Confession of Faith

Covenant Baptist is a confessional church that holds to the London Baptist Confession (1689) (modern English version here). We do allow the following exceptions to the Confession, though we still maintain substantial agreement with the Confession even in these areas (please see accompanying explanations):

  1. Infralapsarianism versus Supralapsarianism (III.3)
    • The Confession leans infralapsarian, but this issue is not explicitly addressed in Scripture so we accommodate both infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism. We do affirm all Five Points of Calvinism.
  2. The Covenant of Redemption (VII.3; VIII.1)
    • We do agree that the Triune God sovereignly planned and decreed our salvation from eternity past (Eph 1:3-14), but we do not believe this plan necessarily has to be labeled as a covenant. 
  3. What exactly happens to infants or the disabled who are unable to hear and understand the gospel (X.3)
    • We do agree that God is gracious and able to do as He pleases, but such matters are not explicitly and extensively explained in the Scriptures.
  4. The tripartite division of the law (XIX.2-4)
    • We do agree with the moral continuity of God’s Law from the OT to the NT and that there are ceremonial and civil aspects to the OT Law that do not continue in the NT (1 Cor 9:20-21; 2 Tim 3:14-17).
  5. Viewing the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath (XXII.7-8)
    • We do agree with a high view of the Lord’s Day assembly (Heb 10:24-25) and the wisdom of a day of rest (Gen 2:1-3) that is ideally enjoyed on the Lord’s Day. However, we also believe it is permissible to view the Sabbath as the sign of the Old Covenant (Ex 31:12-18) that is fulfilled in the rest we have through Christ (Mt 11:28-12:14; Rom 14:5; Col 2:16; cf Gal 4:10) that culminates in the New Creation (Heb 4).
  6. Whether the Pope is the Antichrist (XXVI.4)
    • This is possible, and we agree that he is rightly viewed as an Antichrist.
  7. The Calvinistic versus Zwinglian views of the Lord’s Supper (XXX.7)
    • While the Confession teaches a Calvinistic view of the Lord’s Supper, we hold both the Calvinistic and Zwinglian views to be permissible as long as one acknowledges the presence of Christ in the entire church gathering and real spiritual benefit in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

While we do not require total agreement with the Confession on these points, we also do not require disagreement with the Confession on these points. Our aim is simply to give space for differences on smaller, debatable matters while maintaining agreement with the Confession on the more important doctrinal issues. We believe this is the best way to honor our forefathers in the faith while still acknowledging Scripture as the only supreme judge of doctrinal matters (LBC I.10).