WHAT IS A REFORMED BAPTIST?
Reformed Baptists are those who identify and align with historic orthodox Christianity. They are those who believe in the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). Although Reformed Baptist confessions are only about 400 years old, the truths to which they hold reach back to the early church. Just as the Protestant Reformation was not the birth of a new religion but rather a return to orthodox Christianity handed down from the beginning.
Throughout church history, there have been many doctrinal controversies where foundational Christian doctrines were brought into question. These controversies ranged from the canon of Scripture, to the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the Atonement, and justification by faith alone. Reformed Baptist proudly trace their roots back to those who have defended the faith throughout the centuries.
After the Protestant Reformation, the church entered a time of systematization. It was during this post-Reformation period that the Reformed church produced a number of confessions of the faith. The Dutch Reformed church confessed the Canons of Dort, the Belgic Confession, and the Heidelberg Catechism, English Presbyterians confessed the Westminster Confession, Independents confessed the Savoy Declaration, and Reformed Baptists confessed the First and/or Second London Baptist Confession.
You'll find that these documents agree with one another on the majority of doctrine, but have key doctrinal distinctives. Reformed Baptist distinctives emerged in the 1640's out of the English Reformation. But it is important to recognize that Reformed Baptists descend from Reformed Tradition rather than from a solely Baptist tradition.
A Reformed Baptist is not merely a Baptist who believes the "five points of Calvinism". You'll find this is what many churches mean when they describe themselves as "Reformed Baptist". Rather, Reformed Baptists are those who hold to the distinctives of Reformed confessional faith. Below are some of those key distinctives:
CONFESSIONALISM
Reformed Baptists are confessional. This means that they subscribe to a written confession of faith. Confessional Christians affirm Scripture as their ultimate authority. A confession of faith does not supersede or replace Scripture but rather expresses the church's standard of teaching and protects against heresies.
Reformed Baptists affirm Sola Scriptura, but they recognize that Scripture was never intended to be interpreted independently by one's own interpretation. Confessionalism does not contradict Sola Scriptura. Confessionalists uphold the doctrine that has been passed down from Christ, to the Apostles, and to all who followed. They imitate the faith of those who have come before.
It may sound nice to say "no creed but Christ" or "no creed but Scripture", but everyone has an interpretive framework. It's just that many do not have their interpretive framework written down. Often it is disconnected from the once for all faith that has been delivered to church. Reformed Baptists approach the Bible with the presupposition of church's confession of faith. The Confession contains the body of the church's orthodox tradition. The Confession is not inspired nor inerrant as Scripture is, but is a great resource to the Church.
The majority of Reformed Baptists hold to the Second Baptist Confession of Faith (also call the 1689 London Baptist Confession). This is the Confession to which we at Faithful Stones Church hold.
THE LAW OF GOD
Reformed Baptists believe that the Moral Law of God, summarized in the 10 Commandments, are perfect and eternal. They reflect the perfect nature of God. In addition to the moral law, God gave ceremonial and judicial laws. These were appointed for a time and are not perpetually binding in the same way as the moral law, but are still beneficial to us. The cermonial laws find their fulfillment in our Lord Jesus Christ. The general equity of the judicial laws are of moral use.
Reformed Baptist also affirm the three uses of the law:
- Pedigogical Use: The law acts as a teacher to reveal human sinfulness as it reveals God's standards.
- Civil Use: The law is meant to restrain sin within society and provide a standard for civil order and justice.
- Normative use: The law acts as a guide for Christian living for believers.
19.7 of the London Baptist Confession beautifully reads, "These uses of the law are not contrary to the grace of the Gospel but are in sweet harmony with it."
COVENANT THEOLOGY
Reformed Baptists recognize that God is a covenant-keeping God. He rules history through covenants. It is vitally important to understand the covenants as one seeks to know God and understand His Word.
God entered a covenant with Adam, often called the Covenant of Works, in which He instructed Adam to "obey and live". Adam and Eve fell into sin and brought humanity into the curse of the law.
It pleased the Lord to make a Covenant of Grace through which He freely offers salvation through Jesus Christ. This covenant was first revealed in Genesis 3 when God promised to send a seed who would crush the head of satan. It was progressively revealed further all throughout Scripture, culminating in the New Testament in Jesus Christ.
This Covenant of Grace is based on the eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son concerning the elect known as the Covenant of Redemption. Mankind is utterly incapable of being accepted by God apart from the grace offered through Jesus Christ. This is how the elect of both the Old and New Testaments have been saved.
CALVINISM
Reformed Baptists are Calvinists. The term "Calvinism" is a theological framework of the Gospel. It did not begin with John Calvin, but the name has stuck. Calvinism is often used synonymously with the doctrines of grace or the five points of Calvinism. The five points of Calvinism were a response to Arminianism in the seventeenth century when Arminians challenged Reformed orthodoxy. So the doctrines of grace or five points of Calvinism were not novel, rather they were a defense against error.
Reformed Baptists affirm that unconditional election is an aspect of God's eternal decree. After the fall, mankind became totally depraved or completely unable to save themselves. This is not to say that mankind is always expressing themselves to the full extent of the evil they are capable of, but given the choice between God and sin, man will always choose sin. Man requires the effectual calling of God made possible by the definite atonement of Christ. It is only by this calling of God, which grants a change of heart, nature, and will, that man can choose God. Those God elects will persevere to the end.
REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE
Reformed Baptists believe in the regulative principle of worship. God has revealed and instituted the way in which He is to be worshiped. We are not free to worship Him according to our own imaginations, schemes, or strategies.
The regulative principle stands against the normative priciple, which asserts that we are able to worship God through any means except that which has been strictly forbidden. Reformed Baptists reject the normative principle.
Reformed Baptists see God's pervasive concern for how He is to be worshiped all throughout Scripture. The main elements that we see implemented for New Testament corporate worship are limited to the reading and preaching of the Scriptures, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, prayer, giving, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Many churches today have abandoned the regulative principle of worship, and we are seeing the negative effects of this crisis of worship within the church. Reformed Baptists reject the demands of emotionalism, preference, and pragmatism and are committed to worshiping according to God's own institution.
For a full treament of this subject, we highly recommend that you read a book by the same name, What Is A Reformed Baptist? by Tom Hicks. We have copies available to purchase at the church or you can order a copy here.
