Strict Baptist

Strict Baptists, also known as Particular Baptists, are people who believe in a strict-Calvinist interpretation of Christian theology.

History

General and particular

In the early 17th century, Baptists in England developed along two different theologies. The General Baptists were so-called because they held belief in a General Atonement. The General view of the atonement is that Christ in His death undertook to make possible the salvation of all men who would believe. This position is identified with Arminianism and Amyraldianism. Early General Baptist leaders included John Smyth and Thomas Helwys.

The Particular Baptists were so-called because they held the Particular Atonement. The Particular view of the atonement is that Christ in His death undertook to save particular individuals, usually referred to as the elect. This position is often identified with Calvinism. Some early Particular Baptist leaders were Benjamin Keach, Hanserd Knollys, and William Kiffin.

Present day Strict Baptists of England are descendants of the Particular Baptists, but heavily influenced by men from the Gospel Standard Strict Baptist movement such as William Gadsby (Died 1844) John Warburton (1776–1857) and John Kershaw. Sometimes they are referred to as "Strict and Particular Baptists". The terminology "strict" refers to the "strict" or "closed" position they held on membership and communion. There are still today however other baptist churches not Gospel Standard known as Grace Baptist who still hold to a closed communion table restricted to baptized believers. The grace baptist would not accept the view held by the Gospel Standard churches regarding the preaching of the gospel and the offer of the gospel.see hyper Calvinism below.

The majority of early Particular Baptists rejected open membership and open communion. One notable exception was the author of "Pilgrim's Progress", John Bunyan.

Hyper-Calvinism

Over the 18th century, General Baptists lapsed into theological liberalism and practically disappeared from the scene in England. During this same period, the Particular Baptists, under the influence of John Brine and John Gill, moved toward an extreme doctrinal position, which some have labelled as Hyper-Calvinism and Antinomianism.

Fullerites

In 1785, Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) published "The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation". This would lead to eventual division among the Particular Baptists of England. The "Fullerites" are probably best represented by Fuller and William Carey (1761–1834), Baptist missionary to India, and C H Spurgeon.

The leading spokesman for so-called "hyper-Calvinism" was John Gill (1696–1771), perhaps best known for his "Exposition of the Whole Bible". Among most Particular Baptists, Fuller's modified Calvinism was generally accepted. In 1891, most of the remaining General Baptists merged with the Particular Baptists in the Baptist Union of Great Britain (formed 1813). The Old Baptist Union represents General Baptists that did not participate.

trict Baptists in the UK

Strict Baptists represent the strain of Particular Baptists that are often called "hyper-Calvinistic" and maintain the practice of strict or closed communion. They remained aloof from the Baptist Union of 1813. They are roughly equivalent to the Primitive Baptists of America.

Leaders among them include William Gadsby (1773–1844), whose "A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship" is still in use among their churches today, John Warburton (1776–1857), John Kershaw (1792–1870), Edward Mote (1797–1874), composer of 'On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand', and J. C. Philpot (1802–69). Having no central organization or rallying point, Strict Baptists were nicknamed based on the newspapers they supported — "Christian Pathway" Strict Baptists, "Earthen Vessel" Strict Baptists, "Gospel Herald" Strict Baptists, and "Gospel Standard" Strict Baptists.

"Earthen Vessel", "Gospel Herald" and other Strict Baptists united in what would later become the Grace Baptist Assembly (founded 1980 as a merger of the Strict Baptist Assembly and the Assembly of baptised churches). The Grace Baptist Assembly churches represent a modification of Strict Baptists close to the modified Calvinism of the 18th century. These churches additionally meet together in three regional associations — Association of Grace Baptist Churches (East Anglia), Association of Grace Baptist Churches (East Midlands), Association of Grace Baptist Churches (South East) — and one fellowship — the Fellowship of Northern Particular Baptist Churches.

The Gospel Standard Strict Baptists maintain the beliefs Fuller sought to remove. They remain opposed to Fuller's modified Calvinism, as well as to open membership and open communion. At times, Gospel Standard Strict Baptists have been called "Gadsbyites" after Mr. William Gadsby.

In recent times, B. A. Ramsbottom has been the most famous of the 'Gospel Standard Strict Baptists,' serving as editor of the "Gospel Standard" magazine since 1971.

Modern Strict Baptists

In 1995, the Grace Baptist Assembly had over 10,000 members in about 260 churches. The Gospel Standard Strict Baptists had 6400 members in 156 churches in the British Isles, plus 3 churches in the United States and 3 more in Australia

References

*"Historical Sketch of the Gospel Standard Baptists", by S. F. Paul
*"The Baptist", by Jack Hoad
*"Strict and Particular", by Kenneth Dix
*"Baptists Around the World", by Albert W. Wardin, Jr.
*"A History of the Baptists", by John T. Christian
*"The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness", by H. Leon McBeth
*"History of the English Calvinistic Baptists 1791–1892", by Robert Oliver (2006), ISBN 0-85151-920-2

See also

*Reformed Baptists
*Bible Belt (Netherlands)

External links

* [http://www.gospelstandard.org Gospel Standard Trust Publications]
* [http://www.the-faith.org.uk/spb.html Strict and Particular Baptists] (article on John Cargill's site "The Faith of God's Elect")
* [http://www.strictbaptisthistory.org.uk Strict Baptist Historical Society]
* [http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=7780 Strict and Particular Baptist, UK] (thread on BaptistBoard)
* [http://www.childshill.com/assembly2003.html Grace Baptist Assembly 2003]
* [http://www.hbapc.org/agbcse Association of Grace Baptist Churches (South East)]
* [http://www.pbpress.org/ Particular Baptist Press] – publishes reprints and original works highlighting the Doctrines of Grace in historic Baptist literature