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What is an Independent Fundamental
Baptist Church?
The name Independent Fundamental
Baptist Church
is used traditionally by churches which pattern themselves strictly after the
example of the early church as found in the New Testament. The words "Independent" and
"Fundamental" have been added by Baptist churches after the name
Baptist failed to fully identify what they believed. The name Baptist is used by many churches who are not fundamental in their beliefs. Some "Baptist" churches were in
the past founded on the doctrinal teachings of the New Testament,
however, many of them have drifted away from many of the teachings of the
Scriptures. Some of these churches
have gone so far as to deny the fundamental teachings of the Bible, such as
the deity of Christ, the virgin birth and salvation by the Grace of God, through
faith. These churches still call
themselves "Baptist, " but in fact they do
not believe or practice what true Baptists have historically believed. The
true Independent Fundamental Baptists have no association or fellowship with
these churches because they teach or practice that which is contrary to the
Bible.
By the Bible we mean the verbally
inspired, inerrant, infallible and perfectly preserved Word of God found in
the Authorized Version of 1611, commonly called the King James Version. God promised to preserve His eternal
perfect Word-perfectly for every generation. (Psalm 12:6,7)
and that not one jot or tittle (dot of the “i” or cross of the “t”) would
pass from the Law. (Matthew 5:18) It
has been necessary for the fundamentalist to counter the watered-down,
Christ-denying, modern day versions printed for filthy lucre with the perfect
Bible. Only by recognizing the need
for a perfect Bible and then defining which one among the multitudes it is,
can the believer know for certain exactly what saith the Lord. Each word was chosen by God and has a
definite and historical meaning enabling the fundamentalist to be firm and
unwavering in his convictions like the first Baptist – John the Baptist – who
taught us to make straight the ways of the Lord. For the most part, it is the Independent,
Fundamental Baptist that have held the line against the apostasy.
The name Fundamental Independent Baptist
is of recent origin and came into being as a result of many modern day
Baptist churches compromising the Word of God teaching and practicing false
doctrines or doctrine without Biblical foundation. There were however, many Baptists who loved
the Word of God and held true to it and refused to abandon its
teachings. In order to distinguish
between the doctrinally unsound and compromising Baptist churches and those
that believed the Bible, many Baptist churches changed their name. These true Baptists added the adjectives
Fundamental and Independent to their name in order that they not be
identified with the false practices and teaching of the doctrinally unsound
churches using the Baptist name
The word "Independent" means
that the church is not a member of any council, convention or is a part of
any hierarchy outside the local congregation.
An Independent
Baptist Church
would not be apart of a national organization that would exercise authority
over the local church. Thus, the name
"independent" means that the church patterns itself after the New
Testament example and stands alone under the authority of the Bible.
Independent churches have no organized
organization over them in authority.
They direct their own affairs under the authority of the Scriptures,
free from the outside interference.
[Editor's note: Since the New Testament
is not a replacement but a fulfillment of the Old Testament, "the
authority of the Bible" refers to the authority of both the Old and New
Testaments exclusively. Gilbert
Independent Baptist Church uses both testaments in our preaching and
teaching, while it is in the New Testament that Christ founded His
church. The New Testament
Church’s commission and
authority comes only from the Word of God]
The New Testament teaches that Christ is
the head of the church, (Eph 5:23) and the Chief Shepherd (I Pet 5:4). The
local pastor is the shepherd (Heb 13:17, Acts 20:28, Eph 4:11) or leader of
the congregation. The Independent
Baptist church has a congregational form of government with each member
having the right of the vote and the local congregation, following the
guidelines of the New Testament, conducts all the affairs of the church.
Independent Fundamental Baptist churches
have fellowship one with the other and often cooperate in such things as
evangelism. They, however, will only fellowship or cooperate in joint
meetings with churches of like belief.
They will not participate, on a church basis, in any outside function
with churches, which do not also strictly adhere to the faith and practice
taught by the Bible. They will not
participate in joint meetings, or evangelistic endeavors, with Protestants,
Catholics, or other doctrinally unsound church groups who do not hold to the
fundamental teachings of the New Testament (Examples: Billy Graham, Promise
Keepers.) Fundamental Independent
Baptist churches will remain separate from these churches as well as other
Baptists groups who participate with the unscriptural churches. They practice the Biblical teachings of
separation as stated in Ephesians 5:11, which says,
"Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them." The Independent
Baptist believes that to join with churches who teach and practice false or
watered-down doctrine is to condone and even to show approval of Biblical
error. Baptists have historically
contended for the faith with earnest (Jude vs 3) and believe that all
doctrinal error is sin.
