The Lords

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Restoring the teaching of the Lords Gospel,
and the characteristics of His church,
after centuries of abuse and alteration
33 A.D.
The Lords original teaching about
His church, the body of the saved
Distorted and corrupted through the
centuries by human weakness,
ignorance and rebellion
against Gods revealed will
The Lords original teaching about
His church, the body of the saved
Do not go beyond what is written. - 1 Cor 46
2007 A.D.
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RESTORE to return something to a former
condition, place, or owner to reinstate a
previous practice, right, or situation to bring
back to an original condition
Restoration is needed when the original has been
altered. Alterations may be few or many, but any
alteration leaves us without the original.
Does it matter? 1. in many things, no an
altered lesson of mine may be better even
preferred over the original! 2. in the things
of God, yes because what He does is
perfect because He forbids alterations
In the Law Do not add to what I command you and
do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of
the Lord your God that I give you. - Deut 42
In the Gospel But even if we, or an angel from
heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to
what we have preached to you, he is to be
accursed! - Gal 18-9
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Look at these truths
The Bible is a revelation of Gods mind, in
Gods words, 1Cor. 2
The Bible equips us completely for every good
work, 1Tim. 326
The Bible contains all things that pertain to
eternal life godly living 2Pet. 13
God has revealed His will once for all time
Jude 3
It is not enough to call Jesus Lordbut that
we must actually do the will of my Father
Mt. 721
We will be judged by Jesus teaching in the last
day Jn. 1248
When we speak, we are to speak as the oracles
of God 1Pt. 411
Whatever is not of faith is sin Rom. 1423
Faith comes by hearing the word of God Rom.
1017
Anyone who teaches a different gospel than what
was given through the apostles will be
cursed Gal. 18-9
If we go beyond Jesus teaching, we have not
God 2Jn. 9
There are many false teachers in the world
1Jn. 49
We are required to follow sound doctrine
2Tm. 43 Titus 19 21
Perfectcompletenot to be altered in any way?
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The Lords original bodychurchfamily
What is the original? consists of every
Christ-given characteristic found in the N.T.
Some characteristics of the original body of
believers include
Problem the original was altered in every
characteristic!
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The Lords original bodychurchfamily
Notable alterations by the Catholic Church 250
AD Infant baptism of all newborns. 257 AD
Baptism by sprinkling of immersion 300 AD
Prayers for the dead 320 AD Special dress code
of the clergy in worship 325 AD The date for
Easter was set 379 AD Praying to Mary
Saints 385 AD Prohibition of clerical
marriage 400 AD Impossibility of apostasy or
once saved always saved 416 AD Infant baptism by
immersion commanded of all infants 430 AD
Exhalation of Virgin Mary "Mother of God" first
applied to her 519 AD Lent 526 AD Extreme
Unction 607 AD First Pope Boniface III, took
the title of "universal Bishop" 670 AD
Instrumental music first organ by Pope
Vitalian 709 AD Kissing of Pope Constantines
feet 787 AD Worship of icons and statue approved
(2nd council of Nicea) 998 AD Good Friday fish
only eating-red meat forbidden 1009 AD Holy
water
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The Lords original bodychurchfamily
Notable alterations by the Catholic Church 1079
AD Celibacy enforced for priests, bishops,
presbyters 1190 AD Sale of Indulgences or
"tickets to sin" 1215 AD Transubstantiation by
Pope Innocent III 1215 AD Auricular Confession
to priests, Pope Innocent III 1268 AD Priestly
power of absolution 1480 AD The Inquisition (of
Spain) 1495 AD Papal control of marriage rights
1545 AD Man-made traditions of church made
equal to Bible (Council of Trent) 1546 AD
Justification by human works of merit 1864 AD
Syllabus Errorum Syllabus of Errors proclaimed
that "Catholic countries" could
not tolerate other religions separation of
church and State con- demned,
asserted the Pope's temporal authority over all
civil rulers (Ratified by Pope Pius IX and
Vatican Council) 1870 AD Infallibility of Pope
(Vatican council) 1954 AD Immaculate conception
of Mary proclaimed by Pope Pius XII
Changes began gradually over time became more
extreme. The end result is that what the world
thought was the church of Jesus Christ was not
anything at all like the original.
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So what happened to the original teaching of the
Lords Gospel?

