The Restoration Movement
Do you know what the Restoration Movement is? Do you consider
yourself to be a part of this movement? Do you think that the
movement is important to the church? Do you even care?
Please don't think that I am trying to me a smart aleck. I
certainly do not intend to be. However, I hope that you can find
an answer to each of these questions in this article.
It would not be possible for me to even come close to giving a
complete history of the Restoration Movement in this short
article. There have been volumes written about the movement, the
key people who founded it, its underlying principles, and how it
has progressed. My aim is to acquaint you with the movement and
hopefully spark your interest so you will seek to learn more
about it.
The Restoration Movement was founded in the 1800's by such men
as Barton W. Stone, Thomas Campbell, and Alexander Campbell.
These men, along with others, sought to get the church back to
following the New Testament as its only source of authority.
They also preached against a denominational structure and in
favor of local congregations modeling themselves after the
churches in the New Testament. They spoke in favor of using the
Scriptures as the only source to determine how one receives the
gift of salvation.
I am convinced that most people who attend Christian Churches
and Churches of Christ which associate themselves with the
Restoration Movement do not know what sets us apart from all the
rest who claim to be Christian. So, what does set us apart?
We strive for the restoration of the church, both in unity and
practice, on a New Testament basis. The church was instituted by
Christ. The church is His! Local congregations (we most often
call them churches) are just a part of the church which Christ
instituted. If this is true, and it is, then we have an
obligation to Christ to pattern the local congregation after the
pattern which is set forth in the New Testament. By reading and
studying the New Testament we can learn how the first churches
which came into existence conducted themselves, how they were
governed and so forth. Here are a few things we can learn:
"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts
2:42) They continued steadfastly, or in other words, they did
not allow themselves to deviate from these practices. They
continued in the apostles' doctrine -- they followed the
teachings of the apostles. We have these same teachings in the
New Testament. We too can, if we choose, continue to follow the
teachings of the apostles. They continued in fellowship -- they
met together as Christians to worship. They continued in the
breaking of bread -- they observed the Lord's Supper on a
regular basis. They continued in prayer -- they went to the Lord
in prayer on a regular basis. There are many groups today (over
300 major denominations) who claim to be Christian but have gone
away from the teachings of the apostles. Just turn on your
television and listen to the doctrines being broadcast as if
they were part of the apostles' doctrine. Such things as infant
baptism, sprinkling or pouring as a form of baptism, speaking in
tongues, "once saved always saved," salvation by faith only,
faith healing, prophesying (as if relaying a message directly
from God), denying that baptism is a necessary part of
salvation, and the list goes on and on. None of these
"doctrines" can be found in the Scriptures. And if this isn't
bad enough, there are other groups who claim to be Christian who
deny the deity of Jesus Christ or who follow the teachings of
men (latter day saints) who teach things contrary to Christ.
"Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business;..." (Acts 6:3) The local church is
to be governed by deacons and elders, each office having its own
functions or duties. This governing group is to come from the
people in the local congregation not a regional or state
governing board as is the practice of those in denominations.
See also: Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5,
James 5:14, 1 Peter 5:1-5, and 1 Timothy 3:1-13. "Now on the
first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and
continued his message until midnight." (Acts 20:7) We in the
Restoration Movement observe the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day
(the first day of the week) as is patterned in this Scripture.
Not only should we pattern the local congregation after those in
the New Testament, but the church should be unified. "For as we
have many members in one body, but all the members do not have
the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and individually members of one another." (Romans 12:4,5) Notice
in the New Testament that all the local congregations were given
the same teachings. A study of this shows that the apostles
considered the church to be unified, that all were obeying the
gospel, that all were to obey the commands of Jesus, and that
all were expected to conduct themselves in the same manner. Are
we today to believe that when Jesus returns for His church that
He will receive a divided church, a church which teaches
different doctrines, a church which has different means by which
one may receive salvation, and a church which will not even
associate or fellowship with each other? No, He will not! Listen
to some of the things Jesus tells the seven churches in Asia as
written in Revelation: "Remember therefore from where you have
fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to
you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless
you repent." (Revelation 2:5); "... Be faithful until death, and
I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10b); "Repent,
or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them
with the sword of My mouth." (Revelation 2:16); "And he who
overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give
power over the nations-" (Revelation 2:26); "He who overcomes
shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his
name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before
My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5); and "So
then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
spew you out of My mouth." (Revelation 3:16) Please read this
entire passage in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Do we see here a
picture of what Christ expects when He returns? He expects the
church (you, I and everyone who professes to be a follower of
Christ) to be faithful and not following false teachings. If we
don't measure up, then we can expect to have our name blotted
from the Book of Life.
No name but Christian. We who associate ourselves with the
Restoration Movement wish to be known only as a Christian. We
wish to wear only the name of Christ. The name Christian is a
Biblical name, "And the disciples were first called Christians
in Antioch." (Acts 11:26b) Also we read in the New Testament
that the church was referred to as either the church, the church
of Christ, or the church of God. Many people seem to consider
themselves a Baptist first and a Christian second, or a
Methodist first and a Christian second, or any other man-made
name first and a Christian second. We believe that Christian is
not just the first, but the only name we want to wear.
Where the Scriptures speak, we speak. Where the Scriptures are
silent, we are silent. It seems that many Christians are ever
ready to argue about Scripture. I would like to point out that
it is not really necessary to argue about Scripture. The Bible
is quite plain in what it says. There are some principles of
interpretation which we must follow, but once we do, the truths
in the Bible are clear. So therefore we believe that if the
Bible addresses a particular subject and a command is given, we
should obey that command. We will stand up and defend what the
Bible says about how we are to conduct ourselves as Christians.
On the other hand, if a subject is not covered in the Scriptures
(if the Bible is silent on a subject) then it is not necessary
to debate or defend the issue.
The plan of salvation. By reading and studying the New Testament
teachings we see that there is a plan of salvation. We are told
by the New Testament writers what we must do to be saved. It is
not difficult to understand. However, there are many who either
try to make it more complicated than it is, or simplify it more
than it is, or even to interject man-made rules into what needs
to be done. We need to consider all that is in the Scriptures
concerning salvation, and then not add any additional
requirements. Here is the plan: Faith or Belief (Romans 10:17,
John 3:16); Repentance (Luke 13:3); Confession (Matthew 10:32);
Baptism [immersion] (Mark 16:16 & Acts 2:38); and Faithful
Living (James 1:12).
I hope and pray that what I have given you in this article is
enough to show that there is a difference between those churches
who associate themselves with the Restoration Movement and those
churches we usual call denominational as well as the Catholic
church. It is vitally important that we continue steadfastly in
the apostles' doctrine. The Scriptures give us ample warning
about following false teaching. If you need or want to know more
about the Restoration Movement or want to study more about the
principles of the movement, there are many good Restoration
writers to choose from. Ask your minister to help you locate
this information, he will be glad to help you. Or, write to us.
We have several excellent books available by different authors
to help you in your study.
All scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless
otherwise noted