What is Restoration? This is a vital question. To answer this question will show the reason for seeking the Restoration of New Testament Christianity. The American College Dictionary, 1966, defines the word Restoration as follows:
A bringing back to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
When we use the word Restoration in connection with the scriptures or the Church, we have reference to this definition. Restoration is simply the effort, by seekers of the truth, to bring back the original way of worship as presented in the New Testament Scriptures. To say this implies that we have lost the original. To say this implies that there is a need for restoration. Is there such a demand from God? Is there a need for Restoration?
When I think of restoring something, I am reminded of one of my uncles. He will go out and visit yard sales or such like in an effort to find old classic furniture. Often he will find a prize that has been either painted over by several coats of paint or that has been allowed to fall into great disrepair. Unlike the person who is selling the piece of furniture, my uncle can see beyond the physical nature of the furniture and see it as it once was. He can envision what it will take to restore that piece of furniture back to its original condition. In reality, he understands that the original is far more beautiful than its present condition.
When my uncle begins the process of restoration there is a lot of preparation. First, he must determine what the original looked like. To do this he often will examine pictures of the piece of furniture. Examining these he can determine what has either been removed or added to the original. If parts have been removed, he will search and attempt to find those pieces. If something has been added to the original he will remove that. In the end, after a lot of hard work the piece of furniture has been restored to its original beauty. It now is worth far more than what he paid in the beginning.
The Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is very much like that piece of furniture. Over the centuries it has suffered from abuse. Things have been stripped from its foundation and things have been added. You can still see, with the eye of hope and faith, the markings of the original, however, it just does not fit the picture presented in the New Testament Scriptures. It has lost its true value because of these additions and deletions. Humanity no longer has the respect for her original beauty as they once did. In attempts to repair her image, they have lavished on her extra things, or removed things that seems to not fit the modern thinking. She is now abused, worn and tattered. She longs for her original beauty.
The scriptures speak of the times when the Church would suffer such things. Paul, speaking to the Elders of Ephesus says that even some of them would cause the beginning of this abuse.
Acts 20:28-30 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Paul also warns the young evangelist, Timothy, in his second letter that some would depart from the faith (2 Timothy 3). Peter talks about the departure from the faith in his second letter. Jesus also warns about false Christ that would come (Matthew 24:24-27). These verses illustrate to us that the Church did depart from its original state. If you read and study the book of Revelation, its theme is that of the departure from the truth and the final triumph of the Church over its enemies.
History reveals the nature of the Church over the centuries.
The time of the Dark Ages is a sad commentary of the low level
that the visible church sank. Its dominion over humanity was such
that all knowledge was condemned that did not conform to the
wishes of the mother church in Rome. This church became so
corrupt that about the early part of the 16th century
men began to rebel against the authority of the mother church.
They began to attempt to reform the evil and corrupt ways of the
mother church. Instead of restoring, they only sought to reform,
or change what existed to something different. Some, however saw
a different approach - that of restoration instead of reforming.
To be able to restore the church back to the original as found in
the New Testament, we need to do two things.
To accomplish the restoration of the New Testament Church we must know what the original looked like. The only way that we can see this picture is to view the church in the light of the scriptures. The scriptures will give us the true picture of what the church must look like. The scriptures alone can do this. We can have confidence that God has clearly revealed the facts that we need through His Word. Once we have seen the original then we know what has been added and what was taken away. Once we know what the original looks like, we will not want anything else.
To remove what was added is the easy part. We just stop practicing anything that cannot be found in the picture of the original. With furniture we strip away the old paint to reveal the beautiful gain of the natural wood. With the church we strip away all human doctrines. If it has human origin, then it cannot be from God. If it dates later than the first century, then it cannot be from God.
Jesus chastised those of His day for putting the doctrines of men above the doctrine of God. In Matthew chapter 15, the first nine verses, we learn that the Pharisees challenged the Lord regarding His disciples not keeping the traditions of the Elders. The Traditions of the Elders was not scripture, but these Pharisees placed more importance on this than the scriptures. Jesus showed this to them. He showed how, by their traditions, they voided the commandments of God. They were is serious error because they put the doctrines of men above that of God. The places such doctrines in their true light when He concluded this discussion:
Matthew 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
Any religious practice that cannot be found in the scriptures must be removed to reveal the natural beauty of the Church. Often, this is hard to do. We grow accustom to doing things in a certain way. We like those things and to change is difficult. Still, if we are to worship the Lord we must not place human doctrines above that which is revealed in the scriptures. To hold to such doctrines is only vain worship.
The next thing that needs to be done is more difficult - Restoring things that have been removed. Throughout the centuries many of the principles and practices of the New Testament Church have been cast aside. Some have been so altered that they do not even resemble what they were intended to represent. In an effort to be more pleasing to humanity, such doctrines as baptism, the Lord's Supper and Church Government, were altered to fit the desires of men rather than keeping their purity as God established.
How do we find the original? Only by examining the scriptures and seeing what the Lord built. We are not without example. God has never left it to doubt or wonder as to what He wants. We need to simply cast aside anything that was invented by man and bring back that which was established by God.
Restoration! Yes, we can restore the church, today, back to its original state by removing all that mankind has added and bring back that which God established. Until we come to the reality that we cannot improve on what God has established, we cannot restore the New Testament Church. We need to take seriously the warning that John gave as he brought the book of Revelation to an end:
Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Why Restoration? Because it brings us back to what God wants and not what we desire. To add to His will or take away from His will only removes us from that wonderful book of Life. Seek the original. Seek the church found in the New Testament.
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