3 comments

1. Would the baptists according to your premise, in not being catholic, be excluded from the external catagory as Westminster sees it? “The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children; and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” WCF 25.2

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   • Joshua,

     The divines asked Featley to reply to the Particular Baptists and in that reply he called them Anabaptists, whom no Reformed church accepted as a church. This was virtually the universal response by the Reformed to the Particular Baptists. See/listen to the series linked for more.

     I’m convinced that there’s no way to reconcile Belgic art. 29 with the claim that Baptists are true churches. I call Particular Baptist congregations “irregular.” They, in turn, call us unbaptized (and thus outside of the visible church and thus, by our lights, outside of salvation).

     I think I’m being gracious to the Particular Baptists but you raise a good question. It is frequently argued that the Particular Baptists fall under the rubric of “less pure” churches but I doubt that is what the divines intended.

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     • Dr. Clark,
       Thank you for your gracious response! I am part of the PCA, and my family, almost exclusively, is Baptist. I have struggled to articulate with such eloquence and consistency the severity of our faith’s differences. I have acknowledged to them the importance of finding unity in the doctrines of Grace, while also firmly remaining steadfast that everything which makes Baptists unique from the Reformed Catholics is schismatic and causes serious errors in practice, interpreting scripture, and understanding redemptive history.

       This has been difficult to explain, especially since they have shown theologians such as the late R.C. Sproul, whom I deeply respect, who would consider Baptists as continuing in the catholic faith. Until I came upon this “Can Baptists be Catholic?” series. Your careful correction of the various flaws within the Baptist and broader free evangelical tradition has strengthened my faith and given me greater assurance that I am not alone in these convictions and observations.

       Thank you, and God bless you and your ministry!

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