True Christianity

A TRUE Christian is an individual who displays their love for God through obedience to His Word. A TRUE Christian is a disciple of Christ. If Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments," it's impossible to truly love Him and ignore the way He has commanded mankind to live. Luke 6:46 says, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, 'Lord' and do not do the things which I say?"

The Bible calls God's people Christians, priests, children, disciples, saints or brethren (Acts 11:26; Revelations 1:6; Galatians 3:26; Colossians 1:1-2). Christians are taught to do all in the name of Jesus and by His authority rather than by the authority of any other man or woman. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6. For this very reason, God's people are NOT called by any other man-made name or title. "...let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved," Acts 4:10, 12.

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism," Ephesians 4:4-5. The Bible says that there is one faith, but today there are numerous different beliefs and faiths. These are all different doctrines and faiths because we recognize that you can't become one by obeying the teachings of another. However, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:33, "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." The Bible does not teach division among true believers. "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought,"  1 Corinthians 1:10. Even Christ Himself prayed to the Father for unity among those who would believe in Him in the future. "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You," John 17:20-21. Is it possible to be unified under separate doctrines? NO!

The only way to obtain and be apart of the ONE FAITH that Ephesians 4:4-5 is talking about, is by hearing the Word. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," Romans 10:17. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit," 2 Peter 1:20-21. Since the Bible is the only TRUE written Word of God, in order to please the Father, we must hear, obey, and study the Bible's teachings. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must first believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him," Hebrews 11:6.

Ephesians 4:4-5 also talks about ONE BODY. To understand this more perfectly, click here.

The summary of this intense study of the scripture should be, "What must I do to be saved," Acts 16:30. We know from Ephesians 4:5 that there is only ONE BAPTISM.  Jesus commanded His disciples to, "go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you," Matthew 28:19-20.

This baptism, since it is performed by man, is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit done with fire because the baptism of the Holy Spirit is only given by God as a promise, not as a command. Man can only baptize with water. So the ONE BAPTISM described in Ephesians 4:5 is baptism with water. Peter instructed the audience on the Day of Pentecost to repent and be baptized for the remissions of their sins (Acts 2:38-39), Philip baptized the Eunuch with water (Acts 8:35-39), and Peter commanded Cornelius and his household to be baptized with water (Acts 10:47-48).  These and numerous other instances were done in accordance with Jesus' command. In order to be saved from your sins, you must also be immersed in water and become born again as commanded (John 3:3, 1 Peter 3:21).

Jesus Christ shed His perfect and divine blood in His death on the cross to give the world an opportunity to have an intimate relationship with the Father. Romans 6:3-4 says, "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Since baptism is  a burial in water, a person must be completely buried, or immersed, in water in baptism.

In order for believers to be ONE, we must believe, obey, and study ONLY the Bible. For believers to be in Christ, we must be baptized in the proper manner. The Church of Christ is a body of Christians who truly believe the Bible to be God's inspired word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," John 1:1.