Origin of Baptists

I found this at www.baptistpillar.com . Enjoy!

Origin of the Baptists
Taken from the book entitled, “Why I am a Baptist” by C. Larkin
Almost all the Anti-papist denominations date, either directly or indirectly, from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Churches, came from the Roman Catholic Church, and the Methodist Episcopal Church came from the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The Baptists, however, do not date from the Reformation. Though Anti-papists, they are not, in the technical and historical sense of the word, "Protestants," though they have ever protested, and do now protest, against the heresies and abominations of the Romish Church.
Just before his ascension, Jesus said to his disciples:
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt 28: 18-20; and Mark adds, He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16: 16.
The requirements of this Divine Commission, are:
1. To preach the gospel to all nations.
2. To baptize those who believe.
3. To teach those who believe to observe all things whatsoever Christ commanded.
This the apostles did. That the churches they founded were believed to be composed of regenerated persons, is evident from the fact that they addressed or referred to them as "believers," "saints," "quickened," "the faithful," "the redeemed," "the sanctified," "the saved," etc. The apostolic churches were also independent bodies; that is, separate from the State and from each other, and self governed. They are spoken of individually as, "the church at Jerusalem," "the church at Antioch," "the church at Smyrna." They are spoken of collectively as, "the churches," "the churches of Macedonia," "the churches of Asia," "all the churches."
They are represented as electing their own officers, admitting, expelling, and restoring members, and acting as distinct, independent bodies.
There is a remarkable similarity between the apostolic churches and the Baptist churches of today, in their modes and forms of worship.
The apostolic churches were distinguished for the plainness and simplicity of their worship. "They had no magnificent cathedrals, gorgeously arrayed priesthood, no prescribed ritual, no splendid religious shows, no pomp of music, no parade of images and paintings."
Quietly, and unostentatiously, they met in some "upper room," or other humble sanctuary, to sing, to pray, to read and expound the Scriptures, and to exhort one another to faithfulness in the Christian life.
History of the Baptists
The Baptists claim to have descended from the apostles.
It is true that the line of descent cannot always be traced. Like a river, that now and then in its course is lost under the surface of the ground, and then makes its appearance again, the Baptists claim that, from the days of the apostles until the present time, there have not been wanting those persons, either separately or collected into churches, and known under different names, who, if now living, would be universally recognized as Baptists.
Since the origin of the Baptists, long and eventful ages have elapsed. Some of them were ages of ignorance and darkness. Men were afraid to speak or to write, almost to think. The principles for which the Baptists contended were fiercely denounced as heresy and treason. To speak, was to be hushed in death. Had they not been immortal, all vestiges of them, save in the records of courts and councils, would have perished. Their existence and continuity can be traced down the ages by "the stains of their martyr's blood, and the light of their martyr's fires."
Since the days of the apostles, they have come to the surface in the Novatians, the Donatists, the Paulicians, the Paterines, the various communities of Waldenses, the so-called Anabaptists of Germany, Dutch Baptists, the Baptists of England; and are seen today in the Baptists distributed all over the world.
Dr. Cramp says: "When Luther blew the trumpet of religious freedom, the Baptists came out of their hiding-places to share in the general gladness, and to take part in the conflict."
The Baptists have suffered, in common with other Christian denominations, at the hands of wicked rulers, and of the Roman hierarchy. They have also suffered by themselves for their peculiar views as Baptists, at the hands of Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists; and for no one thing more than their rejection of infant baptism. In Germany they were plundered, thrust into dungeons, banished, and numbers of them beheaded or burned alive. Torture was frequently employed to wring from the sufferers the names and abodes of their associates, or to force them to renounce the faith. In Switzerland, in 1526, it was ordered that if any baptized others, or submitted to baptism (re-baptism, they called it), they should be drowned without mercy. Many Baptist ministers were drowned; and they held their meetings in secret, in the woods, and under cover of the night. Finally, they left the country in large numbers, going to Moravia, where, for a season, they were tolerated; but at length a law was passed expelling them, and they left, some going to Hungary, some to Transylvania, some to Wallachia, and others to Poland.
