INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. Again, let me ask you this morning why you are a member of the church of Christ? – Or, Why are you a member of the religious group that you are?<\/p>\n
1. Is it because it is the one you were raised in?<\/p>\n
2. Is it because it is the one where your friends go?<\/p>\n
3. Is it because they have a lot of young people?<\/p>\n
B. Many today believe that one church is a good as another.<\/p>\n
1. Is one doctor as good as another? … No!<\/p>\n
2. Is one auto mechanic as good as another? … No!<\/p>\n
3. Is one medicine as good as another? … No!<\/p>\n
4. And one church is not as good as another.<\/p>\n
C. In our series we have seen that I am a member of the church of Christ because:<\/p>\n
1. It was founded by the scriptural builder – Christ<\/p>\n
2. It was founded on THE scriptural foundation<\/p>\n
3. It was founded at the scriptural place – Jerusalem<\/p>\n
4. And, Christ is the founder of only one church – His church<\/p>\n
D. Today, we are going to notice that I am a member of the church of Christ because it is scriptural in name.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. IS THERE ANYTHING IN A NAME?<\/p>\n
1. The idea that there is nothing in a name is a prevalent and popular doctrine, BUT this idea is not in keeping with Scripture nor reason.<\/p>\n
2. There is so much in a name that God named Adam and Eve (Gen. 5:2).<\/p>\n
3. If there is nothing in a name explain why God changed Abram’s name to Abraham? (Gen. 17:5).<\/p>\n
4. If there is nothing in a name, why did Paul condemn divisive names in 1 Corinthians 1:13-15?<\/p>\n
5. If there is nothing in a name why not name your son Fido?<\/p>\n
a. If there is nothing in a name, why not call your daughter Jezebel, or why not name her Rover?<\/p>\n
b. You see, there is something in a name!<\/p>\n
B. WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT CALL THE CHURCH?<\/p>\n
1. “My church” (Mt. 16:18). Jesus said this, therefore it is Christ’s church.<\/p>\n
2. “The church” (Acts 8:1), meaning a group of called out people, and the Lord has but one such group.<\/p>\n
3. “Church of God” (1 Cor. 1:2). This shows ownership.<\/p>\n
4. “Churches of Christ” (Rom. 16:16).<\/p>\n
a. Here Paul speaks of various local congregations.<\/p>\n
b. This designates them as belonging to Christ.<\/p>\n
5. “The body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). The body belonging to Christ.<\/p>\n
6. “The church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15).<\/p>\n
7. “Church of the firstborn” (Heb. 12:23). The church made up of the firstborn, Christians.<\/p>\n
8. The members of the church of Christ speak of the church in Scriptural terms.<\/p>\n
a. What about other religious groups?<\/p>\n
b. It is strange that people who claim to belong to Christ will be a member of a religious group whose name is foreign to the Bible.<\/p>\n
c. This is a dishonor to the Father and the Son<\/p>\n
C. WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT CALL MEMBERS OF THE LORD’S CHURCH?<\/p>\n
1. “Disciples” (Acts 20:7). This has reference to learners or followers of Christ.<\/p>\n
2. “Saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). We are called this because we saved from our past sins, are holy, and set apart by the Gospel.<\/p>\n
3. “Beloved of God” (Rom. 1:7).<\/p>\n
4. “Brethren” (1 Cor. 15:6). Shows the relationship we have one with another.<\/p>\n
5. “Sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). This shows our relationship with the Father.<\/p>\n
6. “Children of God” (1 Jn. 3:1). Again, shows our relationship to the Father.<\/p>\n
7. “Heirs of God” (Rom. 8:17). This shows we are to inherit from God.<\/p>\n
8. “Priests” (1 Pt. 2:9). This shows we may offer acceptable worship to God.<\/p>\n
9. “Christians” (Acts 11:26). This expresses our relationship to Jesus.<\/p>\n
