Chapter 2   Two Kinds of Baptists

Continuing his discussion, Dr. McBeth writes: “Baptists came into existence as two distinct groups, with somewhat different beliefs and practices, but with believer’s baptism in common. The two main strands were known as General Baptists and Particular Baptists . . . .

“General Baptists: The General Baptists got their name because they believed in a general atonement. They believed Christ died for all people generally, and that whoever would believe in Christ could be saved. The first General Baptist church, led by John Smyth, was founded in Amsterdam , Holland , in 1608/09. Its members were English refugees who had fled England to escape religious persecution.

“John Smyth was a minister in the Church of England. As a student and later as a pastor and teacher, he developed Puritan and Separatist views and sought to bring biblical reform to the church. When this failed, he joined a small Separatist congregation in Gainsborough, near London . As these Separatists grew so that it became dangerous for them to meet openly, they divided into two groups for convenience. One group moved to Scrooby Manor, where they were led by John Robinson, William Brewster, and William Bradford. Later, this little band became the nucleus of the ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ who sailed to America on the Mayflower.

“The Gainsborough remnant, led by John Smyth, was in daily danger. English law prohibited such independent or dissenting churches, and King James I had vowed to deal harshly with any who refused to attend the Church of England. By 1607, the Gainsborough group had decided to migrate across the English Channel to Amsterdam , a city that provided religious liberty.

“When these English exiles, led by John Smyth and a layman named Thomas Helwys, left England , they were not yet Baptists. In Amsterdam , they came into contact with Dutch Mennonites, a branch of the Anabaptist family that taught religious liberty and baptism of believers only . . . . The Smyth-Helwys congregation continued to study the Bible and sought to follow the way of the Lord more completely.

“By 1608/09, Smyth was convinced his Separatist church was not valid. Most of the members had only infant baptism, and the church was formed on the basis of a ‘covenant,’ rather than a confession of faith in Christ. Smyth therefore led the church to disband in 1608/09 and re-form on a new basis — a personal confession of faith in Christ, followed by believer’s baptism. Since none of the members had been baptized as believers, Smyth had to make a new beginning. He baptized himself and then baptized the others. His baptism was by sprinkling or pouring, but it was for believers only.

“In 1611, Thomas Helwys led a portion of this church back to London , where they set up the first Baptist church on English soil. By 1650, there were at least forty-seven General Baptist churches in and around London . They believed in a general atonement, baptism of believers only, religious liberty, and other doctrines still associated with Baptists. The General Baptists also believed that it was possible for one to fall from grace or lose his salvation.

“Particular Baptists: The Particular Baptists came into existence a generation later than General Baptists. Named for their view of particular atonement, they believed that Christ died only for a particular group, the elect. They were deeply influenced by the teachings of John Calvin.

“Particular Baptists emerged out of an Independent congregation. While Separatists, as the name implies, separated totally from the Church of England, the Independents sought to maintain autonomous congregations without a radical break with the state church. most of the Independents were driven to more complete separation. Ultimately, early as 1616, Henry Jacob was leader of a small Independent congregation in London . . . .

“By 1650, there were a number of Particular Baptist churches in and around London . In 1644, seven of them had drafted a confession of faith which showed some of their distinctive views. In addition to particular atonement, they taught believer’s baptism by immersion and insisted that a person who is once saved is always saved.”

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