PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

1. PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

2. David Edwin Harrell, Jr., “Christian Primitivism and Modernization in the Stone-Campbell Movement,” in Richard T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995), 109-120.

3. David Edwin Harrell, Jr., “Epilogue,” in Richard T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 239-246.

4. David Edwin Harrell, Jr., “Epilogue,” in Richard T. Hughes, ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), 239-246. • “One indelible impression I take away from this conference is that the restoration ideal has been a powerful motif. In fact, it may be the most vital single assumption underlying the development of American Protestantism. Equally important, the restoration ideal continues as one of the most compelling ideas in modern Christianity.” 239.

5. The Restoration Spirit • I Peter 4:11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

6. A New Testament Church: Pattern Thinking 1. An organization—Phil. 1:1; Acts 14:23; I Tim. 3: 1ff; Titus 1:5ff. 2. An Assembly—Heb. 10:25; I Cor. 11:15 3. Taught—Acts 20:7; I Cor. 14:15 4. Prayed—Acts 12:5; I Cor. 14:19 5. Sang—Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16 6. Lord’s Supper on 1st Day—Acts 20:7; I Cor. 11:20 • Gave on 1st Day—I Cor. 16:1,2; Acts 2:44-45 • Treasury—Acts 5:1-4 • Relieved Needy Saints—Acts 4:34-35; 11:29-30; I Cor. 16:1 • Supported Preaching—II Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15-16 • Discipline Unruly Members—I Cor. 5:1-5 • Conducted Congregational Business—Acts 6:1-4

7. Three Assumptions in Primitivist Thinking • 1. Apostolic Authority • 2. Common Sense Hermeneutics • 3. Creating New Testament Congregations

8. WHY? FIVE REASONS IN DEFENSE OF PRIMITIVISM • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church

9. Reformation Antecedents Ulrich Zwingli “Away with human ceremonies and regulations, we want only the Word of God.” (1523) “This church imposes no laws on the conscience of people without the sanction of the Word of God, and the laws of the Church are binding only in so far as they agree with the Word.” (1528)

10. English Dissenters (Puritans) Richard Baxter (1615-1691) Kidderminster, England “What man dare go in a way which has neither precept nor example to warrant it....? For my part, I will not fear that God will be angry with me for doing no more than He has commanded me, and for sticking close to the rule of His word in matters of worship; but I should tremble to add or diminish.”

11. WHY? • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church • 2. Because following the N.T. pattern is the only path to unity

12. WHY?—2. FOLLOWING GOD’S DIRECTIONS IS THE ONLY BASIS OF UNITY 1 Cor. 1:10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in thesame mind and in the same judgment. RESTORATION (PRIMITIVISM) ASSUMES A UNIFIED COMMITMENT OR MINDSET

13. PROTESTANTS FIND A UNITED CHRISTIAN MESSAGE Jane Lampman, “A Return to Primitive Christianity in a Modern Age,” Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 2003. “As many seekers have set off in recent years to pursue spirituality outside the bounds of organized religion, another trend has quietly emerged within and across Christian denominations: a return to orthodoxy. . . . It is perhaps most visible in the least expected place—the liberal mainline churches—where many ‘renewal’ groups are taking an assertive stance, seeking to replace what they consider secularized theology and political activism with biblical authority and evangelical fervor.

14. SEEKING “CLASSIC CHRISTIANITY” Thomas Oden [Drew University], The Rebirth of Orthodoxy: Signs of New Life in Christianity (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 2003). Thomas Oden notes a return to “classic Christianity” based on a willingness to “think with the early church about the sacred text” and a return to “Christian tradition as defined by the sacred texts of scripture, the ecumenical councils of the first five centuries, and the teachings of the ‘fathers of the first millennium.’”

15. A New Testament Church: Pattern Thinking 1. An organization—Phil. 1:1; Acts 14:23; I Tim. 3: 1ff; Titus 1:5ff. 2. An Assembly—Heb. 10:25; I Cor. 11:15 3. Taught—Acts 20:7; I Cor. 14:15 4. Prayed—Acts 12:5; I Cor. 14:19 5. Sang—Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16 6. Lord’s Supper on 1st Day—Acts 20:7; I Cor. 11:20 • Gave on 1st Day—I Cor. 16:1,2; Acts 2:44-45 • Treasury—Acts 5:1-4 • Relieved Needy Saints—Acts 4:34-35; 11:29-30; I Cor. 16:1 • Supported Preaching—II Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:15-16 • Discipline Unruly Members—I Cor. 5:1-5 • Conducted Congregational Business—Acts 6:1-4

16. WHY? • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church • 2. Because the N.T. pattern is the only path to unity • 3. Because God has always expected obedience

17. WHY?—3. GOD’S EXPECTATIONS • 1 Sam. 15:22And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. GOD ALWAYS PUNISHED DISOBEDIENCE

18. WHY? • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church • 2. Because the N.T. pattern is the only path to unity • 3. Because God has always expected obedience • 4. Because the Apostles intended to leave a pattern (tradition) to be followed

19. APOSTOLIC TRADITION • 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

20. TRADITION • Main Entry: tra·di·tion1 a: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) b: a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable.2:the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction3: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions4: characteristic manner, method, or style - Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online

21. BIBLICAL TRADITION • παράδοσις • paradosis • Thayer Definition: • 1) giving up, giving over • 1a) the act of giving up • 1b) the surrender of cities • 2) a giving over which is done by word of mouth or in writing, i.e. tradition by instruction, narrative, precept, etc. • 2a) objectively, that which is delivered, the substance of a teaching • 2b) of the body of precepts, especially ritual, which in the opinion of the later Jews were orally delivered by Moses and orally transmitted in unbroken succession to subsequent generations, which precepts, both illustrating and expanding the written law, as they did were to be obeyed with equal reverence

22. WHY? • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church • 2. Because the N.T. pattern is the only path to unity • 3. Because God has always expected obedience • 4. Because the Apostles intended to leave a pattern (tradition) to be followed • 5. Because it gives glory to God

23. WHY?—5. THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED • I Peter 4:11If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorifiedthrough Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

24. WHY?—5. THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED • Rom. 11:33O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

25. WHY?—5. THAT GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED • Eph.3:10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. . . .14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21Unto him be glory in the churchby Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

26. PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY • 1. Because earnest Christians throughout history have sought to follow the pattern of the New Testament church • 2. Because the N.T. pattern is the only path to unity • 3. Because God has always expected obedience • 4. Because the Apostles intended to leave a pattern (tradition) to be followed • 5. Because it gives glory to God