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Landmarkism Under Fire
A Study of Landmark Baptist
by Elder J.C. Settlemoir
Appendix VII. - Church Definition by Baptists A church definition which does not include the essentials of a church is a faulty definition. No definition of a church by any Baptist writer that I have ever seen gives EMDA as a part of the definition. And if EMDA is not included in the definition of a church, how can it be an essential of church constitution? A few examples follow. S.H. Ford A Luther Rice Burress From these considerations a New Testament church is readily defined as an independent body of penitent, believing, individual Christians, baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, voluntarily banded together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep his ordinances and to proclaim his gospel in all the world.[658] The The Broad River Association, asked in 1812: ‘What is a Church?’ said in reply: ‘We believe a Gospel church consists of an indefinite number of saints joined together by consent, yet we think not complete without a minister.’[659] Hezekiah Harvey A church, therefore, is a permanent organization with a definite design and a mutually obligatory compact; and it differs from an ordinary assembly of Christians in that it is organized under a divine constitution and according to a divine model.[660] A Church is a Congregation of Believers in Christ, Baptized on a Credible Profession of Faith, and Voluntarily Associated Under Special Covenant For the maintenance of the Worship, the Truths, the Ordinances, and the Discipline of the Gospel.” [661] Wayne Camp A church is constituted by a group of people entering into a covenant with one another to serve the Lord as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of what another church does or does not do, regardless of what a preacher does or does not do, regardless of what a missionary does or does not do, a church comes into being when the people themselves enter into a covenant with one another to work together as a church of Jesus Christ.[662] Mr. Canne published in 1632, at John Smyth A visible communion of Saincts is of two, three, or moe Saincts joyned together by covenant with God & themselves, freely to use al the hooy things of God, according to the word, for their mutual edification, & God’s glory.....This visible communion of Saincts is a visible Church.[664] Dana Then in the light of the four facts unquestionably implied in the Great Commission, we may define a church thus: A church is a company of baptized believers, banded together in voluntary cooperation for the purpose of perpetuating the ordinances of Christ and of propagating the gospel to the ends of the earth.[665] A.H. Strong The individual church may be defined as that smaller company of regenerate persons, who, in any given community, unite themselves voluntarily together, in accordance with Christ’s laws, for the purpose of securing the complete establishment of his kingdom in themselves and in the world.[666] T.P. Simmons XI. THE IDENTIFYING MARK’S OF THE CHURCH If,
as we believe, the 1. A LOCAL INDEPENDENT BODY..... 2. HOLDING THE TRUTH AS TO THE WAY OF MAKING DISCIPLES...... 3. HOLDING THE TRUTH AS TO BAPTISM..... 4. RECOGNIZING CHRIST ALONE AS ITS HEAD, AND SEEKING TO CARRY OUT HIS WILL AND COMMANDS..... Simmons then concludes with this statement: “Wherever is found a local body possessing all of the attributes, there is a church. Without all of them there can be no church.”[667] J.L. Reynolds J.L. Reynolds wrote the book Church Polity while he was pastor of The Second Baptist Church of Richmond, Va. In 1849. He was a scholar and a professor. This work no doubt had a large influence among Baptists. There is no question but that he taught churches were self constituted as this quote will demonstrate: The divine constitution of the Churches is equally illustrative of the wisdom and the condescension of the Redeemer.... 1. Every Christian Church possesses the right of discipline, formative and corrective. With its divine constitution in its hands, defining the qualification which entitle to membership, it is its province to determine as to the possession of those qualifications, in the case of every applicant. Its nature as a voluntary society, involves the right to admit and to exclude. Primitive Christians constituted a voluntary compact; they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to one another; and were always addressed as those who had decided for themselves on the solemn subject of adherence to Christ. The fundamental principles of Church discipline are laid down in Mt. 18:15-18. Here the Saviour enjoins the course to be pursued towards an offending brother, and designates “the Church” as the tribunal of ultimate appeal. What, then, is the Church? The context affords a satisfactory reply. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I.” This is the Church to which Christ alludes. It is gathered in his name, and blessed with his presence; and is, therefore, competent to decide a question involving the interests of his cause......[668] Reynolds also tells how the church state comes upon a new church: Each particular church is a local society, composed of persons who have been baptized upon a credible profession of faith in the Son of God, and have solemnly covenanted to walk together in the spirit of the Gospel, acknowledging Christ as their Lord, and his word as their infallible guide. Upon such a church, Christ has conferred the prerogative of self-government, under his laws.[669] B.E. Antrobus A local, visible, independent body of baptized believers, voluntarily associated together in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, to keep the faith and ordinances as they were delivered, and to preach the gospel to all the world; recognizing no head but Christ, and no book of law but the Bible.[670] J.G. Bow Baptists believe that a The word used in the New Testament usually refers to a local assembly or congregation of the followers of Christ associated and covenanted together, for religious worship and work.[672] James P. Boyce If there are several persons at Abbeokuta, why cannot a church be formed? The building, the pastor, the deacons, are not essential to a church, but only two or three members.[673] John T. Christian The distinctive characteristics of this church are clearly marked in the New Testament. Such a church was a voluntary association and was independent of all other churches. It might be, and probably was, affiliated with other churches in brotherly relations; but it remained independent of all outward control, and was responsible to Christ alone, who was the supreme lawgiver and the source of all authority.[674] A.C. And it can do all that, in the Scripture, is predicated of any But while it is independent of all other Churches or federations in its organization... 3rd. It is a local organization, and independent of all others. 4th. It has Christ alone for its King and Lawgiver, and recognizes no authority but his above its own[675] John Clarke ...and having so received Him, should walk in Him, observing all things whatsoever He had commanded; the first thing whereof, as touching order, was to be added or joined one to another in the fellowship of the gospel, by a mutual professed subjection to the sceptre of Christ, and being a company thus called out of the world, from worldly vanities and worldly worships, after Christ Jesus the Lord... [676] J.B. Cranfill A church is properly defined as ‘a congregation of Christ’s baptized disciples, acknowledging Him as their Head, relying on His atoning sacrifice for justification before God, depending on the Holy Spirit for sanctification, united in the belief of the Gospel, agreeing to maintain its ordinances and obey its precepts, meeting together for worship, and cooperation for the extension of Christ’s kingdom in the world.’[677] Edward Drapes But to make things appear more plainly, I shall shew you what the
true It is a company of people called out and separated from the world by the word of the Gospel to believe in Christ, being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus; walking together in mutual agreement in the visible profession of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ their Head and King.[678] On February 13th, of the same year, [1802] four persons were
baptized in the village, and these with the pastor, his wife and daughter,
making up the sacred number seven, formed themselves into a church. On February
13th of the present year the First Baptist Church Augusta, Georgia First Baptist church in Augusta originated thus, to quote from the
earliest church record: ..... On the fourth Saturday and Sunday in May, 1817,
the society assembled in the courthouse, and were regularly constituted, by the
advice and assistance of brethren Abraham Marshall, Matthews, Carson, and
