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Hoyte Nelson's Poems/ Reflections & Biblical Essays
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Essay Baptist Succession? Although
many of our “Baptist Fathers” [and some of these were respected Southern
Baptist] believed and wrote on the subject of “Baptist Succession; that is,
that the Baptist constitutes the true churches of Christ that extended from the
days of the apostles unto the present time. We, Southern Baptist today do not
make such a claim because of the lack of continuity in the records recorded;
nevertheless, these were sincere men of God who believed that Jesus protected
His church throughout the years of history according to Matthew 16:18b, and by
whatever differing groups were called, they believed that the fundamental
principles were basically the same as we hold today. It
is true that there are records scattered across the pages of history of
Christians who suffered for their stand on the biblical principles about which
we hold dear today. It may be that we as Southern Baptist cannot established a
direct claim to Baptist succession because of the lack of continuity in the
records recorded; nevertheless, there has always been Christian believers in
every period of Christian history who have practiced the “fundamental
truths” that are espoused in the scriptures; that is, before the varied doctrinal
alternatives to “believer’s baptism by immersion as prerequisite to church
membership and the Lord’s Supper, etc.” Baptist, I believe, have their
roots not only in the scriptures, but we find glimpses of truth [faith and
order] being practiced across the years of Christian history.. [One of the many accounts is called “Baptist
History” by J. M. Cramp, D.D. “American Baptist Publication Society” [Westcott
&Thomson], Philadelphia. (
Although Dr. Cramp does not make the claim of “Baptist succession” as such,
he has written one of the best documented accounts of Christian persecutions and
the Baptist faith that I have read. For the interested student, it is a
worthwhile book for study]. |