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Hello , What's Your Name Again?" All the churches of Christ send you their greetings, Romans 16:16, NLT.1. Names. Names are important. They are what we use to get each other's attention. It's how we start conversations. Names are also how we think about one another. When I say a celebrity's name, like Ben Affleck, his image comes to mind. What you know about him invades your brain. And then there are married names. A young lady will almost always take their husband's last name. Jesus makes the point in Ephesians 5:23 - "For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church."You see, Christ is head of the church. The church is Jesus' bride. As the church submits to Jesus, the church wears His name. Here's Revelation 19:7-8 - '"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.' It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints," NASV. The Lamb is Jesus. Saints make up the church. Anyone obeying the gospel is a saint. See Revelation 21:9 also..
2. The Name of the church. The church's name is most often referred to as "church of Christ" because the church is married to Jesus and, after all, it is His church. The name is mentioned in Romans 16:16. There are other references in the New Testament, other names describing the church for sure, but Jesus purchased the church with His own blood, Acts 20:28. It is the church that belongs to Jesus. A true church of Christ is not a denomination. Jesus died for only one church, His church, the church belonging to Christ. Anyone is admitted into His church after believing, repenting, confessing, and being baptized to wash away sin. Here's a salient point: if you haven't washed away your sins by baptism, see Acts 22:16, then you're not in His church. That's just the fact of the matter.3. Denomination Names. Did you know a man or woman starts all denominations, and they all have start dates? Clearly, this is not Bible doctrine. In fact, denominations exist because they all have differing doctrines. There's only one doctrine, that's the Bible. As the church is under Jesus, the doctrine for our time is the New Testament. Denomination names are not scriptural, not biblical, not doctrinal. They err in this, and that's a mighty big error.Tip: Make sure the church you attend sticks solely with the New Testament in name and doctrine.Prayer: We pray for the church of Christ, Father. You give us Your word, and it contains the directions for Your will upon earth. Therefore, we pray that all would drop denominal names and return to the New Testament doctrine. This is the way that pleases You, O God. And that's our desire to please our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen Father. Amen.
This message is from Garland Van Dyke at Bible Points!Matthews St. church of ChristPO Box 1522, Bay City, TX 774141915 Matthews Street, Bay City, TX 77414(979) 318-2463www.matthewsstreetchurchofchrist.com facebook.com/matthewsstreetchurchofchristWant your own copy of our devotional in your inbox? biblepoints.org/bible-points(It's twice weekly and we don't bombard you with stuff!)
