80: Why So Many Churches?: Origins of the Baptists – Part 12

Step back into seventeenth-century England, where the Baptist movement first took shape. Discover how John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, and others challenged tradition, defended liberty of conscience, and introduced believer’s baptism by immersion. Learn how their courage shaped both church life and the wider pursuit of religious freedom.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I'm Eddie Lawrence and this is the Ready
for Eternity podcast, a podcast and blog
exploring biblical truths
for inquisitive Bible students.
Imagine living in 17th century England
where questioning infant

(00:20):
baptism could land you in prison.
Out of that situation came the First
Baptist who were determined to follow
conscience over the
dogma of the state church.
The Baptist story begins in 17th century
England during an era of sweeping
religious and political change.

(00:44):
The Protestant Reformation reshaped
Europe and England
felt its effects deeply.
The Church of England broke with Rome,
yet many believers sought further reform.
Reformers called Puritans wanted to
cleanse the Church of England of
practices they viewed as unbiblical.

(01:04):
Some Puritans felt the Church of England
was beyond reform and
advocated separation.
The Separatists left the established
church and formed
independent congregations.
From this historic context,
the First Baptist emerged.
John Smith stands among the first

(01:27):
important figures in
early Baptist history.
A former Anglican
priest turned Separatist.
He left England for Amsterdam after
clashes with Church authorities.
There, safe from persecution, Smith
started a Baptist congregation in 1609

(01:47):
and studied scripture closely.
He concluded that baptism
should be for believers only.
He rejected infant baptism, which most
churches practiced at that time.
Smith baptized himself and then others to
express his conviction
about believers' baptism.

(02:09):
His actions showed that faith must arise
from personal trust
rather than family membership.
Thomas Hellwes, a wealthy lawyer and
close associate of John Smith, financed
the group's migration to Amsterdam.
He remained only briefly.

(02:30):
Hellwes returned to England in 1612 and
founded the First Baptist
congregation near London.
He soon emerged as a
central leader of the movement.
Hellwes wrote a forceful plea for
religious liberty and sent a copy
directly to King James I.
He argued that the king held no authority

(02:50):
over the conscience and matters of faith.
Authorities imprisoned Hellwes for his
views, and he died in custody in 1616.
As for Smith, he joined the Mennonites
around 1612 but died shortly
thereafter of natural causes.

(03:11):
The early Baptist movement thrived, even
with the loss of its two founders.
Eventually, the movement divided into two
streams due to the influence of Calvinism
– General Baptist
and Particular Baptist.
General Baptists believed that Christ
died to offer
salvation to all who believe.

(03:33):
Particular Baptist insisted that only
those God selects are chosen for eternal
life, concluding that salvation is not
available to all people.
Both groups, however, insisted on
believers' baptism and
local church autonomy.
These shared commitments set Baptists
apart from most other

(03:54):
Christians of their day.
Baptists eventually concluded that
immersion is the only
biblical mode of baptism.
Scripture portrays baptism as a full-body
action, symbolizing death to sin and
resurrection to new life.
This conclusion comes not only from the
narrative symbolism, but also from

(04:15):
linguistic study of the original Greek
words such as "baptizo," which
means "to immerse or to dip."
Together, the symbolism and language
emphasize both personal faith and the
visible bodily
commitment of the believer.
Baptist faced persecution in England.

(04:37):
The state church was Anglican, and it was
illegal to establish congregations
outside of its authority.
Civil authorities fined, jailed, and
sometimes banished those
who refused to conform.
Still, Baptist congregations persisted
and slowly grew
across towns and villages.

(04:58):
Their focus on Scripture and conscience
attracted believers
willing to endure hardship.
Those convictions prepared Baptists to
carry their belief to new lands.
Roger Williams established the first
recognized Baptist church in America at
Providence, Rhode Island in 1639.

(05:20):
He clashed with Massachusetts leaders
over state control of religion and
freedom of conscience,
prompting his move to Rhode Island.
There, Williams built a colony grounded
in religious liberty
that welcomed dissenters.
John Clark formed a Baptist church in
Newport and defended freedom of worship
through legal

(05:41):
arguments and civic actions.
Those Rhode Island congregations became
safe havens where
Baptists could worship freely.
Elsewhere in the colonies, Baptists often
faced hostility and legal barriers.
Virginia and Massachusetts sometimes
jailed Baptist preachers
for unauthorized preaching.

(06:02):
Still, the movement spread through plain
preaching and evangelism.
By the time of the American Revolution,
Baptists had established a significant
presence in several colonies.
Baptist leaders such as Isaac Bicus
argued strongly for
separation of church and state.

(06:23):
They insisted civil authorities should
not coerce religious belief or practice.
Their advocacy shaped public debate and
influenced emerging
American views on liberty.
Those efforts helped create a political
environment that later enshrined
religious freedom in the Constitution.

(06:43):
In the 19th century, revivals and
missionary efforts propelled Baptist
growth across the expanding nation.
Baptists emphasized congregational
autonomy, believers'
baptism, and evangelism.
From small 17th century gatherings in
Amsterdam and London, the
movement grew around the world.

(07:05):
Today, Baptists exist on every continent
and continue to influence
church life and public discussions.
The Baptist story blends conviction,
courage, and focus on conscience.
From John Smith and Thomas Hellwes to
Roger Williams and John Clark, the
movement shaped ideas
about faith and freedom.

(07:27):
The historical account shows how
convictions about believers' immersion
and religious liberty reshaped church and
public life across the centuries.