THE MESSENGER | WINTER 2018
BAPTISTS AND THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
Period was widespread and regularly brutal. It must be understood that the were designated as such for their protest term “Anabaptist” was used as a broadhen I hear a against Charles V and the domination of brush pejorative to describe a wide local church the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). This array of theological and philosophical congregation Diet is notable in that it granted an initial positions under attack by both the sing a rousing rendition of measure of legitimacy to the blossoming RCC and Protestants alike. Those Protestant Reformation, but it was also who practiced re-baptism, as a visible Martin Luther’s hymn “A marked by a very dark side. In the face of testimony of their break from the RCC Mighty Fortress is our God,” the looming Turkish threat, the RCC and or Protestantism, were lumped into the these newly-minted Protestants agreed category of Anabaptist. Mature history my heart thrills. to unite together in a pincer movement has proven that numerous disparate of persecution against the Anabaptists positions were thrown under the umbrella Furthermore, when I see an artist’s of the Reformation Era, many of whom of this term. Included in this array were depiction of Luther nailing his 95 Theses are spiritual forefathers to modern day biblically-rooted groups like the Swiss to the door of the Wittenberg Chapel, I Baptists. Anabaptism or re-baptism, Anabaptists and individuals like Balthasar can almost hear the ring of the hammer which in actuality was believer’s baptism, Hubmaier, who actually disdained being on the nail. At times, my pulse has also was considered a capital crime since it called an Anabaptist. He knew that his quickened to envision Luther at Worms, visibly repudiated both the RCC and sprinkling as an infant in the RCC was not yet forty years of age, standing Protestant state-churches of the day. no baptism at all! Though individuals alone before Emperor Charles V and It was believed that toleration of the like Hubmaier came out of the RCC, the gathered powers of Europe, boldly Anabaptist movement would undermine they recognized the existence of ancient proclaiming, “Here I stand. I can do no the strength of a united Europe against baptistic believers throughout history other.” It is indeed compelling to consider Muslim advances into the West, so the who had never been a part of the RCC. the impact of this one man on our world RCC and Protestants agreed together to Hubmaier and others like him understood over the past 500 years. To be sure, persecute the Anabaptists for sedition that they were not beginning something Luther is only representative of numerous and heresy in order to force conformity new, but were rather joining a long line other courageous men and women of the and build uniformity. of New Testament Reformation. History demonstrates believers tracing “For Baptists to attempt that, in many instances, their existence back This being said, we can have appreciation to assimilate our Protestants were as to the first century. for these things as historical events, spiritual lineage with zealous, if not more All this to say, the but it is not necessary for us as Baptists zealous, in this persecution term “Anabaptist,” the Reformation in to form our history out of them. As a of Anabaptists than was broad as it was matter of fact, it would be duplicitous any vital way, and to even the RCC. Therefore, and misnomer that to do so, as well as dishonoring to our think of ourselves as knowledge of the origin it is, was used in spiritual heritage. For Baptists to attempt of the term “Protestant” Protestants is mistaken capital indictments to assimilate our spiritual lineage with the makes it impossible for me by Reformation Reformation in any vital way, and to think at best …” to consider myself one. Protestants against of ourselves as Protestants is mistaken at This leads to a second many believers with best and wrong at worst. Here are four reason why Baptists are not Protestants. whom we Baptists have common, New reasons why. Testament identity. Protestants opposed The Opposition of Protestants against men of Baptist faith and practice to the The Origin of the Term “Protestant” Anabaptists point of torture and execution. Read the The term “Protestant” did not originate The opposition of Protestants to words of the mandate resulting from until the year 1529, when at the Diet Anabaptism during the Reformation the Diet of Speyer in 1529, to which of Speyer, a group of Lutheran princes
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Continued on page 3.