• Many alterations were made to it over a long
  period of timethe original was completely
  overshadowed by the altered version(s)
• Those who tried to be faithful were severely
  persecuted branded as
• heretics, killed by the Catholic
  authorities, even by some Protestants
• The Scriptures were banned, imposing
  ignorance on the masses
• Pope Innocent III, 1199
• Council of Toulouse, 1229
• Council of Tarragona, 1234

It seems as though knowledge of the original was
lost to the common man but, in fact, all was
not lost as we shall see in future studies.
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The Lords original bodychurchfamily
In the Reformation Movement, in trying to
reform the Catholic abuses, the Protestants did
not restore the original, they only added more
alterations The doctrines of Calvinism Justific
ation by faith only Changes in
organization Variety of creeds Added many
man-made doctrines and practices New
revelations, meaning the original Gospel was not
complete
While some Reformers talked about following only
the Bible, they failed in applying that
principle. But they did help the world break
free of the death-grip of Biblical ignorance
imposed by the Catholic Church, and they set the
stage for others who later would approach this
confusion with a mind to actually restore the
original.
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Is it true that the Campbells actually started
the church of Christ? Jesus said Upon this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of
Hades will not overcome it, Mt. 1618.
If you look at the 5th 18th centuries
and find no historical or archeological
record of congregations called the
church of Christ, how do you explain that?
Was the original church actually lost to
history? If so, does that mean that the Lords
promise failed to be true?
Thomas Alexander Campbell, 1800s
If, for centuries, you cant prove it existed
and if you suddenly see church of Christ being
used in that late 18th early 19th centuries,
how can you deny that the Campbells started the
church of Christ? If the Campbells started it,
how can we say we are part of the original N.T.
church?
When did the church of Christ begin?
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When did the church of Christ begin?
All of which prove 1. There was no single
name given to His churchonly a variety of
descriptions 2. church or churches of Christ
obviously were well known descriptions in the 1st
century, in the very beginningnot a new phrase
coined by the Campbells in the 1800s.
1. The Gospel itself gives us phrases such as
My church Matt. 1618 churches of
Christ Rom. 1616 the church, which is
His body Eph. 122-23 body of Christ
Eph. 412 church of God Acts 2028 1Cor.
12 church of the Lord (ASV) Acts 2028
church of the firstborn Heb. 1223
church of the Laodiceans Col. 416 church
of the Thessalonians 1Thes. 11 churches
of Galatia 1Cor. 161 churches of the
saints 1Cor. 1433 churches of God in
Christ Jesus 1Thes. 214 and many
similar phrases
2. When Jesus said the gates of Hades will not
overcome His church, He was not promising
that there would be a continuous, historical
record of groups identified by the name
church of Christ.
Lets look at some simple comparisons.
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When did the Israel begin?
1. At Sinai? God gave them the Law made
it a covenant Gave them a specific
religious, social, and civil organization
Often referred to them as His people, nation
But the nation split into twoboth parts went
into captivity the original Law and worship
disappeared from common know-ledge practice.
For several generations, no record can be found
of organized Israel practicing the Law.
2. With the restoration by Ezra Nehemiah?
They came back, restored the nation the Law
with all its original characteristics.
Did those 2 men begin Israel? --No, they
simply restored the original.
If someone wants to say that the church of
Christ began with the Campbells, its a lot like
saying that Israel began with Ezra Nehemiah?
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When did Jesus begin?
1. at His birth in Bethlehem? He was born
through Mary and was given the name of Jesus, Mt.
121 He often was referred to by that name.
But He was killed and there was no continuing,
historical evidence of His being alive for 3
days. As a living being, He was lost to history.
2. When he was raised from the dead? He
came back, with the same body He had before He
left When the disciples touched him ate
with Him, it was clear that He had His original
physical bodythe one that had been killed .
--So did Jesus begin at His resurrection? No,
He simply restored the original.
If someone insists that the church of Christ
began with the Campbells, isnt that a lot
like saying that Jesus began after His
resurrection? Does it really make any
difference whether we talk about His physical
life not existing, in any record, for 3
days, or several generations, or several
centuries? --Does the amount of time change
the answer to the question When did
Jesus begin?
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When did the church of Christ begin?
1. In Acts 2? On the baptizing of 3000
souls, they all were added to the church
to which one? The Lords? . . . Jesus? . . .
Christs?
It was described in various terms but there was
no basis on which to deny that the church was
Christs church therefore, it truly was the
church of Christit was not the church of
anyone else, regardless of any descriptive term
used.
