According to the history of the "Church of Christ," God used certain men to "restore" the New Testament church in the early 1800's.  Where was the true New Testament church before then?  Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18).  What happened to the church, and where was the truth it was responsible for preaching before God restored it?

 

Sincerely,
History Buff

Dear History Buff,

Your question brings up a common misconception.  Most churches of Christ in America can trace their roots back to a movement in early American history commonly known as ‘the Restoration Movement’.  It is called the Restoration Movement because those spearheading the movement wanted to restore worship back to the ways of the New Testament.  They wanted to go back to the Bible for all of their answers and practices.  This is exactly what the Lord calls us to do (1 Cor 4:6, Josh 1:7, Jhn 14:6, Rev 22:18-19).

The misconception is that these were the first men to do this.  That is a myth.  America is not the first country to contain people who wanted to go back to God’s Word for all that they said and did.  Even within the Bible, we see people seeking to restore Bible-based worship.  King Josiah found a copy of the Law and told the people to return to God (2 Kgs 22:10-13).  Jesus told the Jews to go back to the Scriptures and understand what God was telling them (Mk 12:24).  Jesus warned against making traditions that usurped the authority of the Scriptures (Mk 7:10-13).

The church has never been destroyed, and throughout many, many ages (including the darkest ages of Catholicism), there have been people who have sought to honestly and humbly serve God.  The Restoration Movement in America is merely one story of people that have sought to put God’s Word back into its rightful place.  The Bible is the seed of the church (Lk 8:11).  When a group of people commits itself to do what the Bible says – no more and no less – a church is formed.  Many of these congregations in America use the name ‘church of Christ’ because it is a Biblical name (Rom 16:16), and it is a recognizable name to other christians who are looking for faithful churches… but make no mistake, the Restoration Movement in America wasn’t the first (and it won’t be the last) group of people that wanted simple Christianity.

My wife feels God is God, not Jesus is God.  She prays to God, not Jesus ands needs clarity on 3-is-1 and 1-is-3.  She feels Jesus is God's Son, not God.  She feels He came out of Mary's womb, was a baby in need of food, water, etc., and wasn't God.  Are there different beliefs among christians on this?

Sincerely,
Head Count

Dear Head Count,

There are different views on this topic – but only one correct Bible answer.  The Father is God… and Jesus is God, too.  There are three parts to the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This is most easily seen in Matt 3:16-17.  When Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove.  Each of them is eternal (they were all at the creation – Gen. 1:1, Gen. 1:2, Col 1:15-17).  John 1:1 specifically says that Jesus is Deity.  Jesus is different than the Father, but He is part of the Godhead.  Jesus even said that He had always existed (Jhn 8:58).  The apostles worshipped Jesus as God (Jhn 20:28).

Jesus was God in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16).  In Jesus, we can see all the fullness of the Godhead (Col 2:9).  Jesus cried to the Father when He was on the cross because the Father was in heaven while Jesus was here suffering on earth (Mk 15:34).  The Scriptures clearly back up that Jesus is deity.

If I think the pastor is adding or taking away from the Word (for example, he says some things written in the Bible are incorrect), should I continue under him?

Sincerely,
Basic Math

Dear Basic Math,

The Bible is perfect, and we all need to be very careful not to add or take away from the Scriptures (Rev 22:18-19).  We all need to learn to not go beyond what the Lord has written (1 Cor 4:6).  The reason for this is because anyone that willfully teaches or perverts the Scriptures is bound for hell (Gal 1:6-8).  If your pastor is saying the Bible is incorrect – he is wrong.  The Bible is just fine; he is the one that is in trouble.  Leave that congregation immediately and seek a faithful church.  As you can see, all churches are not the Lord’s church.  If you would like help finding a faithful church in your area, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will do our best to put you in contact with a congregation in your area.

I heard someone teaching that we are little gods.  Is this true?

Sincerely,
Demi

Dear Demi,

We are not "little gods".  The Scriptures state that we are children of God (Jhn 1:12) and that we are sons of God (Gal 3:26), but that is very different from being deity ourselves.  Mankind was designed in the image of God (Gen 1:27), and we have souls that are eternal in nature (Eccl 3:21), but the Scriptures never state that we are god-like beings.  To be a god, you must have no beginning and no end (Ps 90:2).  Only the one, true God has always been and will always be (Heb 13:8).

     Why did God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save whosoever shall believe in Him... when He really only saves those who derive a law perfectly from letters left by imperfect men?

Sincerely,
Men Wrote The Bible

Dear Men Wrote The Bible,

If the Bible were like any other book written by mere men, we could never trust it with our souls.  Thankfully, the Bible is unique.  The Bible claims to be authored by God who guided the hands of men by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:13, Eph 3:4-5).  Such a claim would be blasphemously ludicrous if the Bible didn’t back it up.  Consider these facts about the Bible:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.
2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.
3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.
4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.
5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

The Bible is perfect, and therefore, Jesus’ death and the law He gave through His apostles mean something.  That is why Paul said that the gospel was the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16).  The Bible is the perfect law given so that we might be forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice.