there, Jesus says there

I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me

you can do nothing. The idea of this argument is

that the denominations are the branches and Jesus is the vine,

and in that way they're all connected to Christ.

This would mean that the term Christian is an umbrella term

for anyone who claims to follow Christ.

I do think that there are a few issues with this argument

though. For one thing, the context of

John chapter 15 really does not support this conclusion in any

John 15 · chapter mention

way. John chapter 15 is in the middle

John 15 · chapter mention

of a conversation that Jesus is having with his disciples on the

night in which he was betrayed, and he's taking this opportunity

to prepare them for his absence to comfort them.

He's telling them I'm going away and you're going to have to

function. You're going to have to be

Christians when I'm gone. And he's comforting them and

he's preparing them for this. When Jesus is speaking to them,

he says you are the branches. And it's very important, I

think, to notice that he's speaking to individuals.

He's not speaking to various religious organizations.

He's not speaking to people who would go out and create their

own church. And if this verse really was a

green light to create different denominations, why didn't they?

Why didn't the disciples that Jesus was talking to hear go off

and create their own churches? If this was the green light, why

don't we have evidence of anyone taking that opportunity?

These early Christians save Judas were all members of Christ

Church as it was established in Acts chapter two.

I think that this was not interpreted then in that way,

and these people obviously understood the context of this

conversation better than maybe we could ever hope to.

So if they didn't interpret it in this way, should we really be

interpreting it in that way? Those in favor of

denominationalism also look toward John Chapter 3, verse 16.

John 3:16

This is a very well known verse. You know, we see this pumped out

by the world a lot, and it says there in John 316 for God so

loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever

believes in him should not perish but have everlasting

life. If this was the only verse that

we were given in Scripture about what it means to be a Christian,

then yes, Christian is an umbrella term for anyone who

believes in Christ who claims to have faith in Him.

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

This is not the only verse that we're given in Scripture

regarding this topic. So we have to do some

harmonization. We have to corroborate.

The Bible does not contradict itself, so we have to look

elsewhere and make sure that everything lines up.

Everything agrees. Yes, it is true that you must

believe in Jesus to be a Christian, but we know from

other places in the Bible that we also must repent.

We know that we must confess. We must be baptized.

We must obey God. The Bible was not written for us

to take verses in isolation and form doctrines based on them,

but rather for us to read and understand the Bible so that we

have a more complete picture of God's will.

The point is, there is no real biblical support for

denominationalism as we see it in the world today.

So what does the Bible actually say about the church?

Ephesians Chapter 4. We'll just read verse four at

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

first, but it says there there is one body and one spirit, just

as you were called in one hope of your calling.

So right off the bat, Paul's clearing up any misconceptions

about multiple paths to the same destination.

Just as we all share the same hope, we have a unity of

expectation that we will inherit eternal life in heaven.

We are share. We share unity in the one body

which is the Church, and we can know what the one body is

because we have the one Spirit who revealed that to us.

John, chapter 16, Speaking of the Spirit, says, However, when

John 16 · chapter mention

he, the Spirit of Truth has come, he will guide you into all

truth. For he will not speak on his own

authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will

tell you things to come. The reason why we have the Bible

today is because we, the early church, certain men were given

the Spirit, and they were able to know God's will and to write

it down for us today. And because we have that one

spirit, we know what the one body is, and we know that one

hope that we have. So Paul says one path, one

destination, and he continues to elaborate on this idea of unity

throughout the rest of this passage.

In verses 5:00 and 6:00 he says 1 Lord, we have unity of

submission as Christians, 1 Faith.

We as Christians have unity of information, one baptism.

We have unity of salvation, one God and Father of all.

We as Christians have unity of adoration of God the Father who

is above all and through all. And in you all we are called to

be united in this way. So it really doesn't make sense

to me that it would be in God's plan for the church to be

divided. The plea for unity is a huge

theme in the New Testament and it completely goes against what

we see in the denominational world.

Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25 says husbands love your wives

Ephesians 5:25

just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.

The church was extremely important to Jesus and we have

no right to pervert the very thing that he died to establish.

Jesus died to these, died to establish the church.

He bought the church with his blood, which means it's his

church. It's not our church to do

whatever we want with. We have to follow the scriptural

pattern that we find in the Bible.

So what should we expect the one true Church to be united by

today? I have here three things.

The church should be or Christians really should be,

united in their actions. They should be united in

doctrine, and Christians should be united in salvation.

The way in which that we are united by our actions is that

Christians are all called to behave in the same way.

This is not to say that we're all the same person.

God created us all differently, with their own unique

personalities, interests, talents, roles.

But the point is, we are united in behavior as Christians, in

the fact that we are called to abstain from the same things and

we are called to participate in the same things.

