Featured Views of Baptist Origins

Your outline looks like a good start. I have The Theology of John Smyth in my amazon wishlist, maybe it will make an appearance for father's day.

 

Secular Church history is: (1) uninspired and therefore subject to personal bias; (2) incomplete and therefore insufficient (3) often incorrect. I will take prophetic New Testament inspired forecast of church history over secular history. The Scriptures make it clear the prophetic forecast of New Testament history will be dominated by a church state form which persecutes, and distorts and therefore regulates true new testament Christianity to a "heretic" status. Furthermore, within the professing kingdom of God the forecast is that they will be the "few" among the "many" or majority which are "tares."

I believe "Continuation" is the proper position. If you removed the concrete church, its ordinances, ministry and mission from the New Testament you would have very little left of the New Testament and so New Testament Christianity cannot continue to exist 9I did not say personal salvation could not exist) apart from its New Testament FORM as centered around the New Testament church institution. Hence, "Succession of Baptist Churches" or as I prefer to label it "Succession of New Testament Churches" is the correct choice through "church succession" as the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is impossible to administer apart from organic contact in a reproductive or successive manner. Each participle demands immediate organic contact between the administrator "ye" and "them." The third participle requires habitual assemblying together between "ye" and "them" as such things as Matthew 18:15-18 cannot be "observed" outside membership in a New Testament church and neither can Matthew 26:12-30.

The reproductive character is immediately recognized in "make disicples" as a discipleis a follower or one who adopts and goes with the same gospel, administers the same baptism and observes the same faith and order as the master - so like reproducing like is built into the commission. Those who embrace and go with "another gospel" are not disciples of Christ but apostates (Gal. 1:8-9). Those who administer another baptism reject the counsel of God against themselves (Lk. 7:29-30). Those who teach and observe another faith and practice have departed from "the faith" (1 Tim. 4:1).

The words of Christ promise day in and day out presence of this plural "ye" in congregational form until the second coming as his words are literally "all the days of the age" but as Dr. Hendriksen translates it "day in and day out until the end of the age." Remove the New Testament church from any generation and New Testament Christianity as revealed in the New Testament ceases to exist. Remove the New Testament church (officers, ordinances, mission) from the New Testament and very little of the New Testament remains.

The "Church Fathers" are the historical record of apostasy that culminated in Western and Eastern Catholic churches. Those who originate or receive their ordinances from them are apostate as well - as who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing - not one! Not even God as he requires a "new" birth and ultimately a "new" heaven and earth.

 

So from all the evidence that you have has the baptism that John the Baptist administered to Jesus in the river Jordan (immersion) ever ceased?... Or has it continued until now?... Even though down through the centuries there has been a vehement satanic spirit to eradicate the practice and those who practice it... That what I have seen in my studies... Sorry if I got off topic... Those are my thoughts... Brother Glen

 

Oh I see what you mean now Squire!... Thanks for clearing that up with scripture... Brother Glen

 

I have a question according to the outline set up by Vaughn... I did not know this and found it out just recently... What impact did this action by Spurgeon have on the Baptist in England and America if any?... Brother Glen

“The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon gave notice of his withdrawal from the Baptist Union, by publication in his journal, The Sword and Trowel, for November, 1887, and in a letter to the Secretary of that body dated October 28th. As a reason for taking this step, he affirmed that the Union was tolerating error, and permitting a downward tendency of ministers in points of doctrine, in that some persons were allowed to remain in it who make light of the atonement, deny the personality of the Holy Ghost, call the fall of man a fable, speak slightingly of justification by faith, refuse credence to the dogma of the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and hold that there is another probation after death, with possibilities of a future retribution of the lost. While efforts to induce him to reconsider his decision were without avail, be declared that he remained as much a Baptist as ever—his denominationalism not being affected by his relations with the Union, a voluntary, unofficial body.

 

rsr... I want to thank you for that interesting article and I agree it may have hastened Spurgeon's death... And you are right only God knows!... Just something I never knew before... You learn something every day... Brother Glen

 

God Bless you my Brother In Jesus Christ!... Brother Glen

 

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A short kibbitz regarding New Testament /church History: there are some out here who take the beginnings of New Testament Churches back to the shores of Galilee and Mt. 4:19, "Come follow me, I will make you fishers of men." This is Jesus calling out the apostles, the ekklesia, the called out for a purpose, long before Pentecost. The succession is not apostolic but rather from a Faith and Practice handed down in every generation even through today--whatever the name. See the Book of Jude. "...The Faith, once for all delivered to the saints."

The problem with Church History is trying to make it conform to the New Advent Encyclopedia. True Baptists never had anything to do with Rome nor her daughters. The Book of Acts shows the history as well as the faith and practice. A lot of folk seem to get seriously confused in Acts 2.

One does not need a ThD to understand.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Bro. James