Who Are We?
Text: James 2:7
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Explain what a "sect" (hairesis) is and state why the New Testament uses the term only to describe divisions within or departures from the church, not the church itself.
- Identify the nine relational angles from which the church is named in Section III and match each to at least one Scripture reference.
- State why the name "Christian" (Acts 11:26) is the most comprehensive identity in the list — what it subsumes and what it requires.
- Explain why "we must be all of these" — why the nine names are not alternative descriptions but nine dimensions of a single identity.
- Identify the false name "sect" and explain from Acts 24:5, 14 why Paul's denial of it matters for understanding what the church is.
Thesis
"Do they not blaspheme the honorable name by which you have been called?" (James 2:7). The name by which the church has been called is the name of Christ. The names the New Testament gives to those who bear that name — disciples, servants, soldiers, saints, children, brethren, Christians, heirs, pilgrims — are not competing labels or sectarian badges; they are nine angles of vision on the single identity of the person who belongs to Christ. The church is not a sect; it is the people who bear the name that James says has been called over them.
Burden
The identity question is not academic. Every name carries a set of expectations, obligations, and relationships. The person who knows what names the New Testament gives them — and takes those names seriously — is the person who understands the full scope of what it means to belong to Christ. The burden is to recover the full depth of the church's biblical identity: not to distinguish it from other religious bodies, but to understand what it is in its own right.
Introduction
"Do they not blaspheme the honorable name by which you have been called?" (James 2:7). The question is addressed to people who have been called by a name — specifically, the name of Christ. They are the people of that name. The question of who they are is answered by examining how Scripture views them.
Two preliminary observations are required. First: the church that belongs to Christ is not a sect. The New Testament uses hairesis ("sect," "faction," "division") only for departures from or divisions within the body of Christ — never for the body itself. When Paul's accusers called the church a sect (Acts 24:5), he denied it (Acts 24:14). When Jesus planted the vineyard of which his people are branches (John 15:1-8), he did not plant a faction within a larger organism; he planted the organism itself. Second: the question "Who are we?" has nine answers, each one true from a different angle of the same identity.
I. Enemies of the Church Have Always Tried to Label It
The effort to assign the church a sectarian name is not new.
Tertullus — a Roman attorney hired by the Jewish leadership to prosecute Paul — called the church "a sect of the Nazarenes" and accused Paul of being "a ringleader of the sect" (Acts 24:5). His goal was to place the church in the legal category of an illegal religious faction, subject to Roman suppression. Paul's response (Acts 24:14) was direct: "I do admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers." He did not accept the label. What his accusers called a sect, he called the Way.
The Jews at Rome similarly called it "a sect" (Acts 28:22). Their assessment: "it is spoken against everywhere." Paul's response (Acts 28:23-31) was to expound the Scriptures from morning until evening, persuading them concerning Jesus.
The pattern is consistent: those who are outside the church, and those who oppose it, want to reduce it to a sectarian label — a faction, a division, a subset of something larger. The church is not a subset of anything human. It is the body Christ built (Matt. 16:18), the assembly he purchased with his blood (Acts 20:28), the household of God (I Tim. 3:15). Its identity comes from him, not from the labels of its adversaries.
II. The Bible Does Not Call the Church of God a Sect
A sect, properly understood, is a division — a sub-group that has separated from a larger body on the basis of particular doctrines or practices. The New Testament uses hairesis for the Pharisees (Acts 15:5 — described as those who insisted on circumcision for Gentile converts), for factions within the Corinthian church (I Cor. 1:10-14), and for "destructive heresies" that false teachers bring into the church (II Pet. 2:1).
The church itself is never described as a hairesis in the New Testament. It is described as a body, a family, a kingdom, a building — none of which is a subdivision of something else. It is the thing itself.
The danger of the sectarian label is that it communicates a false picture of what the church is. The person who thinks of the church as one denomination among several has not understood what the church is. It is not one expression of Christianity among many; it is the community of those whom the Lord adds to his body when they obey the gospel (Acts 2:47).
