Where Are We Headed

By Vernon W. Hurst

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     During recent years that question has been asked repeatedly. Many are deeply concerned over the eventual outcome of existing trends. Some are predicting a Utopian tomorrow. Others are prophesying the complete catastrophic loss of all the spiritual good we inherited from the "Restoration Movement." These are dark days and "men's hearts are failing them because of fear."

     Where are we headed? Is there an answer which will enable us to face the future with any degree of assurance? I believe there is. In this article I propose to take a careful look at those existing factors which will determine our religions future. I shall do so by asking, and attempting to answer, some obvious questions.

     As proof of this we need only recall the history of his first chosen ones--the children of Israel. Their record is smeared with consistent rebellion and sin. Tracing their early history in their own land through the Book of Judges, we see them repeatedly turn away from God and fall, then return to Him and be exalted. It happened over and over again. They forgot the final admonition of Moses and each time they did they paid for it. Listen to this plea of Moses.

     When thou hast eaten and art full, then shalt thou bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God (Deut. 8:10-14).

     From this solemn admonition we learn that they faced the period of their greatest danger when they reached the point of their greatest strength. When they "had eaten and were full" their hearts were lifted up. When their hearts were lifted up they fell, they forsook God. But God never forsook them. When they sought Him on bended knee He always reached down to help them to their feet. This is manifest at the beginning of the regime of Solomon when he approaches the Lord on behalf of sinful Israel just before he led them to the height of their most glorious period (1 Kings 8:22-61). I urge you to take time out to read carefully this prayer which we have not the space to analyze.

     When, on the sun-baked plains of Babylon, we see the hearts of the people turning toward Zion, we may accept it as a fact that they were drawing near to the hour when God would reach out his hand to lead them back to Zion. Read Psalm 137. Having read it carefully, let us turn our hearts toward Zion as they did.

     What about today? Has God forsaken Israel? No! God is even yet willing to reach out his hand to them when they recognize their own weakness and approach Him on bended knee. Listen to Paul while he speaks hopefully of the future of God's first chosen people in Romans, chapter eleven.

     I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid (verse 1)...God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew (verse 2)...And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again (verse 23).

     An effort which started out to unite God's people has become so seriously divided against itself, that it dare decry division only among those unfamiliar with its true status. As we said in a previous article, the modern "Churches of Christ" carry the seed of their own eventual destruction in their division. It is a divine axiom that "A house divided against itself shall not stand." Let him deny that who can.

     Where are we headed? Under existing circumstances and with present attitudes we are headed toward a future where we will be able only to sustain that condition which thwarts the fulfillment of God's plan upon earth. Read John 17:20, 21. Without a change in attitude there is no hope that we may expect anything else from our future except strife and division. Like it or not, we must accept this fact, unpleasant as it may be to those accustomed to think of themselves as "the only true people of God."

     We are so utterly unaccustomed to dealing with our weaknesses and sins that some of the most orthodox among us seek refuge behind a facade of deceit and try to throw a mantle of secrecy over our shamefully divided condition. These people are not hypocrites! They are honest people whose backgrounds have conditioned their minds to defend "The Church of Christ" at all costs. To them, criticism of "The Church of Christ" is exactly parallel to criticism of Christ. I feel sure that those advocating such position do so from a heart filled with a desire to please God. The view they hold of the church requires that it be defended at all costs. They are honest, I am sure, but I am honestly sure they are mistaken!

     They forget, in their efforts to reach a decision on what to do about the divisions among "The Churches of Christ" that Israel constituted the people of God. The very name Israel meant "prince of God." The fact that they were referred to by that name, however, did not render them proof against criticism. True, they were "princes of God" but, as such, they were criticized all across the pages of inspiration. They were never closer to greatness than when they cried out in the anguish of remorse "We have sinned." They were never far from a fall when they boasted "The Lord is our God" and exulted in their

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conviction that He was the God of no one else.

     Yes, we have forsaken God. In the pride of our own accomplishments, we have exalted the church (ourselves) and have glorified intolerance as the chief of virtues. We can deny it but we cannot disprove it. The unerring hand of history has recorded our past. Our present confusion is the product of our confidence in ourselves and our lack of dependence upon God.

     Is there a way out? I believe with all my heart there is. It does not lie, however, in meeting with our brethren who disagree with us in an effort to convince them that truth lies with us. Truth, in an effective measure, does not lie with any of us so long as we seek to maintain the barriers that separate us. One fact we must face squarely. We have allowed ourselves to divide and division is a sin! The remedy for sin is the same as it has always been. Hear the words of Solomon:

     When the people of Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house, then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again into the land which thou gavest unto their fathers (1 Kings 8:33,34).

     The world is crying out for something--a rock to which they can cling in a day of crumbling values. Perhaps if we make ourselves aware of our own sins and turn back to God, renouncing our confidence in our own efforts and re-establishing our faith in Him as the source of our strength, the sin-weary world will listen to our plea. They will not overlook our division in the presence of which Christ said the world would not believe.

     We lack the wisdom to find the way out of our present dilemma. This became obvious when Alexander Campbell, in the closing years of his life, sought the answer to the storm clouds of division he saw rolling up on the horizon. It has been established conclusively during a hundred years of history. James says that he who lacks wisdom should seek it from God (James 1:5). In years past I have debated with a number of my brethren in an effort to get them to agree with me. I wish I had spent the time joining with them in prayer to God for wisdom to find the answer. The results have proven that we just did not have it!

     Let us, my beloved brethren, cease our search for a logical explanation of more than a century of failure. Let those of us who are interested in perpetuating God's will upon earth embrace every effort to be together, not to convince our fellows of the rightness of our interpretation, but to seek God's wisdom in order that we might actually become what we thought we were. Then we may expect the confusing clouds on today's horizon to fade away in the sunshine of a brighter tomorrow.

      The author of the foregoing article is Vernon Hurst, an evangelist who now resides at Cody, Wyoming, and is doing effective work for Christ in that area. He is the author of an excellent small book which is entitled, "Common Sense Approach to Bible Understanding." Written in simple language it will provide for you many interesting and helpful facts. It tells you how we got our English Bible, suggests proper tools for your own study of the sacred volume, and provides material for research in a list of supplemental books. You will enjoy the chapters dealing with the way to avoid confusion and what is meant by inspiration. We recommend this little book and urge you to send a dollar at once to secure a copy. Orders should be sent to Vernon Hurst, Post Office Box 622, Cody, Wyoming. Perhaps after having read your copy you will want to order additional ones for your friends.