In the Netherlands, the hand of oppression was heavy on the Baptists. In 1532, three were burned at the Hague. By edicts, published in the following year, all persons were forbidden to harbor Baptist preachers in Holland; and Baptists refusing to recant were to be slain. The torture was constantly resorted to. The victims were stretched on the rack, or thumb-screws were employed, or a similar instrument applied to the ankles. No regard was paid to sex, station, or age. Under Bloody Mary, a good proportion of the martyr blood that flowed was from the veins of Baptists; and many passed to heaven through the fire.
In the early settlements of America, Church and State were united by law, and the Church sustained by taxation and State appropriations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia; and persecutions against Dissenters were violent and severe.
In 1620 (December 20), the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and founded the first colony in New England. They were Independents, or Congregationalists; and on board the "Mayflower," they had made a provision for the support of the church and ministry by taxation. The Pilgrims, or Puritans, did not come to this country to establish religious liberty; they came to establish their own faith, and to exclude all others from their colonies; and they were more intolerant in their colonial enactments against Dissenters than either England or Holland, whence they had fled from persecution.
Roger Williams landed at Boston, February 5, 1631. He had been a minister of the Church of England; but becoming disgusted with its corruptions, he sought a home in the Puritan colony of Massachusetts. But when he found the Puritan Church at Boston still holding communion with the Church of England, he refused to unite with it, and went to Salem. But his sentiments were quite in advance of the Puritans. He boldly preached religious liberty, liberty of conscience, liberty of worship, and declared that the civil magistrate had no right to coerce the consciences of men, nor inflict civil penalties upon men for their forms of religious faith and worship. In January, 1636, he was banished; but his persecutors, fearing that he would establish another colony, determined to send ham back to England; but when the officers went to his home to arrest him, he was gone. He had fled into the wilderness among the savages, who furnished him with a home. "For fourteen weeks," he says, "I knew not what bed or bread did mean." He had made the acquaintance, and secured the friendship of Massasoit, and the Narraganset chiefs, Canonicus and Miantonomoh. By the last two he was welcomed to Narraganset Bay, where he founded the city of Providence. In March, 1639, he became a Baptist.
Though persecuted by others, the Baptists have never persecuted. They have always opposed the union of Church and State. In Virginia, in 1784, when they had almost conquered in their struggle for religious freedom, a compromise was proposed in the form of the famous "Assessment Bill." Every one was to be taxed to support religion; but to have the liberty of saying to which denomination his tax was to be applied. The Baptists saw that this was an alliance of Church and State, and opposing it, secured its defeat.
In Georgia, in 1785, a law for the establishment and support of religion was actually passed, through the influence of the Episcopalians. It embraced all denominations, and gave all equal privileges; but the same year, the Baptists remonstrated against it, sent two messengers to the Legislature, and it was promptly repealed. The first modern treatise ever written upon "Religious Liberty," was by Leonard Busher, a Baptist, in 1614.
The Baptists have not only been the firm friends of "Religious Liberty," but of "Civil Liberty" as well.
Thomas Jefferson had much to do in shaping the government of Virginia, and of the United States. He was not a Baptist, but he was brought up in close relations to them; and about ten years before the Revolution, he attended, for several months, the meetings of a small Baptist church near Monticello, his country seat, and became much interested in their church government; and declared that it was the only true democracy existing in the world; and that he believed it would be the best plan of government for the American Colonies.
A National Constitution for the United States was adopted in 1787. Its provisions were satisfactory so far as they went; but many felt that "Religious Liberty" was not sufficiently guarded. The Baptist General Committee of Virginia, in 1788, expressed their disapproval of this important omission, and, after consultation with James Madison, they wrote to President Washington, saying, that they feared that liberty of conscience, dearer to them than property or life, was not sufficiently guarded in the Constitution. Washington sent a kind and encouraging reply, and in the very next month, Virginia proposed that immortal "First Amendment" to the Constitution of the United States:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Having a Mission Mind for Maine

