Is It Possible to be a Christian Only?

Mark Lindley

     Have you ever heard a riddle or tried to work a puzzle that required you to “think outside the box?” Because our minds are sometimes programmed to think within certain boundaries, it can be difficult to see the obvious solution to a riddle or puzzle. This is also true concerning the question, “Is it possible to be a Christian only?” The Bible answer is a resounding yes! But people must think outside the box to understand how such is possible.

     The reason one must think outside the box today is that it is generally assumed any person wanting to be a follower of Christ must be a Catholic or Protestant. In other words, if one wants to be a disciple of Christ and belong to an organized religious group, his only option is to join one of the many denominations in existence.

     However, there is another option. Did you know it is possible to be a Christian only, a member of the Lord’s church mentioned in the Bible? Did you know that you can be a member of Jesus’ church, the one mentioned in the Bible, without ever joining a denomination?

     Think outside the box with me. If a man in prison had never heard of any denominational group, and he read and obeyed the Bible only, what would he be? He would a Christian only. I know this because people in the first century who followed only God’s Word became Christians only (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1Peter 4:16). Imagine a man alone on an island who finds a chest that has washed ashore. The man looks inside, finds a copy of the New Testament, reads and obeys only what he finds in the Bible. What would the man be? He would be a Christian. Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Every seed reproduces after its kind. In the first century the seed of God’s Word made Christians only, not different brands of Christians. Today, following God’s Word only will make one a Christian only. Don’t allow your thinking to be limited to the box created by men!