I. Introduction
A. Ecclesiology
B. What? Why? How?
C. Relationship to Believer’s Baptism
D. Who is a proper candidate for
membership in a Baptist church?
Charles W. Deweese
Baptist Church Covenants
“The rise of the Believer’s Church was one of
the most important developments in Christian
history. This movement began among the
Czech Brethren in the 1400s and continued
through the Continental Anabaptists of the
1500s. Baptists arose in the early 1600s as a
dynamic extension of the movement”
the study of the church
Church
polity
Believer’s
baptism
Believer’s
church
Religious
liberty
II. What Is a Believer’s Church?
A. John Smyth’s Short Confession
B. Thomas Helwys Declaration at Amsterdam
C. The Particular Baptists
D. In Modern Time
E. Points from the “Baptist Distinctives”
Lecture
F. Summary of Thought
John Smyth
Short Confession of Faith
(1609), Article 12
“That the church of Christ is a
company of the faithful; baptized
after confession of sin and of faith,
endowed with the power of Christ.”
Thomas Helwys
A Declaration of Faith of English People Remaining
at Amsterdam in Holland, 1611
Article 10
“That the church of CHRIST is a company of
faithful people (1 Corinthians 1:2. Ephesians
1:1) separated from the world by the word
and Spirit of GOD (2 Corinthians 6:17) being
knit unto the LORD, and one unto another, by
Baptism. (1 Corinthians 12:13). Upon their
own confession of the faith (Acts 8:37) and
sins. (Matthew 3:6).”
Thomas Helwys
A Declaration of Faith of English People
Remaining at Amsterdam in Holland, 1611
Article 13
“That every Church is to receive in all their
members by Baptism upon the Confession of
their faith and sins wrought by the preaching
of the Gospel, according to the primitive
Institution, (Matthew 28:19) and practice,
(Acts 2:41). And therefore Churches
constituted after any other manner, or of any
other persons are not according to CHRISTS
Testament.”
1644 London Confession of Faith
Article 33
“That Christ has here on earth a spiritual
Kingdom, which is the Church, which He has
purchased and redeemed to Himself, as a
particular inheritance: which Church, as it is
visible to us, is a company of visible saints, called
and separated from the world, by the Word and
the Spirit of God, to the visible profession of the
faith of the Gospel, being baptized into the faith,
and joined to the Lord, and each other, by mutual
agreement, in the practical enjoyment of the
ordinances, commanded by Christ their head and
King.”
1689 Second London Confession
Article 26, Point 1
“The catholic or universal church, which
(with respect to the internal work of the
Spirit and truth of grace) may be called
invisible, consists of the whole number of
the elect, that have been, are, or shall be
gathered into one, under Christ, the head
thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
1689 Second London Confession
Article 26, Point 2
“All persons throughout the world,
professing the faith of the gospel, and
obedience unto God by Christ according
unto it, not destroying their own
profession by any errors everting the
foundation, or unholiness of conversation,
are and may be called visible saints; and of
such ought all particular congregations to
be constituted.”
1689 Second London Confession
Article 26, Point 6
“The members of these churches are saints
by calling, visibly manifesting and
evidencing (in and by their profession and
walking) their obedience unto that call of
Christ; and do willingly consent to walk
together, according to the appointment of
Christ; giving up themselves to the Lord,
and one to another, by the will of God, in
professed subjection to the ordinances of
the Gospel.”
1689 Second London Confession
Article 29 Point 2
“Those who do actually profess
repentance towards God, faith in,
and obedience to, our Lord Jesus
Christ, are the only proper
subjects of this ordinance
[baptism].”
The New Hampshire Baptist
Confession of Faith, 1833
Article 13, Of a Gospel Church
“We believe that a visible Church of Christ is a congregation of
baptized believers 1 Cor. 1:1-13; Matt. 18:17; Acts 5:11; 8:1; 11:31; 1
Cor. 4:17; 14:23; 3 John 9; 1 Tim. 3:5, associated by covenant in the
faith and fellowship of the gospel Acts 2:41-42; 2 Cor. 8:5; Acts 2:47; 1
Cor. 5:12-13; observing the ordinances of Christ 1 Cor. 11:2; 2 Thess.
3:6; Rom. 16:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23; Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:6; 2 Cor. 2:7;
1 Cor. 4:17; governed by his laws Matt. 28:20; John 14:15; 15:12; 1
John 4:21; John 14:21; 1 Thess. 4.2; 2 John 6; Gal. 6:2; all the Epistles,
and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by his
Word Eph. 4:7; 1 Cor. 14:12; Phil. 1:27; 1 Cor. 12:14; that its only
scriptural officers are Bishops, or Pastors, and Deacons Phil. 1:1; Acts
14:23; 15:22; 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1, whose qualifications, claims, and duties
are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.”
