The Restoration Movement: What It Was<img src="images/lesson_person.jpg" width="128" height="179" align="right" />

The Restoration Movement: What It Was

Dr. Chester Bullard devoted his life to pleading for the restoration of the original Christianity of the New Testament. To understand Bullard, one must understand the meaning and significance of the movement to Restore the Lord’s Cause.

Restore is defined “to bring back to or put back into a former or original state” (Webster). Applied to Christianity, it suggests that one is seeking to put back into its original state, the church which Christ built. But that suggests that the church has suffered deterioration over the years. When young Bullard carefully read his New Testament and then examined the Protestant-Catholic versions of Christianity he was struck by the differences between the original and the modern varieties. Every aspect of primitive Christianity had suffered from attempts of men to change them to their liking.

CHANGES THAT HAD OCCURRED

The form of church government had been changed from simple congregational government, with local elders, to a complex, pyramid government over the universal church (Comp. Eph. 1:22 & Phil. 1:1).
Names by which the church was originally known had been eclipsed by denominational names such as Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran and Baptist (Comp. I Cor. 1:2 & Rom. 16:16).
In most churches the recipients of baptism had been changed from believing adults to infants (Comp. Mark 16:15-16).
The form of baptism had been altered by many from burial by immersion to pouring or sprinkling water upon the head (Comp. Rom. 6:3-5).
The creed of the church had been displaced by human doctrines that overshadowed the will of Jesus (See John 12:48 & II John 9-10).
The form of worship had suffered as additions and subtractions had been made (Com. Acts 2:42 & Eph. 5:19).
The gospel plan of salvation was obscured by schemes advocating salvation by good works or by faith alone (Comp. Acts 2:37-40 & James 2:24).
The unity of the one church was shattered by denominationalism with its myriad of competing bodies (Comp. John 17:20-23).
These and other changes had robbed believers of a clear vision of what Christianity was originally like. The seriousness of the matter is seen when we recall that an all-wise and holy God designed the church and that sinful, fallible men had presumed to change it. No one can ever hope to improve on God’s work.

NOT A NEW DENOMINATION

They did not propose to reform an existing denomination. Martin Luther and John Calvin set out to reform the corrupt medieval Catholic church. They learned, as did others, that such institutions are impervious to reform. A reformation is an “amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt or depraved.” (Webster). Had the reformers succeeded in correcting some or all the abuses of Catholicism, the finished product would still have been the Roman Catholic Church, not the church the Lord established in Jerusalem (Matt. 16:18).

Their goal was to go beyond all the sects and denominations which had evolved, to the original Christianity preached and practiced by the apostles of Christ. The church which Jesus established was exactly what God wanted it to be. Its faith, worship and practice perfectly met humanity’s needs. Every attempt by uninspired men to improve upon, or modernize Christianity only succeeded in corrupting it more. The collector of fine art objects does not settle for an imitation, no matter how fine. He diligently searches until he finds the original. So did they. Like the jewelry merchant who found the pearl of great price, they were willing to invest all to possess it (See Matt. 13:45-46). They would be simply Christians, nothing more or less. Since the words of Christ will judge men in the last day (John 12:48), those words must be heeded in this life.

STRIVE FOR THE IDEAL

In restoring the church of the New Testament, they did not seek to be like the church at Corinth, Jerusalem or Laodicea. Every congregation, then as now, was made up of human materials. While the design and blueprint of Christianity was conceived in heaven, the disciples that constitute a congregation are always human, and prone to sin (Rom. 3:23). As a consequence, every congregation reflects that human weakness in imperfection. Some are good but others are average or poor. But the ideal church is set forth in the Divine Plan and every Christian in every age should strive to measure up to it. If they would dedicate themselves to following the Bible in all matters of faith and practice, they would be the same kind of Christians as were the apostles

A UNIVERSAL APPEAL

The idea of restoring New Testament Christian had a universal appeal to the people in the nineteenth century.

It looked to that one universal church that Jesus founded and of which he is savior (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 5:23).
A universal book (the Bible) was set forth as the only rule of faith and practice, the only authoritative and complete repository of all that is necessary to serving God and preparing for eternity (II Tim. 3:16-17).
Their confession of faith was universal; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Matt. 16:16).
Universally accepted Biblical names were used such as Christian, disciples, brethren, saints, church of Christ (See Acts 11:25; Matt. 23:8; Rom. 16:16)
Their teaching on baptism and the Lord’s Supper was universally appealing for those items were observed precisely as Christ instructed (Mark 16:15-16; Col. 2:12; Matt. 26:26-29).
They had a universal aim which was to exalt and spread the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven (Matt.28:18-20).
Honest souls found it difficult to object to such spiritual principles as:

Wearing the name of Christ to the exclusion of all human names;
Faith in the living, reigning Christ as the only creed of the church;
The New Testament of Christ being the church’s only book of discipline;
The recognition of the complete authority of Christ over his church;
Christ’s one church being exalted above all man-made institutions;
All the commands of Christ being obeyed by his people;
The ideals of Christ exemplified in the lives of all who wear his name;
Unity in Christ by faith, repentance and baptism into him.
This would supersede all denominationalism to the end that there should be one body
with Christ as both head and foundation.
The concept of Restoration was not new. It is an ancient and constant need in religion. Students of church history find many voices who made this plea. It was not a local movement. Across American and around the world independent groups have sprung up with the announced goal of restoring original Christianity. This common commitment, where sincerely followed, could not but bring these disciples together in Christ. It was not a governmental or institutional movement. Rather, God-fearing individuals were making their way out of the darkness of religious confusion into the pure light of God’s eternal truth.

While a lost world groped in darkness and a broken, confused Christendom foundered in its own mire, a tiny band of devout, God-fearing men launched a mighty movement on the American frontier to restore the church to its original state of purity. James O’Kelly and Rice Haggard, Elias Smith and Abner Jones, Barton Stone and Walter Scott, Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Dr. Chester Bullard, all men of like-precious faith, laid their all on the altar of God and went forth on a mighty crusade for their Master. They gladly suffered shame, ridicule and hardship to accomplish their holy mission. They exalted Christ, preached his gospel and restored his church to her pristine purity. Never has a more noble task been undertaken. Not since the apostles has a band of men so blessed the world.

This then was the thinking of Dr. Bullard. His convictions were not arrived at suddenly; rather they grew as he searched the Scriptures to ascertain God’s will for his own life. Once found, he determined to share them with every should he met.

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