The officers of the local church are
pastors and deacons. (I Timothy 3:1-16) The pastor of the church is called by
majority vote of the congregation. Men
meeting the Biblical qualification of deacons (I Timothy 3:8-13) are
appointed from the local congregation and approved by the majority vote. Many Baptist churches have Trustees, but
their position was established in order to have legal "signatories"
to sign the legal documents of the church.
Neither Deacons nor Trustees are a governing body or
"board," but titles of special appointed servants who serve the
church subject to the direction of the pastor in those duties and
responsibilities delineated in the Bible.
The word "Fundamental" means
that the Baptist church uses the Bible strictly as its authority for faith
(doctrine) and practice. In recent
years the news media has called doctrinally unsound churches such as the
Charismatics and Pentecostals "fundamentalists." Even some TV evangelists have referred to
themselves as being "fundamentalist." But they should not be confused with
Fundamental Baptists. They are, in
fact, worlds apart. Many of the TV
evangelists and all of the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches promote
teachings, which are not Biblical.
Fundamental Baptists use the name in its strictest sense as meaning
holding to the fundamentals of the Bible teachings. True Independent
Fundamental Baptist Churches uphold the purest teachings of the early church
as revealed in the Bible
Baptists are not Protestants! The name Protestant was given to those
churches that came out of Roman Catholicism during the Reformation that began
in the 1500's. It originally applied
through the 1700's to Lutherans, and Anglicans. Later Presbyterians,
Episcopalians and Methodist were added to the lists of Protestant
denominations. Though many people including
Webster's Dictionary refer to Baptists as being Protestants, it is not
correct to refer to them as such or to lump all non-Catholic denominations in
one group and label them Protestant.
Historically, Baptists were never a part
of the Roman Catholic Church or the Protestant Reformation and therefore,
cannot be correctly called "protestors" or Protestants.
It is true that many Baptists left the
ranks of Protestant churches that were doctrinally unsound and apostate. They left these churches because of their
strong conviction that the Word of God should not be compromised. Some formed new churches and called
themselves Baptists to make it clear that they believed and followed the
Bible. It is historically incorrect to
identify Baptists as Catholic "protestors" who left the Roman
church. In the many books on church
history making up the bibliography for this paper, there is not one recorded
incident of a Baptist church being founded out of Roman Catholicism.
Protestants, for centuries, saw the Baptists
as their "enemies" and murdered them by the thousands in the name
of Protestantism. It is surely an
affront to call a Baptist by the name of a group that has so hated and
persecuted them down through history.
There have always existed, from the time
of Christ, New Testament churches which were not a part of the Roman
Church. In fact, the Roman Church can
only trace its history back to 313 AD, at the earliest, to the Roman Emperor
Constantine who made an apostate form of “Christianity” a legal religion. In 395 AD, Emperor Constantius
"Christianized" Rome and made the worship of idols punishable by
death. By 400 AD, the Emperor
Theodosius had declared Christianity the only state religion of the Roman Empire.
Many churches by this time had come under the domination of the Roman
government and had ceased from being New Testament churches. When the Roman Emperor declared
Christianity the religion of Rome,
he, in a mass, "converted" hordes of pagans that made up the
Empire. Pagan temples became the meeting
houses for so-called "Christians."
Rome,
then hired unregenerate pagan priests as "Christian"
ministers. The influx of these falsely
converted pagans is one reason Roman Catholicism came to have so many false
and pagan beliefs.
However, in the midst of all this
apostasy that was the foundation of the Roman Catholic church, there were
groups of Christians who were never a part of the false
"Christianization" of the Roman Empire. These New Testament believers rejected
every attempt to include them in with the other churches who
compromised and accepted the Roman government's money, rule and authority.
Over the years, the growth of so many
false and idolatrous practices caused some within the Catholic Church, such
as Martin Luther to rebel, and to attempt to "reform" the Catholic
Church. This was the birth of
Protestant churches and the Protestant Reformation. Although many Protestants returned, in
part, to a belief in the Bible as their authority for their faith and
practice, not one of them EVER completely left all the doctrinal errors and
false teachings of the apostate Roman Catholic Church.
Protestants have never accepted the
principle of separation of church and state. In Europe,
Protestant churches are "state" churches and supported to some
degree by government imposed taxes. In
Germany, the state church
is Lutheran and in England,
the Anglican church, France,
the Roman Catholic Church, etc.
