Training · flashcard deck
The 1689 Baptist Confession
What does the 1689 actually say - not the reputation of it, the document?
The 1689 is one of the most carefully worded documents in English Protestantism, and one of the least read, because the sentences are long and the vocabulary has moved on. These cards take it a paragraph at a time and say what each one is claiming, in words you already use.
- 1 The Holy Scriptures What Scripture is, how we know it, what it contains, and how it is to be read. 18 cards
- 2 God and the Trinity Who God is in himself, that he needs nothing, and that he is three persons in one being. 11 cards
- 3 God's decree That God has settled all things from eternity, without being the author of sin and without overriding anyone's will. 9 cards
- 4 Creation That God made everything out of nothing, made people in his image, and made it all good. 7 cards
- 5 Providence That God actively governs everything he has made, including things that go wrong, without becoming responsible for the wrong. 9 cards
- 6 The fall, sin, and its punishment What went wrong, how it reaches us, and how deep it goes. 9 cards
- 7 God's covenant Why God deals with people by covenant at all, and what the covenant of grace is. 6 cards
- 8 Christ the mediator Who Christ is, what he did, and for whom - the longest chapter in the confession. 15 cards
- 9 Free will What human freedom is, and what happened to it in four states: innocence, sin, grace and glory. 7 cards
- 10 Effectual calling How someone dead in sin comes to Christ, and why they come willingly. 7 cards
- 11 Justification How a guilty person comes to be counted righteous, and what faith has to do with it. 10 cards
- 12 Adoption The shortest chapter in the confession, and the one about being family. 5 cards
- 13 Sanctification The change in character that follows the change in standing, and why it is never finished here. 8 cards
- 14 Saving faith Where faith comes from, what it does, and how it differs from the kind that does not last. 7 cards
- 15 Repentance What repentance is, that it is a gift, and that it continues for life. 7 cards
- 16 Good works What counts as a good work, what good works are for, and what they cannot do. 8 cards
- 17 Perseverance of the saints That those God has accepted will certainly last - and what that does and does not rule out. 5 cards
- 18 Assurance of grace and salvation Whether a person can know they are saved, on what basis, and why assurance comes and goes. 6 cards
- 19 The law of God Three kinds of law, which of them still bind, and what the law is for once a person is justified. 9 cards
- 20 The gospel and the extent of its grace A chapter the Baptists added, on how the gospel is revealed and why hearing it is not enough. 6 cards
- 21 Christian liberty and liberty of conscience What Christ has freed believers from, who owns the conscience, and what liberty is not for. 6 cards
- 22 Religious worship and the Sabbath Who decides how God is worshipped, what the parts of worship are, and the day set apart for it. 11 cards
- 23 Lawful oaths and vows When swearing an oath is right, what makes one binding, and what may be vowed. 5 cards
- 24 The civil magistrate Where civil authority comes from, and what Christians owe it. 4 cards
- 25 Marriage What marriage is, what it is for, and who may enter it. 4 cards
- 26 The church The longest chapter, and where the Baptists differ most: what a church is, who belongs, and who runs it. 17 cards
- 27 The communion of saints What believers share with Christ and with each other, and where the sharing stops. 4 cards
- 28 Baptism and the Lord's supper Two paragraphs covering what the two ordinances have in common. 3 cards
- 29 Baptism What baptism signifies, who it is for, and how it is administered - the chapter the Baptists are named for. 5 cards
- 30 The Lord's supper What the supper is for, what it is not, and in what sense Christ is present. 10 cards
- 31 The state of man after death, and the resurrection What happens between death and the last day, and what happens to bodies at it. 5 cards
- 32 The last judgment The final chapter: who is judged, by whom, for what, and why the date is withheld. 5 cards
These cards summarise the confession; they are not the confession. It is a public-domain document and worth reading in full - a summary is a way in, not a substitute. Where a card and the original seem to differ, the original is what the churches signed. Every passage quoted on a card is one of the confession's own proof texts for that paragraph.