The Church, the Falling Away, and the Restoration

by J. W. Shepherd

The matter of joining the Redstone Association was laid before the Brush Run Church in the fall of 1813. They discussed the propriety of the measure. After much discussion and earnest desire to be directed by the wisdom that cometh down from above, they finally concluded to make an overture to that effect, and to write out a full view of their sentiments, wishes and determinations on the subject. They did so, exhibiting their remonstrance against all human creeds as bonds of communion and union among Christians, and expressing a willingness, upon certain conditions, to co-operate or unite with that association, provided always that they should be allowed to teach and preach whatever they learned from the Holy Scriptures, regardless of any creed or formula in Christendom.

The proposition was discussed at the association, and, after much debate, was decided by a good majority in favor of their being received. Thus a union was formed. But the party opposed, though small, began early to work, and continued with a perseverance worthy of a better cause. But for three years they could do nothing. The situation in which Mr. Campbell found himself, soon after his connection with the Redstone Association of the Baptist churches, was not at all inviting. The originality of his method in dealing with the Scriptures, and his utter disregard for customs, however time-honored, which were not sanctioned by primitive precept or example, awakened the suspicion of the more narrow-minded of the Baptist preachers, who were not slow in manifesting their disapproval. His popularity among the churches of the association no doubt added to their displeasure, and at every opportunity he was made to feel the sting of their resentment. This hostility, which at first manifested itself in slights and little annoyances, at last led to an open attack upon his teachings.

When the association met at Cross Creek in August, 1816, in spite of the intrigues of his enemies he was appointed as one of the speakers, on which occasion he preached his great “Sermon on the Law.” In that discourse he sharply discriminated between the law of Moses and the Gospel, showing that the former had served its purpose, and that its authority had passed away when the kingdom of the Messiah was established. This marked another important advance in the progress of the efforts to return to apostolic Christianity. The distinction between the law and the Gospel, the old covenant and the new, the letter and the spirit, the Jewish commonwealth and the kingdom, had been greatly obscured in popular thought. It was claimed that the law was still alive, and that Christians come under its provisions as such, with the exception of its strictly ceremonial parts, and that the church under the Christian dispensation is the same that existed under the Jewish dispensation. The sermon, though containing but plain Scripture teaching, was such a bold assault upon the theology and style of preaching current among the Baptists that it created a great sensation in the association, and raised a storm of persecution. The common people were, for the most part, pleased with his simple, natural presentation of the truth, but this only added fuel to the flame of bitterness which some of the preachers cherished against him. “This will never do,” they said, “this is not our doctrine.”

In consequence of the views presented in this sermon, Mr. Campbell was “brought up for trial and condemnation” at the next meeting of the association in the autumn of 1817. At that time but few were ready to accept the conclusion in the sermon, and the actual adherents of the teaching, scattered among the Baptists of three States, did not number more than one hundred and fifty persons; but notwithstanding this feeble support, upon investigation he was acquitted of the charge made against him. Opposition to him increased in the Redstone Association, and some of the preachers determined to manufacture a sentiment that would thrust him out when the association should meet in September, 1823. In pursuance of this purpose certain influential men canvassed all the churches and secured the appointment of messengers who were in sympathy with themselves in opposition to Mr. Campbell; and when the association met all things were in readiness to exclude the author of the “Sermon on the Law” from the fellowship of the association. But to the astonishment and chagrin of the plotters, when the letter from the Brush Run Church was read, Mr. Campbell, though present, was not mentioned as a messenger. This cooled the ardor of his enemies who had hoped to close Baptist ears against him by a decree of excommunication, and crush his influence generally by putting him in the discreditable position of one expelled from the association. A motion being made to invite him to a seat in the body, his enemies opposed it, and demanded to know why he had not been sent as a messenger. After much discussion Mr. Campbell relieved the situation by stating that the church of which he was then a member did not belong to the Redstone Association. In describing the chagrin of his enemies when this announcement was made, Mr. Campbell says:

Never did hunters, on seeing the game unexpectedly escape from their toils at the moment when its capture was sure, glare upon each other a more mortifying disappointment than that indicated by my pursuers at that instant, on hearing that I was out of their bailiwick, and consequently out of their jurisdiction. A solemn stillness ensued, and for a time all parties seemed to have nothing to do.

Foreseeing the storm that was gathering, and learning, just a few weeks before the time for the association to convene, the plans that were being so industriously laid to exclude him from the association, he determined to defeat the project in a way which his enemies little expected, but which was in strict accordance with Baptist usage. As he had been frequently solicited by Adomson Bently to leave the Redstone Association and unite with the Mahoning, and as a number of the members of the Brush Run Church lived in Wellsburg and vicinity, he decided this was an opportune time to form a separate congregation in which he would have his membership, and which might afterward unite with the Mahoning Association. He announced, therefore, to the church at Brush Run that he desired from them letters of dismission for himself and some thirty other members in order to constitute a church at Wellsburg. This request was granted and a congregation was at once formed in the town of Wellsburg, and continued to assemble regularly ever afterward in the house which had been previously erected for that purpose. Thus were the unrighteous attempts of wicked men defeated.

A WIDER FIELD

Shortly before the events already mentioned, Mr. Campbell was very unexpectedly drawn into a discussion with John Walker, a minister of the Seceder Presbyterian Church. It came about in this way: The jealousy of rival religious parties at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, led to a controversy between Mr. Walker and Mr. Birch, a Baptist preacher, which ended in a challenge by Mr. Walker to meet any Baptist preacher of good standing in the public discussion of the question of baptism. The high opinion entertained throughout that region for Mr. Campbell’s ability led to his selection as the most suitable champion of the Baptist cause. Owing to the circumstances under which he was placed, he did not give an immediate answer. In the meantime Mr. Birch renewed the appeal, and finally made it more urgent by stating that it was the unanimous wish of all the Baptist churches throughout that region that he should be their representative in the discussion. Being thus called upon by the church, and urged by personal friends, he could no longer refuse to yield to his own convictions of public duty.

His hesitancy was not due to his own disinclination, but in deference to his father, who did not regard “public debates the proper method of proceeding in contending for the faith once delivered to the saints.” He, however, finally succeeded in convincing his father that, however much the usual unprofitable debates upon human theories were to be deplored and avoided, no objection could lie against a public defense of revealed truth, for which the Scriptures afforded abundant precedent. Having gained this point with his father, he finally informed Mr. Birch of his willingness to enter the discussion.

All preliminaries having been arranged, the discussion began on Monday morning, June 19, 1820, at Mount Pleasant, Ohio. It was attended by a large concourse of people and created great interest. Mr. Walker’s first speech was very brief, and as it gives the gist of his whole contention throughout the debate, I will give it in full: