Why Are We Particular Baptists? An Historical Overview INTRODUCTION: Our church is a Particular Baptist Church. That means we believe that God saves people with a particular intention, through a particular sovereign plan, and that only those particular elect people were purchased by Jesus on the cross and only they are to be immersed in water as a public profession of their faith in Jesus Christ. Since we believe that those doctrines are clearly taught in the Scriptures, why do we still refer to ourselves as Baptistic Christians? Why not merely refer to ourselves as mere Christians as the title from C.S. Lewis’ classic work suggests? Is it only to distinguish ourselves from other so-called denominations, or is there something more to it? Well, there is something more to it. The elders of our church are Baptist by conviction. That means that we believe that the Bible clearly teaches core Baptist doctrines and that the historic Baptist confessions of faith (esp. the Reformed variety) correctly represent the teaching of the Bible as far as it goes. This brings us to a brief but much needed mention about the ecumenical creeds of the Christian Church. The Ecumenical1 Creeds Before we look at the historical background of the 1646 London Confession of Faith, it is important to note that Particular Baptists are in essential agreement with the great ecumenical creeds of church history; namely, the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the lesser known Definition of Chalcedon. Now, a mention of the word “ecumenical” in some Baptist circles can cause otherwise peaceful men to load a shell in their shotguns, point the barrel at you and scream in unison “ready, aim, fire!” This is because too many Baptists are ignorant of their own doctrinal roots. Too many independent, fundamental Baptists are woefully and willfully ignorant of church history and many are even outright suspicious of it due to the liberal compromises that occurred in the Southern Baptist Convention in the mid 20th century. Thus, many Baptists either don’t care about their doctrinal roots (and so can be easily swayed away from them) or they try to disassociate themselves from the mainstream of church history for fear of being reckoned as either a “Catholic” (a dirty word for fundamental Baptists), or a liberal compromiser. But church history is not so black and white. Most church history is a mixture of grey, with ancient Christians holding to a mixture of both truth and error. Sadly, some modern Baptists would have you believe that their doctrinal roots lead all the way back in an almost pristine fashion to John the Baptist and that their lineage follows a “Trial of Blood”2 via the Waldenses and the Lollards of the middle ages to the Anabaptists of the Reformation; yet they conveniently look the other way when scholars point out the unbiblical, weird, and even heretical views that these ancient groups held3. With all that in mind, it is obvious that we don’t want to be ignorant of church history nor our own doctrinal heritage, so let’s take a moment to review these ancient creeds: The Apostle’s Creed (mid. 2nd Century A.D.) I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell4. The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the holy catholic5 church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. The Nicene Creed (A.D. 381) We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen. 1 Ecumenical is defined as (1) worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application. (2) of relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches; promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation. 2 http://www.trailofblood.org/ 3 For instance, the early Waldenses took a vow of chastity and poverty and still had their own “sacramental” system as well as a form of communal living that would be anathema to modern fundamental Baptists. Some of the Anabaptists were anti-Trinitarian, some baptized people naked, and some baptized believers by sprinkling. The Lollards, being followers of the early Reformer John Wycliffe, held to a Calvinistic view of predestination and a Lutheran view of the elements of the Lord’s Supper (consubstantiation). Some of them advocated vows of poverty as well. 4 There is controversy over the exact meaning of the phrase, “he descended into hell”. Some say that this refers to Christ being buried, some say his descent to the earth in the incarnation, and others say that this may refer to him proclaiming His victory in Hell between his death and resurrection. The creed probably bases this upon two Scripture passages: Eph. 4:9 and 1 Pet. 3:18-20, but cf. Lk. 23:46. 5 “[C]atholic” at it is used here is a reference to the universal church, not the Roman Catholic Church. 1 We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being [substance] with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins6. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen The Definition of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed7 of the holy Fathers has handed down to us. The Athanasian Creed (6th-7th Century A.D.) Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian Faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever. Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite. In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord. 6 “Baptism for the forgiveness of sins” is a reference to the early church’s view that infant baptism literally cleansed an infant of original sin.