THE RESTORATION PRINCIPLE

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THE RESTORATION PRINCIPLE
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The principle of the restoration of the ancient
order of things is under vicious attack.

• One writer described some of the early
  Restoration views in America as . . . . a
  frontier illusion, naïve in todays religious
  climate
• Today, the principle of restoring the New
  Testament church with its teaching, practice and
  worship is both valid and most needed.

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Why?

• A lack of teaching in the past produced a church
  today with little or no familiarity with the
  events of the past .
• The result is an eroding of both teaching and
  practice of New Testament in many churches

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The Meaning of Restoration

• I Kings 13 records Jereboams changes in worship.
  
• Fearing the people would follow the Levites who
  returned to Judah, he set up two golden calves,
  one at Bethel and one at Dan, at extreme ends of
  the country.
• This was, he said, to make traveling to worship
  more convenient.

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• Jereboam also set up his own rituals of
  sacrifices, which he had devised in his own
  heart (1 Kings 1333).
• Jereboam demonstrates the basic principle of
  apostasy, a principle working in all ages.
• He began by putting his own will above that of
  the Lord.
• He set up his own order of worship according what
  pleased him and not what the Lord said.

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Josiah

• The Old Testament not only demonstrates apostasy
  but also restoration.
• Josiah, one of Judahs best kings, began
  repairing the temple and restoring the worship.
• Hilkiah the priest found a copy of the Law,
  probably the first five books.

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Upon reading the law, the king tore his clothes,
fearing the wrath of God.

• His fear came . . . because our fathers have
  not obeyed the words of this book, to do
  according to all that is written concerning us.
  (2 Kings 2213).

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Realizing their apostasy from Gods will, Josiah
made a covenant before the Lord,
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to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments
and His testimonies and His statutes,
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with all his heart and all his soul,. And all
the people took a stand for the covenant. ( 2
Kings 233).
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He looked to the word of God as the basis of
establishing worship that pleased God.
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He commanded the people, Keep the Passover to
the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book
of the Covenant. (2 Kings 2321).
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These Old Testament examples make plain

• What it means to depart from the faith
• What it means to restore Gods order of worship
  and service.
• Jeroboam's actions were based on his own wishes
• Josiahs restoration movement basedon what Gods
  law said.

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Inspired men in, before the New Testament was
complete, had full knowledge of Gods revelation
.

• Though not written, congregations everywhere
  had access to necessary knowledge.

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The New Testament speaks of this as the
apostles doctrine, the truth, and the faith.

• Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure
  transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes
  that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the
  things which are written1 Corinthians 46

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Restoration is possible because there has been an
apostasy or falling away from the faith.
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BARTON WARREN STONE 1772-1844
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• He, with others signed The Last Will and
  Testament of the Springfield Presbytery in 1803,
  rejecting this form of government.
• We will, that the people henceforth take the
  Bible as the only sure guide to heaven
• and as many as are offended with other books,
  which stand in competition with it, may cast them
  into the fire if they choose . . .

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. . . for it is better to enter into life having
one book, than having many to be cast into hell.
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• Thomas Campbell, newly arrived from Scotland in
  1807, to the same conclusion as the men in
  Kentucky, though he did not know of their work.

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• Our desire, he wrote, therefore, for
  ourselves and our brethren would be,
• that rejecting human opinions and the inventions
  of men, as of any authority, or as having any
  place in the church of God,

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• we might forever cease from farther contentions
  about such things returning to, and holding fast
  by, the original standard
• taking the divine word alone for our rule
  Declaration and Address p. 4

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• Thomas Campbell soon yielded his role in the
  leadership of the Rest-oration to His son
  Alexander

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Alexander Campbell 1788-1866
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Both Stone and Campbell had the same goal, the
unity of all in Christ. Yet, both restricted
unity to this principlethe restoration of New
Testament Christianity.

• It was on this basis and this alone that such
  unity could ever be truly found.

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The Principle is valid today

• One can look at modern history to find the
  validity of the restoration principle. This can
  be found in the beginning and growth of the
  church in Nigeria.

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In 1950, the Lawrence Avenue Church of Christ in
Nashville received an unusual request from a
former Nigerian policeman.
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C. A. O. Essien had received a correspondence
course on the Bible from that church.
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He stated he needed help, he had studied the
course and from this and other study of the
Bible, he believed he had restored the New
Testament church in Nigeria.
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He said they needed further teaching and help

• as he and five other preachers had already
  baptized 10,000 people and established a number
  of congregations.

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Investigation proved Essiens claim was correct
and today the church flourishes in Nigeria
because of this beginning work of restoration. .
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These events were repeated in other countries.

• Many individuals in our country have discovered
  this for themselves and were able to search and
  find the Lords church.

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How valid is this idea. Here is a proposition
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• . If we accept that the New Testament as
  inspired, we must agree that it gives us
  principles of what a church and individuals must
  teach and practice in order to please God.
• If we take the New Testament and examine the
  doctrine and practice of churches today by it, we
  should be able to find a church which follows
  these teaching. .

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If we cannot find such a church today, cannot we
take the New Testament, follow its principles and
start a church that pleases God?
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Again, those who have accepted the first two
principles have always agreed to the truth of the
third.

• This is an example of the restoration principle
  in action.

