Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | catholic and protestant salvation view | Eph 4:3 | Grace and Truth | 50126 | ||
Rubel Shelly, of Nashville, Tennessee, has been one of the most vociferous critics of the restoration movement in recent years. His speeches at the Christ Church Pentecostal denomination in Nashville (April 13, 1994), at the 1995 Tulsa Workshop, and at the Florence (Alabama) Spiritual Renewal Conference (April 19, 1996) are but a sampling of this misguided brother’s hostile mood. (Note: For further discussion see the author’s article, “Contemporary Attacks on the Restoration Principle,” The Spiritual Sword, Vol. 23, No. 1, October, 1991, pp. 40-44.) The biblical platform The fact is, the Bible teaches that when the Creator establishes a system of religion, its obligations are to remain intact until God Himself provides evidence that it no longer is operative. No one is to presume to modify the divine arrangement. The Old Testament emphasizes this principle repeatedly. Surely no clearer example of this concept can be found than that of the sad case of Jeroboam I, the premier king of northern Israel. His apostasy from the Mosaic pattern is carefully documented in 1 Kings 13. Note the following: 1. He changed the object of worship from the invisible God to golden calves, which were to represent the Lord. 2. The monarch switched the sacred center of devotion from Jerusalem to Bethel and Dan. 3. Priests could be selected from tribes other than Levi. 4. A new feast was inaugurated to rival the feast of the tabernacles. Modern “Jeroboams” doubtless would endorse these alterations as quite refreshing; after all, we can’t be stifled by “traditionism.” Jehovah’s attitude, however, was radically different. In approximately twenty-one passages the Old Testament refers to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who “made Israel to sin” (cf. 1 Kgs. 14:16). Innovation is transgression! “Restoration” defined When one speaks of a “restoration” plea, several things are implied. First, there is the suggestion that there is a divine “pattern” for human conduct. Second, God expects conformity to that pattern. Third, in the nature of things, rebellious and frail men will digress from that heavenly way. Fourth, it is the responsibility of those who revere the Lord’s will to restore, the primitive order, and call their fellows back to the “old paths” (cf. Jer. 6:16). There are numerous New Testament passages which stress these truths. Let us consider a few. |
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2 | catholic and protestant salvation view | Eph 4:3 | Grace and Truth | 50127 | ||
1. The early church is clearly a model for us in that it “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). Why was that an important point for Luke to make if the pattern of the “apostles’ teaching” is irrelevant? Moreover, the multitude of believers “were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32), suggesting a unity of practice in their Christian decorum. 2. Paul reminded the saints in Rome that they had been made free from sin due to the fact that they had been obedient to a certain “form” [pattern] of teaching (Rom. 6:17,18). Can such a passage yield any sense if there is no pattern? 3. The Christians in Rome were admonished to “mark” (be on the look-out for) and turn away from those who were causing divisions “contrary to the teaching” which they had learned (Rom. 16:17). If there is no pattern of New Testament doctrine, how could one ever be required to “turn away” from those who do not conform to it? 4. The inspired Paul instructed the brethren in Corinth not to go “beyond the things which are written” (1 Cor. 4:6 ASV). This clearly demonstrates that spiritual activity is regulated by the Scriptures. 5. The primitive Christians were warned repeatedly about “falling away” from “the faith” (cf. 2 Thes. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1ff; 2 Tim. 4:1ff). The expression “the faith” has to do with a body of doctrinal truth. If there is no doctrinal “pattern,” how could one ever “fall away” from the faith? Note also that identifying marks of apostasy went beyond so-called “core” matters, such as the deity of Christ. They concerned things like the forbidding marriage and prohibiting certain foods (1 Tim. 4:1ff). 6. Paul spoke of the “pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13) which the early Christians were being taught and in which they were to “abide” (2 Tim. 3:14). These truths were to be passed on to others (2 Tim. 2:2), and men were to be charged not to teach a “different doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:13). How in the name of common sense can men read these passages and not know that there is a body of sacred truth with which we must not tamper? |
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3 | catholic and protestant salvation view | Eph 4:3 | Grace and Truth | 50128 | ||
1. The writer of Hebrews affirmed that Moses, in constructing the tabernacle, was warned by God that he must “make all things according to the pattern,” which was shown to him at Horeb (Heb. 8:5). Do we, as recipients of the “better covenant” (Heb. 7:22; 8:6), sustain a lesser responsibility as we minister to God in his church – of which the tabernacle was but an inferior type (cf. Heb. 9:1-10)? It is unbelievable that anyone would dare to argue such. 2. John unequivocally states that those who go beyond the “teaching of Christ” have no fellowship with God (2 John 9). Conclusion All of these passages, and numerous others, forcefully reveal that there is a divine standard to which men are accountable. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God, with its inscribed obligations, abides (cf. 1 Pet. 1:24-25). In physics there is a law known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It suggests that things proceed toward a state of degeneration. It might also be argued that there is sort of a Second Law in the spiritual realm as well. Men tend to drift; the pure frequently becomes contaminated. Such was never more clearly indicated than in the current status of the church of God. This is not the time to relax the call for a restoration to the ancient order of Christianity. We are truly at the crossroads! |
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4 | catholic and protestant salvation view | Eph 4:3 | srbaegon | 50139 | ||
Hello Grace and Truth Thank you for the exhortation to remain firm to Scripture. I know enough about the Restoration movement (from a former coworker) to understand that it had a similar desire to the Plymouth Brethren (my group)--return to Scriptural truth and simplicity. They sprang up in separate geograpical areas at approximately the same time with the same intent. Yet, there are wide divisions in doctrine (esp. water baptism). So even in the interest of Scriptural purity, men fail miserably. Steve |
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