The idea that the bread and wine (grape
juice) in the Lord's Supper actually becoming the physical body of Christ
when taken is a Roman Catholic teaching that Protestants only modified
slightly. Still today, many
Protestants see the Lord's Supper as a “sacrament,” having, to some degree,
saving or salvation properties, or imparting some spiritual benefit. True New Testament Christians have always
rejected such unbiblical ideas.
Protestants still practice infant
baptism, which absolutely is not taught in the Word of God. Many Protestant denominations still hold to
the writings of their church fathers as a source of church doctrine and have
never accepted the Bible as their sole source of teachings for their faith
and practice. They all hold on to a
system of hierarchy in church government and do not accept the autonomy the
local church. Autonomy means each local
church governs itself free from outside authority and control.
Baptists, basing their beliefs solely on
the Bible, have never held to these teachings and see them as heresy. Thus,
history and the doctrines of Protestantism clearly show that Baptists are not
Protestants.
In determining who were
the first Baptists, we must first identify to whom we are
referring. We could mean those persons
or churches which held to Baptist beliefs although they may not have called
themselves Baptists. Or second, you
could be referring to those who held to Baptist beliefs and were called by
the name Baptist.
The first group of those who held Baptist beliefs (which means the teachings of the New
Testament), yet were not called Baptists, are difficult to trace in history.
Some Baptist historians have made attempts at doing this, but in many cases
the groups they refer to as early Baptists did not in fact hold to pure
Baptist beliefs as held today. They
try to establish that "according to history, Baptist have an unbroken
line of churches since Christ".
(Quote from Dr. J.M. Carroll's booklet "The Trail of
Blood") These historians, in an
attempt to show an unbroken line of Baptists in history, have embraced groups
that clearly were not doctrinally sound.
In the simplest of terms, a true Baptist is one who follows the Bible
as his sole authority for his faith and practice. Whether these groups of believers called
themselves Baptists or not, if they were doctrinally pure and following the
New Testament for their polity and doctrine they were New Testament churches
and thus they could be called Baptist.
In examining many so-called early
"Baptist" churches, many doctrinal errors and false teachings may
be found. Surely, no church that
practiced the false doctrine as many of these groups did can in truth be
called a Baptist church. It is my
conviction that it is not possible to "trace" an unbroken line of
Baptist churches from Christ until today.
However, let me strongly say there has always existed an unbroken line
of churches who have not erred from the faith, and have been true to the
Bible, God's Word. In fact, Jesus
emphatically stated in Matthew 16:18, concerning the church,
that even "the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it." These churches have always
existed from the time of Christ and the Apostles until today. To call these people Baptists, in the sense
that they believed the Bible and followed it as their sole authority for
faith and practice, in the way same Baptist churches do today, is acceptable,
although it serves no purpose. To go so far as to say there is an unbroken
line or succession of Baptist churches from the time of Christ until today
cannot be shown from history.
The importance of these churches was not
in their name, but in what they believed and practiced. These churches patterned themselves
strictly after the New Testament example, and this made them valid churches
approved of God. This is the true heritage that the Fundamental Baptist holds
dear, that there have always been churches that submitted themselves only to
the sole authority of the Word of God.
There were always groups and sects that
held to the truth. However, as earlier
stated, these groups were rarely in the spotlight of history. For example, there is Patrick of
Ireland. Patrick was born in Scotland in 360 AD and sold into slavery at
age sixteen and carried to Ireland. Later, he escaped and became a Christian
missionary. Although the Roman
Catholic Church claims him as one of their "saints," there is no
evidence he even knew the Catholic Church existed. In his writings he appears totally ignorant
of the practices of the Roman Church and never refers to church councils,
creeds, traditions or even to the existence of a pope. There was no hierarchy in the churches he
founded, which were patterned after the simple New Testament example. These churches were very missions-minded
and formed schools to train preachers and missionaries. Later in history, under Roman Catholic
influence, these missionary centers digressed into monasticism. However, history is clear that in the
beginning and also into the 9th Century, these churches were sound in doctrine
and practicing the faith of the New Testament. These churches are good examples of Bible
believing churches that existed independent of the Roman Catholic Church, and
were for some time not corrupted by its influences. They were in fact churches founded on the
same New Testament principles that modern day Baptists traditionally founded
their churches.
Some have pointed to the Anabaptists as
the examples of early Baptist churches. This again cannot be proven from
history. The Anabaptists were mostly a
God fearing group of people. They loved the Lord and many of them gave their
lives and fortunes for the sake of Christ.
