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Adam Gonnerman adam@igneousquill.com
Renewing the Restoration
"Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I canand will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." 
-
Martin Luther, Diet of Worms, 17 April 1521
During my brief time as a Presbyterian I heard the phrase "always reforming" (
ecclesia semper reformanda
) thrown around. This, of course, referred to the idea that the Protestant Reformation wasn'tsomething completed in the past, but rather an ongoing process. Though ground had been gained,much more remained to be done. Later, as I became more involved with the Stone-CampbellRestoration Movement churches (Christian Churches/Churches of Christ) I learned that the earlyleaders of this American reformation saw themselves as continuing the work of the ProtestantReformation. Some even believed they were completing it. I would like to suggest what really shouldbe obvious. There needs to be a renewal and furtherance of the Restoration.The Protestant Reformation in Europe challenged the papal domination of all matters spiritual, placingthe canonical scriptures back in their rightful place as the source of authority for Christians. Thedoctrines of grace and faith were rediscovered and much of the Bible was read in light of the struggleagainst earthly centralized religious authority that claimed monopoly over salvation. This re-readingwas often quite flawed and tendentious, leading the reformers to make pronouncements citing passagesthat frequently had little to do with the subject at hand. In any event, ground was gained, despite errorsof both moral and theological natures.In the heady, democratic free air of the United States, where no single version of Christianity was givenofficial approval, voices began to be raised calling both for an end to sectarianism and a return to thesimple nature of the New Testament church. Unity was emphasized along with fidelity to sacred writ.In this process of deepened study and rigorous debate the truth was uncovered that baptism byimmersion is not only a sign of discipleship, but the point at which remission of sins and the gift of theHoly Spirit is applied to the life of the believer (Acts 2:28). Over the following decades, stretching outover nearly two centuries, the key hallmarks of this restoration movement have been the necessity of baptism, weekly communion and local church leadership by elders. While there have been seriousdifferences over many points of faith and practice, including these three I just mentioned, they havenevertheless remained prominent characteristics of this fellowship.We are at a point now where I would like to suggest that a renewed restoration is needed, a firmcommitment to the idea of "always reforming." We can't possibly believe that any of us individually orall of us collectively have arrived at a thorough understanding of all that God has to tell us in HisWord. Without leaving behind the teachings of faith, grace, baptism and biblical church order, it isperhaps even past time for us also to gain an understanding for and appreciation of three inter-relatedareas of biblical doctrine: justic, resurrection and New Heavens/New Earth.
 
Adam Gonnerman adam@igneousquill.com
"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shallspring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If youremove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday." 
-
Isaiah 58:6-10 NRSV
We who concern ourselves so deeply with being correct about how we organize ourselves as churcheshave, with some brilliant exceptions, done a rather poor job of taking seriously the call to living justly.God regularly and consistently called his people, Israel, to look out for the poor, the aliens, the widowsand orphans. In the New Testament Jesus lived and died with his message of passive resistence to evil,a third way that neither fights directly nor runs from the oppressor. He had compassion on thosearound him and healed them. The first century church apparently kept a list of widows who receivedassistance. If God's chosen fast is mercy and kindness, setting free the oppressed, how can weconsume ourselves with endless morbid debates about words and chasing after faddish gimmicks toachieve "church growth"?
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in thetwinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and thismortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and thismortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has beenswallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our  Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 
-
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NRSV
If you blinked you might have missed it. Notice how the passage above, from a section of Paul's firstletter to the Christians in Corinth that focuses on the resurrection of the dead, comes to a close. After along discourse about how our future hope is not a disembodied, ghostly existence in the afterlife butinstead a more-real-than-real bodily resurrected condition, the apostle Paul reminds us that our work done in Christ's name is not in vain. There is deep meaning hear that we have not yet begun to tap.
"But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousnessis at home." 
-
2 Peter 3:13 NRSV
In hymn after hymn and sermon after sermon, all I hear is about dying and going to heaven. The hopeof salvation held out in most Gospel presentations is dying and going to heaven. This is not the hope
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