PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

1
PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

• 1 Peter 315 But sanctify the Lord God in your
  hearts and be ready always to give an answer to
  every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
  that is in you with meekness and fear

2
David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Christian Primitivism
and Modernization in the Stone-Campbell
Movement, in Richard T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana
University of Illinois Press, 1995), 109-120.
3
David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Epilogue, in Richard
T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana University of Illinois
Press, 1988), 239-246.
4
The Restoration Spirit

• I Peter 411If any man speak, let him speak as
  the oracles of God if any man minister, let him
  do it as of the ability which God giveth that
  God in all things may be glorified through Jesus
  Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever
  and ever. Amen.

5
A New Testament Church Pattern Thinking

• 1. An organizationPhil. 11 Acts 1423 I Tim.
  3 1ff Titus 15ff.
• 2. An AssemblyHeb. 1025 I Cor. 1115
• 3. TaughtActs 207 I Cor. 1415
• 4. PrayedActs 125 I Cor. 1419
• 5. SangEph. 519 Col. 316
• 6. Lords Supper on 1st DayActs 207 I Cor.
  1120
• Gave on 1st DayI Cor. 161,2 Acts 244-45
• TreasuryActs 51-4
• Relieved Needy SaintsActs 434-35 1129-30 I
  Cor. 161
• Supported PreachingII Cor. 118 Phil. 415-16
• Discipline Unruly MembersI Cor. 51-5
• Conducted Congregational BusinessActs 61-4

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WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS

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BECAUSE IT WORKS

• Benton Johnson, Dean R. Hoge and Donald A.
  Luidens, Mainline Churches The Real Reason for
  Decline, First Things, March, 1993, pp. 13-18

8
The Question What Makes People Remain Faithful?

• 1. Not because the church is socially and
  politically irrelevant

Support social and political
reformsfeminism and gay rights
Provide for young peoples social and
recreational needs

• 2. Not because the minister/church leaders are
  charismatic

9
The Central Question What Makes People Remain
Faithful?

• In our study, the best predictor of church
  participation turned out to be belieforthodox
  Christian belief, and especially the teaching
  that a person can be saved only through Jesus
  Christ. Virtually all our baby boomers who
  believe this are active members of a church.

SURPRISE
John 824I said therefore unto you, that ye shall
die in your sins for if ye believe not that I am
he, ye shall die in your sins. Except ye believe
that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.
10
How Can We Help Our Children?

• Given the reluctance of so many baby boomers to
  talk about religion or to instill their own views
  in their children, the prospects that their
  offspring will make a serious Christian
  commitment are even dimmer than their own
  prospects turned out to be.

What values have you instilled in your
children? Eph. 64And, ye fathers, provoke not
your children to wrath but bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.
11
Finding the Way to Restore Vitality to Protestant
Churches

• Jane Lampman, A Return to Primitive Christianity
  in a Modern Age, Christian Science Monitor,
  March 6, 2003.
• As many seekers have set off in recent years to
  pursue spirituality outside the bounds of
  organized religion, another trend has quietly
  emerged within and across Christian
  denominations a return to orthodoxy. . . . It
  is perhaps most visible in the least expected
  placethe liberal mainline churcheswhere many
  renewal groups are taking an assertive stance,
  seeking to replace what they consider secularized
  theology and political activism with biblical
  authority and evangelical fervor.

12
Two Steps to Finding the Way

• Thomas Oden Drew University, The Rebirth of
  Orthodoxy Signs of New Life in Christianity (San
  Francisco Harper Row, 2003).
• A return to classic Christianity based on a
  willingness to think with the early church about
  the sacred text.
• A return to Christian tradition as defined by
  the sacred texts of scripture, the ecumenical
  councils of the first five centuries, and the
  teachings of the fathers of the first
  millennium.

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Return to the Sacred Texts of Scripture

• 1 Pet. 411If any man speak, let him speak as the
  oracles of God if any man minister, let him do
  it as of the ability which God giveth that God
  in all things may be glorified through Jesus
  Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever
  and ever. Amen.