III. Who Are We — Nine Angles on One Identity
The answer depends on from what angle we are viewed. Nine angles, nine names — all true simultaneously.
Learners of Christ — disciples (mathētai). "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19). The disciple is the learner who is attached to a specific teacher. The disciples of Christ are not learners of a general religious tradition; they are learners of Christ specifically — not of men, but of the one whose teaching is authoritative over all other teaching (Matt. 28:18).
Workers for the Lord — servants (douloi). "Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus" (Rom. 1:1). "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). The servant is defined by whom they serve and by the character of the service. The Christian is a servant of Christ — not a free agent who occasionally assists, but one whose identity is shaped by the service itself.
Fighters against evil — soldiers (stratiōtai). "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 2:3). The soldier endures difficulty that the civilian avoids; the soldier operates under orders; the soldier fights on behalf of someone other than themselves. The Christian as soldier is not at war against persons but against the spiritual forces and sinful patterns that oppose Christ's rule (Eph. 6:12). Soldiers of the cross — who are peacemakers with all persons but at war with Satan and sin.
Those set apart — saints (hagioi). "To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints" (Rom. 1:7). "With all the saints who are throughout Achaia" (II Cor. 1:1). The saint is not an exceptional Christian; the saint is any Christian — the person who has been set apart (hagios) by God's call and their obedient response. Every Christian is a saint; the calling is the same for all.
Children of God — sons and daughters (huioi, thugateres). "I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty" (II Cor. 6:18). "If children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). The relationship to God that the new birth establishes is the relationship of children to their Father — with the intimacy, the access, the formation, and the inheritance that the relationship implies.
Brothers and sisters to each other — brethren (adelphoi). "I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1). "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 12:50). The horizontal relationship among those who share the vertical relationship with God the Father is the relationship of family. The community of Christ is not a voluntary association; it is a family.
Named after Christ — Christians (Christianoi). "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). "If anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name" (I Pet. 4:16). The name "Christian" is not self-assigned; it was given to the disciples at Antioch — by the community that observed them and named what they saw. To be a Christian is to be identifiably, observably of Christ.
Inheritors of promise — heirs (klēronomoi). "If children, heirs also" (Rom. 8:17). The heir is defined by what has been promised and will be given. The Christian's present identity is anchored in a future inheritance — the life that is already secured in Christ and will be fully received at his coming.
Travelers in a foreign land — pilgrims (parepidēmoi). "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth" (Heb. 11:13). "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul" (I Pet. 2:11). The pilgrim is in a place they do not finally belong — passing through on the way to where they are going.
Application
The conclusion of the outline is precise: "We must be all of these if we are what God wants us to be." The nine names are not alternatives among which a Christian might choose two or three that suit them. They are nine dimensions of a single identity. The Christian who is a disciple but not a servant has not understood what learning from Christ produces. The Christian who is a saint but not a pilgrim has forgotten where they are going. The Christian who claims the inheritance but refuses the soldiering has misunderstood the cost of the inheritance.
The self-examination the nine names require: for each name, am I living what the name describes? The disciple who is not learning is not a disciple. The servant who is not serving is not a servant. The soldier who is not fighting is not a soldier. The saint who is not living as one set apart is not functioning as a saint. The child who does not know the Father is a child in name only. The brother or sister who treats the family as strangers has forgotten the relationship. The Christian who cannot be recognized as of Christ has not worn the name with its full meaning. The heir who lives as if there is no inheritance has lost the orienting vision of what is coming. The pilgrim who has settled into the world as if it were home has forgotten where they are going.
Conclusion
"Do they not blaspheme the honorable name by which you have been called?" (James 2:7). The name by which the church has been called is the name that makes all nine other names possible: Christ's. The disciples are his disciples; the servants are his servants; the soldiers fight for him; the saints are set apart by him; the children belong to his Father; the brethren share him as the firstborn among many; the Christians bear his name; the heirs inherit through him; the pilgrims are traveling toward him. The question "Who are we?" has nine answers, and all nine point to the same person.
