London Baptist Confession of Faith

Definition

The London Baptist Confession of Faith is a confession of faith jointly produced by the Particular Baptist churches of London, England, in the seventeenth century. Particular Baptists were Baptists in the Calvinist tradition who held that Christ's atonement was particular to the elect. There are two confessions: the First London Confession of 1644 and the Second London Confession, drafted in 1677 and formally adopted in 1689. Today the terms "London Confession" and "1689 Confession" usually refer to the Second Confession.

Historical Background

The First Confession was issued jointly by seven London churches in 1644, reportedly to show that they were a body holding to the orthodox faith. A revised edition appeared in 1646.

The Second Confession was based on the Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Savoy Declaration (1658) of the Congregational churches. After the Act of Toleration of 1689 permitted Nonconformist worship, representatives of many churches assembled in London formally approved it. It consists of thirty-two chapters. In the nineteenth century, Charles Spurgeon republished it in 1855. In America, the Philadelphia Baptist Association adopted it in 1742 as the Philadelphia Confession, adding articles on hymn singing and the laying on of hands.

The Second Confession follows most of the wording of the Westminster Confession but differs from it on three points:

• Baptism: It holds that baptism is to be administered by immersion and only to believers who have professed faith. This practice is known as believer's baptism by immersion.
• Church government: It follows a congregational polity that emphasizes the autonomy of each local church.
• Understanding of the covenant: Presbyterians hold that the covenant of grace is one in substance, administered under both the Old and New Testaments, and they regard this as the basis for infant baptism. Adherents of the 1689 Confession hold that the covenant of grace was progressively revealed in the Old Testament and fully established in the New Covenant, and they restrict membership in the New Covenant community to regenerate believers.

Not all Baptists adopted this confession. The General Baptists of the same period, who stood in the Arminian tradition, had their own confessions. Today the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States uses its own statement, the Baptist Faith and Message.

In Korean Churches

The Korea Baptist Convention originated in the missionary work of Malcolm Fenwick and grew in cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention. The denomination reportedly does not hold the London Confession as its official doctrinal standard. Baptists have traditionally tended to place the authority of Scripture and the autonomy of the local church ahead of any particular creed.

In Korea, the confession is translated and studied mainly by certain churches and groups that identify as "Reformed Baptist," as well as by seminary students. Korean Presbyterians use it as a point of comparison with the Westminster Confession, and it is frequently cited in discussions of the infant baptism debate and covenant theology.