Lesson 12: Restoration Ideal

Phil realized that many errors grew from other errors. As his understanding of the Bible became clearer, he realized that he needed to use only that for his authority in worship, organization of the church, and holy living. Phil’s concept is rooted in what some have called the Restoration Ideal. The concept of restoration stands in contrast to reformation. Most leaders of the Reformation did not want to establish new religious bodies; they wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Those who hold to restoration principles desire to structure the church and the Christian life around what Jesus and the apostles taught directly and that which they observe in the early church as recorded in the Bible. A restoration movement swept this country in the 1800’s led by men like Alexander Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Moses Lard, and many others. These men came out of various denominations, dissatisfied with the division of the religious world and unhappy with practices not found in scriptures. Their simple appeal to the divided religious community was to throw away the creed books and confessions of faith that bound people to denominations and unite on the word of God alone. To remedy the myriad of conflicting practices, the restoration preachers urged believers to practice only what they could defend by scripture and to put away any practice that cannot. A phrase that best explains this philosophy is

“speak where the scriptures speak; be silent where the scriptures are silent.” The movement gre w at a tremendous pace as people came out of denominations to unite on the Bible. However, in the course of time, some of the restoration churches began to introduce practices and institutions that could not be found in the scriptures. Many of these churches continue to organize themselves and associate with one another in ways foreign to the Bible. However, there are still people who desire to restore the worship and individual piety according to the pattern established in the Bible

Continued Restoration

The Restoration Movement did not end in the early 20th century but continues today. Every generation has the responsibility to examine itself in relationship to God’s word. We may inherit practices and traditions from previous generations and not examine them to see if they are founded on divine instruction or tradition. A story often told that illustrates this point is a mother who was teaching her daughter to make a pot roast. Before they put it in the pan, the mother cut off some meat from the ends and the sides of the roast. A good bit of meat was lost so the girl was confused. She asked her mother why she cut the roast this way. The mother said that is what her mother used to do. The girl asked her grandmother, “Why did you cut the roast before cooking it?” The grandmother said that she learned it from her mother. The girl then visited her great-grandmother. When asked about cutting the roast the grandmother simply replied, “My cooking pan was too small.” We can sometimes take a practice that was an expedient from a previous generation and make it law in our generation. What if we ate the Lord’s Supper after the sermon? What if we decided not to have Bible classes? What if we decided to meet once on Sunday, and only at 4:00pm? The order of worship, the use of Bible classes, and service times are examples of things that we have set by expedient that can, in generations, carry the weight of law if believers do not understand what is authorized and what is expedient. I like the order of worship, the Bible classes, and our service times, but I must remember that they could be different and still fully authorized by scripture. We must ever be mindful of teaching Jesus and His church and not “The Church of Christ.” Christ did not come to build a denomination by that name or any other denominations. He died to purchase a body of believers who would unite in Him, not some organization. Our allegiance must be to Him, not a body of believers who meet in “Church of Christ” buildings. Therefore, our generation, and each generation that follows, must examine its practice and doctrine in light of the scripture and, des pite what pre vious generations taught and practiced, commit itself to following the Bible alone. Though noble in thought and deed, the restoration preachers were fallible men and performed the work of restoration in their time. We can learn much from them and are indebted to them for their courage and wisdom, but we have no obligation to perpetuate anything they taught if the scripture does not support it. We can respect brethren who battled unscriptural innovations in the middle and late 1900’s for their courage to stand for what the Bible taught even when many of their brethren would not hear it. However, we have no obligation to perpetuate anything that they have taught that God’s word has not established. What brethren have always taught and practices is an insufficient guide for us; the Bible alone must determine what we teach and do. We must never accept the position of defending what brethren taught in the past, we must know in our day what God’s word teaches and embrace that alone. People can be influenced by opposition and their historical place in life to espouse extreme positions that do not accurately reflect the doctrine of Christ. We must be aware of the influences in previous generations and understand that they might have taken an extreme position in opposition to a popular false doctrine. We must also be aware of it in our time so that we do not adopt positions that go beyond what God has taught. The Restoration Movement was a pivotal moment in religious history, but its work should never be completed.

Questions for Discussion & Study

1. What is the basic difference between the Reformation Movement and the Restoration Movement?

2. How would the restoration ideal, if followed, lead to religious unity?

3. How can expedients become law in the minds of some brethren?

4. How can the church of Christ become a denomination (at least in the minds of some of its members)?