In the late 17th century several men from various parts of the U. S. began calling for a return to the Bible as the sole authority in matters of religion. There was no single person or organization serving as the center of this effort. Men were motivated in part by their desire to achieve unity among believers and saw the impossibility of this while adhering to manmade creeds and human organizations. Early on the people associated with this effort referred to it as a Reformation but later it was referred to as the Restoration Movement.
One desire behind restoration was to break from the denominational organizations of human origin, which resulted in division among believers. The problem began in the first century as was prophesied in the New Testament (see 2 Thess. 2:3ff; I Timothy 4:1ff; 2 Timothy 4:3ff; 2 Peter 2:1ff). This falling away, brought about by false teaching, led to the development of the Roman Catholic Church (between the third and sixth century). Various efforts to reform or break away from the Roman Catholic Church were suppressed or put down over the centuries until the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century.
The Protestant Reformation fell short of making a full return to the New Testament. The result of their efforts, rather than uniting on truth, was to splinter into several new denominations. The desire to reform based on Bible teachings continued to influence later generations until the Restoration Movement was born.
One goal for many of the men proclaiming the “restoration of the ancient order” was the unity of believers, which Jesus prayed for in John 17. Jesus prayed,
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
These men saw the need to base unity on the teaching of Jesus and not on that of men. The principle of restoration is found in the book of 2 Kings. Lord willing, we will look at that next week.
—Denny