Church History, part 3 - Mike Criswell

Well, it is kind of hard to believe that we come now to the

final service of our meeting. I hope it's been at a fine for

you. I've enjoyed it immensely and

even though perhaps it's been tiring for all of us, I hope

that something been said or we study something together that

would encourage you or at least give you some knowledge to go

forth and maybe apply in some way to your life.

You know we began a little series on church history and I'm

going to have to really not only talk fast.

Tonight to get through the material but also to keep us

away because after that meal, you know, I have something.

I have something I need to say to this congregation.

You've got a problem and that is its your to hospital.

In fact, I think death by Hospitality might be a good.

A good book to write about this congregation and because I've

been fed, man, I've been fed so much by everyone in homes and

restaurants and I got to go home and fast a wild prey and, and

maybe become one of these ascetics.

It was About because wow, even though I've been walking every

morning, it's just not cut it, so but thank you so much.

But anyway, tonight we have a lot to cover and I promise I

won't talk quite as long. Hopefully Lord willing as last

night or the night before, but we've been discussing church

history and even though it's a little bit punny, I mentioned

this the other day. But you know, when we look at

the church, who's in the middle of the church, well, you are,

you're in the middle of the church.

But really in reality, when we look at history, it's his story

isn't it? It's the story about God and

about house, Providence makes things work.

And of course, as we've noted over the last couple of nights

you know the church was established.

But then very quickly began to apostasy Begin to Fall away and

so really the whole history of the church and I'm going to use

that term again tonight in an accommodating since because

obviously the Lord's Church retains, you know, the identity

that is found in the New Testament but the church Begin

to Fall Away from the very Beginning really and still

continues to this day, to maintain those scriptural

principles that we read about in the New Testament.

And, of course, the plea of the churches of price has always

been to go back to the Bible to speak where the Bible speaks to

be silent. When the Bible is silent to do

Bible things. In Bible ways, to call Bible

things by Bible names, and, of course, that should indeed be

our motto. Now, as we've looked over the

last few nights, we have look basically at these facts.

And after I go through these four, five, Five Points very

briefly. You might say, well, why

couldn't you just said that the last couple nights we could have

been done with it? Well, the church was established

in 80 30 or 33, the apostles were living at that period of

time and of course the church continued.

Steadfastly in the apostles Doctrine very quickly after the

church was established and congregations were established

people began to depart from the faith, the Apostle, Paul warned

over and over. For example, in Acts 22, the

Ephesian Elders, that there would be men who would arise

even Their own ranks and would be as wolves among the flock.

And, of course, the Apostle Paul warned Timothy that there would

be a man of sin and that there would be an apostasy from the

truth. Well, that true, that happened.

And then, of course, along that same period of time, there was

persecution. First of all, by the Jewish

Nation, who obviously did not like being, you know, the

Christians. And then as the church began to

spread into the entire Known World of the day, the Roman

government began to persecute eat the Christians as well.

And we noted various Emperor's Diocletian, DCS and others who

tried to wipe out Christianity. Well, in about 300, a man, by

the name of Constantine comes to power, emperor, Constantine, and

he espouses Christianity. At least as a religion that can

be useful to his political aspirations, and so he makes

Christianity legal, and we might think that's a good thing.

But the Edict of Milan, which he gave and 313, which made

Christianity, They legal also was a very bad thing because

from that point on what we see is that the church and again I

use that term, broadly, the church began to be United with

politics. And so the church and the state

married, one another, and from that Unholy Union, came all

kinds of false doctrines last night.

We talked a little bit about some of the doctrines that have

been introduced into Christendom.

That cannot be found in the scriptures such as infant

baptism. ISM such as a special

priesthood, such has such as rather, the clergy laity system

and such as transubstantiation and other major doctrines that

were introduced at the Christians of the first century

knew nothing about. And of course, with time as the

politics and the Christianity of that day began to be more and

more coving gold, you have more and more corruption entering

into religion to Chris Dumb during the next several

centuries. Of course we talked about

Charlemagne just for a moment last night and the Holy Roman

Empire and how that was Pope Leo, the third, who crowned

Charlemagne. But it was with the caveat that

the pope really would control the Roman Empire and so it

became known as the Holy Roman Empire.

