|
Retracing the steps of our Baptist and Independent forefathers is
always an enriching experience. Whether one learns of those brave souls who
endured terrible torture and death, or those who languished in prison, or those
who fought theological and apologetic battles for the faith, it is always good
to be put in remembrance of our heritage. Having recently returned from another
Baptist History module in England and Scotland, I am again encouraged and
enlightened in my own Christian walk. Sometimes the reality of what others did
for Christ long ago does not seem close to home until we put our feet on the
same soil or walk through the same streets and buildings or even jail cells.
This is true in Bible lands and also in Christian history lands.
The approximately five
hundred years between the Protestant Reformation and today is an amazing part of
history for all Christian denominations, but especially those independent Bible
believing churches like the Baptists who were truly the “step-children” of the
Reformation.
Protestant Struggle
In England in the mid
1500s, Protestants were being put to death by “Bloody” Mary Tudor at Smithfield,
the Tower of London, and various other notorious places. John Rogers, compiler
of the Matthew’s Bible, was the first to
burn in Mary’s fires. After being held in Newgate Prison he was led to
Smithfield Market for execution (the infamous market where William Wallace was
tortured centuries before). Both prison and market are within sight of his own
parish church. Rogers’ wife and eleven children managed only a few words of
encouragement before the man of God was placed in the flames. Rather than
recanting, Rogers washed his hands in the flames, “as if it had been cold water”
and lifted his hands toward heaven until death came. John Bradford, who would
soon find the same fate, wrote to Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, and Nicholas
Ridley who were being held at Oxford until their own executions, and said, “Our
dear brother Rogers has broken the ice valiantly.” So began Mary’s 45-month
reign of terror which saw over 300 Protestants burn for refusing her Catholic
mass.
Independent Baptist Struggle
A hundred years passes
quickly but can turn the world upside down. By 1660 Cromwell’s Commonwealth had
ended, British Monarchy was restored, and the Church of England was again the
official state Church. By 1662 the Act of Conformity was in effect requiring
all clergy of any religion to give full consent to everything in the Church of
England Prayer Book. Now the same belief system that was persecuted by the
Roman Catholic system was itself persecuting others who would not worship as it
demanded. It was during the latter half of this century that John Bunyan,
converted tinker and veteran of Cromwell’s army, began preaching publicly and
without the Prayer Book. In addition to that offense, the recently passed
Conventicle Act forbid any attendance at a public religious meeting other than
the state church. Bunyan could abide neither, was arrested, and imprisoned for
twelve years. At the end of that time, when he was eligible for release upon
promise not to violate these codes, Bunyan assured his captors that if he were
released, he would be preaching again within the day. He was placed in the
river bridge gaol for another three years. It was during these years that
Bunyan left the Christian world the most published book in the world except for
the Bible Itself, The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Evangelistic Baptist Struggle
We may carry our upside
down story a little further. Fast forward another hundred years and we find
evangelical Christianity at peace in England and Scotland with state and
dissenting churches free to worship as their consciences dictated. Baptist
churches had flourished as they always have in times of religious tolerance.
Particular Baptists (Calvinistic) as well as General Baptists (less Calvinistic
and/or Arminian) had flourished and settled into their patterns of belief and
worship. Among the Particular Baptists, John Gill, pastor of New Park Street in
London (later to become Metropolitan Tabernacle), was known for his
hyper-Calvinism. Gill had been born in Kettering in the Midlands. Many others
were ardent proponents of this theology as well, including John Rylands, Sr. of
College Lane Baptist Church of Northampton in the Midlands.
The Midlands, as the
middle section of England is called, would become the cradle of the most
important missionary venture of modern times. With a certain coldness settling
in over the churches, God began building a fire under a group of young
independent Baptists, including John Rylands, Jr., son of (also co-pastor with)
the influential pastor in Northhampton. The Baptist churches held monthly
associational meetings but seldom was there a challenge for missions. In 1779,
Robert Hall, Sr., pastor at Arnsby preached a sermon to the monthly meeting from
Isa. 57:14 on the obligation to world-wide missions. This stirred four young
men who began monthly prayer meetings regarding their obligation to missionary
work. They were John Rylands, Jr., John Sutcliff of Olney, Andrew Fuller of
Kettering, and an even younger man from Moulton named William Carey. They also
began reading literature on revival from an American theologian named Jonathan
Edwards.
In 1785 young Andrew
Fuller, pastor of Gold Street Baptist Church in Kettering, published a tract
titled, “The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation” in which he urged that it was the
duty of all gospel preachers to give the unconverted an opportunity to be
saved. Meanwhile, in Moulton, William Carey was already drawing a map of the
world for his young pupils and was growing burdened for the vast people groups
of the world. In 1791 Carey also published a tract titled, “An Inquiry into the
obligations of Christians to use means for the conversion of the heathen.”
Carey argued that the Great Commission was not fulfilled by the Apostles and
that if we still had the obligation to baptize and teach (which even the most
Calvinistic obviously practiced) then we also had the obligation to go into all
the world and preach the gospel.
