Truth Magazine

By Mike Willis

The things to be accomplished by the plea to restore the New Testament church are many and great. The adoption of the restoration plea by the general populace would greatly improve and correct the moral and religious circumstance in America or anywhere else in the world. Here are some results which would be accomplished by the plea to restore the New Testament church:

1. The original church of Christ, in its faith, worship, organization, unity, and terms of admission, would be reproduced. In every community where the plea was followed, the Lord’s church would be established. The rule of faith, the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), would be the rule of faith of every local congregation. Every church would assemble on the Lord’s day to remember the Lord’s death in the Lord’s supper, pray to God, give of their prosperity, study God’s word and sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Eph. 5:19).

2. All of the followers of the Lord would be Christians only. There would be an end to “Baptist Christians,” “Methodist Christians,” “Pentecostal Christians,” and “Catholic Christians.” The names which reflect the divisions among us would all die. These would be replaced by the wearing of Bible names – Christian, disciple, believers, saints, children of God, etc. The churches would no longer be called Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, Roman Catholic Church, and such names as are not found in the Bible; instead churches would wear names such as church of God (1 Cor. 1:2), church of Christ (Rom. 16:16), house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), etc.

There will be no need for sectarian preachers building fences to keep their members from going to another denomination. There will be no need for duplication of labor and service, where one denominational preacher serves the need of 50 people in his little group and another denominational preacher serves the need of 50 people in his little group. When the plea to restore the New Testament church is followed, these differences will be destroyed that all may be one in Christ.

3. All Christians would belong to the church of the Lord alone and not at the same time hold membership in some modern denomination. The Lord’s church is big enough to include all Christians; there is no need for different churches for different people. If both Jew and Gentile could be reconciled to God in the one church of the first century, so can all men in the twentieth century be reconciled to God in one body (Eph. 2:16). Therefore, all denominational churches are wholly unnecessary and are contrary to God’s revealed will.

4. All Christians will believe the one divine creed, have the same confession of faith, and be governed by the same divine rule of faith and practice. There will be an end to creeds written by men to regulate the beliefs and actions of the churches. There will be an end to annual “general assemblies” called together to vote on changes to the rules governing the churches, as presently is done in modern denominationalism. The largest church organization on earth would be the local church and the highest church office on earth would be that of an elder in the local church.

5. Among Christians, there will be allegiance to just one head, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is head of the church. The plea to restore the New Testament church would remove human heads of churches, such as the pope, synods and councils.

6. The moral standards of God’s people would be those approved of God. We would not have one church accepting easy divorce and remarriage and another accepting the teaching of Matthew 19:9. We would not have one church hosting a gambling event (bingo games, casino nights) and another opposing gambling as sinful. We would not have one church ordaining homosexuals to preach and another condemning homosexuality as sinful. If the restoration plea were accepted and adopted, there would be an end to differing standards of morality.

7. The Lord’s prayer for the unity of his people would be answered. Jesus prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (Jn. 17:20-21).

The restoration plea is the only means of seeing the Lord’s prayer for unity answered. Other plans for unity condone unscriptural doctrine and practice in express violation of 2 John 9-11 (“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds”). Unity-in-diversity, unity in gospel and differences in doctrine, ecumenism, and other denominational forms of unity are not to be equated with the unity for which Jesus prayed. They are not and never can be the Bible plan of unity.

8. All men will be united in the “one hope” of the gospel. There will not be one group working to accomplish “heaven on earth” because they have lost faith in obtaining eternal life and another trying to restore Israel to the land of Palestine. Instead, all will be aiming to obtain the everlasting home with God, the inheritance that is “incorruptible, undefiled, fadeth not away, and is reserved in heaven” (1 Pet. 1:4-5).

9. There will be biblical cooperation in the great works of evangelism and benevolence. Every local church will do its work in taking the gospel to the lost in their community and in supporting men to preach in other areas (1 Thess. 1:7-8; 1 Tim. 3:15; Phil. 4:15-16). The world can be evangelized without the invention of central organizations such as missionary societies, mother churches and sponsoring churches. God’s plan worked in the first century, to spread the gospel throughout the known world, and it will still work today (Col. 1:23).