2. With the work of the Campbells in the early
19th century? They taught that all must be
done as it was originally revealed in the
Scriptures, with no changes or alterationsand
that all churches of men, i.e., churches
that did not have the original characteristics
Jesus gave to His church, should be
forever abandoned by all men. In
teaching that, did they begin the church of
Christ? --No, they simply helped to
restore the original.
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Thinking I need continuous historical evidence of
local congregations called church of Christ
involves a very basic error?
Did Hades overcome Jesus because He was dead
for 3 days? We all would say, No! His
disappearance from living history in no
way means that Hades overcame Him, because we
know He was restored to life.
Did Hades overcome Israel because their
teaching practice disappeared for several
generations? We all would say, No! because
we know the Law religion of Israel were
restored by Ezra Nehemiah.
Did Hades overcome Jesus church because we
cant find continuous historical evidence of a
certain organization name for a time?
We all should say, No! Our very existence,
teaching, and practice is proof that it has
been restored as it was in the beginning.
The error lies in looking for a continuous
historical record of a form or of a particular
name. Jesus never promised a continuous
historical record. He promised that Hades would
not prevail. As long as we can show that what He
originally gave to the world still exists, even
in our own generation, that is proof of what He
promised.
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Heres a major part of the problem some have
If I think I must find the name church of
Christ throughout an unbroken period of time, I
am thinking in human, denominational termsIm
looking for the wrong thing, because Jesus didnt
give His church a name. What I need to be
looking for is the same teaching about the
inspiration and authority of His Scriptures
and the same attitude of following those
Scriptures w/o alteration.
But if I cant find that, it doesnt matter 1.
Because we know that Hades never will overcome
His church, no matter what. 2. Because what
does matter is that we, in our own generation,
are following the original teaching and practice,
just as He originally revealed it. 3. Thats why
we rightly talk about restoring the Lords
church to its original teaching and practice
because it was altered corruptedbeyond
recognition, because it did disappear from
a continuous historical record for a time,
because when men again were given access to
the Scriptures themselves, they
determined to begin all over again, just like
when the Gospel was originally given.
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Heres a major part of the problem some have
If you think you must find the name church of
Christ throughout an unbroken period of time,
youre thinking in human, denominational terms.
If you also think, We all have a denominational
concept of the church, maybe what youre really
saying is, YOU have a denominational concept of
the church!
Because you may think with a denominational
mind-set about the phrase church of Christ
doesnt mean that anyone else does. You may be
imposing your own error onto others, imagining
that we all think just like you do, when
that simply is not so.
If you also think, the church of Christ is just
another denomination you betray your own misuse
of the use of the phrase church of Christ,
and, therefore you betray your own ignorance of
what the church of Christ really is. And you
may betray that you are getting your ideas, not
from the Scriptures themselves, but from
others who are disgruntled and critical of
something they dont really understand, either.
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So as we talk about restoring the original
teaching and practice of the Lords gospel
We would be wise to begin by restoring, in our
own hearts, the original attitude of reverence
for the Scriptures, for their inspiration,
perfection and completeness, for the humility
that approaches what they teach with a heart
determined to do just that, and nothing else,
and for the wisdom of not transferring my own
weakness lack of understanding to
others.
I must not let the world tell me how to think
about the Lords church. If an intellectual
criticizes the church of Christ, chances are
that he begins with a human, denominational
concepta corrupted staring pointmaking his
criticisms invalid because his understanding of
the true nature of the Lords church is invalid.
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If you admire the intellectual, academic world,
beware that your faith in the simplicity of the
things of Christ is not taken captive through
hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on
human tradition and the basic principles of this
world rather than on Christ. - Col. 28 Do not
be deceived "Bad company corrupts good morals.
- 1 Cor 1533
The appeals to apostolic authority by Stone,
Campbell, and others were not innovations they
were a continuation of the thoughts and
statements of many before them, men who strongly
professed a determination to accept only the
writings of the New Testament as the one standard
of authority for all Christians.
More, on THAT continuous historical record, next
weekLord willing.
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Restoring the teaching of the Lords Gospel,
and the characteristics of His church,
after centuries of abuse and alteration
33 A.D.
The Lords original teaching about
His church, the body of the saved
Distorted and corrupted through the
centuries by human weakness,
ignorance and rebellion
against Gods revealed will
The Lords original teaching about
His church, the body of the saved
Do not go beyond what is written. - 1 Cor 46
2007 A.D.
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