The General Baptist Confession of 1660
On July 26,1660, the General Baptists in England presented their “Standard or Brief Confession of Faith” to King Charles II. The statement had been drafted by the General Baptist leaders in March of that year and was designed to clearly outline the movement’s distinctive doctrines, particularly general atonement and believer’s baptism. By this time, the mode of baptism was immersion. Though revised often, the basics of this simple confession served the General Baptists in England and America for the next century and a half.
“An Abstract of the Former Articles of Faith Confessed by the Original Baptist Church Holding the Doctrine of General Provision with Proper Code of Discipline”
In 1812, Jesse Heath and James Roach were commissioned to revise and reprint the “former Confession of Faith” (of 1660). At this time, the name “Free Will Baptist” had apparently not become official for these remnants of the old General Baptist movement, but it soon would be. Eight of the articles in the “Abstract” were identical to those in the “Standard or Brief Confession of 1660,” and the others were nearly so.
The only surprise was in the statement on the question of perseverance. The “Standard” had clearly taught the possibility of apostasy but the newer “Abstract” defended perseverance. This article however, was deleted in the 1835 revision and the denomination returned to the traditional understanding of this dogma that now separates Free Will Baptists from others who preach general atonement.
“Treatise on the Faith and Practice of the Free Will Baptists”
In 1832, the Holland Purchase Yearly Meeting asked the General Conference of the Free Will Baptists in New England to publish an official description of the denomination’s doctrine and polity. In response, the General Conference appointed John Buzzell, Samuel Burbank, Hosea Quinby and Samuel Beede as a writing committee and assigned them the task of preparing a “treatise” or confession of faith.
The treatise was to show leading points of doctrine and practice and give scriptural support for each element of concern. The first draft was reviewed and revised by the 1833 General Conference and finally was published in 1834. The document would continue to characterize the denomination until it merged with the Northern Baptists in 1911. It also would serve as a model for the doctrinal statements published by other Free Will Baptist groups prior to the founding of the National Association of Free Will Baptists in 1935.
About the Writer: William F. Davidson was professor of Church History at Columbia International University, in Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Davidson is an alumnus of Peabody College, Welch College, Columbia Bible College, Northern Baptist Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Seminary. The Ayden, North Carolina, native also served as pastor of Free Will Baptist churches in Kentucky and Virginia.