HIGHLIGHTS
FROM THE HIGHWAYS & HEDGES
LATIN AMERICA AND SOUTH AMERICA
First Foreign Trips by BWM’s Newest Administrator BY MIKE MARTIN One of the blessings of serving our missionaries is the privilege and opportunity to travel to their place of ministry and to see and encourage them on the field. In July 2017, my wife Hannah and I had the opportunity to go to Peru. We were able to first visit with Buddy Fitzgerald and his family serving the Lord in Puerto Maldonado, a city of 75,000 located in the jungle in eastern Peru. What a joy it was to be able to interact with their family, as well as the three interns whom they had working with them for the summer. I was also able to preach and assist in passing out gospel literature. We are praying that the church there will be able to have a full-time
pastor so that Buddy can work from there up into the tribal areas. Our second stop in Peru was in Arequipa to visit with Mike and Vicky Fester. This is a city of over one million people, located in the high Andes in the southern part of Peru. With very dry air and much cooler temperatures, it was quite a contrast to the jungle. The Festers have started several ministries in this city and are currently working in a much less developed part of the city. Brother Mike also has a ministry in the Yalaca Valley, about two hours by motorcycle from Arequipa. We had the opportunity to visit the ministry in the city, in addition to spending some good time of fellowship and sharing with the Festers. In September 2017, I also had the opportunity of visiting Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. My primary purpose in Brazil was to renew my visa in that country and to see the people whom we had the privilege of serving during the ten years we were in Brazil. I was able to visit with Roberto Coelho in the Sao Paulo airport on my way to Porto Alegre; from there, I flew to Montevideo, Uruguay. I then rented a car and drove three hours north to Durazno, the city where the Paul Harmon family serves. It was a joy to be in their home and to get to know them better, as well as to meet many of their folks
and teach a Bible study with them on a Saturday evening and share maté (green tea). Early on Sunday morning, I drove two and one-half hours back south to Las Piedras to preach and teach in the church where Sharon Clark, our current longestserving missionary, works. That afternoon, I drove three hours west to Colonia and preached in the evening service of the church where our missionaries Archie Perez and Jon Rehfeldt serve with their families. I praise the Lord for the ones who made decisions of salvation that night. The next morning, we crossed the river on a boat to Buenos Aires to proceed to a disciple-making conference and BWM regional fellowship in Pilar, where James Greenwood and his family serve. During the first two days of the conference, I drove down to Mar del Plata to visit with Don Harris and Tom Eckman and their wives. I then drove back up to Pilar to be with the BWM missionaries who had come over from Brazil and Uruguay. We had an enjoyable three days of fellowship there with the Lathams, Trometers, Greenwoods, Perezes, Rehfeldts and Kim Heimerl. The following Sunday morning, I had the privilege of preaching at the church in Pilar and to fellowship with the Greenwoods and their church people. Later that day, I returned to Uruguay by boat, went to Brazil by plane the following day, and then returned to the States. I praise the Lord for these great visits and for the faithfulness of His servants in these countries in South America. Mike Martin is BWM’s Field Administrator for Latin America and South America.
NEW MISSIONARY
APPOINTEES Rachel Tingbani Darimani joined BWM upon her marriage to Aquila Darimani in Ghana this past September. We are happy to have her with us and look forward to hearing of the good things God will do through them.
Mark and Ashley Ackeret come to us from Valleyview Baptist Church in Northampton, Pennsylvania. Their desire is to preach the Gospel and plant churches in Ecuador. We are grateful to have them on board with BWM.
Jimmy Pierre is finishing his Master of Divinity from Bob Jones University. His sending church is Bible Baptist Church of Matthews, North Carolina. Jimmy plans to return to Haiti to plant churches in his homeland. It is a joy for Baptist World Mission to have Jimmy as part of our missionary family.
Baptists and the Protestant Reformation (continued) both Catholics and Protestants gave their hearty agreement: “Every Anabaptist and rebaptized man and woman of the age of reason shall be condemned and brought from the natural life into death by fire, sword, and the like, according to the person, without proceeding by the inquisition of the spiritual judges.”1 In the face of historical record such as this, the Harvard professor G. H. Williams, in his book The Radical Reformation, pointed out the proverbial elephant in the room—that some Baptists and Protestants actually claim a common origin today.2 This is a puzzle indeed! What more shall I say of the Swiss Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli, who was consenting to the drowning of the Anabaptist Felix Manz in the Limmat River and the stretching of the Anabaptist Balthasar Hubmaier on the rack in Zurich?3 And what of the truth that one of the driving forces behind John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion was to oppose the spread of the despised Anabaptists? How can these two walk together or think themselves the same? These questions lead to a third reason why Baptists cannot truly be Protestants. The Obvious Differences between Baptists and Protestants It should bring pause to any thoughtful Baptist when he realizes that Calvin’s Institutes, considered one of the cornerstones of Protestant Reformation theology, was fueled largely by Anabaptist polemic. Calvin originally addressed his Institutes to the RCC King of France, Francis I, because Francis, like many Catholics of the day, lumped the Protestants and the Anabaptists all into one despised category. One of John Calvin’s primary motives then, in