“Theological Principles” of ABGTS
“The Church, as a spiritual fellowship, is the people of
God, the fellowship of all true believers. The Church as
an organized body is a local congregation of baptized
believers, organized for worship, observance of the
ordinances, and the spread of the Gospel throughout
the world. It is a self-governing spiritual democracy
whose officers are pastors and deacons, who along
with the other members are equal in rank and privilege
under the headship and authority of Christ. The church
two ordinances are the baptism or believers by
immersion and the Lord Supper. They are symbolic
expressions of the message of salvation. Christ is the
Lord of the Church, both the spiritual fellowship and
the local congregation.”
Baptist Ideals 1964
IV. The Church 1. Its Nature
“In the New Testament the term church
designates God’s people in their totality or in
local assembly. The church is a fellowship of
persons redeemed in Christ Jesus, divinely called,
divinely created, and made one under the
sovereign rule of God. The church as a local
body—an organism indwelt by the Holy Spirit—is
a fellowship of baptized believers, voluntarily
banded together for worship, study, mutual
discipline, Christian service, and the propagation
of the gospel at home and abroad.”
Baptist Ideals 1964
IV. The Church 2. Its Membership
“ The church in local embodiment is a fellowship of
regenerated and baptized believers associated by
covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel.
Properly, one qualifies for church membership by being
begotten of God and by voluntarily accepting baptism.
For such persons membership in a local church
becomes a holy privilege and a sacred study. Simply to
be enrolled in the membership of a church does not
constitute membership in the body of Christ. The
utmost care should be exercised to see that persons
are accepted into the fellowship of a church only on
reasonable evidence of regeneration and true
commitment to Christ as Lord.”
The Believer’s Church
A (or the) church is made up of those who
have professed their faith in Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior and on the basis of that
professed faith have been baptized.
III. Why a Believer’s Church?
A. Historical Background
B. Reformation
C. English Separatists
D. Smyth and Helwys (General Baptists)
E. Authority and Limitations of the Magistracy
Reformation
Sola scriptura
Sola gratia
Sola fides
Priesthood of the believer
English Separatists
Separated from the Church of England
But they kept
Church + State
Infant baptism
The 1611 Confession of Faith
Article 70
“the outward baptism of water is to be
administered only upon such penitent
and faithful persons as are (aforesaid),
and not upon innocent infants, or
whicked persons (Matt. iii. 2, 3,
compared with Matt. xxviii. 19, 20 and
John iv. I).”
The 1611 Confession of Faith
Article 83
“the office of the magistrate, is a disposition or
permissive ordinance of God for the good of
mankind: that one man like the brute beasts
devour not another (Rom. xiii), and that justice
and civility may be preserved among men: and
that a magistrate may so please God in his calling,
in doing that which is righteous and just in the
eyes of the Lord, that he may bring an outward
blessing upon himself, his posterity and subjects
(2 Kings, x. 30,31).”
The 1611 Confession of Faith
Article 84
“the magistrate is not by virtue of his office to
meddle with religion, or matters of conscience, to
force and compel men to this or that form of
religion or doctrine; but to leave Christian religion
free, to every man's conscience, and to handle
only civil transgressions (Rom. xiii), injuries and
wrongs of man against man, in murder, adultery,
theft, ect., for Christ only is the king, and lawgiver
of the church and conscience (James iv. 12).”
IV. The Church: Local and Universal
A. Particular Baptists
B. Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary
C. “Baptists Ideals,” 1964
D. “The Baptist Doctrine of the Church,”
1948
E. A Local Church Is Fully the Church
F. But Note Baptist Diversity
1644 Confession of Faith
Article 33
“That Christ has here on earth a spiritual
Kingdom, which is the Church, which He has
purchased and redeemed to Himself, as a
particular inheritance: which Church, as it is
visible to us, is a company of visible saints, called
and separated from the world, by the Word and
the Spirit of God, to the visible profession of the
faith of the Gospel, being baptized into the
faith, and joined to the Lord, and each other, by
mutual agreement, in the practical enjoyment of
the ordinances, commanded by Christ their head
and King.”
1689 Second London Confession
Article 26, Point 1
“The catholic or universal church, which (with
respect to the internal work of the Spirit and
truth of grace) may be called invisible, consists
of the whole number of the elect, that have
been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under
Christ, the head thereof; and is the spouse,
the body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.”
