What's Your Second Name?

There are so many Christian groups today it would be nice to have a second name that is a bit different. Are you a Christian, one might ask? I'm a Zotite (One who is Zealous of Truth). Of course you are a Christian but by using another name you would not be lumped together with others within the single mass of many confusing sects and religious orders within Christianity. If we already have a second name, we should use it more often.

When you start studying different sects within Christianity, you will find all sorts of different beliefs. Some teach works to be saved while  others are accepting gays and lesbians in their ranks and performing marriages on their behalf. Some worship statues while others don't believe in the trinity of God. I have found that almost every bad experience in Christianity is blamed on every Christian using that same name instead of the name of their particular sect. We are all lumped together. Whether we are good, bad, or ugly, we are all using the same single name and taking the same blame.

I've always said that just because you use my same last name doesn't mean you're part of my family. Maybe it is time to use our second name more often than the general name Christian. Where did that name Christian come from? Is it written in stone that we must call ourselves only Christian to be saved? NO!

"And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" Acts 11:26.

We also have the wicked King Agrippa calling the disciples Christian.

"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" Acts 26:28.

Finally we find that that Peter used the name. It kind of stuck with the people of God.

"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf" 1 Peter 4:16.

Today is a different time and we should differentiate ourselves more often. It is certainly fine to be called a Christian but what kind of Christian are you? Maybe we need another name that will define what we personally believe. When we just use the name Christian it denotes all kinds of things good and bad. What are we to do? For me personally I'm going to use another addition to the name Christian more often. I belong to a Christian sect but by saying I'm just a Christian does not really tell another person what I stand for.

Maybe you're comfortable with a name that already exists. That's great. Keep it and use it. Maybe you're a Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, or Catholic then you should keep your name and be proud of it. But what if you are one of those like me who believe outside the standard religious box? Then we should form an individual name that denotes or stands for what we personally believe.

Don't go overboard:

I did a little search and found this article:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2009/november-online-only/not-christian-but-christ-follower.html

We should be careful not to do away with the name "Christian" altogether. We are Christians and should be proud of it. It is a name that has stuck with the followers of Christ and will continue to do so. If we do away with the name Christian then we might place ourselves in another group that might suggest something worse. I guess there is no escaping labels or being associated with other groups.  However, perhaps a second name is in order that would better differentiate our beliefs and make us stand out.  When we witness for Christ, let's make sure we use our second name so that others will better understand where we stand and what we truly preach.

IF YOU DO NOT BELONG TO A SECT WITHIN CHRISTIANITY THEN IT IS TIME TO FORMULATE AND BECOME A NEW SECT USING YOUR OWN SPECIAL NAME.

You might ask, "How can I be a sect when there is only one or two people that believe the way I do? In Noah's day there was only one family and they saved the whole human race. Just think what you can do with only two people?

"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven" Matthew 18:19.

I just thought of a good name for Noah's family, "The Ark Builders ."  I would have liked to be called the Quakers but it was already taken.   

Quakers:The Quakers (or Religious Society of Friends) is a Christian movement which professes the priesthood of all believers, a doctrine it derives from 1 Peter 2:9. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and conservative understandings of Christianity.

I also would like to be called a Shaker. That name too was taken.

Shaker: a member of an American religious sect, the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, established in England circa 1750 and living simply in celibate mixed communities.

Maybe I'll go with Seismotites.

Seismotite: a member of an American religious sect, the Society of Believers in the Next Coming Judgment by Earthquake,  established in America in 2015.

Okay maybe it is not that catchy of a name. I'll be praying for inspiration.