A Lesson from History

      I have recently been reading a book entitled God’s Secretaries by Adam Nicolson, which is generally about the times and translators of the 1611 King James Version of the Bible.

      In the past, I have usually been more interested in simply studying the Bible than worrying much about the religious history. I was aware of religious persecution going on in England and Europe that led to Separatist groups heading for the New World. However, I never studied the real issues.

      While I certainly do not agree with some of the particular doctrinal positions of these early Presbyterian and Puritan Separatists, I was amazed to find that the overall disagreements centered on two issues—Bible Authority and Church Organization.

      In particular, the issues regarding Bible authority were that the Puritans believed the Bible should govern the church and not the other way around. Further, and this was the biggie, they believed churches should look for Bible authority to allow action and not Bible condemnation to stop action.

      Regarding church organization, the Puritans believed each congregation should be autonomous, governed by scripture and submitting only to the head of the universal church, Jesus Christ.

      Does any of that sound familiar?

      Sadly, since England’s king was head of England’s church, speaking against his authority over the church was considered treason. Many Separatists were fined, imprisoned, tortured or executed. These people were willing to die for principles which today we often describe as nitpicking. Wow.

      Amazingly, many in these religious groups made there way to the Americas. In time, they all began to organize with variations on the Catholic and Anglican structure. They all began to write creeds to govern the churches. In time, men began to separate again and proclaim the Bible as the sole authority and the need for congregationally autonomous organization. We call it the Restoration Movement and sometimes act as though the principles it taught were completely foreign to religious history. They aren’t.

      What are the lessons here? First, history repeats itself. The second, there is nothing new under the sun. Do not be surprised that others who ought to know better leave the ancient faith of the scripture for man-made organizations and creeds. It has always happened that way and always will.

      However, we must always be prepared to stand up in the face of persecution and mockery. These issues are not new. They are not nitpicking. They are important and we must always stand by our head Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23) and His word (II Timothy 3:16-17).

Edwin L. Crozier