However, history does not record even one Anabaptist group or church
becoming or founding a Baptist church. Most of the Anabaptist successors
became the Mennonites, Amish and Quakers.
Not one Baptist church can show in its history a direct succession
from the Anabaptists. Many Anabaptists churches were strong New Testament
churches believing and following the Word of God. Other Anabaptists groups were in gross
error and corrupted. As with any true
New Testament church, its validity as a true church approved of God, does not
now, nor ever did rest on its name or upon a succession of churches, but on
its adherence to the principles of God's Word.
Some Baptist churches believe in a
succession of Baptist churches who passed down the
authority to baptize and administer the Lord's Supper. It is my conviction that this is contrary
to the very foundation of what is a true New Testament church. A true New Testament church bases its faith,
practice and authority solely in the Word of God. To hold to the "successionist"
position takes the authority away from the Bible and places it in the hands
of man.
“Successionism” is one of the gross
errors of Catholicism. God said He
would preserve His church and that task was not left in the hands of fallible
men or groups. God, I believe
deliberately used isolated groups in many different places during time to
preserve His church and did not choose to use a line or chain of churches to
pass His Word and authority on to the next generation. He preserved His word and the Word
preserved a true Gospel witness during every moment of history since
Pentecost. What possible value is
there in appealing to a supposed unbroken line of Baptist churches as a
church's authority? There is every
value in appealing only to present adherence to the written Word of God as
one's sole authority for faith and practice.
An illustration of this point can
be made this way. Suppose an airplane
flew over some completely isolated country that had no past or present
contact with anyone else in the world.
Further, suppose that a Bible somehow was to fall from the plane and
the inhabitants of this isolated land were to be able to pick up that Bible
and read the text for themselves.
Suppose also, that some of them, upon reading that Bible, were to
believe and repent of their sins and place their trust in God's Son and His
payment for their sin. These new
believers would then, following the New Testament example, submit to
believer's baptism and organize a local church. That local body of baptized believers would
be as valid a true New Testament church as any church Christ ever
founded. Why? Because it was founded on God's Word.
The line of churches, which called
themselves Baptist, began in 1610 in Holland.
It began with a man named John Smyth who was a bishop in the Church of
England. In 1606, after nine months of soul searching and study of the New
Testament he was convinced that the doctrines and practices of the Church of
England were not Biblical, and thus he resigned his position as priest and
left the church.
Because of persecution by the Anglican
church on all who disagreed with it and who refused to submit to its authority,
John Smyth had to flee England. In Amsterdam,
he along with Thomas Helwys and thirty-six others,
formed the first Baptist church
of Englishmen known to
have stood for the baptism of believers only.
Smyth,
believed that the only real apostolic succession is a succession of Biblical
New Testament truth, and not of outward ordinances and visible organization
such as the Church of England or the Roman Church. He believed the only way to recover was to
form a new church based on the Bible.
He then baptized himself (which is not biblical) and then the others
of his congregation. In only a few
years however, the church had lost all but ten members to the Mennonites and
other groups in Holland. Smyth died in 1612, and the church ended in
Holland shortly thereafter with Helwy, Thomas
and John Murton returning to England
as persecution there had lessened.
History records that the members of this Baptist church went back to England or remained in Holland and joined Mennonites. It did not
produce a succession of other churches, but those who founded it went on to
establish other Baptist churches in England.
Back in England these men formed the
first Baptist church on English soil. By 1626, the church had grown from one,
to five churches and by 1644 there were forty congregations. Through the
preaching of the New Testament the Gospel went forth in power and the Baptist
movement grew rapidly.
These first Baptist churches formed in England
were Armenian in theology, which taught that all men could be saved. The
Calvinistic or Particular Baptists were a different group and believed in
limited atonement in which only the elect could be saved. Particular Baptist
had their beginnings around 1616, when some "dissenters" left the
Church of England and were lead by the Rev. Henry Jacob. By 1644, these
congregations grew to seven churches.
About this time the Puritans were also
becoming strong in England. The Puritans were dissenters from the
Church of England. They wanted to
bring reform to the Church of England.
Although they were a great deal more piteous than the Church of
England they still practiced most of its beliefs including infant baptism.
Anyone who differed from the practices of the State church was subject to
great persecution. Puritans and Baptists alike, in order to escape
persecution, migrated to the New World.
