Reform, Restore, Restructure, Return

In the first article in this series, “A Call to Return,” I wrote the following paragraph, which I have expanded here to accommodate the present article. “The New Testament church was established in the first century; it also began falling away (apostatizing) in the first century. By the second century it had become something entirely different from what it was in the beginning – Christ’s spiritual body was taken over and organized by men. A hierarchy replaced congregational independence and eldership oversight, and the church was ruled from above (not heaven above but men in high paces). The church became rich and powerful, political and cruel, waged wars, demoralized and exploited her people, and fell into “the dark ages” that lasted for a thousand years. But light came with the Great Reformation of the 16th century.
As the church was reforming it was also fragmenting into many denominational factions. Then there came the Great Awakening of the 18th century, followed by a number of significant reformations, restorations and revivals in following years. Later there came the restructuring and progression that gave rise to the progressive post-modern church of the 20th and 21st centuries. By then many of the denominations who were rich and powerful had formed themselves into the World Council of Churches (WCC) and were fleecing their flocks to support this monster in its quest for global dominance. The idea of returning and the quest for holiness were largely forgotten. Many of the churches that did not join the WCC merged, compromised their faith for the sake of unity, and formed new and larger denominations. Others, claiming to be the Lord’s exclusive church (and there were a great number of them), separated themselves to protect their doctrine, and in doing so became cold and legalistic. The Great Reformation and the Great Awakening, along with the following reforms, restorations and revivals, ran their course and were largely replaced by the restructuring and progression of our time.” Add to this the dullness and deadness of the fragmented groups and you will realize the need for a return to the holiness that the early saints knew.

Now I want to comment on four methods men have used in an attempt to get back on track. While these methods overlap, each has its own distinctive characteristics.

1. Reform: Martin Luther was reading Romans when he came upon 1:17, which read, “The just shall live by faith.” Being the scholar that he was, he knew this meant that those who have faith are considered righteous and that justification does not depend on works. Righteousness is both realized and retained by faith. This insight and the power of this truth broke the bonds of the apostate church that held millions captive and began the great Protestant Reformation. But it had a down side; Luther was a Catholic monk who brought deeply held traditions and Catholic interpretations of the Scriptures into the new movement with him. This process was repeated with every attempt to reform the fallen church. This was the beginning of contemporary denominationalism. Other reformers have followed this pattern, only to develop their own theology, impose it on the Bible, and teach it as Scripture. History has shown that long-established churches cannot be reformed because they become so committed to their own particular theology that they cannot be moved. But they can divide and form new churches after their kind; this is what usually happens. These churches and their theologies hinder the cause of Christ by enforcing human rules and regulations rather then allowing the Holy Spirit to form new lives in the image of Christ. Reformation hasn’t worked.

2. Restore: In the early 18th century, some good men, seeing the futility of reformation, set out to restore the original church. If they could “do Bible things in Bible ways” and “speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent,” surely they could restore the New Testament church. This gave rise to a century of debate and division, resulting in a number of separate groups, each claiming to be “the Lord’s church” that was “follow the pattern.” While they began by restoring the church they eventually claimed to have restored the church. Then they developed the attitude that “We are right because of who we are.” This thinking was exemplified in a letter I received recently, which said, “The church (name given) is nearest to the first century church that I have found so far. Even though they show their lack of faith, are gossipy, show their lack of respect of others, are closed minded and rude.” I responded by saying. “My mind is having trouble processing such a contradiction.” I should think that this kind of a church, in spite of its achievements and restoration claims, is most unlike the New Testament church. Attitudinal values are the greatest of values. The church will not have been restored until the Holy Spirit has been welcomed back and she bears the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (and) self-control. Until then we are pretending. Restoration hasn’t worked.

3. Restructure: In the 1960’s churches were “restructuring,” just as banks and motor companies are today. This amounted to accommodations and compromises – unity by conformity, and led to deeper division in the Restoration Movement, crystallizing segments of it by making them fiercely independent and competitive. In 1964, The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who had preferred the term “Disciples of Christ” over a denominational name ever since its beginning in 1810, became a leader in the restructuring movement, and gladly took “The Christian Church” as a denominational name in order to be in a position to negotiate for Christian union. They formed a consultation group of seven denominations under the title Consultation on Christian Union (COCU) and tried to work out a merger with these churches. For many years churches have tried to find ways to merge and unite in the interest of global unity. They tried everything except returning to the Word of God and submitting to His Will. Restructuring didn’t work. What are we to do now? There must be some way to get back on track and be the New Testament church again. There is one way: return.

4. Return: But Churches won’t return. Every attempt men have made in their own strength to advance the cause of Christ has resulted in Babel (Gen. 10:10-11:9) rather than in the church. But individuals can return to the faith and holiness of the early saints. As Christian individuals, we can read our Bibles for ourselves and come to our own understanding. We can practice what is holy, no matter what position our denomination holds. Churches will inevitably grow dull and fall into traditional patters of belief (and disbelief), and when they do they will demand loyalty to their cherished doctrines and traditions. I have known many Christians, even ministers, who grew so weary with church doctrine and practice that they just quit attending or left the ministry. As Alexander Campbell said, “Sometimes all one can do is put his hand over his mouth and walk out the door.” Some find other churches, some remain “unchurched,” and others proclaim their freedom from church doctrine and traditional restraint and feel at home among godly people wherever they found them. All who are serious with Christ will be loyal to Him, denomination doctrine and tradition not withstanding. Nothing, not even the church, can “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”

Ever since the church fell away, God has been calling for a return. And ever since the church fragmented, men have tried to put the pieces back together, or else have claimed that their piece is still the New Testament church. Rather than engaging in a futile attempt to reform, restore or restructure the church, we must simply and sincerely return to Christ and be His church. Many sincere people are leaving the churches because they can no longer endure the confines, conflicts and contradictions. Some go from church to church trying to find a suitable place for fellowship and worship. Others quit trying and stop going to church altogether. Many sincere seekers are learning that when they became Christians, “The Lord added them to the number of those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47), and that their salvation does not depend on belonging to one church rather than another; it is enough that they belong to Christ and have been added to His church. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all return to Him and be His church—one holy brother and sister at a time?

I would be pleased to publish helpful comments on this subject.