Whether that's coming to church every Sunday morning, whether

that's not going to drinking parties, not using bad language,

things like this unite us as Christians in our behavior.

And our behavior is something that is very, very important to

Jesus in John chapter 14, verses 23 through 24 says There Jesus

John 14:23–24

answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my

word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make

our home with him. He who does not love me does not

keep my words. And the word which you hear is

not mine, but the fathers who sent me.

We see clearly that obedience is essential in demonstrating our

love for Christ. And this means that our actions,

the way that we live our lives, needs to reflect the teachings

that we find in Scripture. These are things that really

should set us apart from the world when we do them.

In fact, it is by these actions, by the way, that we live our

lives, that other people in the world know that we truly are

followers of Christ. Jesus says in John chapter 13,

John 13:35

verse 35, By this all will know that you are my disciples if you

have love for one another. In this context, Jesus is

specifically talking about love. But I think that we can apply

this to the broader scope of commands that were given in the

Bible. When people hear or when people

see the love that we demonstrate, when people hear

the language that we use, they see the kindness we show.

They can see our commitment to Christ.

They can recognize us as His true followers.

In James chapter one, verse 22, it says but be doer of doers of

the word and not hearers, only deceiving yourselves again.

The same idea of obedience as important as essential to the

Christian walk when we fail to obey.

We fail to love. When we fail to obey, we fail to

show others that we are Christians.

And when we fail to obey, we fail to behave in the way and be

united in that behavior, in the way that the Church was intended

to. We're also united by doctrine,

like we read in Ephesians chapter four.

We are of 1 Faith, and what this means is that Christians should

have a common agreement about what the Scriptures teach.

Now, this is not to say that every single Christian will

agree on every single biblical nuance you know, but rather that

we have an agreement on the foundational principles that the

Bible teaches, Whether that's worship, whether that's

communion, whether that's the plan of salvation, XYZ fill in

the blank. Beyond that, we are united in

the pursuit of rightly dividing God's Word without the influence

of outside motivations, outside factors or beliefs.

We are united and doctrine in the sense that we agree that

there is absolute truth and that that truth can only be

interpreted in one way, which is the way that it was intended to

be interpreted by God. Second Timothy chapter 3, verse

2 Timothy 3:16

16 says all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for

instruction in righteousness. Doctrine is so important, and it

is so important that we agree upon it because it comes from

God. The Bible is not a book full of

opinions from different religious fanatics, but it is

rather the information that the omniscient creator of the

universe deemed it necessary for us to know.

Logically, if there's a correct way to interpret Scripture,

there must be an incorrect way in.

Second Timothy chapter 4, verses 3 through 4 includes a warning

2 Timothy 4:3–4

about this. It says there for the time will

come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to

their own desires. Because they have itching ears.

They will keep up for themselves teachers, and they will turn

their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

Paul's writing to Timothy to warn him about the very thing

that we encounter today. False teachers are prevalent

often because man's will and God's will don't perfectly

align. We don't always want the same

things for ourselves that God wants for us.

This makes it easy to listen to what you want to hear, rather

than what you truly need to hear.

Christ Church needs to always remain on the lookout for this

kind of teaching, and in order to do that, we need to have that

unity of doctrine. We need to have that good

understanding of God's word in order to guide to guard against

false doctrine. Thirdly, we are united by our

salvation. Remember that one baptism that

Ephesians chapter 4 talked about?

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

This is the baptism for the remission of sins and we are

united in salvation in the sense that all Christians have been

baptized for the remission of sins and the Lord has added them

to the church. Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 2

Acts 20 · chapter mention Acts 2 · chapter mention

rather verse 38 says Then Peter said to them, repent and let

everyone of you be baptized in the name of Christ Jesus for the

remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit and a little further down.

I don't have it on the board, but in the second-half of verse

47 it says, and the Lord added to the Church daily those who

are being saved. So here we find the reason why

we're baptized, and then we also find one of the effects of

baptism. We are baptized for the purpose

of having our sins washed away. But what also happens is that we

are added to the Church by God. So in order to be saved, you

must be baptized. In order to be in the Church,

you must be saved. So not only are we united in our

method of entrance into the church, you could say, but we

are united in our Excuse me, we're not only united in our

method of salvation, but in our terms of entrance into the

church. Baptism is not merely the

outward sign of an inward change, as many would have you

believe, but it is what saves us and it is what makes us

Christians. First Peter chapter 3, verse 21

1 Peter 3:21

elaborates on this idea. It says there is also an

antitype which now saves us baptism.

