In the previous article we looked at the effects denominationalism has on Christ and His cause. In this lesson I want us to consider what the Restoration Plea is. The present confusion of literally hundreds of different churches (thousands if you include all the splinter groups) essentially is an outgrowth of the Protestant Reformation of several centuries ago. This movement was essentially an anti-Catholic movement: hence the term Protestant, because they were protesting against aspects and privileges of the Catholic church. Many of the men who headed up this movement were courageous men, for they were, in many cases, risking their lives to expose what they considered to be errors in doctrine and practice. we call these men, such as Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Reformers. They were trying to reform the existing church in much the same manner as we might fix up a delapidated house – pull off a rotting board and you find a rotting stud behind it and so on and it becomes quite a project. But in the end it’s the same old house with patches. For example, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest, always considered himself an R.C. priest and reformer, and was buried in his priestly robes despite being excommunicated.
21st Century Christianity is a far cry from the original church. Change is not always good. It happens everywhere:- as time passes, universities, corporations, labour unions turn into something other than their founders intended. For example, it may be hard to believe that Harvard, Eton, Cambridge etc. were originally principally theological colleges! Looking at a river as it meanders along the flood plain of the lowlands; it carries a whole lot more than what it did at its inception at the source.
Christianity is older than any university, corporation or labour union and people have been asking for centuries; has it lost its original purpose? In the 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, and many of the major characters were ‘clergymen’. With rare exception he portrayed them as greedy and power-hungry, taking advantage of simple people. Anthony Trollope wrote an interesting story about church life in 19th century England entitled Barchester Towers. The story involved the quest for power and prestige by church officials. Among all the ministers only one seemed not caught up in the game of seeking power. At one point this one asked how Jesus Christ would have wanted them to solve their controversy. Another minister responded What has Jesus Christ to do with this? In their political struggles they had forgotten their claim to be the church founded by Jesus Christ. In the 19th century Feodor Dostoevski wrote The Brothers Karamazov. In the story Jesus returned to medieval Spain during the inquisition. When Jesus approached a village He was arrested by the Bishop and imprisoned. Finally, he released Him, saying, Go and return no more. The Bishop’s church had become a place of power; he did not want to be disturbed by Jesus.
We have seen changes in Catholicism in our time. Remember the Latin Mass, then the vernacular, and now cries for the reinstatement of the Latin Mass. Remember when it was a sin to eat red meat on Friday? Protestant churches also admit to change. In The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches, Edward Hiscox states; It is most likely that in the apostolic age there was but ‘one Lord, one faith, and one baptism’, and no differing denominations existed, the baptism of a convert by that very act constituted him a member of the church, and at once endowed him with all the rights and privileges of full membership. In that sense baptism was the door into the church. Now it is different. We may well ask, Why is it different? Who made it so? Certainly not God. Man thought he was empowered to overhaul ma divine plan! What can be done?
Many years ago in Soulac, Gascony in France, someone came across a stake in the ground. People tried to dig it out but found it to be the steeple of a church building – still attached! The building was finally unearthed and used as a place of worship again. It illustrates what we are trying to do – of course the New Testament church is not a material building – it is a spiritual building with each member a living brick. But what do we mean when we refer to the Restoration Plea? What do we mean when we speak of restoring the New Testament church?
There is what is known as the Little Red Wagon idea of restoration and it goes like this: The saving institution called the church was set up 2000 years ago and those who get in it can go to Heaven. After a time it broke down (apostacy) and it couldn’t get people to heaven. Reformers came along and tried to patch it up but they used non-genuine parts and so it was denominationalised and couldn’t take people to Heaven. Finally, one day somebody with an idea of restoration woke up and said, I think I’ll fix the little red wagon today. He replaced all the non-genuine parts with genuine; knocked out all the dents, using no filler, sanded it down, found a tin of blood-red paint with which to paint it, and for a final touch painted “Church of Christ” on the sides. Now the restoration is complete people can hop on the little red wagon and ride home to heaven.
What’s wrong with that? Just this: it makes the church the Saviour when, in reality, the church is the saved and it is Christ who is the Saviour.
Human systems can be reformed, but it is improper to speak of reforming Christianity. It was perfect when it began, and any attempt to reform it would be as futile as an attempt to create a new sun. What is needed is a restoration of, what one man called the ancient order of things. In the strictest sense you can restore people to the Lord, but you cannot restore the New Testament church. It does not need restoring (cf. Matt.16:18 – it still exists in the world). To use a parallel: some particular marriages may need restoring, but the institution of marriage has never gone anywhere. It remains like it was when God instituted it, despite intentions to redefine it and align it with modern trends caused by Biblical illiteracy. People change, people fall short, people fail, and since that is so, it is people who need restoring, not marriage itself. The church doesn’t apostacize – people do! When people depart from the Scriptures they often establish apostate churches. When they do, something other than the New testament church exists – a plant that God has not planted.
So the Restoration ideal is to attempt to restore in the human heart a willingness to be governed by the faith and practice of the New Testament. That being done, what will follow will be a restoration of the faith, doctrine, and practice of the early church. We will speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where it is silent. We will neither add nor subtract from the Word.
There are three ingredients necessary to the restoration of pure N.T. Christianity. An open Bible to know the will of God, an open mind to believe it, and an open heart to obey it. These are an unbeatable trio. The Old Testament is a valuable storehouse of history and knowledge for us today, even though it is of an old covenant which has given way to a new (Rom. 15:4). It reveals precedents which we can learn from to get our concepts right. Consider one such restoration movement in the time of King Josiah (2 Kings 22:1ff). It was in the 18th year of his reign, thus making him 26 years old. In the process of repairing the temple they found the book of the law (how long has your Bible been gathering dust?), which was then read before the King. His response was to make a commitment to abide by the law given by God through Moses some 900 years earlier. This is the important point – not a comma or full stop was changed – it was the people who changed!
Now did Josiah start a new religion? No, he restored the law of Moses to the hearts of the people! (1 Kings 12 records the beginning of a new religion by Jeroboam through changing the law of the scriptures) Did Josiah’s actions solve the problem once and for all? Not at all. Later Jeremiah has to plead with them to seek for the old paths again (6:16). In a sense the restoration is never complete – it is an ongoing process. Each generation has to fight the good fight of faith and uphold the truth in a sinful and deceptive world.
What reasons exist for a call for restoration? Simply put, it would be God’s call for unity, the fact division is condemned and our need to find the truth and follow it. What basic principles operate in restoration? First, a recognition of the all-sufficiency of the scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16,17). We need a thus saith the Lord in matters of faith and practice (1 Pet. 4:11; Isa. 8:20). We need to use Biblical terminology (1 Cor. 2:13). There needs to be the rejection of human creeds:- they are all different and contribute to the confusion. Before 1906 the Methodist creed said babies were born in sin, but after that date they said babies are born in Christ! Christ is the only creed (1 Cor. 2:2). The name Christian to be used as the name of the followers of Christ (Isa. 62:2; Acts 11:16). There needs to be the recognition of the authority of Christ in all things (Matt.28:18), and worship is to be offered in the manner prescribed in the New Testament (John 4:24). To round out this list we should also add the proper division of the Bible, recognizing the abolishing of the Old Testament with the New Testament in force.
The next lesson will conclude this series, and we will answer the question, What, then, is the Church of Christ? Is it just another church, protestant or otherwise, just cluttering up an already confused religious landscape, or is it something else?