markwaltermd
New Member
As a member of this forum, you'd have to be living with your head under a rock if you haven't noticed the recent escalation in the baseless rants and "hit-and-run" attacks against those Biblical truths generally referred to as Calvinism. It seems those handful of members who launch these assaults were emboldened to do so after the release of the now infamous anti-Calvinist doctrinal statement made by a group within the SBC.
One of the arguments that continues to arise is either a case of some being misinformed, or else willing to compromise truth, if they feel that it might steer someone away from an understanding of the implications of God's grace and His sovereignty. That is, specifically, a historical argument against the doctrines of grace. They say, in other words, that the non-Calvinistic understanding of Scripture is the historical Baptist position. Mohler's response to the recent SBC document was very gracious, yet not critical enough. When one takes a cursory look at the change in Baptist doctrines since the early 17th century, especially those changes translated into the 3 major revisions of the Baptist Faith & Message (1925, 1963 and 2000), one can see that there has been a staggering doctrinal downgrade. It leads me to ask, as an American Baptist, what have American Baptists done, and why is there this apparent mishandling (and rejection) of key points of doctrine?
As a case in point, I have traced the doctrinal de-evolution of the subject of inherited sin, through 400 years of Baptist confessions...
Smyth's Short Confession of Faith (1610)
"This only God bath created man good, according to his image and likeness, to a good and happy estate, and in him all men to the same blessed end. The first man was fallen into sin and wrath and was again by God, through a sweet comfortable promise, restored and affirmed to everlasting life, with all those that were guilty through him so that none of his posterity (by reason of this institution) are guilty, sinful, or born in original sin. Man being created good, and continuing in goodness, had the ability, the spirit of wickedness tempting him, freely to obey, assent, or reject the propounded evil: man being fallen and consisting (sic) in evil, had the ability, the t...himself moving freely to obey, assent or reject the propounded good; for as he through free power to the choice of evil, obeyed and affirmed that evil; so did he through free power to the choice of good, obey and reassent that propounded good. This last power or ability remaineth in all his posterity.God bath before all time foreseen and foreknown all things, both good and evil, whether past, present, or to come. Now, as he is the only perfect goodness, and the very fountain of life itself, so is he the only author, original, and maker of such good things as are good, holy, pure, and of nature like unto him; but not of sin, or dagnabitable uncleanness. He forbiddeth the evil, he forewarneth to obey evil, and threateneth the evil doer: he is the permitter and punisher. But evil men, through free choice of all sin and wickedness, together with the spirit of wickedness which ruleth in them, are the authors, Interlined. originals, and makers of all sin, and so worthy the punishment. The causes and ground, therefore, of man’s destruction and dagnabitation, are the man’s free choice of darkness or sin, and living therein. Destruction, therefore, cometh out of himself, but not from the good Creator. For being perfect goodness and love itself (following the nature of love and perfect goodness) he willeth the health, good, and happiness of his creatures; therefore hath he predestinated that none of them should be condemned, nor ordained, or will the sinner, or means whereby they should be brought to dagnabitation: yea, much more (seeing he hath no delight in any man’s destruction, nor willing that any man perish, but that all men should be saved or blessed) hath he created them all to a happy end in Christ, hath foreseen and ordained in him a medicine of life for all their sins, and hath willed that all people or creatures, through the preaching of the gospel, should have these tidings published and declared unto them; now all they that with penitence and faithful hearts receive and embrace the gracious benefits of God, manifested in Christ, for the reconciliation of the world, they are and continue the elect which God hath ordained before the foundation of the world, to make partakers of his kingdom and glory. But they which despise and co~itemn this proffered grace of God, which love the darkness more than the light, persevere in inipenitence and unbelief, they make themselves unworthy of blessedness, and are rejected, excluded from the end whereto they were created and ordained in Christ, and shall not taste forever of the Supper of the Lord, to which they were invited."
Not only does Smyth's confession not support inherited sin or original sin. Clearly this confession does not support the Calvinist position. But examine a more Scripturally informed confession from his contemporary, Helwys...