When brethren in a given locality are in need, local congregations can rally to relieve that need, just as they did in the first century (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 11:27-30). They relieved the needs of suffering saints without the creation of church supported hospitals, orphan homes, old folks homes, and other human institutions.

Conclusion

We are not so naive as to think that all men everywhere will lay aside their unrevealed religions in order to restore the New Testament church. Not all of the Sadducees, Pharisees, Herodians, Essenes, Epicureans, Stoics, and other first century proponents of unrevealed religion did, so why should we expect that all Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Episcopalians, Muslims, and other proponents of unrevealed religion will today? Men will be saved one soul at a time. Our prayer is that we can increase the number of the redeemed by the preaching of the undiluted gospel and bring a few more sons to glory in the process. (I have borrowed heavily from The Plea to Restore the Apostolic Church by James C. Creel for this series of articles.)

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 15, pp. 450, 471
August 6, 1992

By Howard L. Whittlesey

When a Christian confronts theft, he will likely disdain the prospect, and he will put to shame the one who would even suggest it. He would probably be heard saying that his resistance to such a temptation is a trademark of his Christianity. While the worldly man may steal without a flinch, this is just not in the moral repertoire of the man of God.

It seems to be quite a different matter, however, for even the Christian to steal the reputation of another man. While that Christian might cringe at the very idea of stealing something which can be replaced, he quite possibly will find pleasure in passing on a story which ruins someone else’s good name without even trying to find out if it is true.

The story of another man may be told by word of mouth, or it may be written in a letter or in some publication that circulates throughout the brotherhood. Neither of these legalizes this sin; nor does it please or glorify God. There is no justification for this sinner, be he well-known or unknown. He has told the story; he has stolen, or assisted in the stealing of, a man’s good name or reputation. That which he has stolen cannot be used by him, replaced by anyone, or ever quite restored.

Neither the writer nor the reader of such an evil story is guilt-free if their spirits and efforts coincide in any way. Many a church has suffered the consequences of such a sin. Sometimes this sin is perpetrated under the guise of being done in the name of truth, justice, or for [he putting down of a so-called false teacher.

Two things are required of a false teachers: (1) His teaching must be provably false and, (2) He must be proven to have taught that which is false. The proof of either or both of these behooves the honest, loving brother to approach the errant one in the spirit of Galatians 6:1-6 and of 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15. A lesser spirit is not a godly one.

The apostle Paul enumerated a number of types of people that should be avoided (2 Tim. 3:2-5). In this list is the false accuser, which is a slanderer. The Greek word is diabolos, meaning devil. The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers. He and the malicious brother-in-Christ are one when slander is cruelly meted out. Then the devil embraces the brother-in-Christ who receives this slander and then passes it on, having believed it without verifying it.

Thus, not only is the stolen good name irreparable, but also the soul of him who commits such a theft, initially or second-handedly, without repenting before departing this life.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 14, p. 431
July 16, 1992

By Tom Moody

You are probably familiar with the beer commercial which bestows upon various groups of people the dubious honor of having a beer dedicated to them. For example, one commercial might say: “To all you steel workers who work and sweat all day to produce the nation’s steel – this Bud’s for you.” Or: “This Bud is for you truckers, driving the highways day and night to help keep this country going.”

On these spots we have heard various ones singled out for praise from foundry workers to baseball umpires. I wonder, though, to how many it has occurred that there are several categories of people who have never been mentioned in those ads?

Imagine the effect of an ad campaign which would run like these examples:

“This Bud’s for you – all you mothers and fathers who are grief stricken over your teenaged son or daughter because alcohol has scrambled their brains; for you parents who have seen your children’s lives shattered by the bottle – This Bud’s for you!”

“To you women who are knocking yourselves out day after day trying to keep food on the table for your family; trying to be both mother and father to your kids because your old man is a drunken sot – This Bud’s for you!”

“Hey, all you kids whose dads come home mean and surly; threatening to beat you at the drop of a hat – all because they are tanked up on our product – This Bud’s for you!”

“This Bud is for you – you who have had friends or relatives maimed or killed in a senseless traffic accident because of the guy who had ‘only a couple of drinks’ – This Bud’s for you!”

