Many people who genuinely desire to follow Jesus are sick and tired of the many denominations and conflicting teachings. Is it possible for people today to simply be Christians and not a part of denominational division of today? Absolutely! Jesus shows us the way out of religious confusion!
For a moment, let’s consider Jesus’ own example in the religious atmosphere of His day. When Jesus came to this earth, the Israelites were living under the Mosaic Law. In that law, God did not make any provision for the division of His people into religious sects or parties. Yet, by the time of Jesus, the Jews had formed several religious parties, and it was assumed that all who were serious about religion would be associated with one of these groups. To which did Jesus belong? NONE! Instead, He maintained a non-sectarian relationship with God to the very end. As an Israelite, living at a time when the Law of Moses was still in effect, He was simply an “Israelite.” Even more so, He encouraged all to live by the Law while it was still in effect (Matt. 5:17-20).
Today, we avoid division by obeying the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). First, we began by obeying the same instructions that Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38, 42). By being saved in this way, we know that the Lord truly adds us to HIS church just as He added them (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47) Then what? Since the early Christians joined no other religious organization, neither should we! By being in Christ, we are automatically united with all others who are in Him, but as members of the Lord’s church, we should carefully study the New Testament description of that church. This description is found in the book of Acts and in the Epistles. It is here that we find instruction from the Lord’s apostles regarding how to worship the Lord acceptably, how to be scripturally organized as local congregations, and how to live and work together as Christians, spreading the gospel of Christ through word and example. Since the apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that their instructions were exactly what Jesus wanted them to be! If we mimic the early churches by following the apostles’ instructions (Acts 2:42), we will simply be “Christians,” and we can be certain the Lord is pleased with us (Luke 10:16).