There were a number of Baptist Confessions of Faith that were drawn up in the 17th Century. Many of these were from "Particular" Baptists (those of Calvinistic convictions). To be a Baptists in the 17th Century was no an easy thing. Often preachers and pastor were imprisoned for their beliefs. Most "paedobaptists" (Presbyterians and Anglicans) labelled anyone of baptist conviction, "Anabaptist". This term was derogatory and from the time of the Reformation, "Anabaptists" were held extremists or heretics. The Calvinistic Baptists of the 17th Century laboured hard to dispell this label.
Of all the Confessions of Faith that the Baptists of the 17th Century penned there are two that stand out.
The First London Baptist Confession of Faith. This was originally published in 1644. A "second edition" was produced in 1646. There were a number of republications of this confession through the 1650s by different Particular Baptist associations. A number of these can be found online at the Angus Library and Archive, Regent’s Park College, Oxford.
The second is known as the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, or more commonly today, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.This Confession of faith was actually published in 1677 (no extant copy of an actual 1689 Confession exists to the best of my knowledge). It was published anonymously due to the persecution of the times. In 1689 this Confession was publicly subscribed to by Church representatives at the Association meeting held in London that year and as such has become commonly known as the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith or The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith.
In the past 50-60 years there has been a resurgence of interest in both these confessions, and particularly the latter. This return to confessional calvinism among Baptists has been called the "Reformed Baptist" movement (for many of the Churches call themselves "Reformed Baptist" Churches. I am one of those Baptist Christians that has come to an appreciation of the doctrine affectionately called, "the doctrines of grace" and usually termed calvinism (though I believe them to be clearly in the Bible first) and the great doctrinal stability a Confession of Faith can bring both to the life of the individual believer and to local Churches. I submit the programs below (Windows Helpfiles) as an aid to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and the better understanding of these 17th Century Confessions of Faith for the great Biblical doctrines they espouse.
First London Baptist Confession of Faith (1646)
Second London Baptist Confession of Faith
This exists in several formats:
The BCF Assistant - the original 1677 text with scripture references, historical background, chapter outlines and much more.
BCF Help - has been removed, as it does not work on modern Windows operating systems. The text of the Confession in BCFHelp was similar to that publised in book form by Gospel Missions. For your conveneince the text is avaiable here as PDF, EPUB, MOBI and AZW3 formats.
Anyone who wants the orginal BCFHelp can request it be e-mail