This is the concept of restoring New Testament
Christianity
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Two Steps to Finding the Way

• Thomas Oden Drew University, The Rebirth of
  Orthodoxy Signs of New Life in Christianity (San
  Francisco Harper Row, 2003).
• 2. Learning to say no to false doctrine.
  
• There is an avid new interest in setting
  boundaries for Christian teaching.

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Saying NO to False Teaching

• 2 John 9Whosoever 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. 10If there come any unto
  you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not
  into your house, neither bid him God speed 11For
  he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his
  evil deeds.

16
Two Steps to Finding the Way

• 1. A Return to New Testament (Not 1st
  Millennium) Teaching and Practice

2. Setting Boundaries and Saying NO
READY TO FOLLOW THIS PATH?
THE PRINCIPLE DEMANDS CONSISTENT ACTION
17
WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS
• BECAUSE EARNEST CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  HAVE SOUGHT TO DO IT

18
David Edwin Harrell, Jr., Epilogue, in Richard
T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana University of Illinois
Press, 1988), 239-246.

• One indelible impression I take away from this
  conference is that the restoration ideal has been
  a powerful motif. In fact, it may be the most
  vital single assumption underlying the
  development of American Protestantism. Equally
  important, the restoration ideal continues as one
  of the most compelling ideas in modern
  Christianity. 239.

19
Reformation Antecedents

• Ulrich Zwingli
• Away with human ceremonies and regulations, we
  want only the Word of God. (1523)
• This church imposes no laws on the conscience
  of people without the sanction of the Word of
  God, and the laws of the Church are binding only
  in so far as they agree with the Word. (1528)

20
English Dissenters (Puritans)

• Richard Baxter (1615-1691) Kidderminster, England
• What man dare go in a way which has neither
  precept nor example to warrant it....? For my
  part, I will not fear that God will be angry with
  me for doing no more than He has commanded me,
  and for sticking close to the rule of His word in
  matters of worship but I should tremble to add
  or diminish.

21
WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS
• BECAUSE EARNEST CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  HAVE SOUGHT TO DO IT
• BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY PATH TO UNITY

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WHY?2. FOLLOWING GODS DIRECTIONS IS THE ONLY
BASIS OF UNITY

• 1 Cor. 110Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
  name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak
  the same thing, and that there be no divisions
  among you but that ye be perfectly joined
  together in the same mind and in the same
  judgment.

RESTORATION (PRIMITIVISM) ASSUMES A UNIFIED
COMMITMENT OR MINDSET
23
PROTESTANTS FIND A UNITED CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

• Jane Lampman, A Return to Primitive Christianity
  in a Modern Age, Christian Science Monitor,
  March 6, 2003.
• As many seekers have set off in recent years to
  pursue spirituality outside the bounds of
  organized religion, another trend has quietly
  emerged within and across Christian
  denominations a return to orthodoxy. . . . It
  is perhaps most visible in the least expected
  placethe liberal mainline churcheswhere many
  renewal groups are taking an assertive stance,
  seeking to replace what they consider secularized
  theology and political activism with biblical
  authority and evangelical fervor.

24
SEEKING CLASSIC CHRISTIANITY

• Thomas Oden Drew University, The Rebirth of
  Orthodoxy Signs of New Life in Christianity (San
  Francisco Harper Row, 2003).
• Thomas Oden notes a return to classic
  Christianity based on a willingness to think
  with the early church about the sacred text and
  a return to Christian tradition as defined by
  the sacred texts of scripture, the ecumenical
  councils of the first five centuries, and the
  teachings of the fathers of the first
  millennium.

25
WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS
• BECAUSE EARNEST CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  HAVE SOUGHT TO DO IT
• BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY PATH TO UNITY
• BECAUSE GOD HAS ALWAYS EXPECTED OBEDIENCE

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WHY?3. GODS EXPECTATIONS
GOD ALWAYS PUNISHED DISOBEDIENCE

• 1 Sam. 1522And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as
  great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
  as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
  obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken
  than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the
  sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
  iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected
  the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee
  from being king.