Glory! God is so good! We had a great Lord's day and mid week service at Church Hill Baptist Church. Sunday morning we had brother Josh Lovelace preach a Sunday School message on the four types of soldiers found in I Samuel, the Coward, the Chameleon, the Comfortable and the Courageous. Brother Josh really brought it home. What a blessing it is to hear a man of God preach right from the King James Bible!
After Sunday school I had the pleasure to preach to an official crowd of 101 people. This is the highest amount of people I have ever preached to! Glory! I listed five reasons we need to have a missions mind for Maine.

1. Most towns don't have an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church.
2. Apathy rules most existing Churches.
3. Influx of immigrants.
4. Non-Biblical and extra-Biblical teaching is on the rise.
5. Ethical crisis in Maine.

You will notice the "acrostic" with the first letters spelling out "Maine". I am a simple man so I really need to create mechanisms for me to remember my points.

I had a great time preaching this message that God has laid upon my heart. I was a little nervous at first and I skipped around a little bit more than I planned to, but I think it went well. The feedback was very good. I certainly hope I will get another chance soon!

Sunday night Pastor Wiley delivered a message about the door. Be the watchman at the door of your house. Only let the Lord in. Watch for the Devil trying to get in through the cable, the mailbox, the Internet, the cel-phone.........guard your home.

What a great day in the Lord's house!

Preparing for Sunday morning (I get to preach again!)

The Lord had given me a message that I am burning to share with my Church family. On Sunday morning I will have the opportunity to preach the Word of God again! I am so thrilled that the Lord has called me to preach and I am praying for his power on my preaching. With an average attendance of over 100 for the "main" service this will be, by far, my largest audience yet. I can't wait to open up the King James Bible and say "Thus sayeth the Word of God!". Please pray for me as I continue my preperations for the message. I "practice preached" and timed my message at 1:04:00. Wow! I wonder if I will actually go over an hour? My introduction was over 20 minutes long. I will be preaching on something very close to my heart, Church Planting. Please pray for me as I will be working 10 hours on Friday and 12 on Saturday. Today is my last day for actual preperation time. I can't wait! God is good!

A great Lord's day so far

We had a great morning in the Lord's house today with a great Sunday school lesson on David's charge to Solomon before he "slept with his fathers" (died). We are to keep God's precepts just as David told Solomon. David learned the hard way that we need never depart from the wisdom of the Lord's precepts. Pastor Wiley preached from Jonah 1:1 in the main service. We learned from God's word that there are three types of reactions when God is speaking to you: 1. refuse to listen, 2. listen but do nothing, 3. listen and do. We need to listen and do. We need to sensitive to what the Lord is trying to get through to us.
We had some very special guests in the morning service this morning: the Morrison family (church planters in the town of Rumford) and Pastor and Mrs. Cal Fuller (from "Saving New England for Eternity" ministries). It was a special blessing to have these great families in attendance.
Before church this morning, the Lord woke me up very early and I had some great special time with him. How wonderful it is to be able to have a "prayer closet". It is during these times that the Lord speaks to me the most. I am so thankful for all that he is doing in my life right now. Yesterday my wife had a great opportunity to go to a ladies conference at Victory Baptist Church in Londonderry, NH. It was a great blessing for me to see her have such a great time. I praise the Lord for all of the great churches around us right now.
I am looking forward to the upcoming week as we have a great service tonight, men's institute Tuesday night and the mid-week service Wednesday night.

The Next Towns

Here it is Sunday night and I have had a great Lord's day in his house. I had the pleasure of being off this weekend as my wife and I attended the Maine Homeschoolers convention on Friday and Saturday. Three day weekends in retail are as common as 6 legged dogs. We enjoyed every second we spent together. The Lord has certainly blessed me with a great wife! The Lord has been working on my heart very heavily over the last two weeks. I am feeling such a burden for the state of Maine. In our extensive travels this weekend we had the opportunity to personally view Church after Church that was boarded up, for sale, used for some other purpose.... town after town, Church after Church. In addition, we have many Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches that are dying right in front of our eyes. Some of these Churches are barely clinging to life, others are so apathetic that they don't recognize their own town is dying and going to hell right around them. We need revival in Maine. We need men to stand up and heed the call of the Lord to preach the gospel! Jesus said in Mark 1:38 "Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth" Jesus felt a burden to go from town to town and preach the gospel. What worked in Jesus' day will work now. We need men, armed with the Word of God (the King James Bible) preaching "Jesus Saves" from every corner of every town. Maine is our most immediate mission field. Maine needs preachers. Maine needs the Lord.