The ABGTS “Theological Principles”
“The Church, as a spiritual fellowship, is the people of
God, the fellowship of all true believers. The Church as
an organized body is a local congregation of baptized
believers, organized for worship, observance of the
ordinances, and the spread of the Gospel throughout
the world. It is a self-governing spiritual democracy
whose officers are pastors and deacons, who along
with the other members are equal in rank and privilege
under the headship and authority of Christ. The
church’s two ordinances are the baptism of believers
by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. They are symbolic
expressions of the message of salvation. Christ is the
Lord of the Church, both the spiritual fellowship and
the local congregation.”
Baptist Ideals 1964
IV. The Church 1. Its Nature
“In the New Testament the term church
designates God’s people in their totality or in
local assembly. The church [universal] is a
fellowship of persons redeemed in Christ Jesus,
divinely called, divinely created, and made one
under the sovereign rule of God. The church as a
local body—an organism indwelt by the Holy
Spirit—is a fellowship of baptized believers,
voluntarily banded together for worship, study,
mutual discipline, Christian service, and the
propagation of the gospel at home and abroad.”
Baptist Ideals 1964
IV. The Church 2. Its Membership
“The church in local embodiment is a fellowship of
regenerated and baptized believers associated by
covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel.
Properly, one qualifies for church membership by being
begotten of God and by voluntarily accepting baptism.
For such persons membership in a local church
becomes a holy privilege and a sacred study. Simply to
be enrolled in the membership of a church does not
constitute membership in the body of Christ. The
utmost care should be exercised to see that persons
are accepted into the fellowship of a church only on
reasonable evidence of regeneration and true
commitment to Christ as Lord.”
The Baptist Doctrine of the Church
1948
The One Holy Catholic Church. 2.
“Although Baptists have for so long held a position
separate from that of other communions, they have
always claimed to part of the one holy catholic Church
of our Lord Jesus Christ. They believe in the catholic
Church as the holy society of believers in our Lord Jesus
Christ, which He founded, of which He is the only
Head, and in which He dweels by His Spirit, so that
though manifested in many communions, organized in
various modes, and scattered throughout the world, it
is yet one in Him . . . . The Church is the Body of Christ
and a chosen instrument of the divine purpose in
history.”
Towards a Baptist Identity,” from
the Commission on Baptist
Heritage of the Baptist World
Alliance, 1989
“[Baptists] believe that as individuals come to
put their trust in God and confess Christ as
Savior and Lord (which they believe to be the
scriptural conditions for baptism) so the
church is created. . . . A local church so
constituted represents in any place the church
in that locality; it is fully the church, not a
branch of some national or wider institution.”
V. The Functions of the Church
A. Baptism
B. Covenant
C. Authority
D. On Congregationalism and Authority
E. Church Officers
F. Relationships between Congregations
Anthony Cross
“Because believer’s baptism emphasizes the
necessity of conversion and forms a direct link
between the spiritual authority of the New
Testament and the Lord it reveals, it carries
with it the unmistakable definition of the
church, for which it is the door”
Baptist covenants had four applications
1. God’s covenant of grace made between God and
human beings for their salvation in Jesus Christ
2. covenant as transaction in the Godhead in which
the Son consented to the the Father’s will to do
the work of salvation
3. the covenant between God and the entire
church (the universal church) and with specific
congregations
4. the covenant binding believers to a specific
church and to each other
1644 London Confession
Article 34
“To this Church he hath made his promises, and
given the signs of his Covenant, presence, love,
blessing, and protection: here are the fountains
and springs of his heavenly grace continually
flowing forth; thither ought all men to come, of
all estates, that acknowledge him to be their
Prophet, Priest, and King, to be enrolled amongst
his household servants, to be under his heavenly
conduct and government, to lead their lives in his
walled sheepfold, and watered garden, to have
communion here with the Saints, that they may
be made to be partakers of their inheritance in
the Kingdom of God.”
1644 London Confession
Article 42
“Christ has likewise given power to his whole
Church to receive in and cast out, by way of
Excommunication, any member; and this
power is given to every particular
Congregation, and not one particular person,
either member or Officer, but the whole.”
New Hampshire Confession of Faith
Article 13: Of a Gospel Church
“We believe that a visible Church of Christ is a
congregation of baptized believers, associated
by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the
gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ;
governed by his laws, and exercising the gifts,
rights, and privileges invested in them by his
Word; that its only scriptural officers are
Bishops, or Pastors, and Deacons, whose
qualifications, claims, and duties are defined
in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.”
