The purpose of this lesson: To challenge you to think about some of the challenges of the serious devotion to restoration.
There exist some biblical concepts that Christian people, the church, find to be hard concepts. The concepts are hard for Christians, the church, to accept for numerous reasons. (a) One has been the conviction held by many that the church can know all Gods thoughts and emphases, and in that knowledge be correct about everything. (b) Another has been the fracturing of the restoration movement into the Church of Christ, the Christian Church, and The Disciples of Christ. Each of those segments of the American Restoration Movement has within it additional emphases. The unity movement fractured into segments, and each of those segments has significant fractures. (c) Another has been the difficult challenge of distinguishing between our preferences (which it is okay to have) and Gods commands (which are binding on Christians). The spiritual danger arises when people seek to make personal preferences divine commands or standards for faith in Christ. To prefer is one thing; to demand of others is quite another. (d) Another is an assigned meaning to a scripture that does not consider context or the authors point. Such offenses were encouraged by adopting the proof texting method of biblical interpretation. Basically this method authoritatively validated a concept by (1) saying, It is in the Bible! and (2) declaring a proof text with little or no concern for the authors point.
Examine each of the concepts. In any discussion, make sure the class is talking about the same perspective. The whole point is that it is difficult to understand and achieve the objective. Remember, you are not seeking agreement on hows but an understanding that the objective is difficult.
These reasons are not all the reasons for Christians, the church, finding some biblical concepts difficult. Nor are all the concepts in the next lesson all the hard concepts. The intended challenge of this lesson: to make you think. The challenge is based on the conviction that thinking produces understanding, thinking and understanding produce faith, and faith is the fundamental motive for serving God and His purposes. Christians are not to be motivated by loyalty to the past, but by faith in God and surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. The challenge is NOT to reduce scripture and the pursuit of salvation to a series of rules, but to see that scripture and the pursuit of salvation are centered in trusting Goda trust we know as faith.
Focus everyone on the importance of thinking and understanding on the production of faith. Salvation does not involve a rote (just do it) process but a having faith process. You might wish to consider the importance of faith by looking at Hebrews 11:1-12 with a focus on verse 6.
If you are tempted to believe that understanding spiritual truth is simple, consider an illustration based on a common Church of Christ commitment. What do we wish to be? We wish to be Christians in the same sense that people were Christians in the New Testament. What do we wish to establish? We wish to establish the church as it existed in the New Testament. How do we wish to do those two things? Is the Christianity restored and first-century church established by following the Jewish or idolatrous culture of the first century? Which congregation becomes our guideline for restoration? The Jerusalem congregation who struggled to accept gentiles who were not Jewish proselytes? The Corinthian congregation who divided into groups based on teacher loyalty? The Galatian congregations who forsook Jesus Christ for Jewish practice?
The Ephesian congregation who did not understand that the dividing wall between Christians of Jewish and gentile background was destroyed by God through Jesus Christ? The Philippian congregation who had warring factions of influence? The Colossian congregation who found it difficult to abandon ungodly sexual involvements? The Thessalonian congregation who expected Jesus to return immediately?
These questions are given (a) to illustrate that the process of restoration is not simple and (b) to show that the congregations in the New Testament were not spiritually ideal. We need to be careful in selecting a standard for restoration. The imperfection of New Testament congregations teaches us what lessons?
We have buildings with varying degrees of conveniencesthey had no buildings. We have classes and programsthey had few or none. We have printing with Bibles, study materials, libraries, concordances, dictionaries, and other study aidesthey had no printing and few to no helps. We have computers and other office machines, secretarial help, staffs, and rooms used for varied purposesthey did not even know about most of those things.
Is restoration as simple as getting rid of things they did not have? Is restoration about first- century culture or about scientific discovery? Is restoration about Gods purposes in Jesus Christ in todays world? How does getting rid of things that did not exist in the first century achieve Gods purposes in todays realities? Does achieving Gods purposes in Jesus Christ validate a means or method? Who decides Yes or No? Have we designed restoration to suit our preferences and objectives?
