The church that Jesus died to establish, and which was established according to the New Testament (Matt. 16:18, Acts 2) was
not, and is not a denomination. The church of Christ (Rom. 16:16) departed from the way of the Lord and apostatized sometime
after the First Century (1 Tim. 4:1-4). For centuries thereafter the church in its First Century form was unknown to most, if not all,
men. It was hidden by religious oppression, darkness, error, ignorance, and superstition. Approximately two centuries ago
certain men began to call for a restoration of the church by returning to and following the New Testament without addition,
subtraction, or substitution.
Many men sacrificed much to help restore the Lord's church to the New Testament pattern (Heb. 8:5). They sought for, and
called upon, men to follow the way of Christ as set forth in New Testament simplicity. They called upon men in matters of
religion to do only that for which there was New Testament authority (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Peter 4:11; Rev. 22:18-19).
The church was restored after many years of great sacrifice. We are grateful to those pioneer preachers who paved the way and
pleaded for the return to the "ancient order." The history of the Restoration Movement is exciting to read about and study. We
must make four points very clear, however:
- The restored New Testament church (the church of Christ) is still NOT a denomination.
- The church of Christ was not "born" out of the "Restoration Movement." It did not originate in the "Restoration Movement."
The church is simply the Lord's church restored - nothing more, nothing less. There is nothing that I believe or practice
that originated during the "Restoration Movement."
- The men who called for the restoration of the Lord's church did not intend to start any denomination, and did not start
one. That was not their purpose. The church of the Lord was not established by any mere man. Men such as Alexander
Campbell did not establish the church of Christ. Therefore, in studying about these good men whom we admire and
appreciate, we must remember that we cannot exalt men to any position above that of mere men (Acts 10:25-26).
- The "Restoration Movement" is not my "God," nor is it my Savior. It is not that to which I look for authority. It is not the
beginning and end of all things spiritual. It is not the Source. God, and His Only Begotten Son, through His word as given
to the Holy Spirit, who gave it to holy men of God (Holy Spirit-inspired men in the First Century, 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:
19-21; 2 Tim. 3:16-17) is the Source. Some of the great principles and mottoes of the "Restoration Movement" were
derived from principles set forth in the New Testament. Some mottoes are not according to good hermeneutics (Bible
interpretation), such as "We shall do nothing the Bible condemns."
Please note the disclaimer below. The restoration links provided here are for one's personal study and research. There are
some links on some of the sites, however, that will give good information about some aspects of the "Restoration Movement,"
but some links on some sites will also promote error, and thus, do not point one unto Christ. We do not condone any error!
Some men who have sought to have a "say" in the restoration era are without doubt, false teachers. At least one man, according
to his own declaration, sought to be a man of "leading thought" in many spiritual matters. This was particularly true in the 20th
Century. Such worldly ambition is sin and may cause one to err in his thinking on many things. One must be able to sift the
wheat from the chaff and throw away the chaff. Thus, we admonish the reader again to be cautious, and "rightly divide the word
of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).
.
|
|
|
