International Gospel Hour

Announcer: Christianity—its teachings are simple and not complicated, taught by the Almighty. Today, let's see how simple New Testament Christianity really is. That's coming up from the International Gospel Hour.

J. Webb: Hi, this is J. Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, Churches of Christ have proclaimed God's word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archey of International Gospel Hour. Let's begin.

Jeff Archey: Thank you to our J. Webb and greetings to all of you. Great having you with us today for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." We want to follow the light, which is Jesus Christ, through the study of His word, and we wish to do that today.

We're going to talk about New Testament Christianity—its simplicity. We're going to do that in a moment, but first, we'll be back in about 30 seconds with a few words from our J. Webb.

J. Webb: The best way to reach us is our toll-free number at 855-444-6988. Would you take a moment and give us a call and tell us where you are listening to our broadcast?

Our number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just call 855-444-6988. That's 855-444-6988. Thank you so much and keep listening.

Jeff Archey: The church, as established by Christ through the divine agency of His Holy Spirit-guided apostles and Christianity, as revealed on the pages of the New Testament, was simple and uncomplicated. The church consisted of repentant, immersed believers who acknowledged Christ as the Son of God and their Savior and who were committed to following His teachings in all things.

Their only organization was simple, autonomous congregations overseen by a plurality of spiritually mature men known as bishops or elders or pastors. They gathered on the first day of every week to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; to eat the Lord's supper; to pray; to study and be instructed in the word of God; and to give of their financial means for the work of caring for the poor and needy and providing the funds needed to evangelize others with the gospel.

Their objective was to observe all that Christ had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20), to continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine (Acts 2:42), to do all in the name of the Lord by His authority and to His glory (Colossians 3:17), to walk in the steps of Christ (1 Peter 2:21), and to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29 and 2 Corinthians 3:18).

But alas, friends, the original simple way of Christ did not last. Anyone acquainted with the history of the apostasies in Christianity knows that over an extended period of time an elaborate hierarchy developed, culminating in the crowning of the first Pope in AD 606. Doctrines and practices strange to the New Testament began to be incorporated into the church.

These included the use of holy water, the doctrine of purgatory, instrumental music, infant baptism, the substitution of sprinkling for immersion, the worship of images, the veneration of Mary, the doctrine that when blessed by the priest (and the Bible teaches that all Christians are priests, 1 Peter 2:9) the elements on the Lord's table become the literal flesh and blood of Christ—the doctrine of transubstantiation—and a host of other doctrines and practices that evolved over the centuries and for which there is not the slightest precedent or authority in the Scriptures.

In time, a Protestant or "protest" Reformation movement and effort to correct was launched, leading to the formation of multiplied hundreds of denominations with scores of variations within each of these denominations. Rather than returning to the simplicity of the original church, these denominations retained many of the doctrines and practices of Catholicism and developed distinct doctrines and practices of their own.

Baptists differ from Methodists, and Presbyterians differ from Episcopalians. Lutherans differ from Pentecostals, and the entire system of denominationalism, both Catholic and Protestant, is an egregious affront to the unity for which Christ prayed and which He earnestly desires of those who profess to believe in and follow Him (John 17:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

Both Catholicism and Protestantism were born in apostasy and are the fruits of corrupting and departing from the standard of life, doctrine, and practice set forth in the New Testament. Everett Ferguson, in his book *Early Christians Speak: Faith and Life in the First Three Centuries*, recounts the simplicity of the church during those early centuries. There were many who held to the unadorned way of original Christianity.

While I do not know how many congregations down through the centuries continued to adhere to the simplicity of the New Testament way, it is not hard to believe that there were many who did so. Someone has observed that all the church needs is a book (the Bible, God's word), a table, a bottle of the fruit of the vine, and a loaf of unleavened bread.

If all denominations, both Catholic and Protestant, went out of business and closed their doors, simple New Testament Christianity would not be destroyed or vanish from the face of the earth. A number of years ago, I read an informative book titled *The Reformers and Their Stepchildren* by Leonard Verduin, a Calvinist.