Helwys' Declaration of Faith (1611)
"That this God in the beginning created all things of nothing, and made man of the dust of the earth, in his own image, in righteousness and true holiness; yet being tempted, fell in disobedience. Through whose disobedience, all men sinned: his sin being imputed to all; and so death went over all men. That by the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, [and by] his obedience, all are made righteous, all are made alive: his righteousness being imputed unto all. That notwithstanding this, men are by nature the children of wrath, born in iniquity, and in sin conceived; wise to all evil, but to good they have no knowledge. The naturalman receives not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2:14. And therefore man is not restored unto his former estate. But that as man, in his estate of innocency, having in himself all disposition unto good, and no disposition unto evil, yet being tempted might yield, or might resist; even so now being fallen, and having all disposition unto evil, and no disposition or will unto any good..."
Helwys, then was right on the money, and his confession stands alongside that of Smyth in Baptist infancy. Man was born with a sin nature, inherited from the first Adam. That the truth of the Helwys' Declaration was accepted is evidenced by the recognition in two later, major Baptist confessions of the 17th century...
Baptist Confession of 1646
IN the beginning God made all things very good; created man after His own Image, filled with all meet perfection of nature, and free from all sin; but long he abode not in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce first Eve, then by her seducing Adam; who without any compulsion, in eating the forbidden fruit, transgressed the command of God, and fell, whereby death came upon all his posterity; who now are conceived in sin, and by nature the children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and other miseries in this world, and for ever, unless the Lord Jesus Christ set them free.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
"Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them. For from this, death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and their corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation. Their descendants are therefore conceived in sin, and are by nature the children of wrath, the servants of sin, and the subjects of death and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus sets them free. All actual transgressions proceed from this original corruption, by which we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil. During this life the corruption of nature remains in those who are regenerated, and although it is pardoned and mortified through Christ, yet this corrupt nature and all its motions are truly and properly sinful."
The LBC 1689, as with the Helwys Declaration, unequivocally states the source of the problem of man, inherited sin. The Philadelphia Confession of 1742 is no different...
[Continued]
One of the arguments that continues to arise is either a case of some being misinformed, or else willing to compromise truth, if they feel that it might steer someone away from an understanding of the implications of God's grace and His sovereignty. That is, specifically, a historical argument against the doctrines of grace. They say, in other words, that the non-Calvinistic understanding of Scripture is the historical Baptist position. Mohler's response to the recent SBC document was very gracious, yet not critical enough. When one takes a cursory look at the change in Baptist doctrines since the early 17th century, especially those changes translated into the 3 major revisions of the Baptist Faith & Message (1925, 1963 and 2000), one can see that there has been a staggering doctrinal downgrade. It leads me to ask, as an American Baptist, what have American Baptists done, and why is there this apparent mishandling (and rejection) of key points of doctrine?
As a case in point, I have traced the doctrinal de-evolution of the subject of inherited sin, through 400 years of Baptist confessions...