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Some Conclusions

• The principle is simple, its applications are
  sometimes difficult.
• Alexander Campbell called for the restoration of
  the ancient order of things.

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• When faced with the question of sprinkling as
  baptism, his search did not find this in the
  Scriptures.
• He therefore was immersed, along with his family.

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Yet Alexander Campbell and others found some
questions not so simply answered.

• If we restore the New Testament church, what
  about the holy kiss, observing the Lord's supper
  only at night, and foot washing? Why are these
  not required in a restored church?
• Campbells conclusion, was that the church must
  ask, "What may be dismissed as a part of the
  culture of the ancient world and not binding upon
  the church in every age?"

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When faced with the question of sprinkling as
baptism, his search did not find this in the
Scriptures. He therefore was immersed, along
with his family.
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His method was to study each question in its
context and attempt to determine whether it was a
common practice which required of all the
churches,
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or whether it was a "circumstantial, not a part
of God's pattern.
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Another problem in applying the restoration
principle lay in the silence of the scriptures.

• Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address
  declared that nothing should be admitted into the
  faith or worship of the church unless it was
  expressly taught in the New Testament.

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• It is a mistake to assume, "It must be
  acceptable since there is no command against
  it.
• The Bible commands by its silence.

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The early restorationists concluded that when
God has spoken specifically, He excluded anything
else.

• When He has given a general command, He allows
  man to use his judgment as to best way to carry
  it out.
• This allows for expedients such as church
  buildings, song books, communion ware.

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It was only later that some failed to accept this
principle in the area of instrumental music in
the worship.
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The Restoration is Not Finished

• Bill Humble states, And it is possible that the
  Lord might say, "As you have tried to restore the
  church, you have stressed the outward observances
  like baptism,
• but you have left undone some of the weightier
  matters of the law like commitment and sacrifice
  and the life of prayer. These ye ought to have
  done, but not left the others undone."

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Though we teach and practice salvation, and
worship as did the early church, we must give
equal attention and fervor to its example of
continually steadfastly in His service,

• even to accepting the loss of homes or even
  life.

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In the early Christians we see a transcendence of
concern for material things to the spiritual.

• Such spiritual lives led to an evangelistic
  zeal that caused the gospel to be preached to
  every creature in the apostles lifetime.

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We also must admit that we have not restored
their faith in practice in the power and need of
prayer..
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This generation has not fulfilled the Great
Commission to preach the gospel to every
creature.
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We need not be discouraged at modern attacks on
the restoration principle.
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In the last half of the 19th century, some
justified their departures from New Testament
teaching by questioning the principle.
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• An similar attitude is developing today.
• One prominent preacher recently said, The New
  Testament is silent on music in the church.

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Yet churches in the past survived these
difficulties and emerged as congregations newly
committed to Gods will.

• In our defense of the restoration principle, we
  can find a new commitment to Gods word and
  devotion to carrying out His mission for us.

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Let us rise to the greatness of the occasion. Let
us endeavor, by grace, to make this church as
perfect a specimen of Scriptural truth,
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order and worship as the imperfection of the
present state will permit.
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Let us take her by the hand and lead her to the
Word alone. Let us pass the Reformers, let us
pass the Fathers,
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uncovering our heads to them in token of our
profound appreciation of their labors for truth,
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and heartily receiving from them all they speak
in accordance with the Word
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but let us pass on and pause not, until with our
sacred charge we reach the Oracles of God, and
with her bow at the Master's feet, and listen to
the Master's voice.
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Let obedience to the word of Christ in all
things be the law of her life so that when the
day of review shall com
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Past failures of the principle do not prove it
invalid.

• What do you think when the lights go off?
• No one would say, The principle of electricity
  is invalid

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We Know We Have Lost Connection With the Source
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Likewise, failures to be the church the Lord
desires that are caused by sin or lack of
spirituality do not make invalid the idea of
restoration.

• Instead, it should revitalize and renew us in
  our efforts to be the Lords church.

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Likewise, failures to be the church the Lord
desires that are caused by sin or lack of
spirituality do not make invalid the idea of
restoration.
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Instead, it should revitalize and renew us in
our efforts to restore and be the Lords church.
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You Can Be A Member of the Church You Can Read
About in the Bible

• You Can Be Just A Christian!

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BUT THERE IS A SOLUTION!!!!!!!
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And he brought them out and said, Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?
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And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to
all who were in his house.
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And he took them the same hour of the night and
washed their wounds and he was baptized at once,
he and all his family.
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Then he brought them up into his house and set
food before them. And he rejoiced along with his
entire household that he had believed in God.
Acts 1630-32,34
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And the Spirit and the bride say, say, Come!
And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires,
let him take the water of life freely. Revelation
2217
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• (Act 1634) Then he brought them up into his
  house and set food before them. And he rejoiced
  along with his entire household that he had
  believed in God.

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• I must put my total faith in Christ Acts 1631
• I must change my mind (repent) about willfully
  sinning. 2 Corinthians 710
• I must publicly state my faith in Christ Matthew
  1032-33
• I must be baptized (immersed) in water for to
  contact the blood of Christ and to have my sins
  forgiven.
• I must continue faithfully as a child of God.
  Acts 242

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You Can Be A Member of the Church You Can Read
About in the Bible

• You Can Be Just A Christian!