Many years ago I visited the little mountain town of Ellijay, GA. An elderly gentleman gave me a tour of the area. Our drive took us to a spot high an Appalachian mountain. Parking the car, he led me to a bubbling spring that gushed from the rocky ground. Taking a small cup from his pocket, he filled it with the crystal water and said, "Have a drink from the Tennessee River." That pure water not only quenched my thirst, it provided me an illustration I have used hundreds of times since. No one in his right mind would drink the water from the great Tennessee River that flows through the valleys on its way to the Mississippi. Sewerage systems, chemical plants, industrial waste, agricultural and road run-off foul its water, making it unsafe to drink without purification. However, if one makes his way back to the source, it is pure, clean and wholesome.
This aptly illustrates the situation in modern Christianity. In the beginning, when the Word of the Lord went forth from Jerusalem, it was pure sweet and wholesome, bringing only the richest blessings to those who partook of it. As years passed and the gospel spread across the face of the earth, changes began to creep in. There is something about the human mind that leaves us unsatisfied with what has come from the past. We are always trying to improve on such things. Men thought they could improve on the religion of Christ. For some that meant creating a governing body to control the life of the church and her members. Others sought to improve the worship, by incorporating practices and customs popular with the newly converted masses. Still others felt the need to enhance the church's power by moving her into the political realm. Some found the original doctrinal basis of the church too simplistic. They sought to make it more philosophical. In time there came the splintering of the church into hundreds of competing bodies, some large, some small. The current situation in the world of Christendom is like that polluted river.
When one reads his New Testament, he sees Christianity as it was in the beginning; pure, undiluted. One marvels at the simplicity and beauty of the message: a message of personal salvation; of encouragement to live the Christ-like life and avoid those things that will alienate one from God. There he finds a church without all the modern accouterments: no political power, no wealth, no real estate, no social standing, and no entertainment. There we see the church in her true glory as the family of God, the bride of Christ, the kingdom of God, the body of Christ. In the Book of Christ, we discover the real power of the Christian message to change the world for good. It is addressed to the individual. Like leaven, the heavenly message goes from life to life changing people's hearts into the likeness of Christ. No physical force is ever used, no political or legal coercion is found. The servants of the Lord go forth with a message and seek to win the hearts and minds of humanity.
Today with our Bibles in hand, we can make our way back to
