“A belief system that is correctly structured on the bible is a necessity if one does not want to be duped into following the crowd.”

Sola Foundation

Doctrine is “a belief or set of beliefs,…that are taught and accepted by a particular group.” These beliefs are adhered to in such a manner as to influence the conduct of individuals within the group and ultimately the group as a whole. Knowing that “doctrine” or a “system of belief” was important I kept searching. Being a Protestant Christian I concluded that I needed to go back to the Reformation as it seemed that was where all the reputable theologians and religious thinkers heralded from.

Neo-Calvinism or “Young, Restless and Reformed” as it was tagged by the ‘Old Guard’ Calvinists. The Likes of John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, David Platt, Francis Chan, and numerous others were the spokesmen for this move within the reformed element. If one was desirous of being a good protestant Christian you have to know where you came from hence the interest in the Reformation.

I learned about the 5 Solas; sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone). I learned about Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints (TULIP in Reformed Theology). I watched as my favorite preachers’ congregations grew and exploded into the “multi-site” phenomenon that is so popular now in the mega-church venues.

Hearing the Gospel

Adventism had a major influence on me and its impact is still with me today. The final break occurred around Y2K when I was in my early twenties. There was an overlap with Messianism for about two years and for the next 6 years. For eight years I considered myself Messianic. The deconstruction of this stream occurred around 2007 and it was at this point that I heard “The Gospel Message” for the first time from a Reformed Baptist Missionary/Evangelist named Paul Washer.

I still remember how I felt. “Why have I not heard this before?” “It’s so simple, why is it not preached by everyone?” “Why has not everyone heard it?” The Good News that Christ reconciled us…ME…back to GOD. It was a personal message with a personal application. I hadn’t heard it so clearly and purely since I was eight years old. Yet this time I had the intellectual capacity to comprehend its significance for my life.

It was like a breath of fresh air listening to these preachers of the “true Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The doctrinal exposition of scripture was very encouraging. Knowing that God had chosen me to be elect and that there was nothing that I had done in the past or could do in the present that would change that reality was liberating. Many take this “new found liberty” as license to sin but I never did. I understood that I was saved by grace, through faith, all of which is a gift of God and that I was a “new creation” “created unto good works” for to bring “glory to God.”

History Repeats

The big $5.00 theological words and concepts of scripture that were discovered from the learned men of the Reformation and the Church Fathers filled my head and planted the seeds of pride and arrogance. “No-one really, truly understands what they are even reading in scripture,” I often thought to myself. It wasn’t long before I found myself in a similar position in which I started. The attitude of US vs. THEM which was so prevalent in my previous two religious excursions.

In Middle School I once asked my dad if he thought history was linear or cyclical, does it progress along a line or does it repeat. His response was, “What do you think?” I said, “I think it’s linear. It has a start and finish.” “Interesting” he said. There is a quote that gets dug up and often repeated during election cycles that goes like this, more or less, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Based on my experience I can attest to the fact that history repeats along a linear progression, and that is interesting. It was like my life was a record and someone had cut a groove in it. The same line kept repeating itself, “Here you go again!”

Deconstruction #3

What was it this time? Where was the “hang-up”? Why can’t I get it right? Damn the Devil!

Soon I began to idolize some of the personalities within this branch. I didn’t agree with all their teachings but most of it made better sense than alternative proposals (i.e. eschatology, soteriology, christology, ecclesiology, etc just big words for study of the “end times, salvation, the person of Christ, and the church.) The common link from which all these reformation bodies came from was a man named Augustine. Investigating him I learned that he was revered by Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox alike to greater or lesser degrees.

This investigation led to the “Church Fathers” as they are called, of the Ante Nicene, Nicene, and Post Nicene periods. Not to get stuck on definitions and explanations I’ll move this narrative along a bit. The majority of the decade of 2010-’20 was spent treading around in reformed waters.

Intermissions

In 2008 various books and teachings came across my lap. The “deliverance ministry” aspect of Christianity was one subject that peaked my interest. It wasn’t long and I was casting demons out of my car, Satan was actively fighting against my education, and a spirit of unemployment had attached to me. Well…not really, but these are the extremes to which “deliverance ministry” can lead. I was able to see clear of becoming completely enveloped in this stream and I stayed just long enough to “try the soup.” The stock is good but there are a lot of bones to be spit out.

During the intermission in 2019-20 more books and teachings entered my library. At any given period I’m reading three hard bound books, half a dozen digital books, articles, periodicals, and blogs by the dozens and journaling all at the same time. This wealth of information reveals to me that there are many, many different views on any given topic and they cannot all be right, but they all could possibly be wrong.

With that enlightenment I encountered the “Restoration movement.”

