Calvinist Baptist or

[Reformingstudent]

Is there any difference between Calvinist Baptist and what reformed Baptist believe?
I am PCA myself but am starting to agree with what some in the Reformed Baptist's churches believe. Can any here show me what the basic differences are.
I did read something a while back about Calvinist Baptist not being "reformed" because they were a totally different church and never came out of Roman catholicism as the other reformed churches did and were therefore not reformed and had no need for reformation.

Thanks.


Tom

 

[Dan....]

I would define a Reformed Baptist Church as one which holds the 1689 London Confession as its doctrinal standard.

Any Calvinistic Baptists who is dispensational is not reformed.

[Edited on 4-6-2004 by Dan....]

 

[pastorway]

The [i:7db18f5389]really[/i:7db18f5389] Reformed will disagree with this, but among Baptists, we consider ourselves to be reformed if we hold to the Doctrines of Grace and the Five Solas of the Reformation.

Most Reformed Baptists hold to the 1689 (Second London) Baptist Confessions of Faith. Some hold to the 1646 (First London) Confession. Some hold to both.

There are differences between Reformed Baptists on CT. Some hold classic Covenant Theology minus infant baptism, and others hold to what is termed Baptist Covenantalism that sees the Covenants more in line with Owen.

I would disagree with Dan when he excludes dispensationalists, because I was eschatologically a dispensationalist while at the same time I did hold to the Doctrines of Grace, the Five Solas, the 1689 Confession, and pastored a Reformed Baptist Church! I am no longer an eschatological dispensationalist of course, but I do not think that my eschatology excluded me from using the label "Reformed Baptist." The Confessions, you know, are vague in the area of eschatology.

Phillip

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

this was an old article I wrote as a Reformed baptist and I believe it still helps in terms of why Reformed Baptists believe they are reformed:

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Baptism/McMahonOldArticleOnReformedBaptists.htm

 

[Dan....]

"What is a Reformed Baptist Church?"

by Jim Savastio, Pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Louisville:
http://www.prbc.org/ReformedBaptist.htm



By the way, the 1689 London Confession can be found here:
http://www.prbc.org/Confession.htm

 

[mjbee]

Okay, ya'all baited me. Let's hash out this eschatology thing. Probably one of the pastors needs to start a new thread. What does it have to do with being Reformed, if the confessions are so vague about it? I need to know.
Bee

 

[Dan....]

The debate over whether the children of professing Christians are to be baptized or professing Christians alone has been going on for hundreds of years, even before the Reformation.

Dispensationalism, on the other hand, is but 150 years old.

Dispensationalism is a system of thought which was first proclaimed by John Darby and the Plymouth Brethren and was further popularized via the footnotes of the Scofield Bible. Over time more and more among Fundamentalists became dispensational, so that today many seem to think that Fundamentalism is dispensational.

The dispensationalism of Darby and Scofield was a radical departure from the Confessional teachings of the churches from which they came (Many of the early dispensationalist were Presbyterian).

Had the church universal stood up and rebuked Darby, Scofield and their followers for their departure from the Confessional standards, maybe Dispensationalism would not have become as big of an issue. (That's not to say that many in Confessional churches did not stand against them. I'm sure many Christians did).

Personally, I believe that Dispensationalism is at least partially a result of Christians having laxed away from their confessional standards. The burden of proof was upon the shoulders of those who would propogate this new doctrine. If no one in the history of the church had ever propogated this doctrine before, then what makes these men think that God had revealed some new truth to them?

By the way, dispensationalists would not only cross out the last two chapters from the London Confession (concerning the general resurrection, the return of Christ and the judgment), but would also scratch the chapters on the Covenant and the law of God. -definitely not confessional.



[Edited on 4-7-2004 by Dan....]

 

[Reformingstudent]

[quote:d4c4b1bf64][i:d4c4b1bf64]Originally posted by pastorway[/i:d4c4b1bf64]
The [i:d4c4b1bf64]really[/i:d4c4b1bf64] Reformed will disagree with this, but among Baptists, we consider ourselves to be reformed if we hold to the Doctrines of Grace and the Five Solas of the Reformation.

Most Reformed Baptists hold to the 1689 (Second London) Baptist Confessions of Faith. Some hold to the 1646 (First London) Confession. Some hold to both.

There are differences between Reformed Baptists on CT. Some hold classic Covenant Theology minus infant baptism, and others hold to what is termed Baptist Covenantalism that sees the Covenants more in line with Owen.

SNIP

Phillip [/quote:d4c4b1bf64]



Hi Philip

Is there any difference between Spurgeon's Confession of Faith and the London Confession of Faith or are they one and the same? I'm PCA my self, but I am begining to agree with a lot of what the Reformed Baptist teach.
I'll try to explain what I mean later if I get the chance to. I am in a PCA church mainly because it is the only Reformed church around here for miles.


Blessings.



Tom

 

[Reformingstudent]

[quote:8a6492305a][i:8a6492305a]Originally posted by webmaster[/i:8a6492305a]
this was an old article I wrote as a Reformed baptist and I believe it still helps in terms of why Reformed Baptists believe they are reformed:

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Baptism/McMahonOldArticleOnReformedBaptists.htm [/quote:8a6492305a]

Thanks Matthew,

That helps a whole lot. I love the teachings of some Reformed Baptist and have been blessed by their ministires. although I believe in infant baptism myself, I think I am begining to understand their arguments against it. I have some questions that I may need to speak to my pastor about
but right now I do not feel lead to leave my church over. As far as I can tell, my church is Reformed.



Blessings.



Tom

 

[A_Wild_Boar]

Just realized this thread was heading into the credo vs paedo debate.

Steadfastly refusing to get involved in that one.

[Edited on 4-7-2004 by A_Wild_Boar]

 

[pastorway]

Spurgeon edited the 1689 briefly, but did not make any major changes.

Our church holds to Spurgeon's edition of the 1689.

Phillip