This study guide summarizes the doctrine of believer baptism as expressed in the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, especially chapter 29, “Of Baptism.” It is designed for classroom use, church study, personal research, or preparation for teaching. The guide treats baptism confessionally, biblically, covenantally, historically, and practically.
Central thesis: Believer baptism—more precisely, the baptism of professing disciples—is the New Testament ordinance in which a credible believer is immersed in water, in the triune name, as a public sign of union with Christ, remission of sins, and entrance into visible discipleship within Christ’s church.
The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession presents baptism as an ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ for the continuing practice of the church. Chapter 29 states that baptism is a sign of fellowship with Christ, union with Christ in his death and resurrection, remission of sins, and consecration to God in newness of life. It also defines the proper subjects of baptism as those who actually profess repentance toward God, faith in Christ, and obedience to Christ.
The Confession’s wording is significant. It does not merely say that baptism is normally administered to believers. It states that professing believers are the only proper subjects of baptism, and that immersion, or dipping, is necessary to its proper administration. This makes the 1689 position a distinctly confessional form of credobaptism: baptism belongs to disciples who credibly profess faith and is administered by immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
| Confession Section | Relevance to Believer Baptism |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Of the Holy Scriptures | Scripture is the sufficient and final rule for determining baptism’s meaning, subjects, and mode. |
| Chapter 7: Of God’s Covenant | Provides the covenantal framework for understanding the relation between Old Testament promises and the New Covenant. |
| Chapter 8: Of Christ the Mediator | Baptism signifies union with Christ in his death and resurrection. |
| Chapter 10: Of Effectual Calling | The proper subject of baptism is one who responds to God’s saving call with repentance and faith. |
| Chapter 11: Of Justification | Baptism signifies forgiveness but does not produce justification. |
| Chapter 13: Of Sanctification | Baptism signifies death to sin and walking in newness of life. |
| Chapter 26: Of the Church | Baptism is connected to visible discipleship and local church membership. |
| Chapter 28: Of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper | The ordinances are instituted by Christ and continued in the church. |
| Chapter 29: Of Baptism | Defines baptism’s meaning, subjects, element, formula, and mode. |
| Chapter 30: Of the Lord’s Supper | Clarifies the distinction between sign and spiritual reality. |
The first paragraph of chapter 29 identifies baptism as a New Testament ordinance ordained by Jesus Christ. It signifies fellowship with Christ, union with him in death and resurrection, remission of sins, and the believer’s giving up of oneself to God to live and walk in newness of life. The main texts associated with this paragraph include Matthew 28:18–20, Romans 6:3–5, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12, Mark 1:4, and Acts 22:16.
Baptism is therefore more than a private testimony. It is a visible, ecclesial, and Christ-given sign. Yet the sign must not be confused with the saving reality it signifies. The physical act of baptism does not regenerate, justify, or unite the sinner to Christ. Rather, baptism publicly portrays and professes saving realities received through faith.
Baptism is symbolic, but it is not insignificant; it is a visible sign of saving realities received through faith and confessed before Christ’s church.
The second paragraph states that those who actually profess repentance toward God, faith in Christ, and obedience to Christ are the only proper subjects of baptism. The Confession cites passages such as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12, Acts 8:36–37, and Acts 18:8. The phrase “actually profess” is crucial. The church does not require omniscient certainty that a person is elect or regenerate; it baptizes on the basis of a credible profession of repentance and faith.
| Question | 1689 Baptist Answer |
|---|---|
| Who may properly receive baptism? | A person who credibly professes repentance toward God, faith in Christ, and obedience to Christ. |
| Must the church know with absolute certainty that the person is regenerate? | No. The church assesses the credibility of the profession. |
| Is every baptized person certainly elect? | No. The visible church may include hypocrites or temporary professors. |
| Does baptism cause regeneration? | No. Regeneration produces saving faith; baptism follows a profession of faith. |
| May infants of believers be baptized? | No, because they cannot yet make the profession required by the New Testament pattern and chapter 29. |
The third paragraph identifies water as the outward element of baptism and the triune name as the proper formula: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 is the controlling text, while Acts 8:38 illustrates the use of water. The triune formula distinguishes Christian baptism from a generic washing or a merely individual religious ceremony. Baptism is performed under the authority of the risen Christ and into the confession of the triune God.
The fourth paragraph states that immersion, or dipping, is necessary for the proper administration of baptism. The Baptist argument for immersion is cumulative: the ordinary sense of the term baptizō includes dipping or immersing; John baptized where there was abundant water; Jesus is described as coming up from the water; and the symbolism of burial and resurrection with Christ is most fully represented by immersion. Classical Particular Baptist writers such as John Gill defended immersion as the action properly described by baptism itself, not merely one optional mode among several.