RESTORED CHRISTIANITY
The churches of Christ
Greet
You (Romans
Have you ever become tired of religious division in your
community? We believe almost everyone has at one time or
another. Have you wondered
why so much division exists among those who believe in God and accept
Jesus
Christ as the Savior of the world? Again, we believe almost
everyone
has been puzzled about such division existing among those who claim
Jesus
as the Son of God, especially when Jesus Himself prayed that His
disciples
be united as ONE (John 17:21).
Have you ever wondered why we could not all just go back to the Word of
God - back to unity based upon the Bible? Well, we who are members
of
the churches of Christ have not only wondered why, but we are trying to
do
something about it. The understanding you will hopefully receive
from
this short article is one way we are striving to unite all TRUE
believers.
If you have been puzzled and frustrated by religious division, we have
some good news for you. The children of
There are those today who remember only a part of God’s law.
These are the ones who usually add unauthorized ordinances, just like
Jeremiah had an answer to the problem of man-made doctrines and
traditions. He
called for a restoration of the "old paths” (Jer.
What do we mean by restoration? Simple. We are asking
people everywhere to return to the authority of the law of Christ (cf.
Gal. 6:2). We
are urging people to unite upon the teachings of the New Testament (cf.
Heb.
First, it assumes that all of us must have a desire to return
to
the authority of Christ (Matt. 28:18; Heb. 1:1-2). In other words, we
must
be willing to let Christ tell us what to do (Luke
Secondly, this restoration plea assumes that we must STOP
considering
as religious law those things which are NOT authorized by Jesus' New
Testament law. This is to say that human traditions and opinions
of men should
NOT be said to have Divine authority. No human being or group of
human
beings have the right to make and bind religious laws on God’s people
(cf.
Col. 2:20-23). When man-made traditions and religious laws are
practiced
in religious service they simply make one’s worship vain (Matt.
15:8-9).
Thirdly, this plea assumes that we will be called Christians
only,
just like the disciples we read about in the New Testament (Acts
Finally, it assumes that we will be lovingly patient with one
another
as we unite upon the Bible ALONE as our guide to unity (1 Thess.
BUT HOW? Just how do we go about restoring primitive
Christianity?
The plan is simple, though there might be great sacrifice on the part
of
those who desire such. Let us notice FIVE steps that must be taken
to
begin or continue this restoration.
1. WE MUST HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF BIBLICAL RESTORATION.
Restoration is not a reformation of a religious body. Biblical
restoration
demands a complete return to New Testament Christianity. Such
means
that we must NOT consider religious practices which we do not read
about in
the New Testament as having any Divine authority (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).
God's Word is the truth (John
2. WE MUST HAVE A SUBMISSIVE ATTITUDE TO THE RESTORATION PLEAS OF
THE HOLY WRITERS.
Peter commanded that we long for the Word of God (1 Pet.
2:1-2). Jesus prayed for unity (John
We must come out from among them (unbelievers, the unrighteous, and
idols)
as Paul commanded (2 Cor.
3. WE MUST HAVE A THIRST FOR THE TRUTH.
Paul warned that we stand condemned if we do not have the “love of
the truth” (2 Thess.
4. WE MUST HAVE A DESIRE FOR BIBLE AUTHORITY.
Have you ever wondered what would happen in the religious world
today
if everyone just put away all man-made books, creeds, and religious
traditions
not found in the Bible? Well, restoration of New Testament
Christianity
calls for such action. We need to speak as the oracles of God (1 Pet.
5. WE NEED TO HAVE A DESIRE TO UNITE UPON JESUS ALONE, BEING CALLED
CHRISTIANS ONLY.
When one believes on Jesus Christ and obeys His teachings, he
becomes
JUST a Christian. He doesn't become some “type” of Christian -
i.e., Baptist, Catholic, Mormon, etc. He is identified only by the
term Christian
(Acts
Conclusion
Restoration of New Testament Christianity in the midst of false
teachings
and division is a Biblical plea. It can be done and it is
happening today! There
are thousands of individuals throughout the world who are now calling
themselves
after Christ. They meet regularly on the first day of the week (Sunday)
just
like the New Testament Christians did (Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:10). They meet
upon
the first day of the week to partake of the Lord's Supper (Acts
20:7). They
use only their voices to sing praises unto God (Eph.
Yes, these individuals want to be called Christians only, nothing
else. They desire to have the