Antony.[680] Roger Williams Williams strictly followed the Baptist program laid down by the foremost Baptists of his day. ‘Neither Pedobaptists nor Baptists,’ says Dr. Babcock, ‘can, with any propriety, object to this procedure. Not the former, for on their principles Mr. Williams was already an authorized administrator of the ordinances of Christ’s house, and his acts strictly valid. Not the latter, for they have ever rejected as of no avail a claim to apostolic succession through the corruption and suicidal perversions of the papacy. Nor, indeed, has any prelactical hierarchy of any kind ever found favor in their eyes; since each body of believers meeting in any place for the worship of Christ, and the discipline which his institution requires, they believe to be the highest source of Christian authority on earth and when acting and deciding according to the Scriptures, they doubt not, has the approval of the only Head of the Church.’[681] Goadby That in case the minor part of any church break off their communion from that church, the church state is to be accounted to remain with the major part. And in case the major part of any church be fundamentally corrupted with heresy and immorality, the minor part may and ought to separate from such a degenerate society; and either join themselves to some regular church or churches, or else, if they are a competent number, constitute a church state by a solemn covenant among themselves.’[682] In the year 1711, they were advised to put themselves in church order by themselves, for they were far distant from other churches, and especially form the Welsh Tract, where hitherto they belonged as a branch of that Church. Accordingly, in the month of April, 1711, a day was set apart, by fasting and prayer, to accomplish this solemn work, having for their assistance Mr. Elisha Thomas, and others from the Welsh Tract Church, and after solemn prayers to God for his blessing they gave themselves to God, and to one another in the Lord, according to 2 Cor 8:5, and had a right hand of fellowship as a sister church...[683] The result of these struggles was the departure of about thirty members of the church [at Hill Cliffe] who took with them the books belonging to the church. The remaining members obtained new books, and leaving out the names of the departed ones, constituted themselves a church, entering their names in the new roll.[684] Hinton In this country ( Hanserd Knollys What a True Gospel Church Is Touching the first particular, A true, visible Constituted Church of Christ under the Gospel is a Congregation of Saints, 1 Cor. 1:24; called out of the World, Rom. 1:7; separated from Idolaters and Idol Temples, 2 Cor. 6:16,17; from the unbelieving Jews and their Synagogues and all legal observations of holy days, Sabbath days, and Mosaical Rites, Ceremonies and shadows, Acts 19:9, Col. 2:16,17; and assembled together in one place, 1 Cor. 14:23; on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, Acts 20:7; to worship God visibly by the spirit and in the truth, John 4:23,24; in the holy Ordinances of God, 1 Cor. 11:2; according to the faith and order of the Gospel, Col. 2:5.[686] Footnotes [657] S.H. Ford. Christian Repository, 1899. [658] Luther Rice Buress. Baptist Refreshments, p. 24-5. [659] L.B. Hogue. Antecedents of Landmarkism, p. 194. [660] Hezekiah Harvey. The Church, p. 36. [661] Op. cit., p. 29.. [662] Wayne Camp. PPP.
[663]
The Hanserd Knollys Society, 1847.
[664]
John Smyth as quoted in James E. Tull, Shapers of Baptist Thought.
Judson Press.
[665] Dana. Christ’s Ecclesia, P. 169. [666] A.H. Strong. Systematic Theology. Judson Press. 1907. P.890. [667] T.P. Simmons. Systematic Study of Bible Doctrines, p. 366-7.
[668]
J.L. Reynolds. Church Polity or the
[669]
J.L. Reynolds. Church Polity or The
[670] B.E. Antrobus, Baptist History. p. 3. Crawfordsville, In. Fourth edition. 1932. Note: Antrobus was Chester Tulga’s father in lawBJC. [671] J.G. Bow, What Baptists Believe and Why They Believe It, p.20. [672] Op. cit., p. 21. [673] John Broadus, Memoir of James P. Boyce, p. 292. [674] John T. Christian History of Baptists. I, p. 13.
[675]
A.C.
[676]
J.R. Graves, The
[677] J.B. Cranfill, Re-Thinking Baptist Doctrines, p. 140. [678] Drapes, Edward, Gospel Glory, p. 144. 1649. [679] http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/GLS/Eastcombe/ebc-notes.html
[680]
William Cathcart. The Baptist Encyclopedia. Church Records of FBC of
[681] John T. Christian. History of Baptists, vol. II, p. 39. [682] J.J. Goadby. Bye-Paths in Baptist History, p. 215.
[683]
[684]
James Kenworthy. History of the
[685] Bob Ross. Old Landmarkism and the Baptists, p. 94; Francis Wayland. Principals & Practices, p. xxi, Note by Hinton. [686] Hanserd Knollys, Parable of the Kingdom, p. 6. Electronic copy. |