In the opening paragraph of the introduction to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, we are told that the Baptist leaders who convened in London, England, as early as 1643, believed that the publication of the Confession was a “necessity”. Why was it a necessity? Because around the time that this Confession was published, the Christian faith professed by the Lord’s faithful was being publicly misrepresented. Furthermore, there was an unpleasant tendency amongst the church at large to accuse and treat Baptists as sectarian heretics, which was outright slander considering the falsity of the charges. For this reason, the introduction states that “we were in no way guilty of those heterodoxies and fundamental errors which had too frequently been charged upon us without ground or occasion given on our part.”[1] While this is certainly not the case today, the Confession nonetheless provides us with the biblical grounds for our Baptist distinctives.
What other reason was provided by the 1689 authors for the Confession’s necessity? Well, the publication of the Confession was considered a method most comprehensive in its design to best explain and communicate the summary of what it is that we believe according to the revelation of Scripture. And not only what we believe, but what we sense in our hearts as a result of the work of the Spirit of God within us. We recognize that the Holy Scriptures are God’s inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21), but in order for us to receive it as such, we need the regenerative and illuminating work of the Spirit of God (Ezek. 36:26-27; Jn. 3:5-8). Otherwise, our hearts would be spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13), and our eyes would be blind to the divine truths communicated by God’s Word (2 Cor. 4:3).
As one might note from reading the 1689 Confession, the Confession is not only comprehensive in its scope but systematic in its presentation as well, allowing its readers to return time and time again for diligent study of the Holy Scriptures. This does not at all mean that the Confession was meant as a substitute for the Word of God, or that the Confession is to be treated as on par with the Word of God. The Confession is not inspired, it may communicate infallible truths, but it is not inspired. However, as a faithful summary of what the Scriptures teach, it is a useful tool for our study of God’s Word, providing numerous Scriptural references for each matter addressed. It could well be said that the Confession not only presents the Holy Scriptures as the ultimate authority for man but presupposes this truth as well. As stated in the introduction, the Scriptural references provided serve as “proof of what is asserted by us”, following the spirit and example set for us by the Bereans, who, in Acts 17:10-12, searched the Scriptures after hearing the apostle Paul in order that “they might find out whether the things preached to them were so or not.”[2]
The answer to our question, “Why should we study the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith?”, is further expanded in the stated purposes provided by the Confession. The fifth paragraph of its introduction lists the following purposes:[3]
- That we would walk humbly with our God;
- that we would exercise love and meekness toward each other;
- that we would perfect our holiness out of reverence to the Lord;
- that the words of our mouth may be the gospel;
- that we may passionately advance the true religion; and
- that we may keep the true religion undefiled in the sight of God.
We may ask, what does the Confession mean by the phrase “true religion”? While many have used this term rather freely to refer to “works-based righteousness” (think of the popular but sorely mistaken mantra today of “relationship not religion”), that is not what the Confession refers to here. The term “religion”, in this context, means “worship.” We might then rephrase the above stated purpose (5) as “that we may passionately advance the true worship.” Of course, by “worship”, I do not mean song. I mean worship in every possible sense, worship as manifested in the life of the believer in every sphere of life. The reformed philosopher, H. Evan Runner (1916–2002), once said that “Life is Religion”. He was right.[4] Everything we do, everything we think, everything we say, is either in vertical worship of God (true worship) or in horizontal worship of creation (idolatry). Look upon the church, for example, and you will see the life of the church characterized by its worship of God. But look upon the world and you will note that the life of the world is characterized by its worship of creation (Rom. 1:18-32). To be more specific, worship of the self.
What I perhaps most appreciate, and this may be due to my passion for reformation principles, is the seventh stated purpose, which is to “reform in the first place our own hearts and ways.”[5] When we talk about “reformation”, we are presupposing that there has occurred some type of de-formation, and we can attest, by what we have gleaned from God’s general and special revelation, that our hearts have in fact become deformed as a result of the corrupting influence of sin. This Confession, therefore, serves to reform our hearts (and the ways that flow from it) according to the teaching of Scripture, while recognizing, as did the 1689 authors, that such a reformation can only be realized by the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
There is a final reason provided by the 1689 authors as to why the publication of the Confession became a necessity, and as we may note today, it is just as valid for our times. The second last paragraph of the introduction states:
And verily there is one spring and cause of the decay of religion in our day which we cannot but touch upon and earnestly urge a redress of, and that is the neglect of the worship of God in families by those to whom the charge and conduct of them is committed.[6]
To put it more plainly, there is a reason why our culture has drifted from true worship, why our culture has degenerated into what it is today, and why the church has suffered loss instead of gain in regard to advancing the gospel in every sphere of life. That reason is the failure of parents in discipling their children.
In the Old Testament book of Judges, the people of God went through numerous cycles of judgment and deliverance. A prevailing reason for why they suffered judgment after judgment was due to the fact that those who were delivered by God made no effort to instruct their children to be faithful to God. As a result, the following generations went on to commit the same sins of their fathers, and once again found themselves to be under God’s judgment, and this went on and on throughout the book of Judges. To put it simply, the valuable lessons of a generation were never passed on to the next.
The writers of the Confession recognized that this was happening with the church of the seventeenth century, and it saddens me to say that the situation is far worse today. Back then, it was a norm to catechize your children, to instruct them with a series of questions and answers concerning the truths of Scripture. Today, the thought of catechizing our children has become increasingly forgotten amongst Baptists, and as a result, parents have often been left wondering why their children have not continued in the true faith. Now, before one raises the matter of unconditional election, which can often be thrown into the ring in an effort to diminish our fault and responsibility – yes, God has elected His people (Eph. 1:4; Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:29). Yes, God has predestined some for salvation (Rom. 8:29; Jn. 15:16; Eph. 1:11). But God’s sovereign work of election, as manifested in time and space over the course of created history, and as revealed by Scripture, does not negate our human responsibility (2 Cor. 5:10). The 1689 Confession, therefore, serves as a didactic tool to assist parents in the discipleship of their children by providing them with a clear understanding of what the Scriptures teach to be true. As believers, therefore, let us dutifully catechize and instruct our children in the way of the Lord, whether they be our literal or spiritual children, so that they might be “seasoned with the knowledge of the truth of God as revealed in the Scriptures.”
What is, in summary, the hope of what we might gain from studying the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith? Aside from what I have already stated, consider what is expressed in the closing prayer of its introduction:
We shall conclude with our earnest prayer that the God of all grace will pour out those measures of his Holy Spirit upon us, that the profession of truth may be accompanied with the sound belief and diligent practice of it by us, that his name may in all things be glorified through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[7]
For those looking for a companion to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, one which would furnish the reader with a simple but profound guide to the Confession, I recommend James M. Renihan’s To the Judicious and Impartial Reader: An Exposition of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, published by Founders Ministries, a reformed Baptist outfit based in Cape Coral, Florida. As Renihan states, “In no way does the Confession present dry and dusty theology; rather, it is full of life and vigor.”[8]
[1] “Introduction”, The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. Accessed November 20, 2023, https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/introduction
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[5] “Introduction”, The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] James M. Renihan, To the Judicious and Impartial Reader: An Exposition of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Baptist Symbolics, Vol. 2 (Cape Coral, FL.: Founders Ministries, 2022), 20.