>the Western church recovered the precious teachings that were long obscured by extrabiblical rules and traditions.
Except they weren't obscure if one just remained in the church, which has always been against doctrines like infant baptism, transubstantiation, etc.
See for instance the letter written in A.D. 1146, called "Epistola Sive Tractatus adversus Petrobrusianos Hæreticos," which describes the belief of the church. The below text is translated from the Latin original in Patrologia Latina, Vol 189, col. 728-729:
>They say, Christ sending his disciples to preach, says in the Gospel: 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved. But he that believeth not, shall be damned.’ From these words of our Saviour it is plain that none can be saved, unless he believe, and be baptized; that is, have christian faith and receive baptism; Not one of these, but both together equally in both respects, does save: so that infants [infantes], though they be by you baptized, yet since by reason of their age they cannot believe, are not saved. It is therefore an idle and vain thing, for you to wash persons with water, at such a time when you may indeed cleanse their skin from dirt in a human manner, but not purge their souls from sin: But we do stay till the proper time of faith; and when a person is capable to know his God, and believe in him, then we do, not as you charge us, re-baptize him, but baptize him; for he is so to be accounted, as not yet baptized, who is not washed with that baptism, by which sins are done away.
It is also written in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia of 1830, Vol 3, p. 251, in the article on "Baptist":
>It must have already occurred to our readers, that the baptists are the same sect of Christians which we formerly described under the appellation of ANABAPTISTS. Indeed, this seems to have been their great leading principle from the time of Tertullian to the present day.
Robert Barclay, another source, wrote this in 1876, in his book, The Inner Life of the Religious Societies of the Commonwealth (pp. 11-12).
>As we shall afterwards shew, the rise of the "Anabaptists" took place long prior to the formation of the Church of England, and there are also reasons for believing that on the continent of Europe small hidden christian societies, who have held many of the opinions of the "Anabaptists," have existed from the times of the Apostles. In the sense of the direct transmission of Divine Truth, and the true nature of spiritual religion, it seems probable that these Churches have a lineage or succession more ancient than that of the Roman Church.
This all harmonizes with what Christ told us in His word about His church.
>And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- Matthew 16:18
>Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
- Matthew 28:20
>…that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 3:15