Consider how different congregations of today are from congregations of 2000 years ago. The more you focus on the obvious, accepted, rarely thought about things, the more insight you will create.
The point of the above is to challenge us to realize that pursuing divine truth is not a simple task, is not easily achieved, is not obvious to all, and is not delegated to any human or group of humans. Truth rests in Gods hands and is expressed in Jesus Christ. It is pursued by knowing Jesus, not by simply declaring acceptance of the fact that Jesus lived as a man and was resurrected by God. We are Christs church by being Christs people in motive, in behavior, in word, and by being a people dedicated to Gods purposes. One issue or one stance does not make anyone dedicated to restoration.
The teacher wishes to stress two things to the students: (a) the pursuit of restoration is not simple, and (b) it is not obvious in all its thrusts and objectives. It can easily become more about us than about God.
It is not so simple as being an us and a them. Ultimately, restoration is not a human achievement based on human agreement. Ultimately, restoration is a divine gift. If Christ could make Christians stand (versus fall) who totally disagreed about sacred food, about holy days, and about drinking (all of Romans 14, but especially verses 3-6), the same Lord can make different Christian groups stand. It results from the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, not from the pseudo-power of a congregation or group of congregations.
It is easy for restoration to be about human power and control instead of service to God and people.
Perhaps the most serious spiritual matter is found in whom we condemn, not in whom we approve. May we never condemn someone in Christ when our Lord says Yes! If the Lord could make one body out of Jewish Christians (many we would consider legalists) and gentile Christians (many who thought idols represented living gods), He can make one body of us in our many disagreements. The root of the problem is not Gods instructions. It is our demands.
In the New Testament, the objective is about inclusion of those who trust the fact that Jesus is the Christ, Gods son. Today, the objective seems to be exclusion of those who trust in Jesus Christ, but do not reach my conclusions.
For Thought and Discussion
1. Some biblical concepts are what?
Some biblical concepts are hard (difficult) concepts.
2. Give the four reasons given in the lesson for some concepts being hard (difficult) concepts.
a. The conviction that the church can know all of Gods thoughts and emphases.
b. The fracturing of the restoration movement, which was a unity movement.
c. Distinguishing between human preferences and Gods commands.
d. The use of proof texting as the means for biblical interpretation.
3. Are these reasons given as all the reasons?
No, they are not.
4. What are we challenged to understand?
Thinking produces understanding, thinking and understanding produce faith, and faith produces the motivation for serving God and His purposes.
5. What two things do we wish to be/do?
a. We wish to be Christians in the same sense that New Testament Christians were Christians.
b. We wish to be the church in the same sense that the New Testament church was the church.
6. What problems existed in congregations in the New Testament?
a. The struggle to accept gentiles who were not proselytes (Jerusalem).
b. Division into groups based on teacher loyalty (Corinth).
c. Forsaking Jesus Christ for Jewish practices (Galatia).
d. Failure to grasp the destruction of the dividing wall through Jesus Christ (Ephesus).
e. Warring factions of influence (Philippi).
f. The difficulty of abandoning ungodly sexual involvements (Colossae).
g. Expectations of Jesus immediate return (Thessalonica).
7. What do we have that they did not have?
We have buildings, conveniences, classes, programs, printed materials including Bibles, computers and office machines, secretaries, staffs, rooms used for a variety of purposes, etc.
8. Give some challenging questions that we can ask about restoration.
a. Is it as simple as getting rid of things they did not have?
b. Is it accomplished by restoring first-century non-Christian cultures?
c. Is it about Gods purposes in todays world?
d. Who decides Yes and No?
e. Is it about human preferences or objectives?
9. Pursuing divine truth is not what?
a. It is not about simplicity.
b. It is not obvious to all.
c. It Is not delegated to a human or group of humans.
d. It rests in Gods hands and is expressed in Jesus Christ.
e. It is about knowing Jesus, not about knowing about Jesus.
10. Ultimately, restoration is not what, but what?
It is not a human achievement based on human agreement, but a divine gift.
11. What might be the most serious spiritual matter?
It may be found in whom we condemn.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 9