Smyth's Short Confession of Faith (1610)
"This only God bath created man good, according to his image and likeness, to a good and happy estate, and in him all men to the same blessed end. The first man was fallen into sin and wrath and was again by God, through a sweet comfortable promise, restored and affirmed to everlasting life, with all those that were guilty through him so that none of his posterity (by reason of this institution) are guilty, sinful, or born in original sin. Man being created good, and continuing in goodness, had the ability, the spirit of wickedness tempting him, freely to obey, assent, or reject the propounded evil: man being fallen and consisting (sic) in evil, had the ability, the t...himself moving freely to obey, assent or reject the propounded good; for as he through free power to the choice of evil, obeyed and affirmed that evil; so did he through free power to the choice of good, obey and reassent that propounded good. This last power or ability remaineth in all his posterity.God bath before all time foreseen and foreknown all things, both good and evil, whether past, present, or to come. Now, as he is the only perfect goodness, and the very fountain of life itself, so is he the only author, original, and maker of such good things as are good, holy, pure, and of nature like unto him; but not of sin, or dagnabitable uncleanness. He forbiddeth the evil, he forewarneth to obey evil, and threateneth the evil doer: he is the permitter and punisher. But evil men, through free choice of all sin and wickedness, together with the spirit of wickedness which ruleth in them, are the authors, Interlined. originals, and makers of all sin, and so worthy the punishment. The causes and ground, therefore, of man’s destruction and dagnabitation, are the man’s free choice of darkness or sin, and living therein. Destruction, therefore, cometh out of himself, but not from the good Creator. For being perfect goodness and love itself (following the nature of love and perfect goodness) he willeth the health, good, and happiness of his creatures; therefore hath he predestinated that none of them should be condemned, nor ordained, or will the sinner, or means whereby they should be brought to dagnabitation: yea, much more (seeing he hath no delight in any man’s destruction, nor willing that any man perish, but that all men should be saved or blessed) hath he created them all to a happy end in Christ, hath foreseen and ordained in him a medicine of life for all their sins, and hath willed that all people or creatures, through the preaching of the gospel, should have these tidings published and declared unto them; now all they that with penitence and faithful hearts receive and embrace the gracious benefits of God, manifested in Christ, for the reconciliation of the world, they are and continue the elect which God hath ordained before the foundation of the world, to make partakers of his kingdom and glory. But they which despise and co~itemn this proffered grace of God, which love the darkness more than the light, persevere in inipenitence and unbelief, they make themselves unworthy of blessedness, and are rejected, excluded from the end whereto they were created and ordained in Christ, and shall not taste forever of the Supper of the Lord, to which they were invited."
Not only does Smyth's confession not support inherited sin or original sin. Clearly this confession does not support the Calvinist position. But examine a more Scripturally informed confession from his contemporary, Helwys...
Helwys' Declaration of Faith (1611)
"That this God in the beginning created all things of nothing, and made man of the dust of the earth, in his own image, in righteousness and true holiness; yet being tempted, fell in disobedience. Through whose disobedience, all men sinned: his sin being imputed to all; and so death went over all men. That by the promised seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, [and by] his obedience, all are made righteous, all are made alive: his righteousness being imputed unto all. That notwithstanding this, men are by nature the children of wrath, born in iniquity, and in sin conceived; wise to all evil, but to good they have no knowledge. The naturalman receives not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2:14. And therefore man is not restored unto his former estate. But that as man, in his estate of innocency, having in himself all disposition unto good, and no disposition unto evil, yet being tempted might yield, or might resist; even so now being fallen, and having all disposition unto evil, and no disposition or will unto any good..."
Helwys, then was right on the money, and his confession stands alongside that of Smyth in Baptist infancy. Man was born with a sin nature, inherited from the first Adam. That the truth of the Helwys' Declaration was accepted is evidenced by the recognition in two later, major Baptist confessions of the 17th century...
Baptist Confession of 1646
IN the beginning God made all things very good; created man after His own Image, filled with all meet perfection of nature, and free from all sin; but long he abode not in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to seduce first Eve, then by her seducing Adam; who without any compulsion, in eating the forbidden fruit, transgressed the command of God, and fell, whereby death came upon all his posterity; who now are conceived in sin, and by nature the children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and other miseries in this world, and for ever, unless the Lord Jesus Christ set them free.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
"Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them. For from this, death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body. They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and their corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation. Their descendants are therefore conceived in sin, and are by nature the children of wrath, the servants of sin, and the subjects of death and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus sets them free. All actual transgressions proceed from this original corruption, by which we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil. During this life the corruption of nature remains in those who are regenerated, and although it is pardoned and mortified through Christ, yet this corrupt nature and all its motions are truly and properly sinful."
The LBC 1689, as with the Helwys Declaration, unequivocally states the source of the problem of man, inherited sin. The Philadelphia Confession of 1742 is no different...
[Continued]