One man, Hanserd Knolleys, is an example
of dissenter of the Church of England who had to flee to America. He was a Presbyterian and former deacon in
the Anglican Church. Under deep
conviction of the need to preach the New Testament and follow its example as
one's rule of faith, he refused to wear the robes of his church office, and
refused to let unsaved persons take the Lord's Supper. Further, he ignored the reading of the
"order of service" and simply preached the Scriptures. The preaching of the Bible without the
rituals of the Church of England was against the law. In 1638, he landed in Boston
and settled for a short time in Piscataway (now Dover)
in New Hampshire. There he became the pastor of the Puritan
church. The Puritans were in control
of the colonies and in fact had set up a theocracy in which the Puritan
church governed both secular and religious affairs. Because Knolleys refused to baptize infants
and preached against it, he was banned from the colony by the famous Puritan
governor Cotton Mather. Knolleys after
two years returned to England
at the request of his father. He
became an out spoken "Separatist" or dissenter of the State
church. In 1645, he formed a Baptist
church in London. Shortly thereafter the Church of England
fell from grace when the English monarch was overthrown and the Presbyterians
became the favored church of the state.
The Presbyterians took over the job of persecution and forbade
Knolleys from preaching in parish churches.
He, however, continued to preach by holding services in his own
home. One of the last acts of the
Presbyterians, before the Long Parliament in England fell, was to pass a law
enacting the death penalty on anyone who was caught holding to what they
called "Eight Errors in Doctrine." These doctrines included infant
baptism.
Knolleys was imprisoned many times and
suffered greatly at the hands of the "State Church". He is only one of many such godly men who
would not compromise the truth. The
"crime" of these men was that they believed the Bible was God's
Truth, and not the dictates of men.
It is well to note that the Pilgrims
were also Puritans, and Puritans were Protestants who had left the Church of
England. They should not be confused
with true Bible believing churches, because their beliefs and practices were
much like the Church of England.
Although, they were not as corrupt as the Church of England, they
still practiced a strict ritual of church service and among other things,
infant baptism. They were intolerant
of anyone who did not submit to the Puritan church, which was supported by a
governmental church tax on all the people.
You may admire their piety, but a true believer in the New Testament
would have a great problem with many of their doctrines and especially the
fact that they persecuted the Baptists and drove them from their
colonies. Everyone in the colony was automatically
a member of the State church and was taxed to support it. Failure to pay the tax brought the wrath of
the church leaders and people were publicly beaten, fined, imprisoned, and
banished from the colony by the civil authorities under the direction of the
Puritan church. Puritan churches,
which were called Congregational churches, greatly persecuted the Baptists in
America
until the U.S. Constitution was made the law of the land in 1787. The first Baptist church on American soil
was a direct result of the Puritan persecution of true New Testament
believers.
Roger Williams is credited with founding
the first Baptist church on American soil. Williams graduated from Cambridge University in 1627, and was apparently
ordained in the Church of England. He
soon embraced “Separatists" ideas and decided to leave England. In 1631, he arrived in Boston. He was much displeased with the
Puritan theocracy. He strongly
believed in separation of church and state and upheld the principles of soul
liberty. "Soul liberty" is a
belief that every man is responsible to God individually. It bases its belief in the New Testament
teaching that every believer is a priest unto himself, having full access to
God without the need of a church, church leader or priest. (Hebrews 4:15, 16
and 10:19-22) In spite of his views,
he was made the pastor of the church in Salem. Shortly thereafter, because of his
doctrinal preaching, he was forced to leave Salem
and went for a short time to Plymouth. He again returned to Salem
where he was summoned before the court in Boston because of his out spoken beliefs
and was banished from the colony. The
charge recorded against him was that "he broached and divulged new and
dangerous opinions against the authority of the magistrates." Clearly, he was banished because he
believed in religious freedom and believed and taught that the Bible in general, and the New Testament in particular, was a
believer's sole source for his faith and practice. The Puritans did not believe in such things
and they drove him from their colony.
In 1638, Williams made his way to what
is now Providence, Rhode Island, and there purchased some
land from the Indians. Some of his
former congregation in Salem
joined him and they established a colony. Its beginning charter reads as
follows:
"We whose names are hereunder
written, being desirous to inhabit ourselves in active and passive obedience
to all such orders or agencies as shall be made for the public good of the
body in an orderly way, by the major consent of the present inhabitants,
masters of families, incorporated together into the same, only in civil
things."