Well over the next several centuries from about 300 to

about 1700 ad. Those 1,400 years sometimes

called even the Dark Ages, there was an intervening.

You know, problem in darkness that crept into religion and it

was purely and holy corrupt, well, in 1517, Martin Luther and

others began to rise up in what we call the Reformation period.

Now, that were just simply comes from the term reform.

They were trying to reform religion of that day.

They were trying to reform the Catholic Church.

They were not trying to restore New Testament Christianity.

That movement would come a bit later, but they were trying to

Reform, the Christianity of that day which was again Catholicism.

That's the period that I want to speak very briefly about tonight

and I want to notice some of the main points that lead up to and

include the Reformation. Now the Reformation was a very

pivotal Point even for us important for us even today

because it was during the Reformation period and

thereafter that even the New Testament began to be translated

into common tongue, such as German.

English and so on and so forth. It was during that period of

time, broadly speaking that men like William Tyndale would

translate For the First Time The Bible into English or at least

the New Testament and then Coverdale would come along and

finish the job as well as others throughout the centuries who

eventually leads us up to the King James version.

So there's a lot of formative events during this period of

time and it's also a period of time when the world is changing.

For example, in about 1455, we know that Verb popularized, he

really didn't invent movable type, but he popularized, the

movable-type printing press. And the first Bible that was

printed. The first thing was printed was

a Bible and it was lat. And so with the ability to print

literature and the ability to get the word out more quickly,

there came about really a Rene has on, it's a change, a world

changing, the atmosphere in which people were no longer as

ignorant and I use that in a classical sense as they once

were. Well, by the 15th century, we

have such corruption in the Catholic church that there began

to be again. Some people who spoke out.

Now, one of those individuals, as I mentioned, was Martin

Luther. And one of the things that

precipitated Martin Luther's anger at the Catholic church was

the fact that there was a man by the name of John tessin now,

John tetzel was quite a Salesman and John tetzel realized at the

church, confers needed money. And so, John tetzel begin to

circulate Around Europe and he began to sales what was known as

indulgences now indulgences are really, I think, kind of hard to

explain and many think that it's really the payment for sin, not

yet committed and that's kind of right?

But in reality indulgences or the payment of physical money,

so that the results of sin in purgatory could be diminished

and so you could prepay or pay for others for their sins.

So that the timing and Purgatory that hot Place.

If you will, where you supposedly went to sort of pay

for your sins before, later on, you are absolved of those sins

the, your time there could be reduced.

Well, of course, Martin Luther had a fit about that, Martin

Luther felt like that was an abuse of the church's power.

And by the way, ten Souls Ernie's, which were apparently

were substantial went into the building and the making of st.

Peter's Basilica, in Rome now, the st.

Peter's Basilica. Today, in Rome is the second

Basilica, the first I believe, burned way back in the early

days of this period of time, but nonetheless, it went into the

great coppers of the Catholic church.

And tetzel is credited with having a little bit of a phrase

that he would go around. Now, remember, by the way,

people at this time were superstitious the church, the

Catholic Church holds all power and let me throw this in because

I'm throwing in things from previous studies.

Remember the first I said that, the first draft I did was seven

parts. But nonetheless, you know, let's

think about this. You're a your of poor individual

in the English Countryside. You look over there are maybe in

your Italian Countryside, you look over there.

And here's this institution that has these great Cathedrals.

That has gold and silver and paintings that are Priceless on

their walls. You're going to be awed by that.

And so also the church was teaching that you needed to do

what they said to do in order to be saved and they held great

sway over the people. And so if a You should comes

along or some Emissary, from the Roman Pope, and he says, here's

what you must do. People are going to try to do

that. And that particular era of time,

well, tetzel came along selling these indulgences and he had

this phrase where he says, as soon as the coin in the Coffer

Rings, a soul from purgatory Springs.

Now, you know, Traditions kind of interesting because it's

really hard to say. Whether you really said that,

but it catches the drift he was selling these these the It's if

you will, we're by your time in purgatory or in punishment could

be reduced. We, you know, at this period of

time to people being superstitious would venerate

relics the Catholic Church would go about and get various items

skulls of supposed States pieces of wood supposedly coming from

the cross, and they would put them in the cathedrals of that

day. And people would venerate our

worship, those particular items because it was held that those

items had spiritual significance, Forget, and even

religious power. And so, then the sacramental

idea that if you worship or you venerated, are you did so many

things you could earn your salvation and these things could

help you. So, relics were sacred items,

venerated. And every Church, of course,

wanted either a saint or sacred item attached to it.

