Quite often, I encounter people on social media who identify as “1689 Baptists.” What does that mean? I’m a pastor of a Baptist church and I can only think of one person in our congregation that might know what it is.
It was created in the formative years of the Baptist movement. There were General Baptists, who held to an Arminian theology, and Particular Baptists, who held to a Calvinistic theology.
For the Particular or Reformed Baptists, there were plenty of Reformed theological resources, coming especially from the Presbyterians. But Baptists are not Presbyterians.
It was based on the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Savoy Declaration (1658) but it was adjusted to reflect the Baptist tradition.
While the 1689 Confession is more than this, for many Particular Baptists today, it is an affirmation of their Reformed theology.
You can find the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith in modern English here.