Models of Church Government
1. Hierarchical (Apostolic Succession)
Jesus
Apostle
Apostle
Apostle
Bishop
Bishop
Bishop
Priests
Priests
Priests
Models of Church Government
2. Representative or Presbyterian
Models of Church Government
3. Congregational
Baptist Distinctives and Diversities and
Disagreements and Differences of
Emphasis Among Baptists 1964
Authority: Christ as Head of the Church:
“Just as Christ is confessed as Lord of the individual
believer, so also Baptists recognize him as head of the
church. He is head of the church in its expression within a
local congregation. He is likewise head of the church in its
wider expression which includes all those redeemed by his
grace. No vicar, pope, bishop, prophet, elder, minister,
priest, council, synod, or convention can usurp the primacy
of Christ’s authority. Neither may anything or anyone
interfere with the directness of that authority to the
church. The church, therefore, never moves with greater
sureness, purpose, and victory than when it acknowledges
its proper relationship to Jesus Christ. In the imagery of
Scripture, we confess that the body must submit to the
Baptist Distinctives and Diversities
and Disagreements and Differences of
Emphasis Among Baptists 1964
The Scriptures:
“The Bible has always been recognized by Baptists as having a
unique role and character. For them, the inspired Scriptures
possess authority in all matters of faith and practice. Though
not known as a creedal people, Baptists have, nevertheless, at
times found it helpful to use creeds or confessions of faith.
These have been used primarily as instruments to systematize
and summarize certain biblical truths. Such formulated
statements, however, have never been accorded the same
status as Scripture. They have always been recognized as
deriving their authority from the Bible; moreover, their
validity had always been judged by the Scriptures.”
1644 London Confession of Faith
“Concerning His kingly office, Christ being risen from
the dead, and ascended into heaven, and having all
power in heaven and earth, He doth spiritually govern
His church, and doth exercise His power over all, angels
and men, good and bad, to the preservation and
salvation of the elect, and to the overruling and
destruction of His enemies. By this kingly power He
applieth the benefits, virtue, and fruits of His prophecy
and priesthood to His elect, subduing their sins,
preserving and strengthening them in all their conflicts
against Satan, the world, and the flesh, keeping their
hearts in faith and filial fear by His Spirit: By this His
mighty power He ruleth the vessels of wrath, using,
limiting and restraining them, as it seems good to His
infinite wisdom.”
A DECLARATION OF FAITH OF ENGLISH
PEOPLE REMAINING AT AMSTERDAM
IN HOLLAND, 1611
“That the scriptures of the Old and New
Testament are written for our instruction and
that we ought to search them for they testify
of Christ. And therefore to be used withal
reverence, as containing the Holy Word of
God, which only is our direction in all things
whatsoever.”
A Declaration of Faith of English
People Remaining in Amsterdam in
Holland, 1611, Article 11
“though in respect of CHRIST, the Church be one (Ephesians
4:4) yet it consists of divers particular congregations, even so
many as there shall be in the World, every of which
congregation, though they be but two or three, have CHRIST
given them, with all the means of their salvation. (Matthew
18:20. Romans 8:32. 1 Corinthians 3:22). Are the Body of
CHRIST (1 Corinthians 12:27) and a whole Church. (1
Corinthians 14:23) And therefore may, and ought, when they
are come together, to Pray, Prophecy, break bread, and
administer in all the holy ordinances, although as yet they
have no Officers, or that their Officers should be in Prison,
sick, or by any other means hindered from the Church. (1
Peter 4:10 & 2:5).”
The 1644 London Confession
Article 42
“Christ has likewise given power to his whole
Church to receive in and cast out, by way of
Excommunication, any member; and this power is
given to every particular Congregation, and not one
particular person, either member or Officer, but the
whole.”
1964 Baptist Distinctives and
Diversities, “The Church: Democratic
Government”
“Since the church is composed of the redeemed
who have equal access to the presence, mind,
and will of God, Baptists are convinced that the
local church should be governed democratically
by its own congregation. While it is not assumed
that church decisions democratically arrived at
always reflect the will of God, it is assumed that a
spiritually sensitive congregation is less likely to
misinterpret the divine will than an individual
believer. The New Testament gives prominence
to the congregation and the local expression of
the priesthood of believers.”
The Baptist Doctrine of the Church
(1948, the Council of the Baptist
Union of Great Britain and Ireland)
“A properly ordered Baptist church will have
its duly appointed officers. These will include
the minister (or pastor), elders, deacons,
Sunday school teachers, and other church
workers.”