And so, there were pieces of the True Cross.

There were bones of the Apostles on display now, again, not

surely, the real Apostles are the real Ross because there's no

indication that we know where they are, but nonetheless, these

things were displayed as if they were.

In fact, John Calvin, very interesting reformer as well.

Said that there were 15, sculls of John the Baptist and he says,

there was enough wood from the crosses of Jesus to build across

so tall that you couldn't see the top.

Now, he's also been reported to have said there was so much wood

for the crosses of Jesus little splinters that you could build

Noah's Ark. Now, whatever the point is, you

know, tradition, sometimes gives you A lot of stories that the

point is, is that you have all of these artifacts out there

which may or may not mean anything, but people are

venerating them and worshipping them as if they are real because

they believe it gives them some spiritual connection to God.

Now, I'm going to throw this in as just an aside but under st.

Peter's, Basilica in Rome, today is an area called the

necropolis. Now the crop of us the word and

simply means the city of the dead necropolis, and the

necropolis is where supposedly Lee st.

Peter is buried now a few years ago.

But difference when, you know, the Clinton France, cleanse, it

cleanse is everywhere. Glenn is everywhere.

You want to be Clinton perhaps were and I were in Rome and we

were able to get a tour under st.

Peter's, Basilica up to the necropolis.

Now, I have friends that are Catholic.

There are sincere, wonderful people and I would never

besmirch, their religion, or I would never besmirch this in

Syria. But as we stood among the faith,

as we journey through the catacomb like Isles, Under st.

Peter's Basilica, the bones and the priests and the Pope's that

have been buried and then we came to the niche where bag

Peter if you look back through supposed it was buried, it

became very quiet. There was an honest, you know

that began to sort of circulate through the crowd and Clinton I

just stood there and thought you know really is this really what

Christianity is all about. But this was a holy place and

there was supposedly I think some Holiness that people

thought they might gather you see?

Things haven't changed that much superstitious.

Haven't changed so much, even from this period in the 15th

century. Well, the society though is

changing, people were becoming more educated.

The power of the church was beginning to fail a little bit

and byte church. I mean Catholicism because it

was V, dominant religion of the day because they need for sure.

No one else had a presence. And two things happened that

brought about really a great change.

And brought about the Reformation, One.

As I mentioned, a moment ago was the printing press by Gutenberg

Gutenberg printed the Bible for the first time, in about 1450 5,

there are some Gutenberg Bibles around today.

In various museums, if you have 30 or 40 million dollars, you

might be able to pick one up, nonetheless, they're very rare

and it is again a watershed for the change.

Really? The flood that would begin to

occur in printing, Martin Luther who will notice in a moment was

a prolific printer and he printed More literature in

Germany than any other person in Germany, religious tracts

servants and so on and so far. But about this time there was

another change in religion that brought about a great amount of

fervor and that was a man by the name of Erasmus now.

Rasmus, he as it were went and he got the Greek manuscripts

that were available at the time. There were only a couple of

handful and he put together a new Greek texts called the

Texas. Receptus the TR And it is from

the textus receptus that, then you start having the English

Bibles printed. But now that was a change.

Because up until this point they had used the Latin Vulgate.

The Latin had grown corrupt and then change over the years.

People no longer read or spoke Latin the priest, spoke it.

But some of them didn't even know what they were saying.

They were just rattling off that which they had memorized.

And so Rasmus and others felt like there needs to be a new

base text on which The base, the Bible translation and then of

course others, like William tyndale's Coverdale Matthews and

others thought that it needed to be in the language of the

people. So as these things begin to

happen, they all kind of come together.

At about the same time, you have a change in culture, you have a

changing Society, you have corruption in the church, the

Catholic church and you have men like Martin Luther who are

finally willing to stand up and say enough already.

Now, Martin Luther was like Julian Mark, he did not want to

throw away. The Catholic church has missed,

his purpose, was not to create Lutheranism, now that's what

happened. But his purpose was not to

create a new religion. His purpose was to reform that

which he saw as being corrupt. And so he began to teach and

preach and he began to question the various doctrines of the

Bible, he entered a monastery at a very young age.

