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Churches of Christ in America are heirs of a distinct movement that sprang up on this continent at the turn of the nineteenth century. Noble men and women dedicated their lives to the goal of restoring in their day the original Christianity of the first century. They sensed the futility of attempting to reform the existing denominations. They concluded that the only practical way to have pure Christianity was to bypass all the existing bodies and begin from "scratch" with the New Testament as their sole guide and blueprint.
REASONS AND MOTIVES
No doubt each man who contributed to this movement had many reasons for his efforts. It is most likely that none of the leaders ever wrote down for posterity all of their motives, yet we can glean some important goals that were shared by the great pioneers of restoration. For the sake of our readers who do not yet share our faith, we would hasten to add that the Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century was not an organized movement with a governing body over it. No single individual can be looked upon as the leader or spokesman. The very first generation saw a number of talented men in widely scattered parts of the land, from distinctly different religious backgrounds, launch their own attempt to restore original Christianity. This was done without an organized, coordinated effort. It is a fascinating study to trace the growth of this restoration movement and to read of the struggles to arrive at that pure religion of the first century.
1. The restorers wanted to overcome the problem of religious division that plagued believers in Christ. They felt unity could only be realized in Christ and upon the basis of his New Covenant. All saints should speak the same thing, and be of the same mind and judgment (I Cor. 1:10).
2. They wanted to restore the original simplicity and purity of worship of the Lord's church. The centuries had produced numbers of additions and subtractions to the true worship of God outlined in the New Testament. The Lord's Supper need to be restored to its proper place as the center of Lord's Day worship. Every saint deserved the privilege to eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine upon the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The accumulation of such unscriptural items as incense, candles, holy water, images, crucifixes and prayer beads needed to be swept away.
3. They sought to discover and proclaim again the gospel plan of salvation first spoken by the Lord and then by his holy apostles (Heb. 2:3). Knowing that sinners could not be saved by faith only (Jas.2:24), or by works done in human righteousness (Tit. 3:5), they sought and found that way revealed by Christ. The New Testament posited salvation upon faith in Christ, repentance, of sin, confession of faith and immersion in water (Mk. 16:16; Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 2:38).
4. They desired to restore the local congregation of Christians to its rightful place. Each community of saints should be self-governing under Christ and his inspired Word. Christ knew nothing of popes or patriarchs dominating his people. Elders, not preachers, were to rule the congregations (Acts 20:17; 28-31). Associations, conventions, synods, conferences, and councils to govern the churches were all creations of men and needed to be eliminated.
5. They longed to exalt the Bible to its proper place as the final and complete authority in Christianity. They had seen the damage done by the creeds of the churches. They rejected the traditions of men (Matt. 15:6-9). Their plea was "back to the Bible." It was "to the law and to the testimony" for them (Is. 8:20). They wanted to find and abide in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9).
6. They yearned to rid the world of sectarian names in religion and to restore the name of Christ to its honored place. They were not ashamed to be merely "Christians" (I Pet. 4:16). Since the church was Christ's by right of purchase, why not call it "the church of Christ" even as did Paul (Rom. 16:16)? Of course they objected not to any other Biblical name for saints or congregations.
7. They felt an obligation to rid Christianity of all those corruptions and errors that had crept in over the centuries, whether in faith or in practice, whether large or small. They were convinced that this could only be accomplished by a rejection of all the denominations of men and a complete return to the divine blueprint laid out in God's Word (II Tim. 1:13; Heb. 8:5b).
That first generation of men succeeded admirably in their efforts. Across the land a mighty wave of God-fearing people joined hands in the effort. We would not be so bold as to claim that we have perfectly reproduced the total program of Christ today. But we hasten to affirm that those of your neighbors known as the churches of Christ are diligently striving after that goal. Every saint in every generation must in his own life dedicate himself to that noble effort, i.e., to be nothing more nor less than the kind of Christian as were Peter, James John, Paul and a myriad of others we read of in the New Testament. Will you not join with us in the honorable pursuit?
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