In 1663, Charles II, gave the colony a
royal charter and it read:
"Our royal will and pleasure is,
that no person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall be in any
wise molested, punished disquieted, or called in question, for any
differences of opinion in matters of religion, that do not actually disturb
the civil peace of the said colony."
This was the first time in the history
of the world that a government was established which granted religious
freedom! This charter was the very
cornerstone of American religious freedom!
Up to this time, Williams was not a Baptist. He continued to read the New Testament, and
became fully aware that infant baptism, sprinkling for baptism, and allowing
unsaved persons to be members of the church was not Scriptural. Thus, resolving to follow the Lord's
commands in Truth, in March, 1639 he formed the first Baptist church on
American soil. He began by baptizing
himself and then baptizing ten other members.
Shortly thereafter, Williams withdrew
from the church and became what he called a "seeker." History has been unable to record the
reason he would not identify himself as a Baptist. It should be noted that this presented no
problem for this first Baptist church in America. This church was not founded on a man, but
on the Bible. It was not founded as a
result of a line of Baptist churches down through history. It was founded because a group of saved men
believed the Bible and wanted to follow the New Testament example of a true
church. Even after Williams left, it continued to follow the New Testament
and was not adversely affected. It was
not the man who founded the church that was important, but the New Testament
principles on which he founded this church. They called themselves Baptists
after John the Baptist because that was the best name they could choose to
describe what they believed and it identified them as a Bible believing
people. This church had no ties to
anyone or any other church, yet this was a Baptist church as much as any
Baptist church ever was. They were a
New Testament church, not because of a succession of churches or men, but
because they formed their church on the principles of the New Testament. That
made them, in the eyes of God, as legitimate a church as any Paul founded.
The sole authority for any true church is God's Word and not its founder, or
its heritage. Not once in the New
Testament do you find even a hint that a church was legitimate because it was
founded by Paul or called itself by a particular name.
However, let no one think little of the
name “Baptist” for it is the name that best identified those individuals and
churches that have uncompromisingly stood on the Word of God. They are the only group existing into
modern times whose churches were founded on the Scriptures alone and not on
the traditions or works of some man.
Baptists have always been the champions of the Word of God and
preaching of the Gospel. History is
quite clear that there is no other denomination that has so loved and been
faithful to God's Word as have the Baptists.
Even the enemies of the Baptists openly recognize their zeal for the
Word of God.
After Roger Williams stepped down,
Thomas Olney took over as the pastor of the church in Rhode Island. Although, this was the first Baptist church
to be founded on American soil, there is no recorded offspring from this
church and modern American Baptist churches cannot trace their history
directly to it. Other churches founded
in New England and in the Middle colonies
were the actual so-called “mother churches” of modern Baptist churches as
these churches were responsible for starting other churches.
On May 28, 1665, a Baptist church was
founded in Boston,
by Thomas Gould, who refused to accept infant baptism. There were nine original members of the
church that included two women. A
storm of persecution broke out because these Baptist preached what the
Puritans called "damnable errors."
Most of the members of the church were fined or imprisoned or both, at
one time or another. Thomas Gould died
in 1675 an untimely death, partly due to his having his health broken by
several long imprisonments.
In 1678, shortly after the church had
constructed a new building, the government nailed its doors shut and forbade
anyone, under penalty of the law, to enter or worship there. This lasted only one Sunday however, and
the following Sunday the doors were opened and services held in defiance of
the order. The magistrates found their
order was becoming unpopular and impossible to enforce, so the church was
unmolested thereafter. In 1684, a
Baptist church in Maine seeking greater
religious liberty was relocated to Charleston,
South Carolina.
The Dutch colony of New York for a time persecuted Baptists
within its territories. The first
Baptist church in New York
was started by William Wichendon, in 1656.
He was heavily fined and then imprisoned. Too poor to pay the fines, he was banished
from the colony. Later, the Dutch
issued new orders and allowed religious liberty.
In 1700, a Baptist minister, William
Rhodes began to hold meetings on Long Island
and in 1724 organized the first Baptist church there. The most important center of early Baptist
churches was in the area of Philadelphia,
"the city of brotherly love."
In 1684, Thomas Dungan started a church at Cold Springs, which lasted
until 1702. In 1688 a Baptist church
was organized at Pennepeck,
Pa., with twelve members. It helped start the first Baptist church in
the city of Philadelphia
the following year. It became an
independent church in 1746.
Offers of religious liberty drew many
Baptists to settle in New Jersey. The first church was in 1688, in Middletown and made up
of many who had fled persecution in the other colonies. Many churches were organized in the
following years.