His father wanted him to be a lawyer, by the way, but he

decided to become a preacher. ER, and I'm sure that was just a

pointing for his father. But nonetheless, he began to

dedicate himself intensely to prayer, and to fasting.

And he was really almost a radical when it came to his

lifestyle, he was also a colorful individual because it

said that you can hear him at times jousting as it were

verbally with the devil using all kinds of expletives and all

kinds of terrible language. But nonetheless he was a priest.

He was a individual who wanted to reform the Catholic Church.

Well Rome Cam automation, he went to Rome.

He went to this place called. Well, I don't remember the name

of the church, but nonetheless, he comes to Rome and he sees

Christians, so-called at a place called the scale of sanctum.

Now, few weeks ago, when I was there with Ronnie, Wade visited,

this for the umpteenth time and what this is is supposedly,

these are the steps that were brought from Palestine by

Constantine's mother. Other hellena.

Supposedly, the very steps in front of Pilots Hall that Jesus

stood up on when Jesus was being tried and convicted.

Now, of course we don't know about that, but nonetheless,

these steps were hauled from Palestine to Rome.

And people, even to this very day will pay Penance upon the

steps. They will get down on their

knees and they will walk up one by one, but you cannot walk up

these steps except on your knees that Ronnie.

Wait and wait outside becomes. Of them on their feet and the

guards got them right away. But nonetheless, you can go up

these steps on your knees. Praying all the way and again

demonstrate your Penance and get spiritual Merit from doing this.

Well Martin Luther saw this going on.

These are the same steps that were there in 1400 and Martin

Luther. Finally said, this is crazy.

The just should live by faith. Now let me say this real quick

and I don't have time to get into the darkness side of this.

But, you know, Sometimes such reformers or even religious

leaders such as Martin Luther, and John Calvin, and so on and

so forth. We give them sort of a bad rap

now. I don't believe their theology,

don't get me wrong, but considering their environment

Martin Luther. Yes, he did Focus way too much

on faith alone. In fact, he changed the biblical

definition of faith, and the purpose of faith and how Faith

Works to Faith, the low, but consider the environment.

He was in, he was in an Where the Catholic Church of the day

said you had to work such as this.

You had to bleed on your knees so to speak so that you could be

safe. So he reacts but he reacts too

far and I think that's something we need to keep in mind when

there are Trends and Winds of Change.

Sometimes we need to be careful that we don't over react to.

The change that is going on. Round about us, well, over time

Luther comes up with a list of grievances.

They're called the 95 Theses. Now by this time Luther is a

priest up in a town called Vinton Berg Germany.

And he takes this paper of 95 complaints and he Nails it to

the door of the Catholic church in that City.

Now he wasn't vandalizing. That was where people pin things

to make public announcements. And of course, the pope got word

of this. Others got word of this and he

was criticized, he was called before a court called the diet

of worms. Then it left a bad taste in his

mouth was the diet of worms would with died of arms, is

pretty nasty I.U snakes Court. It doesn't mean something you

eat, but nonetheless on April in April 1521, Luther was brought

before the diet of worms and Lutheran was tried as a heretic

or what he was preaching and they asked him to recant.

They say just in, I what you've printed, you're not what you're

saying and that's where if you read the story of Luther, it

gets really kind of a hair-raising because he says,

unless idea. Convinced by the testimonies of

scripture or by clear reason, I neither can or will make any

retraction since it is neither safe nor honorable to act

against conscience. And then there's that famous

phrase where he says, here I stand, I can do.

No other help me God. In other words, even though he

might have been mistaken. Some of the theology, he was not

going to give it up. He was going to go to the death.

If that was what it was necessary.

Even mean What you was if indeed he had to and is Wellness rather

to stand for his sake. Well, the movement begins to

sprout, and there are many others across Europe.

Martin Luther, of course, in Germany between Glee up there.

You'll represent singly in Switzerland.

All of these men had different nuances of teaching but they all

recognize that the Church of that day was corrupt.

John Knox down in Scotland, John Calvin in France from which we

get the calvinist. Take doctor's today and will

notice him just in just a few moments.

