WHO ARE THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST?

 

          What is the distinctive plea of the church of Christ?

It is primarily a plea for religious unity based upon the Bible.  In a divided religious world it is believed that the Bible is the only possible common denominator upon which most, if not all, of the God-fearing people of the land can unite.  This is an appeal to go back to the Bible.  It is a plea to speak where the Bible speaks and to remain silent where the Bible is silent in all matters that pertain to religion.  It further emphasizes that in everything religious there must be a Bible basis for all that is done.  The objective is religious unity of all believers in Christ.  The basis is the New Testament.  The method is the restoration of New Testament Christianity.

 

The Historical background of the Restoration Movement

One of the earliest advocates of the return to New Testament Christianity, as a means of achieving unity of all believers in Christ, was James O’Kelly of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  In 1793 he withdrew from the Baltimore conference of his church and called upon others to join him in taking the Bible as the only creed.  His influence was largely felt in Virginia and North Carolina where history records that some seven thousand communicants followed his leadership toward a return to primitive New Testament Christianity.

 

In 1802 a similar movement among the Baptists in New England was led by Abner Jones and Elias Smith .  They were concerned about “denominational names and creeds” and decided to wear only the name Christian, taking the Bible as their only guide.  In 1804, in the western frontier state of Kentucky, Barton W. Stone and several other Presbyterian preachers took similar action declaring that they would take the Bible as the “only sure guide to heaven.” 

Thomas Campbell , and his illustrious son, Alexander Campbell , took similar steps in the year 1809 in what is now the state of West Virginia.  They contended that nothing should be bound upon Christians as a matter of doctrine which is not as old as the New Testament.  Although these four movements were completely independent in their beginnings eventually they became one strong restoration movement because of their common purpose and plea.  These men did not advocate the starting of a new church, but rather a return to Christ’s church as described in the Bible.

 

Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19^th Century, rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A.D. 33.  The strength of the appeal lies in the restoration of Christ’s original church.

 

                                                                        -adapted from Batsell Barrett Baxter tract