In other areas, Baptist churches were
being formed about this same time. In North Carolina the first Baptist church was started at
Perquimans, in Chowan
County in 1727.
In Virginia, Baptists were not welcome. Before America
won its independence and the Constitution became law, the Episcopal church,
which was the American branch of the Church of England, was the only lawful
church in Virginia. There was a fine of 2000 pounds of tobacco
for failure to have one's infant children baptized. One Baptist church, however, did begin
after 1714, in Surry Country, and another at Burleigh, Virginia. Virginia
was especially harsh in religious persecutions. Anyone not holding Episcopal ordination was
forbade to hold services. Baptists along with other citizens were
taxed to support the Episcopal church.
It is well to note that not all Virginians felt this way. Two champions of religious liberty were the
Virginians Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Thomas Jefferson is believed to have been
deeply influenced to press for religious freedom in American, by the plight
of several Baptist preachers he knew.
In Isle of Wight county, for example, Baptist preachers were taken to Nansamond River and nearly drowned by
Episcopalians to show their contempt for Baptist's beliefs in immersion and
their rejection of infant Baptism.
They were then tarred and feathered and run out of the county.
The center of Baptist activity was in
the Philadelphia
area, and Baptists held regular "general meetings" of the churches
for devotional and evangelistic purposes.
It can be historically determined that
forty-seven Baptist churches were in existence before the Great
Awakening. All but seven were above
the Mason-Dixon line. Baptists continued to grow in numbers
through the period of the Great Awakening and up to the time of the
Revolutionary War. Baptists, as a
whole, were patriots and many Baptist pastors served as chaplains in the
Revolutionary Army. The Great
Awakening stirred religious interests in the colonies and a reported great
revival took place. The Revolutionary
War for some time slowed the growth of Baptist churches,
however, after independence was won and the Constitution written giving all
Americans religious freedom, the Baptists again began to grow until today,
they are the largest denomination in the United States.
Today there are at least a hundred
different groups which call themselves "Baptist." Many of these churches have conflicting
beliefs and practices. The natural
question to ask then is, "What makes a person a Baptist?" In examining the history of Baptists and
determining what constitutes a genuine and true Baptist, five distinctives
should be noted. These five
distinctive beliefs separate the true Baptists from other groups who have
mistakenly taken the name Baptist and all non New Testament churches such as
the Protestants. Examine any church in
light of these five distinctives and it will be shown if they are, in fact, a
true, historical, New Testament Baptist congregation.
It is well to note also, that these five
distinctives are traits of the true New Testament church! These distinctives are taught in God’s
Word, the Bible, which is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. It is infallible, inerrant, verbally
inspired, and perfectly preserved in the AV 1611, commonly called the King
James Bible (Psalm 12:6, 7). These
following distinctives constitute a true New Testament, Baptist Church:
Compare these five statements of any
church, and if they can answer all five in truth with a “yes,” then you will
have a true Baptist church. All others
miss-use the name.
1. WE ACCEPT ONLY THE
BIBLE AS OUR AUTHORITY IN ALL MATTERS OF FAITH AND PRACTICE, AND WE HAVE IT
PERFECTLY PRESERVED BY GOD IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE.
This means that we do not accept any
authority except the Old and New Testament Scriptures. We do not mean simply paying homage to a position
or a rhetorical statement that we believe the Bible because that is the
position of our mentors. Or belief in
the Bible is a conviction of true New Testament Church taught by a pastor who
leads his congregation to the same eternal truth. Christ is head of the Church, and the
church is His bride. We believe the King James Bible is the preserved Word of
God. It is complete and, it solely,
"...is given of by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God many be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good
works." (II Timothy 3:16-17)
We reject all modern versions believing they have added to and/or
taken away from the words of God’s preserved Bible, The AV 1611, commonly
called the King James Bible.
We reject that God is giving supposed
"new" or “progressive” Revelation, believing that God forbids any
adding to or taking away of the canon or the words of Scriptures. (Rev.
22:18-19) We do not accept any authority over the New Testament Church,
but Christ Himself, including any hierarchy that may include popes, modern
day prophets, or councils of churches.
2. WE BELIEVE THE
CHURCH IS TO BE MADE UP OF SAVED BAPTIZED BELIEVERS.
Baptists reject the baptism of infants
flatly! It is not taught in the
Scriptures. Infant Baptism is a
man-made doctrine that has and is causing irreparable damage to those who
teach, practice, and submit to it. The
church is made up of Baptized believers only. (Acts 2:41-42) An infant
is not capable of believing and is innocent, protected by the Grace of God
until the age of accountability.