Not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a

good conscience toward God through the resurrection of

Christ Jesus as clear as day. The Bible teaches that baptism

is for salvation. Anyone who claims to be saved in

any other way is unfortunately not basing their salvation off

what the scriptures teach. Paul speaks more about baptism

in Romans chapter 6, says there in verses 3 through 8.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Or do you not know that as many of us, as we're baptized into

Christ Jesus, we're baptized into his death, Therefore we are

buried with him through baptism into death, the justice Christ

was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.

Even so, we also should walk in newness of life, that importance

of obedience, that importance of our actions.

Verse 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness

of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his

resurrection. What I want to draw from this

passage is the emphasis on the unity that we gain through

baptism. Paul says we're united together

in the likeness of death and resurrection as we die to sin

and are made alive in Christ and Christ is truly what it all

comes down to. In John chapter 14 verse 6,

John 14:6

Jesus says There Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me. So keep that in mind as we move

on. All of the ways in that we've

just discussed, that we're united as Christians point back

to Jesus. And really, this is because

Jesus is at the center of all of our lives.

Jesus is what we all have in common.

It is only because of Jesus that we act the way we do.

It's only because of Christ that we believe that which we do.

It is only because of Christ that we can have the hope that

we do. We're united in our actions, in

our doctrine, and in our salvation, And we're united in

Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

The Church of Christ is exactly that.

It is Christ's church. The phrase Church of Christ is

not simply a label that we call ourselves, but it is an

identifier of ownership. We aren't the Church of Christ

because we thought the name sounded cool or we thought it

would look good on sign. We're the Church of Christ

because Christ bought the church with his blood and we are united

by him. And really that's the

distinction between Christians and everyone else.

We are members of Christ Church, not man's church, First

Corinthians chapter one, verses 12 through 17 says, Now I say

this, that each each of you says I am of Paul, or I am of

Apollos, or I'm of Cephas, or I am of Christ.

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I thank God that I baptize none of you except Christmas.

And guys, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own

name, yes, I also baptize the household of Stephanus.

Besides, I do not know whether I baptize any other, for Christ

did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with

wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no

effect. This is a passage that I think

many of us are familiar with, and we say rather we find the

same idea emphasized. We don't follow after Christ.

We fall, or we don't fall after man, rather we follow after

Christ. The issue was that in the church

in Corinth, people were dividing themselves up based on who had

baptized them, based on what preacher they liked.

You could say I think it's one of the most clear pictures that

we have in the Bible of how God feels about denominationalism.

Simply dividing up the congregation based on who

baptized who, I would argue is a far less significant split than

we see in the religious world today.

But Paul was quick to correct this.

He didn't say no, it's OK that you guys are just, you know, as

long as you guys are still come to church every Sunday together.

Division is not something that God intended to be in his

church. Paul even says that he's glad he

didn't baptize many of them because he didn't want to get in

the way of the unity that all Christians need to have, all

Christians should have in Christ.

Verse 17 is really what hit home with me, though says there, For

Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the

gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ

should be made of no effect. Paul says that even preaching

the gospel with wisdom of words can take the focus away from

Jesus. The focus of the church, the

focus of our worship, the focus of our preaching is not the

preacher. The focus of this sermon is not

me. The focus of all of this is

Christ. And we, when we allow ourselves

to get caught up in what Paul calls the this wisdom of words,

this show we display. It's all about me.

I'm such a great preacher. I'm such a great singer.

Whatever it is, the cross of Christ is made of no effect.

That's a powerful statement. And that's what happens when we

take the glory away from God, and when we give it to man.

We tie the hands of Christ and pervert the church that he died

to establish. So to briefly summarize, what

about the name? The name Christian belongs to an

individual who is a member of Christ's one church and is

devoted to Christ, even to the point of enduring persecution.

Secondly, different paths to the same place.

The biblical plea for unity proves that divisions such as

though as those seen in the denominational world are

unscriptural and they are not a plan, are not a part of God's

plan for the church. And finally, united by what

Christians are united in a shared devotion toward Christ

and the pursuit of His will in all things, we are Christians,

we are assembled here today as Christians, and there is

beautiful simplicity in that we are Christians.

We are nothing more. We are nothing less.

That concludes my thoughts for this morning.

But we never want to close without offering the invitation.

And this isn't my invitation. This isn't the congregation

here, this invitation. You know, we just talked about

how it's all about Christ. And this is Christ's invitation

to you. And he died so that you would

have the opportunity to accept that.

And what that means is that you have heard the word of God.

You believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

You repented of your sins, you confess that Jesus is the Son of

God, and you are baptized for the remission of sins if there's

one who has taken those steps. But maybe you sinned in a public

nature or you would like to request the prayers of the

Church on your behalf. We invite one of either case to

come while we stand and sing a song.

We thank you for listening to our podcast put on by The Church

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