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Baptist History
Baptist churches, such as First Baptist, seek
to follow the pattern of Christ's church in the New Testament.
We believe that our history began with Christ and the apostles.
This often has been proclaimed by Baptist historians and
preachers. It is one of the most glorious claims ever made for
any church. Most Baptists believe that both the Bible and
history substantiate its truth.
What is the meaning of such a claim for us as Baptists? It means
from the days of Christ, until now, no date can be cited, no
place designated, and no founder named, with the positive
assertion, "This is where Baptists began!" It also means that in
every age from New Testament days until the present time,
Christ's church has continued to exist. Since that time, there
have been churches that were holding New Testament principles
such as those held by First Baptist Church today.
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Christ established His church during His
personal ministry here on the earth. This is one of the things
which He definitely said He would do: "Upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it" (Matthew 16:18). Before Christ left the earth, He
stated the work He had come to do was finished (John 17:4,
John 19:30).
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The first members were the apostles (I
Corinthians 12:28). Jesus took these men, who had been
baptized by John the Baptist, and formed them into His church.
Before He left the earth, this church had a membership of
about 120 (Acts 1:15), an organization, the ordinances, a
commission, and a treasurer. On Pentecost, the three thousand
saved and baptized were "added" to the church, which was
already in existence. This church was a local, visible body.
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In the Greek New Testament, the world
translated "church" is used 109 times to refer to the Lord's
church. In 93 cases, it designates a local church; 14 cases,
the church as an institution; and twice, all of the saved
together in glory.
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When the word "church is used of an
institution, it does not mean one big universal church, but an
institution made up of individual churches. When we speak of
"the home" or "the school", we do not mean one big universal
home or school. Nor is there one big church. The New Testament
never speaks of a group of churches as "the church"; nor are
the words "universal" or "invisible" used with reference to
the church anywhere in the New Testament. If there is a sense
in which all of the saved make up a universal, invisible
church, it has no real existence until it is assembled in
glory.
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The way Jesus used the word church also
reveals that the church He established was a local visible
body. He used the word 22 times; 3 times in Matthew and 19
times in Revelation. In 21 of those 22 uses, Jesus clearly was
speaking of a local church. In the other use (Matthew 16:18),
He said, "I will build my church". There is no reason to
believe that He was thinking of something altogether different
from the local, visible body of which He spoke in all of the
other references. Evidently, here He was thinking of the
church as the institution which He was about to establish.
When the institution is an actual reality, however, it exists
as local, visible bodies.
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Churches like this first church have
continued to exist from that day to the present time. Christ
promised that they would not cease to exist. He said that "the
gates of hell shall not prevail against" His church (Matthew
16:18). He said that it would be in the world to the end of
the age (Matthew 28:20). If the words of Jesus were true (and
we know that they were), then there have been New Testament
churches such as FBC in existence in every age since Jesus
spoke. They will continue to be in the world until He comes
again.
Since New Testament churches, like those set
up by our Lord, are in the world today, how may they be
identified? New Testament churches must have four things true
concerning their origin and doctrine.
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They must have the right founder; Jesus
Christ.
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They must have been founded in the right
place, in Palestine, where Christ lived.
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They must have been founded at the right
time, during the earthly ministry of Jesus.
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They must be teaching the doctrines the
Lord gave His church in the New Testament.
Churches which cannot meet these conditions
can hardly be the churches the Lord established. Using these
principles, we can truly say that FBC is a New Testament church
in doctrine, organization, and practice. It must be our purpose,
as Baptists, to keep our church true to the New Testament in
every way. FBC strives to be the type of church Christ wants and
needs in the world.
In apostolic days and for a period
thereafter, the churches remained reasonably free from false
teaching. Even before the end of the first century, however,
Satan began to sow evil seeds. Churches here and there were
teaching doctrines not true to "the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints." Baptismal regeneration, salvation by
works or law, centralized church government, union of church and
state, and other heresies appeared.
In the year 312, the Roman emperor
Constantine took the first steps toward governmental support for
Christianity. Gradually, church and state were united into a
government and church alliance. This union finally culminated in
the full development of Roman Catholicism by about the end of
the sixth century. With Catholicism in control, the Dark Ages
came. This period lasted until the Reformation. The translation
of the Scriptures into the language of the people, the invention
of printing, and revolt of many religious leaders against the
Roman hierarchy then brought new day in world history.
During all this time of the rise and
development of false doctrines and practice in the churches,
there were scattered through Europe, Asia, and Africa, groups of
dissenting churches which refused to acknowledge the Roman pope
and sought to follow the New Testament. Some early groups were
the Montanists, Novatians, and Donatists. Later groups included
the Petrobrusians, Waldensees, and Anabaptists. Catholic
historians call most of these sects "Anabaptists". They were
mercilessly persecuted throughout the centuries until after the
Reformation, and some persecution against them has continued to
modern times.
Though these groups did not carry the name
"Baptists", many of them did hold various Baptist tenets, such
as separation of church and state, spiritual democracy,
salvation by grace apart from sacraments, believers' baptism,
and immersion as the mode of baptism. churches holding these
truths cherished New Testament principles. They shared with
Baptists the desire to follow Christ's will for His churches.
When the Reformation came, numerous new
non-Catholic groups appeared. Some of them became the large
Protestant denominations of today. They all rejected many of the
heresies of the Roman Catholic Church, but most of them retained
some teachings which had no foundation in the New Testament. In
the centuries since the Reformation, other denominations have
been formed until there are now hundreds of separate
denominational organizations. Some of them have departed far
from using the New Testament as their only rule of faith and
practice.
In the Reformation period, the people called
Baptists also appeared. Many historians believe that they had
existed under other names in the preceding centuries. How they
became known as Baptist, and their history may be clearly traced
from that period. In England, they began a slow but steady
growth. Soon they began to appear in other lands. Here in
America, the first Baptist church was established in Rhode
Island about 1738, and soon there were churches in other
colonies. They grew very rapidly during the Revolutionary period
and the early years of the new nation. Today, Baptists
constitute the largest evangelical group in America with
approximately twenty million members. There are now more than
twenty-five million Baptists in the world, with churches in more
than one hundred nations.
Baptists have contributed many things to the
world's progress. Perhaps their greatest contribution is
religious freedom. They have fought for it through the
centuries, and its establishment in America came largely through
their influence and effort. They also inaugurated the modern
mission movement. William Carey, an English Baptist, was the
first foreign missionary of the English-speaking world. The
first Sunday School society for Bible teaching was started by a
Baptist layman in London, and the great Bible societies of
England and America have had strong Baptist support. Baptists
have made many other contributions to the progress of
Christianity.
The Baptist past is glorious. As we remain
true to Christ, our future is assured. The Lord has promised
that His churches will be here until the "end of the world".
Inspired by the unfailing devotion of our forbearers and assured
of victory by the promises of GOD, let us as Baptists, in this
day of religious compromise and retreat, hold fast, "the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints". Let us, with renewed
fervor, lift up the banner of Him who said, "And I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me". (John
12:32)
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