But the goal again, I've always been was not to establish or

return to the New Testament Church.

That was not on the horizon that was not in their mind.

Their goal was to reform the Catholic church.

Now, the problem with that is sometimes you can't reform

something, sometimes you have to tear it down and start over, but

there were differences even among the reformers on theology,

for example, Martin Luther believed that side.

Let's allows now we still have that controversy going on in our

Brotherhood today. It's amazing that after 1500

years or so or whatnot. 15, I can just say 500 years.

We haven't solved it, but nonetheless blue thought that if

the Bible didn't specifically forbid, something that it was

allowed. Now, on the other hand, swingley

said, no silence forbids. If the Bible doesn't

specifically authorize something, then it is forbidden.

Now, there's a big difference between those two because you

see Luther would say well you can add what you Want as long as

it doesn't violate some positive command of scripture is legally.

Would say no you can't have it. Unless it's authorized we still

fight over that preacher studies today.

You see these issues do affect us and our theology.

Even today, John Calvin do in my view.

Made the most dire inroads into Christendom because of his

theology. Now the other evening I noted

with you that John Calvin was a student of st.

Augustine Augustine. One of the early church fathers,

so called in about 400 ad Augustine had become a Christian

having been converted by a man by the name of Ambrose and he

had come out of a false dualistic.

Gnostic Doctrine called medic is.

MM, the flesh was evil, the spirit was good, but the flesh

was evil and so then John Calvin, as he then begins to

study Augustine. He begins to incorporate, I

don't know, knowingly or unknowingly these ideas in Into

his own Theology. And so, he comes up with this

idea of God's sovereignty, which God is Sovereign, but to the

point that he believed that God had control of everything even

against Free Will. And so he came up with What's

called the Tulip doctor. Now, this is not for jority,

this is not making fun, they will acknowledge that they

believe in tulip. In fact, have you ever heard of

the point that the idea of a five-point calvinist?

You have five-point calvinist, some will say no, I'm a

three-point calvinist. Well, the Five Points, RT ulap,

Depravity total heredity proud of you.

In other words, we are born in sin, we can't even believe

unless God does a special miraculous work on our life.

Number two unconditional option because we're born in sin when

we then come to God. We are unconditionally elected.

In other words. God chooses, who's going to be

saved? Who's going to be lost?

We are predetermined and those that are predetermined to be

saved. Then have had Christ died for

them and them alone. That's called limited atonement.

Now we Believe that Jesus died for the whole world, we believe

that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all

should come to repentance. Calvin said, no, Christ, only

died for the elect. The rest are damned to hell no

matter what they want to do, and so there's a limited atonement.

Now, if you're part of the limited atonement group and

you're part of the saved, then since God saved you, and decreed

that, there's nothing you can do be lost and of course, in order

to be saved, God's going to give his grace to you.

That Grace is not going to Able to be resisted, that's

irresistible Grace. And when God does that, then

you're going to persevere forever.

You're going to be saved, once saved, always saved.

So, this doctrine of tulip becomes, really the basis for

most of the reformed and the churches that came from the

Reformation that are around us today.

In fact, one of the things of the two doctrines that separate

I believe the Churches of Christ from other groups, one is the

idea of the Calvinism. And the other is

premillennialism those two doctrines again are not spouse

by the Churches of Christ, but almost everyone in the

denominational world today will believe in once saved, always

saved for some form of Calvinism and pre millennialism.

Well, that's another subject for another time.

But, you know, again, from the Reformation, it didn't solve

anything. It just began to Splinter and,

you know, some things, as I mentioned, you just can't fix.

You can't make us. Purse out of a sow's ear.

You just can't do it. You've got to start over.

And so then these men miss the point, they were trying to take

something that was inherently corrupt, that had a structure of

leadership as we noted last evening.

That was inherently sinful and wrong, and we're trying to

reform it that will not work. Well, go buy them a few hundred

more years. We get now to the 1800s 1700s

1800s, and we begin to see them people.

In the denomination's. Now by this time, many

denominations have split give the Baptists Presbyterians and

methodists. You have all these demon

domination Lutheran's that had begun to split and Splinter and

their begin to arise a few men, A Few Good Men, Who said, you

know what, the Reformation didn't work.

So what we need to do is we need to restore Christianity.

