Snap Shot of Baptist History

I hope you enjoy my teaching notes from Wednesday night Bible Study - 

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit… Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added [to them]. Acts 2: 38, 41

On January 21, 1525 gathering at Felix Manz home near Zurich, George Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him with the true Christian baptism upon his faith and knowledge. After his baptism Blaurock proceeded to baptize the other dozen men. With this baptism the earliest Swiss Brethren was begun. This was the most radical act of the reformation...for the first time in the Reformation, a group of Christians dared to form a church after the pattern of the New Testament.

Rewind a few years!
1517 (same year Martin Luther pinned the 95 thesis) a German speaking priest wrestling with the new Greek text- Ulrich Zwingli.
Called to Zurich as the people’s priest of Grossmunster, he resolved to preach nothing but the gospel. By 1522 the reformation in Zurich was growing fast.
November 1521 Zwingli formed a small group of young men into a study of humanities and language. Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Simon Stumpf...

The October Disputation 1523
Young former disciples of Zwingli opposed him concerning the matter of the Mass and Lord's Supper. City council determined the mass, use of images, and LS. (Stumpf was banned from Zurich in Dec.)
Grebel believed Zwingli had abandoned his position of no compromise where the Word of God has spoken. Specifically Zwingli compromised in the area of the Mass and the use of the Lord’s Supper. “The authority of the Word of God had been sacrificed on the altar of human expediency.” (Estep, 13) This complete break with Zwingli by his young critics marked the beginning of the free church movement.

Failing to win the Zurich reformers to their position, the radicals began to meet quietly in homes in 1524. The Manz home was a particular favorite of the young group to meet. They studied the scriptures, heard expositions from Manz and Hottinger, wrote letters to other reformers like Luther, Muntzer (German pastor – authority of Scripture, against infant baptism, and correction of Lord’s Supper), Karlstadt, and others, and distributed tracts.  

That year Wilhelm Reublin-pastor at Wytikon - seems to be first among Swiss Brethren to preach against infant baptism. That year three fathers withheld their children from baptism. Because of this Reublin was put in prison and in August was forced to leave Zurich. Many of the other reformers including Zwingli expressed doubts about the validity of infant baptism. The Swiss brethren, however, took this concern from opposing infant baptism to the practice of believer’s baptism. For the Anabaptist the authority of the New Testament was the highest form to submit under.

The final question to completely sever ties between the radicals and Zwingli was infant baptism.  A public debate was held on January 17, 1525. Zwingli argued against Grebel, Manz and George Blaurock. The city council decided in favor of Zwingli and infant baptism, ordered the Grebel group to cease their activities, and ordered that any unbaptized infants must be submitted for baptism within 8 days. Failure to comply with the council's order would result in exile from the canton. Grebel had an infant daughter, Issabella, who had not been baptized, and he resolutely stood his ground. He did not intend for her to be baptized.

The group met together for counsel on January 21 in the home of Felix Manz. This meeting was illegal according to the new decision of the council. George Blaurock asked Grebel to baptize him upon a confession of faith. Afterward, Blaurock baptized the others who were present. As a group they pledged to hold the faith of the New Testament and live as fellow disciples separated from the world. They left the little gathering full of zeal to encourage all men to follow their example.