Invitation
To be called by the name of Christ is to have been added to his body by the Lord himself (Acts 2:47). The entry is through obedient faith: believe that Jesus is the Christ, repent of your sins, confess his name, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). And receive the name — and with the name, the nine identities that come with it.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sect / Faction | hairesis | A choice, a school of thought; in NT usage, a divisive faction or heretical teaching. | Used in Acts 24:5 for what Tertullus called the church; denied by Paul in Acts 24:14. | The word is never used in the NT for the church as a whole — only for factions within it or departures from it. To call the church a sect is to misidentify what it is. The church is not a faction of a larger Christianity; it is the body Christ built, which other religious bodies depart from. | Acts 24:5, 14; I Cor. 1:10 |
| Disciple | mathētēs | A learner, a student attached to a teacher. | Used in Matt. 28:19 for the goal of the Great Commission: make disciples. | The disciple's relationship to the teacher defines the disciple. The disciples of Christ are not students of a tradition — they are learners attached to a specific person whose authority over their lives is total (Matt. 28:18). | Matt. 28:19; Acts 9:10 |
| Christian | Christianos | One belonging to Christ — the -ianos suffix in Latin/Greek indicates belonging or partisanship. | Used in Acts 11:26 for the name given at Antioch and in I Pet. 4:16 for the name under which disciples suffer. | The name was given by observers — those outside the community who saw something identifiable enough to name. To be a Christian is to be recognizably of Christ: to bear the family resemblance that makes the name appropriate. | Acts 11:26; I Pet. 4:16 |
| Pilgrim / Stranger | parepidēmos | A sojourner, a temporary resident away from home — para (beside) + epidēmeō (to stay in a foreign place). | Used in I Pet. 2:11 and Heb. 11:13 for the orientation of the people of God toward the world they inhabit. | The pilgrim's identity is defined not by where they are but by where they are going. The person who understands themselves as a pilgrim makes decisions differently than the person who has settled permanently — about what to accumulate, what to build, what to resist, what to surrender. | I Pet. 2:11; Heb. 11:13 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| "Blaspheme the name by which you are called" | Text | James 2:7 |
| Tertullus calls church a "sect" — Paul denies it | I | Acts 24:5, 14 |
| Jews at Rome call it a "sect" | I | Acts 28:22 |
| "Make disciples of all nations" — learners of Christ | III.1 | Matt. 28:19 |
| "Bond-servant of Christ Jesus" | III.2 | Rom. 1:1 |
| "Suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ" | III.3 | II Tim. 2:3 |
| "Called as saints" | III.4 | Rom. 1:7 |
| "Sons and daughters" — children of God | III.5 | II Cor. 6:18; Rom. 8:17 |
| "Present your bodies... brethren" | III.6 | Rom. 12:1 |
| "Disciples first called Christians at Antioch" | III.7 | Acts 11:26 |
| "Suffers as a Christian — glorify God in this name" | III.7 | I Pet. 4:16 |
| "Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" | III.8 | Rom. 8:17 |
| "Strangers and exiles on the earth" | III.9 | Heb. 11:13; I Pet. 2:11 |
| Lord adds the saved to the church — identity confirmed | Concl. | Acts 2:47 |
| Baptism for remission — receiving the name | Invit. | Acts 2:38 |
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*Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 183. Primary text: James 2:7 (stated by Boles). OCR corrections: "lNTRODUCTION" → "INTRODUCTION"; "Viewe<l" → "Viewed"; "saints
" → "saints". Historical note: the reference to "Digressives" in Section II (I Cor. 1:10-14 applied to those who introduced instrumental music and missionary societies in the era) is acknowledged in the conversion note as historical context; the sermon body develops the principle (internal factions are hairesis) from the biblical text without engaging the specific historical controversy. Doctrinal audit: the nine names developed from their specific NT texts; "saint" defined as any Christian, not an exceptional one; "pilgrim" developed as a present-tense identity that shapes present-tense decisions; invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).*
