St. Patrick.....
was a Baptist!
By Dr. W.R. Downing
(listen to him here)
St. Patrick’s personal history…
Patrick lived from about 387 to 461 A.D. He was born in Scotland at Old Kirkpatrick, near Dumbarton. At age sixteen he was captured by Irish marauders and taken to Ireland as a slave. It was during this time that he was converted. He escaped six years later and made his way home to Scotland, returning later to Ireland as a missionary.
St. Patrick’s work in Ireland….
The ministry of Patrick in Ireland lasted over thirty years. During this time he personally baptized (immersed) over 120, 000 converts and established 365 churches. Bishops or elders were ordained over each independent assembly.
St Patrick’s teaching….
The Christianity of Patrick was that of primitive Christianity which had flourished in ancient Britain from the Apostolic era (c. 63 A.D.). Patrick held tenaciously to New Testament doctrine and practice. He believed and preached salvation by grace alone. He practiced baptism by immersion and immersed only those who had professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He held to the simplicity of the New Testament pattern for churches in both government and practice. There was absolutely no hint of sacerdotalism in Patricks’ doctrine or practice. He taught that baptism was an ordinance, and that the Lord’s Supper was a memorial observance with believers partaking of both the bread and the wine.
St. Patrick’s Real Christianity….
Patrick was not a Roman Catholic. Christianity had come to Britain during the First century A.D. and remained after the New Testament pattern until Pope Gregory the Great sent his emissary, Austin, to Britain in 597 A.D. This was 136 years after Patrick’s death. Austin ‘’converted’’ enough Saxons to wage war against the native Briton Christians. Hundreds were killed, but Austin failed to subdue New Testament Christianity completely. Romanism did not become the official religion of Britain until the Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D.
St Patrick’s Day…
Although members of the Romish church, especially the Irish, and many others, both religious and even irreligious, traditionally celebrate this day, and are all quite ignorant of the historical facts, true believers can intelligentally acknowledge its significance and the man whose faith, teaching, and ministry it commemorates, for we have every reason to believe that…
St. Patrick was a Baptist!
W.R. Downing (pastor)
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
P.I.R.S Publications
271 West Edmunson Ave
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(This pamphlet was given out free to us at the Conference in Oklahoma; but it is also an exerpt from the wonderful book The New Testament Church by W.R. Downing. You can find that book here on Lulu.com. Click here for the pdf/ebook version; and here for the print version. This is a good-sized, deep, extremely insightful history book! Enjoy.)
Listen to sermonds and lectures by Dr. W. R. Downing here!
was a Baptist!
By Dr. W.R. Downing
(listen to him here)
St. Patrick’s personal history…
Patrick lived from about 387 to 461 A.D. He was born in Scotland at Old Kirkpatrick, near Dumbarton. At age sixteen he was captured by Irish marauders and taken to Ireland as a slave. It was during this time that he was converted. He escaped six years later and made his way home to Scotland, returning later to Ireland as a missionary.
St. Patrick’s work in Ireland….
The ministry of Patrick in Ireland lasted over thirty years. During this time he personally baptized (immersed) over 120, 000 converts and established 365 churches. Bishops or elders were ordained over each independent assembly.
St Patrick’s teaching….
The Christianity of Patrick was that of primitive Christianity which had flourished in ancient Britain from the Apostolic era (c. 63 A.D.). Patrick held tenaciously to New Testament doctrine and practice. He believed and preached salvation by grace alone. He practiced baptism by immersion and immersed only those who had professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He held to the simplicity of the New Testament pattern for churches in both government and practice. There was absolutely no hint of sacerdotalism in Patricks’ doctrine or practice. He taught that baptism was an ordinance, and that the Lord’s Supper was a memorial observance with believers partaking of both the bread and the wine.
St. Patrick’s Real Christianity….
Patrick was not a Roman Catholic. Christianity had come to Britain during the First century A.D. and remained after the New Testament pattern until Pope Gregory the Great sent his emissary, Austin, to Britain in 597 A.D. This was 136 years after Patrick’s death. Austin ‘’converted’’ enough Saxons to wage war against the native Briton Christians. Hundreds were killed, but Austin failed to subdue New Testament Christianity completely. Romanism did not become the official religion of Britain until the Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D.
St Patrick’s Day…
Although members of the Romish church, especially the Irish, and many others, both religious and even irreligious, traditionally celebrate this day, and are all quite ignorant of the historical facts, true believers can intelligentally acknowledge its significance and the man whose faith, teaching, and ministry it commemorates, for we have every reason to believe that…
St. Patrick was a Baptist!
W.R. Downing (pastor)
Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
P.I.R.S Publications
271 West Edmunson Ave
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(This pamphlet was given out free to us at the Conference in Oklahoma; but it is also an exerpt from the wonderful book The New Testament Church by W.R. Downing. You can find that book here on Lulu.com. Click here for the pdf/ebook version; and here for the print version. This is a good-sized, deep, extremely insightful history book! Enjoy.)
Listen to sermonds and lectures by Dr. W. R. Downing here!
1 comment:
This is a very good post, Nikola! Thank you for sharing it! It is sad that so few people in our country know the REAL meaning/history of the holidays that we celebrate, whether they be Christmas, Easter or St Patrick's Day... We are losing our identity as a nation because of this... Thank you for keeping the Vision alive! :)
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