Now, I use the term restoration with a bit of a caveat and that

is this. I don't believe personally that

the church ever disappear. I don't believe that the church

had to be totally restored in the sense that it, you know, was

never around. I believe that somewhere.

Probably in those groups that Catholics called Heritage during

the Middle Ages. There were faithful.

Christians meeting now, I can't prove that but that's my own

belief. I base that upon even today

finding congregations once in a while but we know nothing of

that are virtually the same. As we are, they've taken the

Bible that done back to it and you know what?

When you plant seed you get the same crop.

If you plant corn, you're going to get corn, they had planted

the word of God and they got new testament Christians.

So I believe that probably every we're around the world.

There were already some places around the world.

There were no Jews and Christians but nonetheless man

began to say, we need to get back to the Bible.

We need to restore New Testament Christianity.

But this time of course there was a dearth of biblical

knowledge. There was a confusion and the

religious World there were again.

And as even today, we go on. We see world.

Jim circulating around you know, you should we said we needed to

go to the world. Now they've come to us and of

course, it does provide quite an opportunity.

I like the quote from CBS CS Lewis, but as Carol Lewis

Carroll was here, that's it. When he speaks of, you know,

Alice in Wonderland. She says I knew I was this

morning but I changed a few times since then, you know that

sort of is reflective of the religious world.

You know, denomination on, by the way, did I shoot

denominationalism? By the way, it's really Dead.

You know, today, methodists and Baptists.

They'll circulate with each other within each other's

pulpits. You know, you can hire one man

over here. This one to this Theological

Seminary, he may not even have the same nomenclature or

monikers, you do religiously, but that doesn't matter because

he is the local preacher. So denominationalism in many

ways is dead. And today, in many ways, we're

in it, it's just as much confusion as there ever was.

But back to the very idea here of going back to the beginning

newt. To make Christianity.

So the seed of the word of Jesus himself, spoke of sowing the

seed of the word. And so, there were men who began

to arise say, you know, if we get certified seed and we throw

out the weeds man, made doctrines the ologies Creeds,

and we simply go back to the Bible.

Then we're more liable to get new testament, Christians, and

that makes logical. Sense, does it?

We want to plant pure seed and we want to To plant that in

every generation. And when we do then we're going

to get Christians, pure New Testament Christians in every

generation. Well, you know, the restoration

movement restoring actually began in Europe with men like

Campbell and others, but along the Eastern Seaboard of the

United States. In very much the same time

period. Various men, begin to arise men

like Abner, Jones Elias myth, though, these were

denominational men, but they also realize that Other

denominations were not biblical and so they began to teach.

Let's go back to the Bible and even though the movement was

formative at this period of time, it was in its infancy.

These men began to blaze a trail for others who would follow and

preach. Let's go back to the Bible.

Now here's where I'm going to truncate a tremendous amount of

material and basically just say that as time rolled on a man,

first of all, by the name of Alexander Campbell came to this

world with his father. Thomas Campbell and they began

to came to this world came to the new world.

I should say. They came from Scotland and

Ireland, they came and they began to preach back to the

Bible. In fact, there's a very

interesting book, I would recommend it is written story

for him. It's by a man, I believe nothing

Cochran Cochran, the fool of God and it's a delightful account of

Thomas and Alexander Campbell's Coming to America and their plea

for Christian restoration. So delightful account I'd But

there was another man by the name of Barton Stone.

Barton stone is known as a frontier preacher.

He was preaching much of the same doctrines that Campbell was

they met, they began to compare notes.

There are movements joined and of course, from that, of course

we get. Then the movement that later

would become the Christian Church Disciples of Christ

Churches of Christ, and so on and so forth.

Now, that's another history. You can read West's book search

for the Ancient Order if you like this series.

There are many books that are out.

There that are very good. If they're interested in simply

reading about the restoration movement, or you can go back and

read the original documents such as Alexander.

Campbell's Millennial Harbinger, you know, Alexander Campbell was

quite the man, Bethany West Virginia was where he lived.

He had his own printing, press, he would get up in the morning,

early enough and stand. If you actually, if you go

there, you been there. Frank, if you go there, there's

a kind of a outdoor study that he is still exist and he would

stand in, he would get there. Early in the morning and he

would write standing up, they always wrote standing and he

would write enough that morning to keep his printers busy all

day long. Now, if I get anything written,

even an email in the morning, I'm doing pretty well but

Alexander Campbell would get up early.

