09/03/2026
Message from the Scriptures
BY RICK MULLINS
What Faith Are You?
Have you ever been asked this
question? If so, what was your answer?
Maybe Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, etc.
Your answer is where you attend church.
You’re trying to identify your particular
church. A lot of obituaries will say he/
she was a Christian of the ______ faith.
Some that I have read say he/she was of
the ______ faith w/out even saying they
were a Christian.
I would love to know how and when
this started because the bible doesn’t say
anything like this. The word faith is used
over 200 times in the NT but it’s almost
always talking about an individual’s faith
and not trying to identify someone’s
religion. The word Christian is only
found three times in the bible. Acts 11:26
“The disciples were first called Christians
at Antioch”. Acts 26:28 Agrippa said
to Paul “You almost persuade me to
become a Christian”. 1st Ptr.4:16 “If
anyone suffers as a Christian”. So, it’s
pretty evident that the followers of Christ
were Christians and Christians only.
No_______ Christians.
The epistles generally say to the
“church” at Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth,
etc. indicating there was only one church
in those towns or cities or several local
churches because they met in homes
of one the Christians Rom.16:5, 1st
Cor. 16:19, Col 4:15 and Philemon 1:2.
Romans talks about the saints who are in
Rome and Galatians says to the churches
of Galatia. So, the question what faith are
you would have never been asked in the
first century.
You didn’t have to ask the name of a
particular church because there would
have been only one. Even though there
might have been several local churches
they were all part of the one church
that Jesus built Matt.16:18. Now Jesus,
Peter, Paul, John and some others talked
of false teachers who would come into
the church, but the bible doesn’t say
what they called themselves. Paul said
in Gal.1:6 “I marvel that you are turning
away so soon from Him who called
you in the grace of Christ, to a different
gospel….” But he says in verse 7 “which
is not another”.
There is only one gospel and we can’t
start another and there is only one faith
so we can’t start another either. Paul
wrote in Eph.4:4-6 “There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you are called
in one hope of your calling; one Lord,
one FAITH, one baptism, one God….”
Now the bible does refer to “the faith” in
several verses and these verses seem to
indicate a disciple of Christ or certainly
something unique. Acts 6:7 “….and a
great many of the priests were obedient
to the faith”. Acts 13:8 “…seeking to
turn the proconsul away from the faith”.
Acts 14:27 “….and that He had opened
the door of faith to the Gentiles”. These
verses and maybe a couple more are the
only ones that might be talking about the
church or The Way as it was referred to
in Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4 and a couple
more verses.
So, my question is really should we
be saying what faith are you? I may be
missing them, but I can’t find verses
that say it that way. I understand why
people do it today, but it should not be
this way. We should not be saying I’m
a _____ Christian. This is a product of
denominationalism which is what the
apostle Paul preached against in 1st Cor.
1:10 “Now I plead with you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the same thing and
that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be perfectly joined together in
the same mind and the same judgement”.
He doesn’t use the word denomination,
but it’s very close to it. So, the next time
you’re asked this question or you ask the
question, think about why are you being
asked or asking What Faith Are You?
If you have questions write to Rick
Mullins at Clintwood Church of Christ.
P. O. Box 746, Clintwood, Va., 24228 or
email me at [email protected].
Please check our page. We
meet on Sunday 10 a.m. for bible study
and 11 a.m. for worship and again at
4 p.m. for worship. We also meet on
Wednesday at 7 p.m. for bible study.
We have singing on the first Wednesday.
Please join us so we can open the word of
God and learn together. Thank you.