A DECLARATION OF FAITH OF ENGLISH
PEOPLE REMAINING AT AMSTERDAM
IN HOLLAND, 1611
“That the Officers of every Church or
congregation are either Elders, who by their
office do especially feed the flock concerning
their souls, (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2, 3) or
Deacons Men, and Women who by their office
relieve the necessities of the poor and
impotent brethren concerning their bodies,
(Acts 6:1-4).”
Bill J. Leonard
“While some of the early Calvinistic Baptists
followed the Reformed model of a four-fold
church leadership—pastor, teacher, deacon,
elder—most churches down to the present
day have used two church officers: pastors
and deacons. Pastors are the ordained clergy,
while deacons are a lay office chosen by the
congregation to serve the spiritual, familial,
and physical needs of persons.”
The Baptist Faith and Message, 2000
Article VI The Church
“While both men and women are gifted for
service in the church, the office of pastor is
limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
The Baptist Doctrine of the Church
1948
“The Baptist conception of the ministry is
governed by the principle that it is a ministry
of a church and not only a ministry of an
individual. It is the church which preaches the
Word and celebrates the sacraments, and it is
the church which, through pastoral oversight,
feeds the flock and ministers to the world. It
normally does these things through the
person of its minister, but not solely through
the minister.”
Bill J. Leonard
“Although they ordain persons for ‘peculiar
ministry’ of Word and sacrament/ordinance,
Baptists give serious attention to the idea that
all persons could go directly to God without
the need of any other human mediator.”
Baptist Ideals
“Every person is competent to go directly to God for
forgiveness through repentance and faith. That person
needs neither individual nor church to dispense
salvation. There is but one mediator of God and
people, Jesus Christ our Lord. After one has become a
Christian, one has direct access to God through Christ.
The Christian has entered into a royal priesthood and is
privileged to minister for Christ to all. Christians are to
share with them the faith they cherish and to serve
them in the name and spirit of their Lord. The
priesthood of believers, therefore, means that all
members serve as equals under God in the fellowship
of a local church.”
Baptist Distinctives and Diversities:
The Church, An Ordained Ministry
“An ordained clergy has always been a part of Baptist
structure. Ordination is a formal recognition that God
has given a set-apart ministry to the church, that he
has called people into his service, endowed them with
spiritual gifts to bless the church, and further, that
candidates have taken seriously the divine call by giving
evidence of thorough preparation and a holy life.
Ordination is an act of the local church and is conferred
following the recommendation of a council, composed
of ordained and lay representatives of other churches,
which examines the candidate.”
Bill J. Leonard
“In some Baptist communions, any person
approved by the church may administer
baptism and the Lord’s Supper whether
ordained or not. In other Baptist contexts,
only duly ordained ministers or deacons can
lead in these events”
Church
A
Church
B
Church
C
A DECLARATION OF FAITH OF ENGLISH
PEOPLE REMAINING AT AMSTERDAM
IN HOLLAND, 1611
“That as one congregation hath CHRIST, so
hath all, (2 Corinthians 10:7). And that the
Word of GOD comes not out from any one,
neither to lany one congregation in
particular. (1 Corinthians 14:36). But unto
every particular Church, as it doth unto all the
world. (Colossians 1:5. 6). And therefore no
church ought to challenge any prerogative
over any other.”
VI. Some Concluding Thoughts
A. Daryl C. Cornett
B. Carol Crawford Holcomb
Daryl C. Cornett
“An unabashed commitment to the authority of scripture
should preclude all other concerns. Baptists should
sincerely seek to know what they should believe, what they
should be doing, and what their churches should look like if
they are in obedience to the Word of God.” Further, “Godly
servant-leaders who understand that church is not a oneman show should foster a spirit of true fellowship in the
work of the Gospel. Each congregation should be free to
follow directly the Lord’s leadership, without interference
from the outside. Each church should embody the teaching
that each voluntary member of a church is spiritually
capable and responsible. A democratic process helps best
facilitate these principles, but it must be a guarded
democracy. In a Baptist church democracy should connote
responsibility, not the selfish assertion of privilege and
individual rights”
Carol Crawford Holcomb
“Church historian ROSALIE BECK observed that
‘some Baptists in the late twentieth century
absorbed the corporate world's view of
leadership, and ministers declared themselves
the chief executive officers, CEO's, of their
churches. Baptists need to remind themselves
that although the pastor is spiritual leader of the
church, he/she still has only one vote and does
not possess the power to alter the decisions of
the congregation.’ When a pastor becomes a
dictator or manipulates the democratic process,
congregational polity is violated.”
Daniel Akins, James Leo Garrett, Jr.,
Robert L. Reymond, James R.
White, and Paul F.M. Zahl
Perspectives on Church
Government: Five Views of
church Polity