“This Bud is for all the families who have been ripped apart because of fathers or mothers who could not handle alcohol. All you children who will grow up with a warped perception of family life and with all kinds of moral and spiritual scars – This Bud’s for you!”

“To all you preachers, elders and other faithful Christians who work so hard to warn people of the sin and danger of the beer we work so hard to sell; because of your dedication and hard work – This Bud’s for you!”

“To all people everywhere; the millions upon millions through the generations whose lives have been ruined; who thought they were gaining prestige, but only brought to themselves shame; who have died prematurely or lived out their days in loneliness, disease, and mental anguish because of alcohol; to all of you who have ever been cursed or injured in any way because of our fine product (and all the other brands) – This Bud’s for you!”

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1).

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 15, pp. 449, 471
August 6, 1992

By Doug Clevenger

(Note: Doug Clevenger preaches for the 2nd & B Street church in Brawley, California. He is a Certified Public Accountant by training, graduating from San Diego State University in 1978. He began preaching in 1987 and has preached for churches in San Diego and Bakersfield before moving to Brawley.

The following article originally appeared in a secular newspaper, and attracted several people from the community in Brawley to the services of the church there. I believe readers of GOT will profit from it as well. – Steve Wolfgang)

Just as my parents can so vividly recall the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, so I remember December 8, 1980, the night John Lennon was murdered. I was loading my U-Haul in the rain for my return from Dallas to my home in San Diego. Though I was anxious to see my folks, the enthusiasm of going home for the holidays was tempered by the sorrow of leaving behind so many good friends. Some of those friends had taught me of Jesus Christ. A wonderful new beginning to my life had begun in Dallas. I was sad to leave.

As I drove I turned on the radio. To my pleasant surprise, a Beatles song was playing. I was feeling much better now. Ever since I was a child the Beatles had been my favorite group. I had grown up with them and their music, knew all the words by heart and collected every record they released in this country. For a few moments my mind was relieved of the sadness of leaving Dallas as I happily sang along with the Beatles.

Then came the news. John Lennon had been shot to death earlier that evening in New York City. It was as if part of my youth had been destroyed. Lennon’s music wielded such a profound influence upon me, not because I approved of every facet of his personal life, but because his music had so precisely spoken to my concerns, even as a child. “Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you seek, it’s getting hard to be someone . . . life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friends . . . just gimme some truth. . . ” were some of his lyrics I identified with while growing up. His quest was my quest, and that quest led me finally and decisively to Jesus Christ. I remember weeping as I drove and considered both the debt I owed Lennon and the irony that my life was only beginning while his ad so abruptly ended.

Last October 9, I turned on the radio to hear it was Lennon’s 50th birthday. To honor him, radio stations around the world simultaneously played his song, “Imagine.” I was struck with the paradox that was John Lennon. “Imagine,” a song many believe to be his crowning achievement, simultaneously expresses both the genius and tragedy of Lennon: “No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man, imagine all the people, living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you will join us, and the world will live as one.” Again, Lennon had articulated the right ideals – peace on earth, good will toward men. But tragically, he relied solely on man’s wisdom and imagination. While pleading in one song, “give peace a chance,” he had a apparently never given God a chance: “God is a concept . . . I don’t believe in Jesus . . . I just believe in me.” He sang: “Imagine there’s no heaven . . . no religion too” was his impotent answer to finding peace on earth.

Lennon’s hopes and dreams are not only mine, but those of millions of people around the world. But so many of us, like Lennon, look for it in the wrong place. Lennon asks man to imagine, but God, through the apostle Paul says, “. . . eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit” (1 Cor. 2:9-10). I wish Lennon were alive so I could tell him the things my Dallas friends first told me: that Christ died that men might have peace with each other by first making their own peace with God. Man could never imagine the wonderful story of the cross. The world Lennon could only dream of can be a reality only when each of us lets Christ rule in his heart as Lord. “For ye are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26-28). Lennon died before he learned that God alone could give him the lasting peace he longed for. His death warns us of the dangers of putting off the active pursuit of our ideals. Peace on earth is nothing more than the aggregate effect of the individual finding peace with God, multiplied millions of time the world over. All we are saying is, give God a chance.

Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 13, p. 404
July 2, 1992