1689 Baptist Confession of Faith

The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith,[1][2] also called the Second London Baptist Confession, was written by Particular Baptists, who held to a Calvinistic soteriology in England to give a formal expression of their Christian faith from a Baptist perspective. Because it was adopted by the Philadelphia Association of Baptist Churches in the 18th century, it is also known as the Philadelphia Confession of Faith.[3] The Philadelphia Confession was a modification of the Second London Confession that added an allowance for singing of hymns, psalms and spiritual songs in the Lord's Supper and made optional the laying on of hands in baptism.[4]

History

The confession was first published in London in 1677 under the title "A confession of Faith put forth by the Elders and Brethren of many Congregations of Christians, Baptized upon Profession of their Faith in London and the Country.[5] With an Appendix concerning Baptism."[3] It was based on the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Savoy Declaration (1658), with modifications to reflect Baptist views on church organization and baptism.[3] The confession was published again, under the same title, in 1688 and 1689.[3][6]

The Act of Toleration passed in 1689 enabled religious freedom and plurality to co-exist alongside the established churches in England and Scotland. This official reprieve resulted in representatives from over 100 Particular Baptist churches to meet together in London from 3–12 September to discuss and endorse the 1677 document. Despite the fact that the document was written in 1677, the official preface to the document has ensured that it would be known as the "1689 Baptist Confession of Faith".[6]

Contents

The confession consists of 32 chapters, as well as an introduction and a list of signatories.

  1. Of the Holy Scriptures
  2. Of God and the Holy Trinity
  3. Of God's Decree
  4. Of Creation
  5. Of Divine Providence
  6. Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
  7. Of God's Covenant
  8. Of Christ the Mediator
  9. Of Free Will
  10. Of Effectual Calling
  11. Of Justification
  12. Of Adoption
  13. Of Sanctification
  14. Of Saving Faith
  15. Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation
  16. Of Good Works
  17. Of the Perseverance of the Saints
  18. Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation
  19. Of the Law of God
  20. Of the Gospel and the Extent of Grace
  21. Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience
  22. Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day
  23. Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
  24. Of the Civil Magistrate
  25. Of Marriage
  26. Of the Church
  27. Of the Communion of Saints
  28. Of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
  29. Of Baptism
  30. Of the Lord's supper
  31. Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
  32. Of the Last Judgment

Confessions
  • The law's continued value - while Christ "abrogated" the Levitical ceremonial laws, the confession cites Christ to have "strengthened this obligation" which "for ever binds all."[7]
  • Forbids prayers for the departed whether faithful or damned[8]
  • Sabbatarianism - A weekly Sabbath day is prescribed and believed "to be continued to the end of the world" but a 7th year annual sabbath is ignored (cf. Lev. 25ff.)[9]
  • Marriage is a monogamous heterosexual ordinance.[10]
  • Intermarriage - Christians ought not intermarry with other religions, nor with any who believe "damnable heresies," but are to marry "in the Lord," and thereby not be "unequally yoked".[11]
  • Bishops - "bishops" are espoused as an "office" alongside "elders" "deacons" and "pastors"[12]
  • Eternal torment[13]
  • An open view on the millennium, the confession does not espouse a particular view on the millennium (cf. chapter 32).[13]

Influences

Particular Baptists were quick to develop churches in colonial America, and in 1707 the Philadelphia Baptist Association was formed.[14] This association formally adopted the 1689 confession in 1742[14] after years of tacit endorsement by individual churches and congregational members. With the addition of two chapters (on the singing of psalms and the laying on of hands), it was retitled The Philadelphia Confession of Faith[15] Further Calvinistic Baptist church associations formed in the mid-late 18th century and adopted the confession as "The Baptist Confession".[16]

References
  1. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Documents, Reformed
  2. 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith . 1689 – via Wikisource.
  3. Schaff, Philip (1877). "The Baptist Confession of 1688 (The Philadelphia Confession)". The Creeds of Christendom (entry). Vol. 3 - The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches. New York: Harper & Bros. pp. 651–. ISBN 978-1-61025-039-9.
  4. Leonard, Bill J (2012). Baptists in America. ISBN 9780231501712.
  5. James Leo Garrett, Baptist Theology: A Four-century Study, Mercer University Press, USA, 2009, p. 72
  6. J. Gordon Melton, Faiths Across Time, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2014, p. 1258
  7. "The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 19 Of the Law of God, Paragraph 3, 5".
  8. "Chapter 22 of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day, Paragraph 4".
  9. "Chapter 22 of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day, Paragraph 7".
  10. "Chapter 25 of Marriage, Paragraph 1".
  11. "Chapter 25 of Marriage, Paragraph 3".
  12. "1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 26 Of the Church, Paragraph 9, 11".
  13. "The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 32 Of the Last Judgement, Paragraph 2". Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  14. Reid, DG; Linder, RD; Shelley, BL; Stout, HS (1990), Dictionary of Christianity in America, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  15. "The Philadelphia Confession of Faith". The Spurgeon Archive. Archived from the original on 1 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  16. William Cathcart, The Baptist Encyclopedia - Volume 2, The Baptist Standard Bearer, USA, 2001, p. 573
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