Prologue

September 16, 2007 by Roger.

A Repetition Of History

There is nothing more difficult in religious matters than to restore a restoration
movement that has gone astray. Those who are of such movements often pride themselves
in the exactness of their doctrinal beliefs and “scriptural behavior,” and thus they
are often unapproachable in accepting the fact that they have lost their way and their
first love in reference to behavior. Add to this the fact that those of restoration movements
find it very difficult to confess that they have again laden themselves with cumbersome
traditions, the very thing which generated their movement in the first place.
But there is nothing historically new about this. From the time the Spirit shook the
residents of Jerusalem two thousand years ago, the church has undergone departures and
restorations, one of the first being a time in the first century when the early disciples
gave up their first love.
Before the close of the first century, it took the direct intervention of Jesus through
an inspired message to shake lethargic churches into the reality of their impending doom
because they had lost their way. Today, we are indirect recipients of those inspired
oracles, but the message has not changed. Unless lethargic Christians face the reality of
their loveless theology, lampstands will again be removed as churches vanish into the
abyss of being ineffective in their communities.
From statements made in inspired letters during the 60s of the first century, it seems
that the problem of lethargic and lazy disciples had arisen in the church. The apostasy
was so prevalent that it needed immediate attention. It needed such immediate attention
that inspired Scripture came forth from the Holy Spirit to deal specifically with indiffer-
(This series of blogs compose a book that carries the title, “Justified By Works.” )

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