21/05/2024
What is a “Reformed Baptist?” (From our website)
“Reformed Baptist” is a term that has been associated in the past century with those Baptists who hold to the Second London Baptist Confession of 1677/1689.
Reformed Baptists are firstly Christians, who believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God; who also believe in the sufficiency of the finished work of Christ to save sinners by grace alone through faith alone; and who additionally affirm the free offer of the gospel to all people.
Reformed Baptists identify with the tradition that emerged from the Protestant Reformation. In the 16th and 17th centuries there was a growing group within the Church of England who desired to see further reformation of the church. This group would become know as the Puritans. Three distinct branches of the Puritan movement emerged: the Presbyterians, Independents, and Particular Baptists (who today are widely known as so called “Reformed Baptists”). Desiring to demonstrate their unity with historic and reformational Christianity, the Particular Baptists revised their first confession of faith (The First London Baptist Confession of 1644), updating the structure and language to mirror that of the Westminster Confession (Presbyterian), and the Savoy Declaration (Independent), while still maintaining their own theological distinctives. This Second London Baptist Confession of faith was circulated underground in the year 1677, but after the Act of Toleration passed in 1688, which allowed for dissenting groups from the Church of England to practice religious freedom, representatives from more than 100 Particular Baptist churches were gathered at the general assembly in London in 1689 where they formally published and subscribed to the Confession of Faith - which is why the term “1689” is used for short. This confession is the most important and influential confessional document to have ever been produced in Baptist history. Not only is it still embraced today by Reformed Baptists across the globe, but has been the foundation of almost every Baptist confession of faith since.
Visit our website for more info including theological distinctives:
A new Bible Study in Front Royal, Virginia with the possibility of becoming a church plant. Who We AreWe are a group of families and individuals from diverse cultural and denominational backgrounds who are hungry for the Word of God, love for the community and one another, and desire to see the firs...