Jerry C. Brewer
To do a thing “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” means that He has authorized us to do that thing. We cannot simply pick out a practice that suits us and say, “this is in the name of Christ.” No one can act “in the name of the State” without authority from that state. One might say he is acting in the name of the state, but unless the state has authorized that person to act, his action is vain and without authority.
Even so, unless Christ has authorized what we preach and practice we are not acting in His name even though we claim to do so. Jesus has all authority, (Matt. 28:18), and the Hebrews writer begins with the inspired assertion that God has “spoken unto us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). God has spoken and His final word has been revealed through Christ. For one’s religion to be right, his preaching and practice must be ordered by the word of Christ that is revealed in the New Testament. To do otherwise brings God’s wrath upon us.
But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:8-9).
The above scripture makes it very plain that we dare not tamper with God’s word which is revealed to us. But both Catholics and Protestants are guilty of violating this plain New Testament precept. Catholicism relies upon oral tradition from the pope and councils of bishops in addition to the Bible, and the Protestant world is bound by humanly written creeds in addition to the Bible. By adding their own teachings, whether oral or written, the Catholic and Protestant worlds have perverted the gospel of Christ.
Paul said the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.” (Rom. 1:16). But when that power is perverted by men’s doctrines it becomes powerless. Water is God’s power for quenching thirst, but salt added to water perverts its power and renders it useless for that which God intended. That’s exactly what human reason—whether expressed in the philosophies of agnosticism and atheism or the oral and written traditions of Catholics and Protestants—does to the Gospel of Christ.
We invite you to stand upon the word of God with us. Reject all human names and practices which aren’t authorized in the Bible and become a Christian only. Believe in the Lord (John 8:24), repent of your sins (Luke 13:3), confess Christ as God’s Son (Rom. 10:10; Acts 8:37) and be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins. When you do those things, the Lord will add you to His church—the only church found in The New Testament. Then worship with us as we follow the authority of the Bible and the Bible only.
