Ephesians 4:1-6 · 1 Corinthians 1:10
Pure and Simple Christianity
This sermon calls the church away from denominationalism toward unity centered solely on Christ, emphasizing the simplicity of the gospel and the essential matters of faith found in Scripture.
Introduction
This brief series has been a call to think in nondenominational ways. Christ’s church is not a denomination. Christ’s church is made up of all those who have expressed their faith in repentance, baptism, and commitment to him who is the head—Jesus Christ. Too often we defend that which does not need defending. Too often our thinking reflects more of an “us” versus “them” mentality. This last lesson is a call to pure and simple Christianity. It is a call to come to Christ and him alone. And with this call comes the understanding that when one comes to Christ, he is one of many who belong to the family of God. There is truly only one church. But Christ’s church has over time become splintered and fragmented. This is a call for Christ’s church to come together. This is a call that the only means of unity is to center on Christ. And while this message is relegated to 100, we can make a difference in perception for the 100’s more that will see and hear the message that we proclaim.
Strengths of Restoration
I have chosen to use a word tonight which I have intentionally avoided until now. It is the word restoration. For those of us who are older it is a loaded word. It is a word which we have heard and understand in a historical movement which in America began in the 19th century. For those who are younger, much of that history is lost. And the word means to restore that which has been damaged in some way. I am not going to get into the historical. As important as that is, there is one truth which came from that historical movement which we still need to preserve and that is restoration is an ongoing process. It is never finished. Every generation must restudy to recapture God’s original intent for his church. Because as has been seen throughout history, as soon as a group believes that the process of restoration is complete then that group quickly declines into a fellowship whose loyalty is to preserving rather than to Christ. This is when the group becomes a denomination. So we must continue the process of restoring God’s intent for his church.
There are several strengths of this call for restoration. First, it allows us to make an impassioned plea to those outside of Christ who are fed up with religion and the hoops one must jump through in order to be in relationship with Jesus. Denominations whose sole purpose is to perpetuate a set of beliefs rather than inspire faith in Jesus push people away. Denominations enslave people. This call for restoration allows us to demonstrate the simplicity of the gospel and the need to follow only Jesus not a set of beliefs and standards set by man. The plea of restoration is to call people to commit themselves to Jesus. The plea exalts scripture alone as the source of knowledge of God and his will.
Second, the restoration plea is one of simplicity. The only creed is Christ. The only written document which has any binding authority is the Bible. Our faith is not measured by another’s standard. Salvation is found only in Christ not some religious group. Whenever a person in faith submits to Christ in repentance and baptism, that person is added to Christ’s church. No one has to vote on his/her religious experience. It doesn’t matter what kind of water a person is baptized in or where the water is or what words are said over him when he is baptized or who baptized the person. What matters is that the person understands that their baptism is in response to Jesus and that it is a matter of personal faith. A person who has never heard of the idea of restoration can be a Christian. Whoever is baptized according to the Great Commission in response to the message of divine grace is a New Testament Christian. There is only one church. It is the universal church. It is Christ’s church. A person who is saved becomes a part of that church. It is not that a person becomes a member of a church which leads to salvation but the other way around. God adds the saved to his church. God’s church is not limited by a building or a piece of property. There is no church sign which adequately captures that idea, but it is an idea which must come from God’s children as we explain the nature of salvation and the gospel.
Third, the restoration plea entails a humble attitude in seeking unity. A person can be a Christian without having heard about restoration. But our call is that we all become members of the same church which Peter, James, John, and Paul were members of. That we all come to believe on the same Jesus, obey the same gospel, and share the one faith with others. We are not calling people to become part of a new denomination. We are not asking people to change a current denomination. We ask for all to stand together as members of God’s church.
Weaknesses of Restoration
So why hasn’t this plea been very successful? I would suggest that one of the reasons is that this plea is often understood to be mean spirited and sectarian. Jesus and the apostles communicated well the beauty of God’s love. The message when heard led many to accept the gospel believing that there would be acceptance from others. Too many times the ones who need to hear and receive the gospel have believed that they weren’t good enough. Part of that is our lack of humility. Part of that is the distortion of sin. But we must present the gospel in its simplicity expecting and trusting that a person will obey the gospel and not jump through hoops which we or organized religion have set up for them.
We are to present the essential matters of faith. Paul’s statement in Ephesians 4 is a good place to start. Unity is given to us. We are to maintain it. These essentials in Ephesians 4 will help us maintain our unity. But our unity is preserved when our attitudes are those of humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love.
The other reason that this restoration plea hasn’t been very successful is that too often the focus is on issues rather than Christ. Faith is in Jesus not a set of beliefs nor in a particular group. The focus of Christianity is on Christ. Paul pleaded for the Corinthians (1:10) to not allow the divisions to remain. Denominationalism is wrong. God doesn’t want it. Having loyalties around a set of beliefs or a person other than Jesus is wrong. Our baptism is in the name of Jesus. The name we wear bears the title, Christ. Our faith is to be exclusively focused on Jesus.
Are there no issues worthy of discussion? Of course there are issues that need to be discussed. Any number of issues are worth our time and effort. However, most issues are not about essentials but rather discussions over things which may be either opinion or nonessentials to salvation. Any discussion of issues which is not done in a spirit of love and humility will divide. Any discussion which takes away from faith in Christ is wrong. Forcing a person to accept a certain position on an issue in order to accept Christ is wrong. Examples include social drinking and Christian perspectives on war.
The gospel is good news. Everyone who admits their sin and recognizes that they are lost knows that something has to get them out of the miry clay of sin. Faith expressed in repentance and baptism results in the fulfillment of God’s promise to add us to his family, the church. Our plea is to leave behind denominational thinking and practice. Our focus is to be only on Jesus. The challenge of living with and for Christ is sufficient without adding other challenges related to a set of beliefs which are from man. If we will remember that we are trying to lead people to Jesus and not to a religious group or practice, then we will present the gospel with humility, love, and acceptance pleading for people to come to the only one who can save—Jesus who is the Christ.
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