In the years following the establishment of the church in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), many gradually departed from the original teaching of Christ and His apostles, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; 1 Timothy 4:1- 3). Sincere men at various times tried vainly to lead their fellowmen back to the right way by seeking to reform the abuses that grew out of this departure. Their efforts, however, led only to the formation of the different religious bodies, each one guided by its own distinctive creed, and to the popular expression, “Join the church of your choice.”
Christians throughout the world in this twenty-first century, as their brethren have done in centuries past, continue to plead for a complete restoration of Christianity as taught by the apostles under the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit. They advocate the elimination of all human creeds and the restoration of the word of God alone as a complete and adequate rule of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16,17). They call for a recognition of the new testament church — Christ’s choice!
Once the word of God is restored to its rightful place in men's hearts, certain conclusions inevitably follow. Unity in the religious world is to be achieved not by compromise around the compromise table, but through obedience to the word of God. The organization, worship, and teaching of the church of Christ is to be determined not by traditions of men or by the legislation of men in synods and councils, but by the “apostles’ teaching” in the New Testament (Acts 2:42; Galatians 1:6-9). Conduct in daily life is to be measured not by the teaching and example of medieval mystics, but by the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. Every individual not only has the right, but the God-given responsibility to study the Scriptures and to follow them to the exclusion of all other religious guides (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16,17).
When the word of God is sown as “seed” (Luke 8:11) in the hearts of men, it will produce the same fruit today that it did in the first century. It produced Christians then; it will produce Christians now (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16).
This item originally appeared in The Paducah Sun (October 30, 2002)
