Forest Grove Christian Church
Forest Grove Christian Church
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The Christian Church is part of what is known as the Restoration Movement, or the “Stone-Campbell Movement,” which began in the early 1800’s in the United States. Most churches in Europe at that time were ‘state churches.’ The church and government united in ruling the people, and politics was used to divide the people. If people disagreed with the 'official' teaching of the state church, they were persecuted. Many early settlers to the America's were escaping religious persecution. The United States Constitution forbid the government from establishing a ‘state church.’ This freedom to worship God without government interference, allowed individuals to study the Bible with new found freedom. The problem was that when Europeans came to America, churches continued to be divided by the political divisions of their home country.
The Restoration Movement sought to have only the Bible as a rule of faith, not tradition or government policy, or a man made creed. The goal was to restore basic beliefs and practices found within the New Testament. It was the Bible which all Christians held as authoritative, therefore the Bible would be the book to determine beliefs and practices of Christians. Two of the early slogans to emphasis the Scriptures would be the only document upon which believers would rally around were: "Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent." and "In Faith Unity, In Opinions Liberty, In All Things Love."
Thomas and Alexander Campbell, father and son, and Barton W. Stone were key leaders in restoring Biblical doctrines and practices to the church. They studied the Bible extensively and were publishers of widely distributed newspapers through which they sought to debate Biblical themes. There were many ministers and congregations during the early 1800’s who were questioning why Christians could not unite simply around the New Testament and rid themselves of the 'old world' divisiveness. The journals of Stone and Campbell and others helped to fuel this move to having the Scriptures as the only rule of faith and practice. From New England to the wilderness area of Pennsylvania and into the southern states, congregations began to focus on following the teachings found within the Bible. The Old Testament was seen as the foundation for the church; sometimes called the “School Teacher” in regards to Christians gaining an understanding of who God was, his faithfulness, holiness, et. al. As important as the Old Testament is, Christians are not bound by the laws found within it. Christians follow the laws and teachings of the New Testament.
Because the focus was to ‘restore’ the church as it was in the beginning; the movement became known as the “Restoration Movement.” Because of the focus upon the New Testament, sometimes churches are called “New Testament Churches.” What were they going to call this new movement? Acts 11:26 - “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” Acts 26:28 - “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ ” 1 Peter 4:16 - “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” Because of these Bible verses those who sought to follow just the New Testament teachings began to call themselves ‘Christian.’ [Another early slogan was: "Not the only Christians, but Christians only."]
Jesus referred to those who would be believers in him as being part of a church, or "ekklesia" which means 'called out ones.' The first reference to the church in the New Testament is found in Matthew 16:18 (vs. 13 - 19) - “‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church...’” This was in response to Jesus asking the disciples who they thought he was in Verse 15; Peter spoke up and said that Jesus was the Christ (vs. 16). The ROCK Jesus is referring to in Verse 18 is not Peter (Petros - little stone); but, Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ (Petra - large mass of stone). The church is built on the foundational, immovable stone, that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. In Acts 2 Peter used the keys to him to open the door to Jews to be saved by their faith in Jesus Christ; 3,000 were baptized for the forgiveness of sin upon their confession of faith. In Acts 10 Peter used the keys to open the door for Gentiles to be saved by their faith in Jesus when Cornelius believed the Gospel and was baptized. Peter had the privilege of opening the doors, removing any barriers that prevented one from being saved by their faith in Jesus Christ. Peter was equal in authority with the other Apostles as demonstrated in Acts 15 where the church discussed Gentiles being acceptable to God by faith in Jesus Christ without a need to follow the Mosaic Law. There are 79 references to those who believed in Jesus being part of a ‘church.'
Some congregations go by the name ‘Church of Christ’, while others use ‘Christian Church’ as their identification.
Congregations known as ‘Christian Church’ or ‘Church of Christ’ hold to several basic doctrines:
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