Restoration

One might say that I came back around to my origins by landing in a “Restoration” church, i.e. the church of Christ. However I would argue that with everything experienced thus far I had moved beyond religious disillusionment. Investigate everything was/is my motto. Most important was some personal investigation that was much needed.

I had to learn who I was in order to know what I was to be. In 2018 I received my Bachelors’ Degree, I knew what I was educated to be but I wasn’t sure who I wanted to be. Not to mention employers aren’t exactly knocking down the door of a 40+ year old disabled veteran with an Environmental Science degree.

It was time for me to get to know this person whom I knew so much about. Participating in and investigating the “restoration movement” was more about restoring myself than learning about a movement. Religious affiliations had left me open, thread bare, vulnerable and not in a good way. The enchantment of seeking and searching in these groups and affiliations for an identity soon turned to disappointment. Honestly disappointment is not a strong enough word for how I feel toward collective Christian groups and organizations, abhorrent and repugnant come to mind.

The holiness, wonder, and awe of God is not taught from any of them. The fear of God is lacking in presentation and most definitely in application. The love of God and toward God is unknown. If one wants to know the only one worth knowing you have to envelop yourself in his word. You cannot develop a relationship with God if you are not willing to relate with Him. You will never know who you are until you know who God is.

Reconstruction

I began reading the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When I finished I read them again, and then again, and then again…and I’m still reading them over and over and over again today. Scripture is precious to me now in a way it never was before. In the past it was important because it was THE BOOK that contained the very WORDS of God but now it is important because it contains the REVELATION of God. You can know the words that someone writes but never know the one who writes them, but when you encounter that individual the words take on a whole new meaning.

Why would God choose the Bible as the only revelation of himself? Surely there’s other ways in which he reveals himself? Maybe, maybe not. For me the question is not why not many paths? but rather why any path at all? God didn’t have to. He’s God and he can do whatever he wants. We all know the stories of the “ancient gods,” they’re just like us, prone to anger, rage, fits of jealousy, lust, full of falsehoods and half truths, conniving, greedy, selfish.

The God of the Bible is the One and Only True God, the God of Creation, the Creator God. He does not share his glory or throne with any other god. These other gods are all pretenders, they are no gods, they are created beings. Beings created by the minds of men in the likeness of men to approve ungodly man in their ungodly deeds. Contrary to what culture and society attempts to sell us, there is a right and a wrong way, there is such a thing as truth and that is absolutely true.

“Restoration” is not about a movement that occurred in history it is about learning and walking in your true identity. I’ve investigated and weighed the historical movement and like those that preceded it I find it lacking. All these streams of religious persuasion have commonalities, they propagate information to help you become WHAT you want to be or think you want to be. They are self orientated and self motivated and dare I say self sufficient to the degree that they do not rely on or depend on God.

Religion as manifest today through the various streams and denominations truly is a man-made, self centered and self aggrandizing construct. One in which man, who is created in the image of God, returns the favor, constructing God in his own image. But we are supposed to be a “new creation.” We are the “called out ones,” the Ekklesia.

Ekklesia, New Creation

To be called out is to separate from that which is a conglomeration. How difficult it is to be “called out” when you are following the crowd that has been “called in” to a central location to form a particular group under a particular banner of so called truth. Lest you get the impression that I do not think church or the gospel or assembling together are important or essential to Christian growth and maturity let me set the record straight.

If by church you mean that which Jesus referred to when said the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” and by the Gospel you mean that which the apostles preached pertaining to repentance, the kingdom of God, the life of Jesus the Messiah and working out your own salvation through faith and good works; and by assembling together you mean any moment believers come together to encourage, comfort, instruct, love and share one another’s burden…Then yes, these are most important and most essential.

Anything more than these being an addition to scripture or anything short of this being less than the standard of scripture are…what were the words I used earlier? Oh Yes! Abhorrent and repugnant. Such also is the status quo. Suffice it to say denominational religions and organizations have left me high and dry in comparison to what I have discovered in the Lord through his word.

Fret Not

I do not regret my past experiences, I regret certain choices made. I have had to take the long way around the mountain to get to the path that leads to the summit meaning I failed more often than I succeeded. I regret but I do not fret. Around the mountain I went but there are many people who have been camping at the base for decades, they have not sought the path nor ascended on it. They consider residing at basecamp to be as satisfying as reaching the summit. They have never scaled the heights and planted their flag as a son or daughter of God. Rather they have relinquished their identity and capitulated to the identity of the group.

“Base-campers are us!!”

We often become comfortable and complacent thinking we have obtained and attained. But those are just “whats” attempting to tell us “who.” Only God knows “who” we are and he reveals that to whosoever truly desires him. If I were comfortable I could have stayed at any one of these experiences over the last 30 years, but that’s not the way God wired me. I’m a seeker of the who no matter what.

“A belief system that is [founded in Christ] is a necessity if one does not want to be [found lost] in the crowd.”