Introduction
How can a congregation move toward full subscription to the 1689 Confession without dividing the church or losing people? Pastor Jim Butler explains why patience and systematic teaching, not ultimatums, are the way there.
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Transcript
Keywords: 1689 confession, full subscription, Reformed Baptist, covenant theology, patient teaching, regulative principle, Sabbath observance, expository preaching, confessional transition, systematic theology
Speakers: Wim Kerkhoff (host), Pastor Jim Butler
The Question
Wim Kerkhoff: Say there’s a group of people with some leaders, maybe an elder or two, part-time. They discover the confession and want to go in that direction, but the congregation as a whole isn’t there yet. How do you bring people toward a full subscription, without losing people in the process?
Teaching Chapters 2 and 8 First
Pastor Jim Butler: When I looked at that question, the first text I thought of was Paul’s closing admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4: preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. If the man of God has a full conviction on full subscription to the Confession, he needs to be patient. He can’t ram it down the throats of those he thinks should receive it. He has to be faithful and long-suffering. Teaching the Confession is probably the best way to cultivate the confessional mindset.
Some people are exposed to the Calvinism in the Confession and think, “Oh, I’m confessional.” No, Calvinism, Reformed theology, or the doctrines of grace are obviously taught in our Confession, but it far transcends that. The people of God need to be taught the entirety of the document. It should be explained, demonstrated scripturally, and shown, all with a mindset of long-suffering and patience, without forcing it and without laying down ultimatums.
If it were me, trying to bring a church to full subscription, I’d capitalize on Chapter 2, since there are some big problems on theology proper in the church as a whole. I’d also go to Chapter 8, on Christ the Mediator, because I perceive problems around the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even if people don’t end up full subscriptionists, visiting those chapters makes them better theologically, and more useful wherever they end up.
Covenant Theology and the Regulative Principle
Pastor Jim Butler: And certainly Chapter 7. The thing that distinguishes the Second London Confession from much of Calvinistic Baptist theology is our view of covenant theology. The people of God looking into the Second London need to understand the architecture of the covenants, since that’s what we hang our hat on when it comes to the way God works in and through his Son to save people from their sins.
The things specifically distinctive to Reformed Baptists take some time. Chapter 22, on religious worship and the Sabbath day, covers the regulative principle of worship, which is a tough pill for a lot of people coming out of churches with banjos and pony shows. You come into one of our churches and it seems, by comparison, boring, which I take great objection to. I don’t think it’s boring at all. Then there’s the Sabbath day, and the perpetuity of the Fourth Commandment, which is a tough nut for some people to swallow. Patience, faithfulness, perseverance, and teaching from Scripture is the best way to bring people along.
Integrating It Into Regular Preaching
Wim Kerkhoff: It’s got to be integrated through the regular preaching, since you won’t get everyone out to a Wednesday night Bible study or a Saturday morning. It’s got to be in the preaching, verse by verse.
Pastor Jim Butler: Which is great, because our confession doesn’t do anything other than summarize biblical truth. I can preach on the covenant from the Bible, on the Sabbath day from the Bible, on theology proper and Christology from the Bible. Good, faithful preachers with that 1689 mindset preach exegetically through specific texts, but they also do systematic theology, connecting it with other texts, dealing with objections to the doctrine, and so on. It can and should be done with patience and a desire to promote the glory of God and the good of the people. I honestly think Christians who adopt one of these confessions should be happier and more well-adjusted, and know their Scriptures more. It’s a great affirmation.
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