Two questions he addressed rather extensively were: one, who was the true Corpus Christi, or the body of Christ, throughout history? And number two, are the New Testament Scriptures worth dying for? Those questions were important to several groups during the period of the Protestant Reformation.

Regardless of how many did or did not stay true to the apostolic pattern set forth in the New Testament, we know that seed in the natural realm produce after their kind and that the word of God, the seed of the kingdom (Luke 8:11), produces after its kind. It will produce in any century what it produced in the first century: plain, undenominational Christians and simple, undenominational congregations or churches of God or Christ.

Today, the Churches of Christ are pleading for a return to the simplicity of the New Testament church. They are organized in the same way as were congregations of which we read in the New Testament. They worship in the same New Testament way and plead for a "Thus saith the Lord" in all that they teach, believe, and practice. We refer you to Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17, 1 Peter 4:11, and Jude 3.

Instead of belittling the restoration plea and questioning the possibility of undenominational Christianity down through the ages, we need to recommit ourselves and redouble our efforts to proclaiming the New Testament way and to following that way without fear or hesitation and without addition, subtraction, or substitution.

Consider the following illustration that shows both the validity and the reality of simple, original New Testament Christianity in this present age. If I want to grow watermelons at my house today, I do not have to have an unbroken watermelon vine stretching down through all the millennia from the Garden of Eden to my house. All I have to do is plant watermelon seeds at my house today. They will produce at my house today what they have always produced: watermelons.

In a similar way, to have the undenominational church of the New Testament in the 21st century, we do not need an unbroken line of faithful congregations stretching down through all the centuries from the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 to the present. All we have to do is plant the seed: the word of God (Luke 8:11). It will produce in the 21st century what it produced in the first century: undenominational congregations or churches of the Lord.

May our world come to see the beauty of Christ and the simplicity of the church for which He gave His life and shed His blood (Acts 20:28). I am indebted to my friend and brother, Hugh Fulford, for this wonderful article titled, "The Simplicity of New Testament Christianity."

Christianity is simple. But so many times we have become confused with this teaching or that teaching. Maybe you have found yourself in something you've heard on our broadcast that prompts you to study the Scripture or to ask, "Is where I go to church teaching those things? Am I understanding the truth on these matters?"

That's why we love to share good study material with you. We have a very special free booklet that we'd like to send you. We don't want your money. We're not going to ask you for anything or any type of gift to send us. We want you to have this absolutely free. In light of our study today, here is our J. Webb with the details of how you can receive the free booklet, *Something is Wrong, but the Bible is Right*.

J. Webb: In a world of division and even confusion in the religious world, friends, please know this: the Bible is always right. The free booklet, *Something is Wrong, but the Bible is Right*, is available from International Gospel Hour.

Please call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, your address, and just say, "Bible tract." That's it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the contact tab and leave us the same information—name, address—and type "Bible tract" in the message box. We will get it to you right away.

Jeff Archey: Friends, we want to send you that free booklet, *Something is Wrong, but the Bible is Right*. It helps to clear the air of a lot of misunderstandings and false teaching. In light of the study today with brother Fulford about New Testament Christianity and its simplicity, we want to encourage you to always turn back to the Bible for our answers.

We desire everyone to be a member of the church of which we read in the New Testament, and we want to help you toward that end. From time to time, we receive a call from folks looking for a Church of Christ in their area. If we can be of help to you in that regard, we'd like for you to call us at 855-444-6988 and let us know that you're looking for a Church of Christ in your area.

Please give us your name and all. We will return your call and talk with you about that. We just don't pass numbers along to churches, friends. We're very concerned for our listeners and we'd like to protect your privacy as you would like for that to be done, but we'll help you in any way possible.

We'll continue these studies together at another time. I appreciate you joining me today here on our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I'm Jeff Archey and, friends, keep listening.

J. Webb: Thank you for listening to our broadcast today and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God's word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.