Carlisle church of Christ

In Matthew 16:18, we read that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the earth to build His church. On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, we see the birth of this church as about three thousand people were baptized in response to the gospel call to follow Jesus Christ (Acts 2:37-42). This number continued to grow, with the Lord “adding daily to the church those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The book of Acts follows this church and its growth, which spread from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to all ends of the world. The glorious church of our Lord Jesus Christ has been alive and well on the earth ever since, preaching and teaching the Truth of our Lord, setting men and women free (John 8:32).

The church of Christ is motivated by the spirit of restoration - that is, wanting to restore our individual relationships with God through His son Jesus and wanting to restore the Truth of the New Testament church in our modern world. Even during the 1st century, the apostles warned the church about false teachers and false teachings (for example, see Acts 20:28, Galatians 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 4:1-4, 2 Peter 2, Jude). These teachings, over time and space, have crept into the precious truths that Jesus Christ brought to the world. This isn’t a surprise, however, seeing as Paul warned us of this in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 when he wrote “No wonder! For Satan himself transforms into an angel of light.” Over time, these small changes became large and the church that Jesus built looked less and less like it did when it began so many years ago.

The plea to restore the practice of God’s truth is not uncommon if you turn to the Bible. King Josiah restored true worship (2 Kings 22-23). King Hezekiah restored truth too (2 Chronicles 29-30). Throughout time, there have always been faithful men and women who strive to keep the Truth of God pure and restore the practice of the people when it becomes cluttered with the ways of the world.