Original Free Will Baptist Church
The Original Free Will Baptists are a group of churches in North Carolina who have split from the National Association of Free Will Baptists in 1961 and formed the Original Free Will Baptists Convention. They hold a different form of government than those from the Midwest and Northern Free Will Baptist by embracing a congregational form in their government. Their church can be traced back to 1727 which was created by Elder Paul Palmer.
The Original Free Will Baptists Church follows Arminianism and oppose Calvinism. Their doctrine is well-known for their rejection of the unconditional perseverance of the saint, also referred to as the Doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security. They do not believe the teachings of Calvin that says once a person is saved they are always saved. They base their belief on the Arminian perception of General Atonement and believe it is possible to willfully reject faith. The Original Free Will Baptists believe faith is the condition for salvation believing a person is saved by faith and is kept by faith.
The Original Free Will Baptists Convention was established in 1913 and was a charter member of the National Association in 1935. The majority of the Free Will Baptist churches in North Carolina withdrew from the National Association and a minority withdrew from the State Convention to maintain an affiliation with the National Association. The split came over a dispute over the form of government, and the settling of disputes and the discipline of local churches, and they differed in their educational philosophies. The North Carolina convention wanted to operate their own press and publishing their own Sunday school materials.
The mission of the Original Free Will Baptists is to glorify God, and strive to know Christ, to build His Church and make Him known to all people as they seek the will of God.
The headquarters for the State Convention are in Ayden, North Carolina.
History
The history of the Original Free Will Baptists can be traced to the General Baptists that came from England. They settled in the early American colonies. They followed the Arminian doctrine believing the atonement of Jesus Christ was given to all instead of the Calvinistic belief that the atonement of Jesus Christ was given to only the elect. The North Carolina movement was organized by Paul Palmer and called the Original Free Will Baptists. They abandoned the Original part of their name in 1890.
There were two distinct branches of the early Free Will Baptists developing in America at this time. The North Carolina movement followed Paul Palmer. The movement from New Hampshire in the late eighteenth century followed Benjamin Randal. These two groups progressed independently from each other.
The Palmer Line
Paul Palmer founded the first Free Will Baptist church in North America in Chowan, North Carolina, in 1727. They had no support from the General Baptist Association in England mainly because the Original Free Will Baptist in America held to the belief of the believer’s baptism done by immersion instead of the baptism at birth. The Original Free Will Baptist Church believed in a self-government of their individual churches, the doctrine of salvation that comes by faith alone, and the authority of scripture. The churches organized by Paul Palmer were commonly known as the Free Will Baptist and was referred to as the Palmer line of Free Will Baptists then later became known Original Free Will Baptists Church. They organized different associations and conferences and in 1921 organized a General Conference.
The Randall Line
Benjamin Randall started a new movement in the north while the movement in the South was struggling. Randall united with the Particular, also called Regular Baptist, in 1776, and broke with them in 1779. The break came because of their strict views on predestination. Benjamin Randall left the Particular Baptists and formed a Freewill Baptist church in New Durham, New Hampshire in 1779. All the denominations property and the majority of churches merged with the Northern Baptist Convention in 1911.
There could be no formal union between the northern and southern Free Will Baptists because of the question of slavery then later the Civil War until the 20th century. November 5, 1935, representatives of the General Conference, the Palmer line, and the Cooperative General Association, was the combination of Randall and Palmer elements west of the Mississippi, met in Nashville, Tennessee to organize the National Association of Free Will Baptist.
Belief
The Original Free Will Baptists believes the Bible is the complete, inerrant Word of God. They believe in the primarily literal interpretation of Scripture. They believe Scriptures is their only rule of faith and practice. They believe in both the Old and new Testaments. They believe all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. They believe Scripture has authority over man.
The Original Free Will Baptist believes there is one living true, and eternal God, the Father, whom all things from everlasting to everlasting and unchangeable.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe Jesus is the Son of God, and the second person of the Trinity. They believe there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man and born of the Virgin Mary. They also believe that Jesus atoned for the sins of all mankind when he died on the cross of Calvary, and that this atoning grace is available to all who will believe. They believe in the bodily flesh and bone resurrection of the Saints which is called the Rapture.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe there is one Holy Spirit who is a gift of the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. They believe the Holy Spirit is the divine presence and comforter in the lives of man.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe the body of Christ is the church. They believe all believers belong to the church.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe in the free will of man to either receive or reject the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe Jesus Christ is coming again to set up his kingdom upon this earth and that there will be a millennial reign of Christ.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe in the believer’s baptism by immersion is the first ordinance. They believe baptism is the only necessary requisite for membership.
The Original Free Will Baptists believe the Washing of the Saint’ Feet in an ordinance. The Original Free Will Baptists believes in the anointing the sick with oil.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Original Free Will Baptist Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2789,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Original Free Will Baptist Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2789,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Original Free Will Baptist Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2789, (accessed).
