Paul Smithson
Someone who has never studied the Bible and wants to know
what to do to become a Christian will be confused if they go to
several denominations to find the answer. Among the many
denominations are different doctrines that teach different
things concerning salvation. How can we know what the truth
is?
One basic principle will help us-- seed produces after its
kind. This is an unchangeable law of God set in place from the
beginning (Gen. 1:11-12). For example, a carrot seed produces a
carrot, a watermelon seed a watermelon, etc. Jesus taught that
the seed which produces a Christian is the word of God (Lk.
8:11). When the apostle Paul taught a person the word of God
and that individual believed and obeyed that word, it produced a
Christian. The same was true with Peter or Philip. When they
taught a person the word of God they became a Christian. The
word of God always produces a Christian, and only a Christian.
When you ask folks what they are religiously, most respond
with a denominational name. But how did that person become a
member of a denomination and come to wear a denominational name
if the word of God produces simply Christians?
Nowhere in the New Testament does one find where the word
of God produced a member of some denomination. When
Peter proclaimed the gospel for the first time on Pentecost and
people received it by believing and obeying, they simply became
Christians and the Lord added them to His church (Acts 2:41,
47). What denomination is described in Acts 2? Of course,
there is not one. In fact, you neither find denominations, nor
disciples calling themselves by denominational names, mentioned
anywhere in the Scriptures. You see, it takes something else
besides the word of God to produce a denominational-Christian.
That something else is the particular creed published and
honored by each denomination.
So, how can one become just a Christian and only a
Christian like those in the first century and simply be a part
of Christ's church? The answer is to discard all of the creeds
of men which contain the doctrines peculiar to each
denomination. If denominational creeds have more than the
Bible, they have too much. If they have less than the Bible,
they don't have enough. If they are the same as the Bible, why
do you even need them? We must go back to the seed, the word of
God. When we believe and obey the same thing that the apostles
of Christ taught, then we will be Christians and only Christians
and Christ will add us to His church. We are warned against
doing anything else (Gal. 1:6-9).
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