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Message: <blockquote data-quote="floridays" data-source="post: 4777378" data-attributes="member: 68849">What was funny about my post [USER=65823]@BrownFlush[/USER]?<a href="http://www.truthmagazine.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.truthmagazine.com/images/logo-300x52.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a>Can the Church Of the First Century Be Restored? Daniel H. King Bolingbrook, Illinois <table style='width: 100%'><tr><td>To successfully deal with the question which is the theme of our study, two things are necessary. First, we must appreciate the fact that the church or kingdom of Christ and God saw the light of earthly day in the first century of our own era. This is manifestly evident if one recognizes the thrust of the Master's declaration in Mt. 16:18, "I will build my church" and hosts of statements flowing from the pens of His apostles. For example, that of Paul, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, might be made known through the church. that manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10). Also, it should be noted that Scripture sets forth solemn warnings of the impending apostasy of that body. It was thus already revealed to and known by the first generation of the Savior's flock that "the faith once delivered to the saints" would not be held fast by many (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-6; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 Jn. 4:1ff; 2 Jn. 7ff; Jude 3-5; etc.). A "falling away from the faith" was to occur, in fact, was already happening at the close of the apostolic age. The digression itself was to be from "the faith," the body of teaching, instruction and admonition delivered by Jesus through His ambassadors, the apostles (Jude 3; 1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3; etc.). History declares that the results of this apostasy were devastating, though deceptively so. The saddest and most destructive element of the defection was the fact that so few recognized it for what it was or is. Therefore, most professed Christians have been (and still are) satisfied to unquestioningly accept and embrace whatever retrogression has transpired since the apostles, the earliest days, and that first faith which bound primitive disciples together. Moreover, there eras and is a startling apathy about recapturing what once was: And yet the reason is obvious; unless one comes to realize that something has gone awry, then he will be content to allow things to continue as they have for centuries. Worse than this, the backward movement only gathers momentum, impetus, and the respectability of age as time marches on. The Attempts of the Reformers The sixteenth century witnessed heroic efforts on the part of great and good men .like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, and others toward revitalizing and reforming that which the papists had been .perverting and corrupting for nearly a millennium. One of the repercussions of their courageous work was the shattering of papal power over world governments: For such a boon to the common weal, we will all forever `remain in their debt. But more important than this was the unique plea which they contributed (or should we call it rather a statement of fact since it is entirely biblical and their special gift was simply its recognition and popularization). Sold scriptura, "Scripture alone" was their slogan. They tossed it into the face of the irate papists, stole the hearts of the common people with it, and made it their, banner. For all that, as their own movements took separate courses in such areas as church government, polity, and doctrine, they fell prey to the same foul beast that had .conceived and given birth to popery. Creeds took the place of Roman sovereignty for many of those salvaged 'from the sinking hulk that was Romanism. Now "the faith" had two enemies: Roman Catholicism tire the one hand and Protestant creeds on the other. Both represented something quite other than that which the earliest Christians held as their authority. Sold scriptura had been unseated by the various confessions, creeds and church disciplines. The Bible had been just as thoroughly supplanted by the creeds as it was by the popes. The warring sects and parties were the fruit of another "falling away." The children of this movement had left the original ground of their very existence - which would undoubtedly have eventuated a full restoration of the New Testament order. If only its slogan had meant more to its founders and converts than a mere watchword or rallying-point! But, alas, it did not. Another thought strikes me at this juncture with regard to our critic's censorious blast: our use of the word "restoration" is in complete harmony with both the dictionary definition and common sense. "To restore" is "to bring back to or put back into a former or original state" (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, p. 1936). That is precisely what we intend on all fronts, just a few of which we shall mention here: 1. Restoration of the baptism which the early church practiced: immersion "for" or "in order to" remission of sins (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21; Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12). 2. Restoration of the government of the church: congregations were autonomous, severally overseen by a plurality of elders (bishops, pastors) from their own number, qualified for the task (Acts 14:23; 1 Pet. 5:1-5; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:lff; Tit. 1:5ff). 3. Restoration of apostolic authority over the individual churches, and the Lordship and headship of Christ over the entire body through the acceptance of Holy Scripture as the full and complete revelation and the sole Divine Law for all Christians (2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Jude 3; Rev. 22:18-19). 4. Restoration of the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" by the forsaking of denominational titles and names which demonstrably serve only to separate and divide would-be disciples of Christ (1 Cor. 1:l0ff; 3:4). Let men who follow Jesus be called Christians (Acts 11:26), and aggregates thereof simply "churches of Christ", or "of God" (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 1:2). 5. In short, restoration of the church of Bible times, of fellowship with God. Divinity has always been in the "restoration" business, since Eden anyway. All that God has done in human history has been toward the restoration of alienated humanity to Himself. The church represented in the very first place a "restoration" of this broken relationship. Albeit men are evermore moving away from Him in a plentitude of ways - moral, doctrinal, ecclesiastical, etc. God says to them, "Return, O backsliding children," and to those who would restore that attitude of harmony, "restore such a one." The. aforementioned writer has obviously rejected the historic vision and aim to cultivate unity without regard for Divine authority and with precious little concern for Divine truth. "Restore What?" Another contemporary of ours has expressed himself in this area under the caption, "Restore What?" He objected to the thinking of many with: "Which one of the `New Testament churches' is it proposed to restore? They were all different in some important respects." To which question he also replies, "None of them in particular, and not all of them in the aggregate." He further argues that the ideal for the church is in the teaching of Christ and the Apostles, rather than having been perfectly demonstrated by a first-century congregation: Again, Your second at bat, you're 0-1 currently, care to make it 1-2? </td></tr></table></blockquote>

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