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Have You Found Your Horse?
A preacher around the turn of the 20th Century in 1903 included this story in a book called First Principles. There was a man in Missouri who had lost his horse, and he wanted to get it back. He placed an advertisement with the following description:
“The horse was about seven years old. He had two white hind feet, was a fast trotter, chestnut in color, sixteen hands high, and had the letter C stamped on his jaw.”
After six months, a rancher in Texas contacted him with the good news that he thought he might have his horse. The man from Missouri went to see the horse. The horse had every marking the man had placed in the advertisement. The lost horse was found. The horse owner from Missouri asked the rancher where he found the horse. He said, “I don’t know where he came from. He just showed up one day with my horses.” Actually, it did not make any difference where the horse had been. The fact is the horse was the perfect description of the horse that was lost. It must be the right one.
The preacher who placed this story in his book made the following application of the lost horse story. Its application some preachers today would either be ashamed or embarrassed to use.
Where was the church of Christ two hundred years ago? I don’t know. I have not read of any such thing in American history before that time. Do not feel too badly about that for if you go back a few years, there was no such thing as a Baptist Church, Methodist Church, or several other denominations. If there were such things, I do not read about any of them in the Bible.
How can we find the church of the New Testament days today? Look in the New Testament for the description of the church established on the day of Pentecost, not in the newspaper.
Did the church in the New Testament have a pope? Were the preachers of the New Testament called Reverends? If so, please give the book, chapter, and verse. What method for baptism was used in the New Testament? What conclusion would you reach if you read they went down to the water and he baptized him? What conclusion can be reached when it says they were gathered together on the first day of the week to break bread? Did the church in the New Testament observe something called Lent or Easter? If so, where is it mentioned in the BIble? How many churches in the New Testament ordained homosexuals as preachers, elders, or deacons? Did the church in the New Testament practice the use of instrumental music in their worship to God? Is there a better way to find out what the church the Lord established was like than to consult the New Testament? If you honestly read, studied, and searched through the New Testament, you would find the church God placed in the world. Compare what is in the Bible to the churches you see today. You will know when you have found the right one...
