Housechurches and Radical Restoration

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House-churches and Radical Restoration
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Three Areas of Common Belief

• Concern about lukewarmness and apathy.
• Want to see Christians excited about serving God.
• See traditionalism as a real danger.

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Characteristics of House-churches

• Emphasis on emotions and feelings of
  participants.
• Edification, not worship, stressed as primary
  reason for being together.
• Term church of Christ is usually disdained.
• Limit size of churches to groups small enough to
  meet in homes.
• The Lords Supper is a focus of the edification
  gathering and is usually meal-sized.
• Worship is relatively informal, spontaneous, and
  participatory.

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Key Principles

• We must follow the absolute standard God has
  revealed. 2 Tim. 316, 17
• Edification is important, but not to the neglect
  of worship, which is edifying.
• Christians fight the good fight. 1 Tim. 612
• Worship must be done decently and in order. 1
  Cor. 1440

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Key Principles

• Internal reflection, not external manipula-tion,
  is key to renewal. Rom. 121, 2
• The Lords Supper was not intended to be a meal.
  The modern fellowship meal is not biblical. 1
  Cor. 11
• Place of meeting is not the issue, but small size
  is not required. Acts 2 1 Cor. 14
• Elders are to oversee the flock among them. 1
  Pet. 51-4

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What Should We Be Called? Smiths Answer

• Church of Christ rejected.
• Denominational.
• Prejudicial and hinders evangelism.
• Christs church, The Lords church, The
  Church, The church of God, The family of
  God, perhaps even The Way.
• Christians Meet Here

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What Should We Be Called? The Bible Answer

• No one name is found.
• Church of God is scriptural. 1 Cor. 12
• The Beulah Bulletin.
• Beulah church of Christ.
• Beulah a church of Christ
• Beulah a church of God
• Published by the Christians meeting at
• Church of Christ is not an exclusive NT title,
  but it is scriptural. Rom. 1616

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What Should We Be Called? The Bible Answer

• Church of Christ is not an exclusive NT title,
  but it is scriptural. Rom. 1616
• Are Church of God and The Way less denominational
  in usage?
• Christians meet here can suggest
  interdenominational.
• No scriptural designation is without its
  difficulties.

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Rejection of authority by the young.
• Certainly appeals to those who lack respect for
  older ones. Lev. 1932
• Age does not automatically make one right, but1
  Peter 55
• If you must stand against older people, make
  certain it is for the sake of truth.
• Failure to appreciate a concrete standard.
• Ours is a very subjective world.
• John 831, 32 2 John 9

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Desire for something new.
• A problem in the first century. Acts 1721 Eph.
  414
• New is sometimes better, but there are also times
  when the old paths must be sought. Jer. 616

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Convenience and other fleshly appetites.
• Casual, informal, food.
• Similar to 1 Kings 1228.
• Reverence and godly fear may not always be
  convenient. Heb. 1228, 29
• Avoid carnal, self-interest. Phil. 21-4
• The way we like it may not be the way God likes
  it.

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Equalizing of the roles of men and women.
• 1 Cor. 1434, 35 1 Tim. 212
• Smith would create a leaderless situation.
• Has a great appeal to our culture today.
• 1 Cor. 113

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Some are not well-grounded in the truth.
• Churches may fail to properly teach.
  Eph. 411-16
• Must teach doctrinal fundamentals.
• A church can do its part and people not become
  well-grounded because of lack of attendance,
  attention, private study, etc. 1 Peter 22, 3

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Discouragement over lack of growth.
• Easy to latch onto something without thinking it
  through.
• The gospel is still Gods power to save. Rom.
  116
• Take care of church problems, get busy, and
  growth will come.
• Gods plan works when we work Gods plan.

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Some are too tradition oriented.
• Three types of traditions.
• Divine ones. 1 Cor. 113
• Human traditions that do not contradict Gods
  word.
• Human traditions that contradict Gods word.
• Some cant consider anything new because of
  tradition.
• Is our commitment to Bible authority or the way
  we have always done it?

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Dogmatism of some.
• Make their points by pronouncement rather than
  reasoning from the Scriptures.
• Teach with a humble spirit. 2 Tim. 224, 25
• Ugly attitudes of some.
• The good fight must be conducted properly.
  2 Tim. 223-26
• Lets not drive people away with the wrong
  spirit. Gal. 56, 14, 15

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The Appeal of House-churches

• Lack of love and enthusiasm in some churches.
• Can a Sardis or Laodicea be found today?
• Lack of love and enthusiasm causes some to grasp
  for the wrong things.
• If we understand what Christ has done for us, how
  can we not be enthused? 2 Cor. 514, 15
• Without love we are nothing. 1 Cor. 131-3

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Conclusion

• If we use a biblical designation in a biblical
  way, why are we labeled denominational?
• Look to God and the word of His grace. Acts
  2028-32
• Let us continually examine ourselves and then
  hold the line against those who rise up and speak
  perverse things.

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Conclusion

• The house-church movement has a greater appeal
  when we are not what we should be.
• But if we are not what we should be, we dont
  need Radical Restoration, but biblical
  restoration.
• If needed, lets repent and turn back to God.

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