D. WE MUST WEAR ONLY THE NAMES THE BIBLE USES TO DESIGNATES GOD’S PEOPLE<\/p>\n
1. I am not a Baptist, because the Bible never refers to God’s people as such.<\/p>\n
2. I am not a Methodist, because the Bible never refers to God’s people in this manner.<\/p>\n
3. I am not a Episcopalian, because the Bible never refers to God’s people in that way.<\/p>\n
4. I am not a Lutheran, because the Bible never refers to God’s people in such terms.<\/p>\n
5. I am a member of the church of Christ because it sticks with what the Bible calls God’s people – JUST CHRISTIANS!<\/p>\n
E. A TESTIMONY FROM SPURGEON AND LUTHER<\/p>\n
1. Listen to the language of Charles Spurgeon, the most recognized and talented Baptist preacher that ever lived: “I say of the Baptist name, let is perish, but let Christ’s name last forever. I look forward with pleasure, to the day when there will not be a baptist living…. I hope the Baptist name will soon perish; but let Christ’s name endure forever.” – (Spurgeon Memorial Library, Vol. 1, p. 168).<\/p>\n
2. Hear the words of Martin Luther, a man in whose name many glory: “I pray you to leave my name alone, and call not yourselves Lutherans, but Christians. Who is Luther? … I have not been crucified for anyone….let us call ourselves only Christians after him from whom our doctrine comes.” (The Life of Luther, by Stork, p. 289).<\/p>\n
F. WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS TITLES?<\/p>\n
1. In the long ago the Jews corrupted their speech by using “half the speech of Ashdod” (Neh. 13:23-24).<\/p>\n
a. Figuratively speaking, we have much of the language of Ashdod in the world today.<\/p>\n
b. Many exalting titles are now being used in opposition to the teachings of the Bible.<\/p>\n
2. One of the self-exalting titles is “Reverend”<\/p>\n
a. First let us note that the English word “reverend” is found only once in our Bibles<\/p>\n
1) Psalm 111:9<\/p>\n
2) The only time it is used, it is used in reference to God!<\/p>\n
b. Isn’t it interesting that there is no mention in the Scriptures of “Reverend Paul,” “Right Reverend James,” or “The Right Reverend Peter”?<\/p>\n
1) Many preachers speak of Paul as just plain Paul, Peter as just plain Peter, and John as just plain John.<\/p>\n
2) BUT to themselves as “Reverend So-and-So.”<\/p>\n
3) This would be comical if it were not so tragic.<\/p>\n
c. How did the apostles refer to themselves? – as servant<\/p>\n
3. Many today wrongfully use the word “pastor” to refer to the preacher of a local congregation.<\/p>\n
a. The Bible says that a pastor is an elder of the church (1 Tim. 3; Acts 14:23)<\/p>\n
b. That the pastor and preacher are not the same is clearly seen in Ephesians 4:11.<\/p>\n
4. The word “father” is another word often used as a religious title in direct opposition to the teaching of Christ.<\/p>\n
a. Matthew 23:9<\/p>\n
b. Isn’t strange that millions will use a title that is positively forbidden by the Lord?<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. The church of Christ is scriptural in name and language.<\/p>\n
1. This cannot be truthfully denied.<\/p>\n
2. The church of Christ calls Bible things by Bible names.<\/p>\n
3. “Hold the pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13)<\/p>\n
4. Job 32:21-22<\/p>\n
B. I am a member of the church of Christ because it is scriptural in name.<\/p>\n
*Outline taken from Leroy Brownlow’s book “Why I Am A Member Of The Church Of Christ”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sermon on the Name of the Church INTRODUCTION: A. Again, let me ask you this morning why you are a member of the church of Christ? – Or, Why are you a member of the religious group that you are? 1. Is it because it is the one you were raised in? 2. Is it … Continue reading “Why I Am a Member of the Church of Christ #4* – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43842\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}