The End of Restoration

Monroe Hawley begins his book The Focus of Our Faith by surveying thirteen historical restoration movements, beginnings with the Paulicans in the sixth century and going through modern Chinese efforts. One of those movements surveyed is our own, the Stone-Campbell movement. Every so often, I hear someone object to the “Stone-Campbell Movement” label by suggesting, “We don’t follow Stone and Campbell; why not just call it ‘Restoration Movement?’” Well, there have been thirteen (at least) such movements; ours isn’t the only one. (Just the only one that got it all right?!)

There are great variations in all these groups, but they do share some common traits. They accept only the Bible and reject tradition as a basis of authority. They produce independent churches with no denominational organization, and they stress holy living and Christian fellowship. Most of these groups practice some form of believer’s baptism (and reject the baptism of infants). And people on this movements were very committed, often giving up everything to follow God. For example, there were about 50,000 Anabaptists martyred between 1525-1535 A.D.

So, where are all of these restoration groups now? (Well, we know where we are... maybe) Some of these groups completely faded from history. Others so divided, fractured and splintered so that they are no longer single movements. Hawley argues that the failure of all of these restoration efforts was is in their FOCUS. Each group found something (maybe several things) that they found "broken" in Christianity. For the Anabaptists, it was the practice of infant baptism and the state church system of Europe. For Stone and Campbell, it was baptism by immersion and the pattern for church organization. For the most part, these things that were found to be in error were external things relating to doctrine, worship and church organization. Because these external things were what these groups saw as WRONG, these tended to be the main focus of the group. So the whole point of Christianity was the relationship of church and state or baptism by immersion. What was lost (or at least overshadowed) in many cases was the focus of God reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus Christ.

What is my point? It is possible for believers in Christ to focus with laser precision on the external forms of religion and completely miss God Himself! That is what Jesus told the Pharisees in John 5, these religious leaders who were themselves great restorationists (John 5:39-40)

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Jesus recognized the Pharisees’ emphasis on the study of scripture. He does not, of course, criticize their study. What he criticizes is the focus of their study. They saw the scriptures and all the laws and traditions that came from their study of the scriptures. What they missed was the Christ at the center of the scriptures. Spiritual life comes from scripture only as we are connected to the Christ of scriptures. The restoration isn’t about church organization and external forms—restoration must center in the person of Christ himself. As Edward Fudge says as he concludes His booklet “The Restoration Movement Fulfilled In Jesus Christ” (available online here) with the statement, “CHRIST is the end (goal - telos) of the Restoration Movement, to all who believe in Jesus.”