Further, only those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal
Savior are members of the body of Christ on earth. Only those who have made a public
profession of faith in that fact, and have followed Christ in Believer’s
Baptism, can be members of a local New Testament church.
3. WE BELIEVE IN
STRICT SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.
Jesus said to "render unto Caesar
the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's. " We believe every fundamental Bible-believing
Christian ought to be an exemplary, informed, and patriotic citizen. Further the Scripture states, "what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with
darkness?" No power on earth is
higher than God's Word, and the New Testament Church should not be in any way
yoked with the state, or controlled by it.
We support the rightly appointed authority of government over us and
pray for them that we live our lives in peace.
4. WE BELIEVE IN THE
PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER.
The Scripture teaches that every
believer can without the aid of priests or churchmen go, "boldly unto
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in the time of
need"(Hebrews 4:16) The Scripture states further in Hebrews 10:19, " Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus."
The believers do not need a priest or a church to intercede on their
behalf to God. The believer can
boldly, by the fact of being washed in the blood of Christ, instantly be in
contact with God by simple prayer, and further can bring his petitions or
requests for forgiveness of sins directly to God himself. (I John 1:19) No church
has the authority to forgive sins or grant intercession to God.
5. WE BELIEVE IN THE
AUTONOMY OF THE LOCAL
CHURCH.
Simply stated the Scriptures give no
higher authority than the local congregation of born again, baptized
believers. We believe that the local
church is to be governed by the Word of God, and the local church does not
need, nor does the Scripture teach that the local body rests under the
authority of any earthly group. It is
an autonomous, indigenous body unto itself, under the authority of God, and
solely responsible unto Him for its conduct, direction and affairs. Jesus
said in Revelation 2:6, 15, that he "hated" the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes. This group of heretics in the early church, along with other
doctrinal errors, promoted a clergical dictatorship over the church.
A church that cannot answer “yes” to all
of the above, cannot, historically, call itself a Baptist church. These are the distinctives that separate
Baptists from Protestants, or any organized church or "Christian"
cult.
A person can rightly take pride in
truthfully bearing the name Baptist.
Many men have suffered greatly and given their fortunes and their
lives to hold the name in truth. It stands
for devotion and an uncompromising obedience to God and his commandments. It holds high the saving Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, as revealed in the New Testament and an unwavering commitment
to carrying out the Great Commission, that is, to teach everywhere the truth
of God's Word.
The validity of a church as being a true
Biblical New Testament church does not rest in its ability to show an
unbroken line of succession from the time of Christ. In fact, no church on
earth can make that claim. Even the Roman Catholic Church which boasts of its
unbroken history cannot show an unbroken line of churches earlier than the
Third Century, and what Catholicism teaches today in no way resembles what
the early New Testament church believed.
We must agree with John Smyth, that the
true New Testament church is founded on its belief in and practice of the
Scriptures, and not on any outward succession of a visible or invisible
organization. In this sense, any
church that finds itself strictly on the New Testament teachings,
is a true and Biblical church, even if it existed in time, only
yesterday. It is not the name or the
organization that makes a Biblical church, but its practice of the faith as
revealed in the Bible
As stated earlier, if a Bible were to be
dropped from a plane over a remote area, and the natives were to take the Scriptures
and believe them, then they would be saved and made
a part of the Body of Christ. If they
then took the New Testament as their guide, and organized a local
congregation of believers it would be a church fully acceptable to God and as
valid a church as even the early church of Bible times!
It is the Word of God, the Bible, which
determines what a real and true church is!
The Bible, and only the Bible, reveals to men how to have their sins
forgiven and have eternal life and heaven.
That is what truly saved believers have always believed, because that
is what the Bible, which is God's revelation of Himself to man, says.
The Baptists base their authority solely
on the Bible itself. They do not
accept that authority was given to any particular man, group or church on
earth to be the means of the salvation of men. God has not entrusted that authority to
impart salvation to any man or church.
God alone has that authority and He, in the person of the Holy Spirit,
brings conviction and salvation to those who, in simple faith, believe.
A church that is truly a Biblical one,
patterns itself after the example in the New Testament. It is one made up of baptized believers
organized in a local congregation for fellowship, teaching and evangelism. All systems of hierarchy established by man
over the authority of the local church have led to doctrinal errors and
corruption without exception.
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