{"id":58,"date":"2014-03-10T01:06:56","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T01:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/?page_id=58"},"modified":"2025-09-15T21:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:29:10","slug":"1689-baptist-confession-of-faith","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/?page_id=58","title":{"rendered":"1689 Baptist Confession of Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SUMMARY OF FAITH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole Bible is the only final authority and the final court of appeal on all matters of faith and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church adopts as a guide the 1689 \u201cLONDON CONFESSION OF FAITH.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary we believe as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE SCRIPTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God and are the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

infallible and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE TRIUNE GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of himself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all perfections and being infinite in them all. To him all creatures owe the highest love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

reverence and obedience. God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being. God created all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

things from nothing as recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. God from eternity decreed all things that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

come to pass and perpetually governs all creatures and events. However, he is not in any<\/p>\n\n\n\n

way the author or approver of sin, nor does he destroy the responsibility of intelligent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

creatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE FALL OF MAN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sinful condition into which man fell consists in the guilt of Adam\u2019s first sin, the lack of that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

righteousness in which he was created, and the corruption of his nature whereby he is utterly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

indisposed, disabled and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all evil, and that continually, which is commonly called Original Sin, and from which all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

transgressions proceed. Therefore, although completely responsible to do so, man of himself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is unable to repent of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MEDIATOR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the divinely appointed Mediator between God<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and man. Having taken upon himself human nature, yet without sin, he perfectly fulfilled the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

law, suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, rose again<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the third day and ascended to the Father, at whose right hand he ever lives to make<\/p>\n\n\n\n

intercession for his people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest and King of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

church, and Sovereign of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Election is God\u2019s eternal choice of some persons to eternal life, not because of foreseen merit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or faith in them, but because of his mercy in Christ. Those who have been predestined to be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

saved are called, justified, sanctified and glorified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REGENERATION AND CALLING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regeneration is the implanting of a new heart by the Holy Spirit. God calls us into fellowship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with Jesus Christ by his Word and his Holy Spirit, our minds being spiritually enlightened and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

our wills and affections being renewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPENTANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repentance is a saving grace. The repentant person, by the Holy Spirit, is convicted of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

evil of his sin and humbles himself for it, with godly sorrow, hatred of it, self-abhorrence, and a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

purpose to endeavour to walk before the Lord so as to please him in all things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAITH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith is a saving grace by which we receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation as<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he is freely offered to us in the Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUSTIFICATION AND ADOPTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justification is an act of God\u2019s free grace whereby he pardons our sins and accounts us<\/p>\n\n\n\n

righteous. This is not based on anything we have done but only on the righteousness of Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

imputed to us and received by faith alone. Once justified we are adopted into the family of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SANCTIFICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who are united to Jesus Christ are renewed in their whole nature after the image of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God. It is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all believers. They are thus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

enabled to pursue a life of holiness in obedience to all the commands of Christ, though never<\/p>\n\n\n\n

attaining to perfection in this life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PERSEVERANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved and sanctified by his Spirit will never totally<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nor finally fall away from the state of grace but will persevere to the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CHURCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord Jesus is the Head of the church, which is composed of God\u2019s elect in every age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to his commandment, Christians are to gather in local churches. To each of these<\/p>\n\n\n\n

churches he has given authority for administering order and discipline. The officers of a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

church are Elders and Deacons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAPTISM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus obligatory on every believer, in which he is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of his<\/p>\n\n\n\n

union with Christ in his death and resurrection, of remission of sins, and of his giving himself<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to God to walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE LORD\u2019S SUPPER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord\u2019s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bread and wine, and to be observed by his church until he returns. It is in no sense a sacrifice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or a means of having sins cleansed. Its purpose is to commemorate Christ\u2019s death, to confirm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond, and a renewal of their communion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with Christ and their fellow believers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the duty of every church and of every Christian to extend the Gospel to all men<\/p>\n\n\n\n

everywhere. As faith comes by hearing the Word of God, we are to seek by all methods<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sanctioned in the Word of God to persuade men to seek Jesus Christ and his salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE STATE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil government is ordained of God and it is the duty of Christians to obey those who have<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the rule over them in all matters consistent with the teaching of Scripture. Christians are also<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to pray for their rulers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE RETURN OF CHRIST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe in the visible, personal and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESURRECTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bodies of men after death return to dust but their spirits return immediately to God \u2013 the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

righteous to rest with him, the wicked to be reserved under darkness until the judgement. The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE JUDGEMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when everyone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

shall receive according to his deeds. The wicked will go on to everlasting punishment in hell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with the devil and his angels. The righteous, with glorified bodies, will live and reign with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SUMMARY OF FAITH The whole Bible is the only final authority and the final court of appeal on all matters of faith and practice. The church adopts as a guide …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-58","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8648,"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions\/8648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdreformedbaptist.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}