writing his Institutes was to distinguish himself sharply as a Protestant from the Anabaptists.4 Point by point, Calvin distanced himself from Anabaptists. In fact, the length of his subsequent editions grew exponentially as new Anabaptist polemic was added—an estimated 80% increase in size from the first (1536) to the fifth edition (1559). Be it the Anabaptist views on believer’s baptism, separation of church and state, the nature of the Lord’s Table, millennial eschatology, literal hermeneutics, church polity, soteriology and more, Calvin inveighed against it all, seemingly leaving no stone unturned. Though he also attacked RCC positions in his Institutes, his address to Francis I belies a desire to commiserate with Catholics against the hated Anabaptists. The pause that results when one considers these facts should lead to a logical conclusion that Protestants and Baptists are not the same. At least, John Calvin did not believe so. The obvious theological differences demonstrate that they are not. A fourth and final reason can only briefly be stated. The Outcome of the Protestant Reformation A test of any movement is its outcome. In evaluating the outcome of the Protestant Reformation, one has to ask how thoroughgoing the Reformation Solas have actually been for Protestants? On one hand, theological liberalism marks mainline Protestant denominations today. On the other hand, ecumenical compromise, such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together for the 21st Century (1994), has shifted even conservative elements of Protestantism back towards the RCC. Granted, there are those who call themselves Baptist, who have been a party
to these happenings, but not because of their fidelity to Baptist principles. In fact, I contend that these compromises are in direct proportion to their departure from Baptist principles and their movement towards Protestantism. However, as Baptists have maintained their distinct historical identity and their doctrinal integrity, they have been true to the Bible and pleasing to Christ. May we be strong and hold rank! In affirming my conviction that Baptists are not Protestants, I conclude by saying that I bear no animosity towards Protestants or their persecuting past. There are aspects of the Reformation that I can surely appreciate, but this does not necessitate that I identify Baptists as Protestants. Things that are different are not the same!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nathan Deatrick pastors Crossroads Baptist Church in Columbus, North Carolina. He and his wife Jenny have four children. He has served as a BWM board member since 2013. 1 George H. Williams, The Radical Reformation, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 238. 2 Ibid. 3 Henry C. Vedder, Balthasar Hubmaier, (New York: Knickerbocker Press, 1905). 137. 4 Willem Balke, Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981).
GONE
ITINERARIES Steve Anderson
David Canedy
Bud Steadman
January 7-19
February 25
January 12-26
Baptist College of Ministry Menomonee Falls, WI
Lighthouse Baptist Church Newark, DE
Puerto Rico and St. Lucia
February 25
March 4
Ghana
Calvary Baptist Church Englewood, FL
Lighthouse Baptist Church Newark, DE
February 11
First Baptist Church Land O’ Lakes, FL
Mike Martin
February 12-13
March 11
January 14
March 4
Maranatha Baptist Church Clarkston, MI
Hillsdale Baptist Church Tampa, FL
March 27-29
January 28
Calvary Baptist Church West Branch, MI
First Baptist Church Hartford, WI
April 22
February 4
First Baptist Church Lake Orion, MI
Philadelphia Baptist Church Rutledge, GA
February 21-25
Kevin Brosnan
Waterman Baptist Church Kingman, IN
January 21-24
March 9-11
First Baptist Church LaSalle, IL
Peoples Baptist Church Frederick, MD
April 27-29 Heritage Baptist Church Dover, NH
January 29 – February 7
Colonial Hills Baptist Church Indianapolis, IN
Branden and Laura Bowen (Madagascar) – are fully supported and left for the field on January 8, 2018.
FOLLOW BWM
FBFI Winter Board Meeting Colonial Hills Baptist Church Indianapolis, IN
February 18 Lighthouse Baptist Church Ashville, AL
March 11-14 Hardingville Bible Church Monroeville, NJ
March 18 Valleyview Baptist Church Northampton, PA
March 23-25 Calvary Baptist Church Kankakee, IL
April 24-26 Ambassador Baptist College Lattimore, NC
April 25 Crossroads Baptist Church Columbus, NC
April 27-28 The Wilds Christian Camp *All BWM administrators will attend the BWM Spring Board Meeting April 9-10 at Martinsville Baptist Tabernacle in Martinsville, Indiana, and the Orientation Seminar April 15-20 at Camp Joy in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Schedule an administrator or director at your church! BWM administrators and directors offer a wonderful blend of passionate preaching and current field experiences. Please contact the mission if you would like to schedule any of these men for your next conference. Call (256) 353-2221.
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