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WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS
• BECAUSE EARNEST CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  HAVE SOUGHT TO DO IT
• BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY PATH TO UNITY
• BECAUSE GOD HAS ALWAYS EXPECTED OBEDIENCE
• BECAUSE THE APOSTLES INTENDED TO LEAVE A PATTERN
  TO BE FOLLOWED

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APOSTOLIC TRADITION

• 2 Thessalonians 215 Therefore, brethren, stand
  fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been
  taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

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TRADITION

• Main Entry tradition 1 a an inherited,
  established, or customary pattern of thought,
  action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a
  social custom) b a belief or story or a body of
  beliefs or stories relating to the past that are
  commonly accepted as historical though not
  verifiable.2 the handing down of information,
  beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by
  example from one generation to another without
  written instruction3 cultural continuity in
  social attitudes, customs, and institutions4
  characteristic manner, method, or style -

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online
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BIBLICAL TRADITION

• pa?ad?s??
• paradosis
• Thayer Definition
• 1) giving up, giving over
• 1a) the act of giving up
• 1b) the surrender of cities
• 2) a giving over which is done by word of mouth
  or in writing, i.e. tradition by instruction,
  narrative, precept, etc.
• 2a) objectively, that which is delivered, the
  substance of a teaching
• 2b) of the body of precepts, especially ritual,
  which in the opinion of the later Jews were
  orally delivered by Moses and orally transmitted
  in unbroken succession to subsequent generations,
  which precepts, both illustrating and expanding
  the written law, as they did were to be obeyed
  with equal reverence

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APOSTOLIC TRADITION

• 2 Thessalonians 215 Therefore, brethren, stand
  fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been
  taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

CHRISTIAN BELIEF AND CONDUCT IS A TRADITION
COMMUNICATED BY INSTRUCTION, NARRATIVE, AND
PRECEPT
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WHY? SIX REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM

• BECAUSE IT WORKS
• BECAUSE EARNEST CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT HISTORY
  HAVE SOUGHT TO DO IT
• BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY PATH TO UNITY
• BECAUSE GOD HAS ALWAYS EXPECTED OBEDIENCE
• BECAUSE THE APOSTLES INTENDED TO LEAVE A PATTERN
  TO BE FOLLOWED
• BECAUSE I WANT TO HONOR GOD

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WHY?THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED

• I Peter 411If any man speak, let him speak as
  the oracles of God if any man minister, let him
  do it as of the ability which God giveth that
  God in all things may be glorified through Jesus
  Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever
  and ever. Amen.

34
WHY?THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED

• Rom. 1133O the depth of the riches both of the
  wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are
  his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
  34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who
  hath been his counsellor? 35Or who hath first
  given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
  him again? 36For of him, and through him, and to
  him, are all things to whom be glory for ever.
  Amen.

35
WHY?THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED

• Eph. 310To the intent that now unto the
  principalities and powers in heavenly places
  might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
  of God, 11According to the eternal purpose which
  he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord 12In whom
  we have boldness and access with confidence by
  the faith of him. . . .14For this cause I bow my
  knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
  15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is
  named, 16That he would grant you, according to
  the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with
  might by his Spirit in the inner man 17That
  Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that
  ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be
  able to comprehend with all saints what is the
  breadth, and length, and depth, and height 19And
  to know the love of Christ, which passeth
  knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
  fulness of God. 20Now unto him that is able to do
  exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
  think, according to the power that worketh in us,
  21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
  throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

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PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

• Because it works.
• Because earnest Christians throughout history
  have sought to follow the pattern of the New
  Testament church
• Because the N.T. pattern is the only path to
  unity
• Because God has always expected obedience
• Because the Apostles intended to leave a pattern
  (tradition) to be followed
• Because it gives glory to God