Arizona republican., 1901-01-28
THE CHURCH OT CHRIST.

Text. Neh. vi, 3. Said Mr. Rice, the nast-r: This, the third sermon in the series on what we believe and teach as . religious people. beg;n by asking, Is the teaching of Christ authoritative and have WIG His teaching today? That it is authoritative none wIll deny. This being true, have We His teaching today? A bit of History will help us to answer the question intelligently. The guide of the church for about 3oo years at the beginning of the Christian e.a was the teachings of Christ by the apostles. II was united church church of Christ in JerU2alem, Corinth. etc. They had internal and external troubles, but they wcre one Dcnomi- na;ionalism had no. blen born, sectlsm was not tolerated. Had no human name. They were brcthren at Antioch, Rome, etc. At the end Of 300 years Paul's man ui sin made his I2pelTance GIT Thcss. il, 3-f) For l,2OO years every movement was away from Christ. This corruption originating in the church Christian liberty soon degcn- cratcl into iiccnss; men began to make laws and write Crccds, tradition was readily acceptc, Christ and the bible ! lost sight of by Cn. Martin Luther the poor monk. in she sixteenth century aw Ike the world from its slumber. He nc.de an earnest struggle to reform the chur n with which le Was identified; he did not conceive the thought of Eo- ! ing hack to C.rlst. Another church or | ganiZation resDHed. SO we could speak of Cd:vir Knox, Wesley and oth- | CTS. N-He Of these great refOrmers 1 thought of spanning intervening space | to the primitive church, hence one or | Ganlzation followed another built on l dogmas ard S-eeds of men.
 | Another movement had it's bsgin- | ming in Martin Lutherc day in the | teachings of Zwin6li. the Swiss preach Ter. Luther overshad0wed him, but the | gaed was soWn, and the restoration movement had it's beginning, and just
 before the beginning of the nineteenth century there was a turning of many | minds to Christ and primitive Chris ! tilnity and they were far separatcd- 1 Kentucky. Virginia, maritime prov 1 inces. etc. They wanted no creed but | the bible. Then came the Creaths.
 Scott, Campbell and others at the be-
 ginning of the last century. Let me
 give you what see in the movement toward Christ and primitive Christian | ity from Marlin Luther:
 "1. reliscovcry of the bible.
 "2. Tine rctiiscovery of the Christ
 "3 The redsccYery of the New Tes- | lament church.
 For this last we stand. A few points: The Church of Christ began ar Jerusalem A. D., Si. Not in Germany l with Luther or in America by Camp
 betl, etc. Christ $ the head. not | Campbell, Calvin, etc, hence we have
 faith in Christ, not crceds. Our con
 fessi0n is Christ is tfe Son of God,
 not articles of faith. We believe in faith, repentance, confession and hap
 tism as equal coalitions in the plan
 of salvation. We believe the name Christian to be SufIiclent and would he
 glad to have all the Christian world
 known onlyfby it. We have 10 patent
 cn it. We plead for the teachings Of
 Christ alone, and in this we occupy the
 only ground upon which all Christians
 can unitC-Gnr Lord, ore faith, one
 baptism, I desire m higher honor CT
 cart hthan to be spent in this work
 nor greater glory in heaven than the
 result of such labors."