The Golden Oracle
“As each has received a gift use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks the oracles of God…” (I Peter 4:10, 11)
An oracle is defined as: a person, offering wise counsel, prophecies, or predictions; or it is an authoritative or wise expression or answer. As the apostle Peter tells his readers, some are gifted with speaking and should speak God’s counsel with authority and in answer to the questions of life that perplex us.
There were several key leaders of the burgeoning Restoration Movement churches back in the early 1800’s. Among them was Thomas and Alexander Campbell, along with Barton W. Stone. Not mentioned nearly as much, another key leader during this timeframe, was Walter Scott. Not the Scottish novelist and poet, but he was also from Scotland, although not related. The Restoration Movement saw these men and others come together as each sought a return to biblical Christianity, thinking many of the denominations had lost their way with creeds and beliefs more human and traditional than biblical. The churches that came from this movement include the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ we find today, with no denominational headquarters or dictates, with local church elders guided by the scriptures as their authority, preaching a salvation in Christ as people respond in faith, repentance, baptism, living a life guided by the words of Jesus and his apostles as they confess him as Lord. They routinely take communion in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. The Bible is their sole source of faith and practice.
Alexander Campbell was known as a great writer, debater, and educator. Barton W. Stone was known as a great man of unity, bringing people together. Walter Scott was a preacher, and a good one. He traveled from town to town throughout the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee areas, preaching a simple and clear message of salvation in Jesus. All of these men were gifted preachers, but Scott excelled at it. It is said that during his 30 years of ministry, Walter Scott baptized over 30,000 people, averaging about 1,000 per year. Some said he was the “voice of the golden oracle.”
Scott was passionate about what he called the golden oracle: “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God,” He thought this was the foundational truth of Christianity. Peter had made this confession when Jesus asked who people said he was (Matthew 16:13-17). This confession boldly states that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the son of God (part of the Trinity). Jesus would say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It is because he is the Christ, the son of the Living God, that this is true. In most independent Christian Churches today, when someone becomes a Christian, they are usually asked, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God?”
As Scott rode his horse into a new town he would go to the schoolhouse and teach the kids a five-finger exercise. “Repeat after me,” he would say, “Faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit.” Once they had it memorized, he would tell them to go home and tell their parents that the man who taught them would be preaching that night and give the location. In an age before the many diversions that we have today, hundreds would come to listen to him preach.
I’m not a gifted speaker like Walter Scott. Maybe you are not either. But we all can share the simple message of salvation with friends or family that he used. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God? If so, will you in faith repent of sins, submit to baptism into Christ, allowing God to forgive those sins, and receive the Holy Spirit as the seal of your salvation? You can be a voice of the golden oracle.
Question: Who do you know that needs to hear about the golden oracle, that Jesus is the Christ?
An oracle is defined as: a person, offering wise counsel, prophecies, or predictions; or it is an authoritative or wise expression or answer. As the apostle Peter tells his readers, some are gifted with speaking and should speak God’s counsel with authority and in answer to the questions of life that perplex us.
There were several key leaders of the burgeoning Restoration Movement churches back in the early 1800’s. Among them was Thomas and Alexander Campbell, along with Barton W. Stone. Not mentioned nearly as much, another key leader during this timeframe, was Walter Scott. Not the Scottish novelist and poet, but he was also from Scotland, although not related. The Restoration Movement saw these men and others come together as each sought a return to biblical Christianity, thinking many of the denominations had lost their way with creeds and beliefs more human and traditional than biblical. The churches that came from this movement include the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ we find today, with no denominational headquarters or dictates, with local church elders guided by the scriptures as their authority, preaching a salvation in Christ as people respond in faith, repentance, baptism, living a life guided by the words of Jesus and his apostles as they confess him as Lord. They routinely take communion in remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. The Bible is their sole source of faith and practice.
Alexander Campbell was known as a great writer, debater, and educator. Barton W. Stone was known as a great man of unity, bringing people together. Walter Scott was a preacher, and a good one. He traveled from town to town throughout the Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee areas, preaching a simple and clear message of salvation in Jesus. All of these men were gifted preachers, but Scott excelled at it. It is said that during his 30 years of ministry, Walter Scott baptized over 30,000 people, averaging about 1,000 per year. Some said he was the “voice of the golden oracle.”
Scott was passionate about what he called the golden oracle: “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God,” He thought this was the foundational truth of Christianity. Peter had made this confession when Jesus asked who people said he was (Matthew 16:13-17). This confession boldly states that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the son of God (part of the Trinity). Jesus would say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). It is because he is the Christ, the son of the Living God, that this is true. In most independent Christian Churches today, when someone becomes a Christian, they are usually asked, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God?”
As Scott rode his horse into a new town he would go to the schoolhouse and teach the kids a five-finger exercise. “Repeat after me,” he would say, “Faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, gift of the Holy Spirit.” Once they had it memorized, he would tell them to go home and tell their parents that the man who taught them would be preaching that night and give the location. In an age before the many diversions that we have today, hundreds would come to listen to him preach.
I’m not a gifted speaker like Walter Scott. Maybe you are not either. But we all can share the simple message of salvation with friends or family that he used. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God? If so, will you in faith repent of sins, submit to baptism into Christ, allowing God to forgive those sins, and receive the Holy Spirit as the seal of your salvation? You can be a voice of the golden oracle.
Question: Who do you know that needs to hear about the golden oracle, that Jesus is the Christ?
Posted in Waking Up Eutychus