Thursday, December 23, 2010

THE VERY THING WE HAVE BOASTED WE AREN'T....WE MAY NEED

Have you ever heard it explained in great pride that we aren't a Reformation Movement, but a Restoration Movement?  The point that immediately tails such statements are Luther's Reformation Movement merely ended up in many divided denominations.  Our (RM) is better....more biblical...we conclude.

Reformation means to "reform", "re-do", or "re-make" because something is inherently wrong with the current.  We may be in need of the very thing we have boasted we are not....reformation.

For one, the Restoration Movement has delivered the same divisionary communities identical to the Reformation denominations with one exception; our various splitages insist on calling ourselves the same name---Church of Christ.

Our efforts to regain firm relationship with our living Lord is a pursuit which must not be adjusted.  The inserting of doctrines in the name of Jesus which are truly and merely doctrines of habit continue to debilitate the body at large.  Restoration and Reformation are dually needed.

What we didn't realize, in our earlier years, was that whatever we decided to believe became and what we decided to not believe didn't come about.  For those who believe firmly the Holy Spirit of God works in and with us today...He surely does!  However, for those who staunchly believe the Holy Spirit does no such thing; in their lives He truly does no such thing!

We have much to learn, much to ponder, and much growing to do.  All sensations of pride of having arrived calls for immediate repentance.  We want God to be free to roam upon us, with us, and for us.  Rigidity of habit will not permit the freedom of His call.

May we be about the receiving of His grace and the relenting of our stubborn stances.  The world awaits...and so do the authentic people called the church.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is great. The Spirit has you on a roll this week! The last year or so I've done a lot of reading and listening to (isn't the internet great?) a lot of men who are part of the Reformation churches. I've learned so much from Driscoll, Piper, Chandler, MacArthur and Begg. I'm sure they would get criticized for following a man, Luther, but don't the Restoration folks do the same in the following of Stone and Campbell?
You're right. We need them both.
Jay
p.s. And I've become very convinced that the Spirit does indeed move, a lot, if we don't squelch Him!