Baptists are NOT Protestants!

 

I recently heard a sermon by a preacher wanting a reformation renewal.  He assumed that many in his congregation were from a Protestant background.  That assumption may have been false.

 

The Church in which that Pastor served is considered to be independent.  The congregation comes from several backgrounds such as Church of God, Assembly of God, Pentecostal Holiness, and Baptist, plus some real Protestants.

 

Let me make this very clear:  Baptists are the ones Catholics and Protestants murdered just as Catholics murdered Protestants.  Why do you think that the Puritans left Protestant England?  They left to seek a place where they may worship God in a proper manner, which was not available to them under the Protestant Church of England.  Catholics operated under totalitarianism, so did Protestants! They persecuted those who were not in their religious camps! Catholics and Protestants persecuted Baptists and other groups that looked to the Bible for guidance!

 

Christianity in America has gotten to the point that all non-Catholic Christian groups are lumped under the Protestant heading.  To any real Church historian that is illogical.

 

The preacher knew very little about the historical reformation.

 

On October 31, 1517, a Roman Catholic Priest, Reverend Father Martin Luther nailed what are known as his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.  Those “theses” were simply a listing of Luther’s beliefs, and not treatises to accompany each of the 95 statements of belief.

 

Thesis #49---Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

 

To Baptists, the Popes’ pardons are worthless now and always have been!  But that is not the only distinction between Baptists and Protestants.

 

Baptists, under and variety of names from Anabaptists to re-baptizers have been around for many centuries prior to the Reformation.  For those of the Baptist faith the reformation preachers were late bloomers.

 

Today, Baptists are called Baptist, because they Practice a believers’ baptism.  All Protestant Churches and some others such as the “Church of Christ” denomination practice “regenerational” baptism, which is theologically questionable.

 

For the record, the Greek Orthodox Church practices regenerational baptism by immersion.  They also practice infant baptism that is not done in the Baptist denomination, but in the Greek Orthodox Church all baptisms are by immersion, as are Baptist baptisms.  Also for the record, Greek Orthodox is not a Protestant denomination!

 

Some questionable (so-called) Baptists Churches preach baptism but have lost their desire to baptize.  They no longer require public baptism as a symbol of rebirth, and commitment to Christ.

 

Baptists have never practiced infant baptism.  We prefer to wait until such time as a personal commitment can be made.

 

Protestants are Church denominations that truly came out of the Roman Catholic Church.  The “re-baptizers” were never a part of the Roman denomination, and never practiced infant baptism.

 

A partial list of protestant Churches are:

Lutheran

Presbyterian

Church of England/Anglican/Episcopal

Dutch Reform

And (by association) Methodist and its associated Churches

 

Baptists/re-baptizers have been around since, at least, the second century and predate the reformation by several centuries.

 

When I speak of “re-baptizers,” I am including all non-Protestant Churches that practice baptism by immersion, but do not practice infant baptism.

 

Historically, both Roman Catholics and true Protestants have attempted to eliminate the re-baptizers.  In the 500’s the code of Justinian, the last of the great Roman emperors, made re-baptizing a criminal act. So, Baptists were around even then!

 

The term “reformation” came from the attempt by “father” Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church.  Baptists and non-Protestants have never made a concerted effort to reform Catholicism.

 

Catholics and Protestants sprinkle children in fear of infant death.  That sprinkling is a regenerational act induced by lack of faith and biblical ignorance. The believer’s baptism as is practiced among the Baptists and most other non-Protestant Churches due to faith and biblical instruction.

 

So, the next time somebody says, Baptists, or one of the other non-Protestant denominations are Protestant, stand up and correct their ignorance!

 

***Recently a Baptist Pastor offered this article by the late Dr. Noel Smith. I offer it to you for the purpose of learning Church history.

 

Why I am a Baptist

By the late Dr. Noel Smith

Baptists are a people. They have a historical identity. They have a historical image. Their continuity is the longest of any Christian group on earth. Their doctrines, principles, and practices are rooted in the apostolic age. I am not a Pharasaical sectarian but I don't confuse Baptists with the Reformers. The Reformers wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church; the Baptists were against the church, because it was not a New Testament church.

Protestantism originated in the Reformation. Protestantism is "protestism." That's a Negative. Negativism has within it the seed of its own disintegration. The Baptists were not reformers. They were not protesters. They were positive.

Freedom of conscience is not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.

Religious liberty is not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.

Believer's baptism is not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.

Baptism of the believer by immersion in water, symbolizing the believer's death, burial and resurrection with Christ is not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.

The local, visible, autonomous assembly, with Christ as its only head and the Bible as its sole rule of faith and practice, is not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.

Worldwide missions are not a Reformation doctrine; it is a Baptist doctrine.
The Reformers had no missionary vision and no missionary spirit. For almost two hundred years after the Reformers, the Reformation churches felt no burden to implement the Great Commission.

What kind of world would the Western world have been had Protestantism became its master? Who but the Baptist kept Protestantism from becoming master? The general attitude today is that the truth is determined by the passing of time; that there aren't eternal, abiding truths. "You can't turn the clock back. Time invalidates all truth. Time invalidates one set of truth and fastens another set upon us." Baptist history repudiates this philosophy of fatalism. Baptists today are believing, teaching, preaching and practicing the truths that they believed, taught, preached and practiced two thousand years ago. It gives me a feeling of stability to reflect that I, as a Baptist, am in the stream of this long continuity of faith and practice. The Baptist people are a great continuity ... a great essence ... a great dignity. The world never needed them more than it needs them today.

For further study on this subject go to this URL http://nonprotestantbaptists.com/

 

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