There is one Church of Jesus Christ, with a single body of doctrine taught by the apostles and their successors. As I understand #TheWord various local churches should preach:
- Belief in life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus,
- Repentance and confession of sins.
- Baptism as an outward sign of the new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-4).
- Sharing the #Gospel of Christ with all the nations.
Baptist churches as we know them were not founded until the 17th Century, and there were two distinct groups that came about at the same time in England: The General Baptists and the Particular Baptists. Today, some Baptists claim the “Reformed” traditions (Zwingli, Calvin). Other Baptists claim origins with “Anabaptists” (re-baptizers) in reaction to the Church at Rome allowing infant baptism. They were “dissenters” and were heavily persecuted by the established Roman Catholic Church during the late (High) medieval and early “enlightenment” people.
It was very common for great wars and societal disruptions to be engaged in during the “Protestant Reformation”. Events such as the Thirty Years War throughout Europe, The Eighty Years War between Spain and the incipient “Netherlands” and the French Wars of Religion. All of these were driven by the determination of the Roman Catholic Church and secular princes to control the practice, worship and teaching about Jesus Christ. The “Protestants” were driven by the opening statement above and rejected secular and Catholic dogmas and doctrines they had that were not nor ever present in The Word of God.
Some common denominations you may have heard of that formed in this period were, the Baptists (noted above), The Methodists (Wesleyan), Presbyterians (John Knox, Scotland, and various “reformed” groups based on the theologies of Zwingli and Calvin. Many great minds and efforts of believers of all creeds contended violently and frequently, and oppressed those who did not comply with their particular understanding of the Bible and the role of the Church.
What is surprising, even shocking to some modern people is the dichotomy of such contentions with the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and his Apostles which is to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34-35) and to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44).
History shows what can happen when we take our focus off of Jesus and His Word.
We will be doing a more extensive study of this period over 3 or 4 parts on our Podcasts [link] that you can access by visiting https://mission1711.com/mission-1711-podcasts/
Also, check out our new book; The Jesus Adventure – Journey to Spiritual Freedom.
I welcome your comments and feedback. Contact us here at any time.