I mean, really early by the Light of the pole, lamp, and

right. And not that morning to keep his

printers busy all day long. He was also the postmaster of

Bethany West Virginia, and, of course, that gave him the

ability to send things out. Posthaste nonetheless, these two

movements emerged, and they merged basically, on for timely

principles. In other words, the restoration

movement came down to basically these four things.

Number one Christ Reigns Christ is the head of the church.

Not Martin Luther, not John Calvin, not King Henry the 8th,

not all those guys back in the rest formation but Christ that

was the one of the non-negotiables.

To the Bible rules. It is God's word.

There is a pattern that is recognized and that's very

important. Because, you know, today we have

left in our postmodern world, pattern is mm, I don't mean in

the church necessarily although it has affected us.

But I mean, in the religious world, most folks in the

religious world at a dump believe, there's a pattern, they

do believe it really matters what you do and worship.

But the Reformation restoration period was based upon pattern,

the pattern being the New Testament and the rejection of

Reads. Now, as with anything again, not

only in the Reformation period where things begin to split and

began to Splinter. Even today in the post

restoration, period things are still beginning to Splinter or

naughty beginning. They are stutter, think about

just from the Churches of Christ that you know, how many

different groups there are? No exception Churches of Christ.

There are cup Churches of Christ.

There are cups. No class of Churches of Christ,

there are classes. No cups Churches of Christ,

there. Churches of Christ of leaving.

Premillennialism there are Churches of Christ that believe

in institutions it goes on and on and on and on and on you see

what's the solution? The Bible going back to the

Bible. And unfortunately even today

there are divisions. Paul said that shouldn't be a

zero to Corinth. He said, there are divisions

among you I hear that from the house of Chloe and he said, I

somewhat believe it. He said some say, I'm appalled

by the policy other sickness, I'm of Christ.

It says Christ. Divided was Paul crucified for

you. Well, certainly not.

And so Paul, even in the first century gave the initial plea

that Campbell and stone and others.

And even today we give and it is let us go back to the Bible.

Well, that leads us into our final point and that is what

should we do in the 21st century?

Now, we may have to adapt our approach but we never adapted.

Ali doctrines are pure but we may have to adapt our approach.

You know, there are people coming to this country who don't

know. Jesus.

You can't teach them about the Are folks until they know Jesus,

you can't teach them about one cup until they know what the

church is. Now that doesn't mean we have to

wait forever to teach them those things but we may have to adapt

our approach. But what we've got to do is go

back and teach the same things goth.

Roy speaking. That Jesus is the son of God

much like Paul did in Athens, you know, on Mars Hill.

That's an interesting study because Paul takes those folks,

we are, they were pagans worshipping an unknown God.

And he says he Him. I declare to you, we take where

people are and we begin to nurture and bring them along to.

Hopefully, we are Guardians. And of course, how do we do

that? Exactly.

Like they did in the first century.

They continued steadfastly in the apostles Doctrine.

Well, that's the study tonight. And there is again, no doubt

tons and tons of material that we could have included and.

But I wanted to go ahead and give you a kind of A

finalization of the end of the story, if you will, the rest of

the story because the Reformation started by Martin

Luther didn't work. And today arguably the Catholic

church is as corrupt As It Ever Was and unfortunately the

various denominations that split off from Martin Luther John

Calvin and zwingli others didn't work either.

And so the only thing we can do is continue day by day year by

year, Generation by generation to plead to go back to the

Bible. Now we have to be careful that

we don't allow even our view of the Church of Christ become

secular or denomination done denomination.

Because if we ever quit questioning and I don't mean

that in a negative way but if we net if we ever quit determining

that we need to go back to the Bible.

Then surely traditions of men will creep in and we'll begin to

hold those things as high as we do Doctrine and pretty soon.

We're no different than the pre-reformation church.

And so we have a great job ahead of us tonight but I think we can

do it. I think again that God has the

same power today that he had then you know, Paul said I'm not

ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of Salvation

to the Jew first and also to the Greek, except for therein is the

righteousness of God revealed from Faith to Faith for, as it

is written, the just shall live by faith.

We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

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