Immutable Kingdom – Appendix V

The Immutable Kingdom – Appendix V

By Scott A. Klaft

A Never Ending Restoration

The names of the preachers of influence would change. The names of the schools of influence would change. The locations of sound, faithful, and strong congregations would change, but some things never change. Missions were sent over seas. Orphan homes were initiated, and sustained, with the benevolence of individuals within congregations. Debates were held both publicly, and in writing, sometimes within the church, as well as with the sects. World Wars were fought and won. The growth and regression of the church moved like the tide, but some things never change.

The principles upon which the churches of Christ began do not originate with the Campbell’s in the 1800’s, neither with Zwingli, Luther, or any other in earlier centuries. To assign some origin to a “church” other than that found in scripture is to denominate it as something other than the one belonging to Christ.

When any group of people, be they scholars, leaders, or individuals, come to a consensus that they will only do what the Bible specifically teaches, they have resigned themselves to principles that have their origin in the first century, and that of divine inspiration. Thus, if they have returned to the truth in theory, and their practices are conforming thereto, then they can be no other thing than that which the Bible calls them, a church of Christ.

It is admitted the human practice of true New Testament Christianity will inevitably fall short of Divine perfection as designed by the Almighty Creator. It is, nonetheless, the acknowledgement of the Bible as the only source of Divine knowledge, and the only reliable guide for faith and practice, which allows us to return to the approved pattern as God would have it.

Yet, how have we set our minds? The fact that independent thinkers with powerful minds were able to bring true churches of Christ back to prevalence in recorded history does not mean that we cannot drift once again. Have we not learned from the cyclical repetitions of liberty, sin, consequence, bondage, and repentance in the Old Testament as well as in our own history? How do we miss the fact that every one of us must be a Restorer?

Restoration of the church begins with me, and it begins with you. The church today, if it is to remain, must be first restored within us, and then we must train our young ones to restore it when it is their turn. The Restoration never ends.

The Restoration never ends because restoration is the whole essence of Christianity. The Lord came to the earth to restore man to his former place of favor with God. No honest heart who reads of Jesus Christ and His words can ignore the fact that He continually called men to return to the truth as it is taught in the scripture. It is love for truth and a willing return to it that enables a man’s faith that he may be restored to God’s favor; but, how many of us have that passion?

Lament not, dear brother or dear sister. The churches of Christ cannot be taken away; neither can they be destroyed, except by their own will to have it so. The glory of our Lord’s Body, the church, can never be diminished. Men may walk away from God, but the truth shall remain immutable, and immobile; and, all we have to do is return back to The Book that expresses those grand precepts to man. The mind of God expressed in the Word, and revealed in the flesh of Jesus Christ, has been restored to its original glory, there upon His throne. Trust in Him, and we shall never go wrong, we shall never be diminished.

Ultimately, as a society, the United States of America may only have been the mechanism by which God restored the true church into prominence. It is not impossible that the national privileges we now enjoy could be taken away so that our spiritual blessings may be better appreciated, but who can know such things? My prayer to God is that the church in every place will have whatever it needs to cast the light of God’s love, and to bring every thought into obedience of the gospel. Petition God for His blessings upon this country we love; but, always let be with the acquiescence of “Lord, thy will be done, and not mine”. Any struggles that come shall work out for good to God’s children, and for further opportunities of men to come to Him, just as history has shown us.

This concludes the series of The Immutable Kingdom.

Strive Excelsior!