The Modernist Preacher

The Modernist Preacher
He was an ordained minister, But modern in his views, He preached his fancy doctrine To people in the pews.
He would not hurt their feelings, What'er the cost would be, But their smiles and friendship And compliments sought he.
His church was filled with wicked souls That should be saved from sin, But never once he showed the way, Or tried a soul to win.
He preached about the lovely birds That twitter in the trees The babbling of the running brooks, The murm'ring of the seas.
He quoted fancy poetry That tickled list'ning ears; When sorrow came to some, He tried to laugh away their tears.
His smooth and slippery sermons Made the people slide to hell The harm he did by preaching Goes beyond what we can tell.
He took our Holy Bible, And preached it full of holes, The Virgin Birth, said he, Can't be believed by honest souls.
The miracles of Jesus And the resurrection tale For educated one like us, Today cannot avail.
We're living in an age, said he, When wisdom rules and reigns, When man's intelligence is great And superstition wanes.
He said, we're all God's children Who live upon this earth, No message of salvation, No need of second birth.
His coat was bought with money That he had wrongly gained, For through his lying sermons His wealth he had obtained.
He was just like the soldiers That watched at Jesus' grave, For money in abundance, To them, the people gave.
It was all theirs, by telling What was a sinful lie --- A resurrected Savior, They too, were to deny.
The day at last had come For the minister to die, When to his congregation, He had to say good-bye.
His form lay cold and lifeless, His ministry was past, His tongue with all its poison Was hushed and stilled at last.
His funeral was grand, He was lauded to the skies They preached him into heaven Where there are no good-byes.
Upon the lonely hill, Underneath the shady trees, His form was laid to rest In the wisp'ring of the breeze.
A tombstone was erected With the words; "He is at rest, He's gone to heaven's glories To live among the blest."
His body now is lifeless, But Ah! His soul lives on, He failed to enter in Where they thought that he had gone.
The letters on the tombstone Or that sermon some had heard, Could not decide his destiny, 'Twas not the final word.
He still had God to deal with, The One who knows the heart; While others entered heaven, He heard the word, "Depart".
He pauses for a moment Upon the brink of hell; He stares into a depth Where he evermore will dwell.
He hears the cries and groanings Of souls he had misled, He recognizes faces Among the screaming dead.
He sees departed deacons Which he once highly praised, Their fingers pointing at him As they their voices raised:
"You stood behind the pulpit, And lived in awful sin, We took you for a saint, But a serpent you have been."
Accusing cries -- he hears them. "Ah! you have been to blame, You led us into darkness When you were seeking fame.
"You preached your deadly poison, We thought you knew the way; We fed and clothed you, We even raised your pay.
"You've robbed us of a home Where no tear-drops ever flow, Where days are always fair And the heavenly breezes blow,
"Where living streams are flowing, And saints and angels sing, Where every one is happy, And Hallelujahs ring.
"We're in this place of torment, From which no soul returns; We hear the cry of lost ones, We feel the searing burns;
"Give us a drop of water, We're tortured in this flame, You failed to preach salvation To us through Jesus' name."
The preacher turns in horror, He tries to leave the scene, He knows the awful future For every soul unclean.
But there he meets the devil, Whom he had served so well, He feels the demon powers, They drag him into hell.
Throughout eternal ages His groans, too, must be heard -- He, too, must suffer torment He failed to heed God's Word.
He feels God's wrath upon him, He hears the hot flames roar, His doctrine now is different, He ridicules no more."
The Baptist Challenge - May 1998

My Journey

"And there they preached the gospel." Acts 14:7 In this passage we read of the first missionary journey. In Acts 13:2 Paul and Barnabas answered the call of the Holy Ghost and went forth preaching in every town. They were following the example set forth by Jesus Christ himself in Mark 1:38 "And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." Paul and Barnabas went forth preaching "Jesus saves" unto every town. They led many souls to the Lord, also making many enemies in the process. In the town of Iconium they preached in the synagogue and many of the Jews and Greeks believed. (Acts 14:1) There were many, however, who wanted this "Jesus problem" to go away. The unbelievers formed an angry mob and prepared to find Paul and Barnabas to stone them. Paul and Barnabas were "made ware" of the mob (Acts 14:6) and fled. What they did next really stirred me. They did not "lay low", they did not hide out and just try to "blend in". They preached the gospel despite the obvious danger they faced. This kind of boldness is sadly lacking today. There are areas of the country where people still revere the things of the Lord. Sadly, the northeast is not one of those areas.

For years I put more trust in my "own" abilities (given to me by the Lord, something I have finally given the Lord credit for) in business to lead me where I should go. I am blessed to have a very good job that pays me well and treats me great. Well, the Lord has other plans for me. On October 18, 2008 I finally surrendered to the call of the Lord to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I realize that I have a lot to learn before I can go off and plant an independent fundamental Baptist Church, but I have been placed in a great church where I have grown exponentially in my faith and Bible knowledge. Pastor James Wiley has taken me under his wing to mentor me and through Church Hill Baptist Institute I am learning at an even faster pace. I wish to preach with the boldness of the early church in the book of Acts. America and especially Maine need this kind of bold preaching. What we don't need is more churches that offer a "back rub" or a "feel good about where you are" message. What we do need is the boldness to proclaim the gospel to all corners, converting unbelievers and teaching believers to live a holy, separated life devoted to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This blog will chronicle my journey from businessman to preacher, from living for myself to living for the glory of God, from faith in me to faith in the Lord for all things.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33