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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.

The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689 · 32 units · 248 cards

All 248 cards Shuffle all 248

or take one unit at a time

  1. 1 The Holy Scriptures What Scripture is, how we know it, what it contains, and how it is to be read. 18 cards
  2. 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. 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. 4 Creation That God made everything out of nothing, made people in his image, and made it all good. 7 cards
  5. 5 Providence That God actively governs everything he has made, including things that go wrong, without becoming responsible for the wrong. 9 cards
  6. 6 The fall, sin, and its punishment What went wrong, how it reaches us, and how deep it goes. 9 cards
  7. 7 God's covenant Why God deals with people by covenant at all, and what the covenant of grace is. 6 cards
  8. 8 Christ the mediator Who Christ is, what he did, and for whom - the longest chapter in the confession. 15 cards
  9. 9 Free will What human freedom is, and what happened to it in four states: innocence, sin, grace and glory. 7 cards
  10. 10 Effectual calling How someone dead in sin comes to Christ, and why they come willingly. 7 cards
  11. 11 Justification How a guilty person comes to be counted righteous, and what faith has to do with it. 10 cards
  12. 12 Adoption The shortest chapter in the confession, and the one about being family. 5 cards
  13. 13 Sanctification The change in character that follows the change in standing, and why it is never finished here. 8 cards
  14. 14 Saving faith Where faith comes from, what it does, and how it differs from the kind that does not last. 7 cards
  15. 15 Repentance What repentance is, that it is a gift, and that it continues for life. 7 cards
  16. 16 Good works What counts as a good work, what good works are for, and what they cannot do. 8 cards
  17. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 23 Lawful oaths and vows When swearing an oath is right, what makes one binding, and what may be vowed. 5 cards
  24. 24 The civil magistrate Where civil authority comes from, and what Christians owe it. 4 cards
  25. 25 Marriage What marriage is, what it is for, and who may enter it. 4 cards
  26. 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. 27 The communion of saints What believers share with Christ and with each other, and where the sharing stops. 4 cards
  28. 28 Baptism and the Lord's supper Two paragraphs covering what the two ordinances have in common. 3 cards
  29. 29 Baptism What baptism signifies, who it is for, and how it is administered - the chapter the Baptists are named for. 5 cards
  30. 30 The Lord's supper What the supper is for, what it is not, and in what sense Christ is present. 10 cards
  31. 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. 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.