Missionary Baptist Struggle
In the following decade
events would transpire more quickly toward the establishment of modern
missions. On April 27, 1791 in the associational meeting at Clipston, Andrew
Fuller of Kettering, and John Sutcliff of Olney preached on the necessity of
missionary work by the churches. A similar meeting was held in Northampton
where John Rylands, Sr. presided over the session. Carey rose to ask the
association to consider whether the Great Commission to take the gospel into all
the world was not obligatory on all ministers in all ages. It was such a
provocative question that the others could hardly believe he would dare to ask
it. Incensed, Rylands, Sr., rose, fixed his eyes on Carey, and said, “Sit down,
young man, you are an enthusiast. When God pleases to convert the heathen,
He’ll do it without your help or mine.”
However, the fire was
lit and would not be extinguished. On May 29, 1792 Carey was to preach in
Nottingham, at Friar Lane Baptist Chapel. This was the opportunity for which he
had been waiting. Carey preached from Isa. 54:2-3, “Enlarge the place of thy
tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation.” From this
sermon came his nearly immortal words, “Expect great things from God, attempt
great things for God.” But Carey was to be somewhat disappointed. He had urged
his friends the night before, as they talked late into the night at the Angel
Inn, to do something of a definite nature about world-wide missions. But the
meeting ended with no action taken.
On October 2, 1792 the
pastors’ meeting would be in Kettering at the church of Andrew Fuller. As was
their custom, they met the previous night at an Inn for fellowship. This time
they stayed in the house-turned-Inn of a member of the church, the Widow
Wallis. About a dozen men sat up late into the night while Carey read how the
Moravian missionaries had been used of God in great ways. By the end of the
evening a resolution was passed:
Humbly desirous of making an effort for the
propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen, according to the recommendations of
Carey’s Enquiry, we unanimously resolve to act in Society together for this
purpose; and, as in the divided state of Christendom, each denomination, by
exerting itself separately, seems likeliest to accomplish the great end, we name
this the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst
the Heathen.”
An offering was taken
that night which amounted to a little over thirteen pounds. Names and amounts
were recorded which are still available to the public. Surprisingly, Carey’s
name is not on the list! He was so poor he could not give but promised rather
that, if they would all hold the ropes, he would descend into India to mine for
souls! From that day Carey became the first and life-long missionary and Andrew
Fuller the first and life-long secretary. The Baptist Missionary Society (BMS
as it was referred to) became the model for Faith Missions and Carey, the Father
of Modern Missions. Carey went to India and never returned and is buried there
still. Fuller went on to be a great theologian and ambassador for the BMS and
for all foreign missions.
Local Baptist Church Struggle
Our story doesn’t end
in the Midlands. Although the BMS strongly influenced churches in London, it
also had a providential effect in Scotland. The Baptist movement there had
various beginnings but none more influential than the Haldane brothers, Robert
and James. At a time when most Scottish Independents were overly influenced by
Presbyterian principles (non-immersion, elder rule), the Haldanes became
convinced of adult baptism and congregational rule. One of their converts,
Christopher Anderson heard Andrew Fuller preach on missions while in Scotland
and surrendered to the mission field. After attending Bible College in Bristol,
health issues forbade him to go to the field. Anderson returned to Edinburgh
and began a church in Richmond Court which maintained a strong missionary zeal
due to the influence of Fuller and the BMS. The church collected money for the
BMS and itself sent two missionaries to work with Carey in India. That same
church later purchased a building off Charlotte Square which is today still
called Charlotte Baptist Chapel. It has had illustrious pastors such as Graham
Scroggie and J. Sidlow Baxter.
A century later, Charles
Haddon Spurgeon would call Andrew Fuller the greatest theologian of the
nineteenth century. Spurgeon himself carried on the Baptist conviction of
soul-winning and world-wide missions from a Particular Baptist perspective.
Metropolitan Tabernacle still sells Carey’s and Fuller’s books for its
congregation and visitors.
And So . . . .
Baptists, mere
step-children of Reformers and disconnected entirely from Rome, never persecuted
anyone. They have wrangled among themselves but only pursued others with ideas
and truth. Their faithfulness to evangelism and missions was born out of
difficulty and perpetuated by obedience to God’s command. We are still
practicing Faith Missions in our independent churches largely after the model
that was born in the Widow Wallis’ house that night in 1792, which, according to
those faithful men, was born in the pages of God’s Word.
The twenty-first century
must be influenced also by Baptist missionary work. It must also be grounded in
the understanding of the depravity and lostness of the multitudes of the world’s
people groups. It must preach the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone
for forgiveness of sin and access to God the Father. It must baptize those who
will believe by faith and establish churches to teach them all things that the
Lord Jesus taught us, especially that we too must go into all the world and give
men the opportunity to respond to the gospel. It is not necessarily ours to win
the whole world, but it is ours to evangelize the world with the Good News that
Jesus saves.
| 
