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Creeds

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

Particular Baptists of London

A confession of faith from the English Particular Baptist tradition. Its thirty-two chapters place Baptist convictions within a broadly Reformed account of Christian doctrine.

1689 English

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The original thirty-two chapters.

Public domain. Without later Philadelphia additions.

About this book

The Second London Baptist Confession presents the faith of English Particular Baptists in thirty-two chapters. Much of its language stands close to earlier Reformed confessions, expressing a common account of Scripture, God, and salvation. Other chapters articulate Baptist convictions about baptism and the gathered church. The result is useful precisely because agreement and difference appear within the same document. Its authors did not need to invent a wholly separate theological vocabulary to explain where their understanding of church life and practice diverged from other Protestants.

A key document of the Reformed Baptist tradition, the Confession is especially revealing when read alongside Westminster. Setting related chapters beside one another reveals how a shared doctrinal framework can lead into significant differences about the Church. It also helps readers encounter Baptist theology through its own sustained statement, rather than through a single disputed practice. Begin with the overall movement before concentrating on the differences. The confession's account of worship, conscience, and the Christian life gives context to its better-known chapters, and its corporate voice shows a community explaining what it holds in common.

Author & background

The confession came from English Particular Baptist churches, whose account of salvation was Calvinist. It was first issued anonymously in 1677 and publicly affirmed by a wider gathering in 1689. Its authorship is therefore best understood in relation to churches seeking to express a shared faith, rather than a single writer constructing a personal system. Its later use by Baptist communities gave the document an influence beyond its original English setting, while different editions sometimes added material not present in these thirty-two chapters.

Contents

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  1. The 1677/89 London Baptist Confession of Faith