Facing the Facts

By Vernon W. Hurst

[Page 11]

     The average man likes to think he is an independent thinker. He likes to believe his conclusions are always based upon a cool analysis of all pertinent facts. A careful scrutiny of the actual situation will reveal a state of affairs far less flattering to the average individual. From trying to analyze my own thinking, from correspondence and conversation with others, I know I am embarking upon a highly unpopular trend of thought. I do not do so because I want to, but because my conscience tells me I must. I shall face, with God's help, any retaliatory action of those I love.

     Most of my adult years have been spent in furthering the cause of "The Church of Christ." I am not conscious that I have ever backed away when this institution, which I have loved with every fiber of my being, has been under attack. The extent to which I have defended her has been determined by my ability, and not by the desires of my heart. I think I now must feel somewhat as did the great apostle to the Gentiles when he had forced upon his consciousness the fact that his zeal for God had been directed toward tearing down the very thing he wanted to build up.

     I plead with those who read this to hear me out. I have resolved I will love you without respect to any feelings this article may generate in your hearts toward me. Please call every facility at your command into play in an effort to eliminate prejudice from your thinking. I make this request, not because of any effect your reaction may have toward me, but because of the effect it may have on our posterity.

     The Church of Christ, as we know it, can not, in and of itself, be God's kingdom on earth.

     The Church of Christ, in its present form, is inevitably doomed to desolation.

     For you to accept the above conclusions just because I have stated them would deny the presence of any real convictions in your heart. For you to refuse to carefully consider, in the light of God's Word, the reasons upon which I base my conclusions would cast serious doubt upon your honesty. I plead with you, then, to do the only honorable thing open to you. Be honest enough to consider my reasons in the light of heaven's truth. If they are valid, be courageous enough to accept them without fear of the consequences. If I am wrong, love me enough to set my feet upon the path that leads to heaven.

     I do not believe the Church of Christ, as we now know it, can, in and of itself, he God's kingdom on earth, for the following reasons:

1. It is a kingdom divided against itself, and as such, is destined to he laid waste.
2. It is a house divided against itself, and as such, is doomed to go down.

     "Knowing their thoughts, he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand."

     That the Church of Christ, as we know it, is a kingdom divided against itself, no honest and informed person will waste one minute of his time trying to deny. Having admitted this fact, seeking to deny it is doomed to be laid waste, is denying the only basis upon which true Christian faith must be founded.

     Once the above facts are admitted as evidence, nothing more is required to establish, as justifiable, my conclusion that "the Church of Christ" as we know it, can not, in and of itself, "be God's kingdom on earth." Why is this true? It is true because God's kingdom is to stand forever. A quotation from the Old Testament scriptures, and another from the New, will establish this as fact beyond question.

     "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Dan. 2: 44).
     And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:33).

     Here, then, is the undeniable proof of my first conclusion. It is based upon what is clearly stated in God's Word.

     1. God's kingdom was designed to stand forever.

     2. The Church of Christ, as we know it, is divided against itself many times, and thus carries within itself the seed of eventual destruction.

     Therefore, The Church of Christ, as we know it, can not be, in and of itself, God's kingdom.

     My second conclusion, that the Church of Christ, in its present form, is doomed to desolation, has already been established. It is a kingdom divided, and we have shown that Christ made it abundantly clear that such a kingdom is headed for desolation. It can not be denied that the Church of Christ is divided against itself more than a score of times. Once that is established, its end is as clear as the words of our Lord. It must eventually be laid waste.

     Unless I am terribly mistaken, it is now clear that those who seek to defend the Church of Christ in its present divided condition are, consciously or unconsciously, seeking to defend her in that which must eventually destroy her. If the divided condition of Protestantism called for a Restoration Movement, then the divided condition of the Church of Christ calls for a Restoration Movement. Let him deny it who can.

     Sad experience has taught me what the reaction of some is going to be. A cry will go up that, "Hurst is advocating that we just compromise and endorse anything and everything." This I deny. I am rather contending that there must be a correction of everything that fails to meet with the approval of God's Word. I am insisting, however, that division has been denied us as a means of correcting it!

     In this article I have made no effort to set forth a solution. I have sought to point out the grave nature of the problem we face. A problem so serious that we must correct it or face the inevitable consequence of death when the unerring hand of history writes "Finis" to our scene in the great religious drama of our time.