Reformed Baptist Distinctives

For those who missed these posts that are buried in my archives, I am republishing a series of posts I did on Reformed Baptist distinctives. These are distinctive beliefs that distinguish Reformed Baptists from other Baptists who do not hold these beliefs. These distinctive beliefs are stated in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (BCF) and held by many Reformed Baptists who maintain the BCF as their Confession of Faith.

Reformed Baptist Distinctives Part I--The Sovereignty of God in All Things, Including the Salvation of His People

Reformed Baptist Distinctives Part II--The Regulative Principle of Worship

Reformed Baptist Distinctives Part III--Cessation of the Miraculous Revelatory Sign Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Reformed Baptist Distinctives Part IV--God's New Covenant is With His Elect Only. God has Written His Moral Law on Their Hearts

In addition, I also did a series of posts on some of the major distinctives of the BCF that distinguish it from the Reformed Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646 (WCF) .

Different views of the Church in the BCF and the WCF

Differences between the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the Westminster Confession of Faith on Baptism

Christian Liberty and the Civil Magistrate : differences between the BCF and the WCF

Scripture Alone: The Presuppositional Apologetics of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith

From the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith CH 1 "Of the Holy Scriptures" we have the following declarations:

1.4 Holy Scripture demands belief, yet its authority does not depend on the testimony of any person or church, [1] but entirely on God its author, who is truth itself. Therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God. [2]

1. Luke 16:27-31 Galatians 1:8-9 Ephesians 2:20
2. 2 Timothy 3:15 Romans 1:2 Romans 3:2 Acts 2:16 Acts 4:25 Matthew 13:35 Romans 9:17 Galatians 3:8 Romans 15:4 1 Corinthians 10:11 Matthew 22:32 Luke 16:17 Matthew 22:41ff John 10:35 Galatians 3:16 Acts 1:16 Acts 2:24ff Acts 13:34-35 John 19:34-36 John 19:24 Luke 22:37 Matthew 26:54 John 13:18 2 Timothy 3:16 2 Peter 1:19-21 Matthew 5:17-18 Matthew 4:1-11

1.9 The infallible rule for the interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself. Therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any [part of] Scripture (which is not a miscellany, but a unity) it must be understood in the light of other passages that speak more clearly. [1]

1. Isaiah 8:20 John 10:34-36 Acts 15:15-16

Similarly, the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith in CH 1 "Of the Holy Scripture" declares:

IV. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.[9]

IX. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.[23]

Thus, both Confessions hold to the self-authenticating nature of Scripture, that is, that its authority is based solely on the fact that is is the Word of God. Thus Scripture does not need to be defended by anything outside of itself, but is rather to be proclaimed as God's revelation of His truth.

The most prominent apologetic method that presupposes the truth of God's Word is presuppositional apologetics. Presuppositional apologetics argues that knowledge itself is impossible without presupposing the God of the Bible and the truth of His Word, The Bible. The most prominent proponents of this method of apologetics were Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen.
Related websites:


http://www.vantil.info/

Presuppositional Apologetics (articles from Monergism)

Reformed Apologetics

Tabular Comparison of the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith, 1658 Savoy Declaration of Faith, and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

A Tabular Comparison of the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

Tabular Comparison of the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith, the 1658 Savoy Declaration of Faith, the 1677/1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the 1742 Philadelphia Confession of Faith (new!)

1646 Westminster Confession of Faith and related links

(1647) Westminster Confession of Faith
Chapter I – Of the Holy Scripture
Chapter II – Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
Chapter III – Of God’s Eternal Decree
Chapter IV – Of Creation
Chapter V – Of Providence
Chapter VI – Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
Chapter VII – Of God’s Covenant with Man
Chapter VIII – Of Christ the Mediator
Chapter IX – Of Free Will
Chapter X – Of Effectual Calling
Chapter XI – Of Justification
Chapter XII – Of Adoption
Chapter XIII – Of Sanctification
Chapter XIV – Of Saving Faith
Chapter XV – Of Repentance unto Life
Chapter XVI – Of Good Works
Chapter XVII – Of the Perseverance of the Saints
Chapter XVIII – Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation
Chapter XIX – Of the Law of God
Chapter XX – Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience
Chapter XXI – Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day
Chapter XXII – Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
Chapter XXIII – Of the Civil Magistrate
Chapter XXIV – Of Marriage and Divorce
Chapter XXV – Of the Church
Chapter XXVI – Of the Communion of Saints
Chapter XXVII – Of the Sacraments
Chapter XXVIII – Of Baptism
Chapter XXIX – Of the Lord’s Supper
Chapter XXX – Of Church Censures
Chapter XXXI – Of Synods and Councils
Chapter XXXII – Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
Chapter XXXIII – Of the Last Judgment

Index to the Westminster Standards

Source: https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/

The Westminster Confession of Faith Index to Words and Phrases : Index to the Westminster Standards

The 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith (with full Scripture proofs)

1647 Westminster Larger Catechism (with full Scripture proofs)

1647 Westminster Shorter Catechism (with full Scripture proofs)

Westminster Shorter Catechism Lessons (from Trinity Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania)

"Harmony of the Westminster Standards" (including the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism, in three columns, complete with Scripture references.)

Comprehensive audio commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith by Dr. John R. DeWitt and by Rev. G.I. Williamson (113 audio lectures)

Articles On The Westminster Assembly

See the Confession and Catechisms Preface by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to get a general history and background for the Westminster Standards

See also the Presbyterian Church in America's Origin and Formation of the Westminster Confession of Faith

See also "The Westminster Standards (1647)" and acompanying links from A Puritan's Mind

"The Westminster Assembly and Its Work" by Benjamin Warfield

An excellent commentary written in 1845 on the Westminster Confession of Faith from a Presbyterian viewpoint is "The Reformed Faith : an Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith" by Robert Shaw. Shaw's commentary can also be found here. Another excellent commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith is by A.A. Hodge. The Westminster Larger Catechism can be found here. A commentary on the Westminster Shorter Catechism can be found at Fisher's Catechism . The Westminster Shorter Catechism Project contains the catechism with Biblical references with a harmony of expositions by authors listed below:

Thomas Boston's Of Man's Chief End and Happiness
James Fisher's Catechism on the Catechism
John Flavel's Exposition of the Assembly's Shorter Catechism
Matthew Henry's A Scripture Catechism in the Method of the Assembly's
Thomas Vincent's The Shorter Catechism Explained from Scripture
Thomas Watson's Body of Divinity
John Whitecross' The Shorter Catechism Illustrated

updated 1/24/2024