The historical Christian faith is not reinvented in every generation; it is inherited, defended, and passed down. As a Reformed Baptist congregation, our faith is rooted in historic biblical orthodoxy—clarified by the Church Fathers, preserved through the Middle Ages, recovered in the Reformation, and articulated in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (2LCF).

 

1. The Patristic Era (c. 100–600 AD)

Defended foundational teachings about the Trinity, the natures of Christ, human depravity, and sovereign grace.

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407): Preached expository sermons and established reverent, Word-centered public worship. (2LCF 1.9 "Holy Scripture", 22.1 "Religious Worship")

Augustine of Hippo (354–430): Refuted Pelagianism by proving that the fallen human will is bound by sin, requiring sovereign predestination and effectual converting grace. (2LCF 3.5 "God's Decree", 9.3 "Free Will", 10.1 "Effectual Calling")

Gregory the Great (c. 540–604): Elevated the solemn pastoral duty of shepherd-care while strongly rejecting papal claims to universal jurisdiction over the global Church. (2LCF 26.4 "The Church", 26.10 "Pastoral Care")

 

2. Medieval Scholastics & Proto-Reformers (c. 1000–1500)

During periods of error, God still preserved and refined doctrines of God, divine justice, and the supreme authority of Scripture.

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109): Authored Cur Deus Homo to demonstrate that Christ’s incarnation and death were necessary to satisfy divine justice on behalf of sinners. (2LCF 8.5 "Christ the Mediator")

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153): Taught that man’s righteousness rests solely in Christ’s mercy; the fallen will is bound to sin, prefiguring justification by faith alone. (2LCF 9.3 "Free Will", 11.1 "Justification")

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274): Articulated classical divine simplicity, distinguished primary from secondary causality, and recognized that God must accommodate Himself to finite human minds. (2LCF 2.1 "The Holy Trinity", 5.2 "Divine Providence")

John Wycliffe (c. 1320s–1384): Initiated the first English Bible translation and defined the true Church as the total number of the elect rather than a visible hierarchy. (2LCF 1.8 "Holy Scripture", 26.1 "The Church")

Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415): Martyred for resisting papal authority while maintaining that Scripture—not popes or councils—is the supreme rule of faith. (2LCF 1.10 "Holy Scripture")

 

3. The Protestant Reformation (c. 1500–1600)

The 16th-century Reformation recovered the biblical gospel defending the Five Solas.

Martin Luther (1483–1546): Recovered the core gospel truth that sinners are declared righteous before God solely through faith in the imputed righteousness of Christ. (2LCF 11.1–2 "Justification")

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531): Practiced sequential, expository preaching through whole biblical books and insisted that public worship be governed strictly by scriptural command. (2LCF 22.1 "Religious Worship")

William Tyndale (1494–1536): Translated the Bible directly from Hebrew and Greek into English, establishing vernacular Scripture as the supreme authority over tradition. (2LCF 1.8 "Holy Scripture")

Martin Bucer (1491–1551): Mentored John Calvin and shaped Reformed pastoral care, church discipline, and covenantal structures that influenced early Puritans and Baptists. (2LCF 26.5–12 "The Church")

John Calvin (1509–1564): Systematized Reformed theology into a God-centered framework centered on divine sovereignty, covenantal faithfulness, and Christ’s threefold office. (2LCF 3 "God's Decree", 5 "Divine Providence", 8 "Christ the Mediator")

 

4. The Puritan & Congregationalist Era (c. 1600–1700)

Further refined federal (covenant) theology, experiential living out of gratitude to God, confessionalism, congregationalism, and associationalism.

John Cotton (1585–1652): Defended the complete self-governing autonomy of the local church under Christ's direct headship, shaping Particular Baptist ecclesiology. (2LCF 26.7 "The Church")

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599–1646): Championed Congregational church polity, local assembly liberty, and gospel contentment in practical Christian living. (2LCF 26.13 "Communion of Churches")

Thomas Goodwin (1600–1680): Co-authored the Savoy Declaration, synthesizing high covenant theology with rich pastoral reflections on Christ's heart and mediation. (2LCF 7 "God's Covenant", 8.7 "The Mediator")

William Bridge (1600–1670): Co-authored the Apologetical Narration, delivering robust biblical defenses for local assembly autonomy over centralized ecclesiastical hierarchies. (2LCF 26.5 "The Church")

John Norton (1606–1663): Defended orthodox covenant theology and Christ’s substitutionary atonement against early Socinian and rationalist errors. (2LCF 8.5 "Christ the Mediator")

John Owen (1616–1683): Formulated the definitive biblical defense of Christ’s definite atonement for the elect while writing extensively on covenant theology and mortifying sin. (2LCF 8.8 "Christ the Mediator", 13.1 "Sanctification")

John Flavel (1627–1691): Wrote deeply affectionate works on divine providence and Christ’s heavenly intercession that shaped early Baptist devotional life. (2LCF 5.7 "Divine Providence", 14.1 "Saving Faith")

 

5. Early Particular Baptists (c. 1640–1700)

Embraced all of the above with the addition of convictions that disciples of Christ are the only proper subjects of baptism.

Nehemiah Coxe (c. 1640–1689): Primary editor of the 1689 Confession who formulated 1689 Federalism, showing the Covenant of Grace is revealed in the OT but formally established only in the New Covenant. (2LCF 7.3 "God's Covenant")

Benjamin Keach (1640–1704): Signatory of the 1689 Confession who authored early Baptist catechisms, defended believer's baptism, and introduced congregational hymn-singing to public worship. (2LCF 22.5 "Singing of Psalms", 29.2 "Baptism")

Hercules Collins (1647–1702): Authored An Orthodox Catechism (a Baptist adaptation of the Heidelberg Catechism) to ground believers in confessional truth during state persecution. (2LCF 14.2 "Saving Faith")

 

6. Modern Heritage (c. 1700–Present)

The generations that preserved confessional orthodoxy against theological drift, defended the free offer of the gospel, and launched the modern missionary movement.

John Gill (1697–1771): First Baptist to write a verse-by-verse commentary on the entire Bible, systematically defending the Trinity, eternal election, and high Calvinism against 18th-century Arminianism. (2LCF 2.3 "The Holy Trinity", 3.1 "God's Decree")

Andrew Fuller (1754–1815): Rescued Particular Baptists from hyper-Calvinism by proving that the free offer of the gospel is the duty of all to believe, sparking the modern missionary movement. (2LCF 7.2 "God's Covenant", 20.2 "The Gospel")

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892): Republished the 1689 Confession in 1855 to ground his congregation in historic Reformed Baptist orthodoxy during 19th-century theological compromise.