Theological term
Church Autonomy
2 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 26 - Of the Church
Chapter 26 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith ('Of the Church') teaches that Christ alone is the supreme and sovereign head of the church, from whom all authority for church governance flows. This session surveys five historical and contemporary models of church polity — Erastianism, Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism, Denominationalism, and Congregationalism/Independency — evaluating each against Scripture and the confession. The particular Baptist position is identified as plural elder-led associational congregationalism: each congregation of baptized believers governed by a plurality of elders under Christ alone, walking in voluntary associational communion with other churches for mutual edification, counsel, and support.
2LCF Chapter 26 - Of the Church
The doctrine of the church, ecclesiology, is inseparable from every other locus of Christian theology: the doctrine of God, Scripture, Christ, and salvation all converge in what the church is and how it is ordered. This session walks through all fifteen paragraphs of 2LCF Chapter 26, tracing a threefold outline — the universal (Catholic) church, Christ as sole head, and the local church — while marking the distinctives of Baptist ecclesiology over against Presbyterian and Episcopalian forms. The governing conviction throughout is that the church is constituted by believers alone, is called and preserved by Christ through Word and Spirit, and is ordered by his appointment for mutual edification, the due administration of ordinances, and the proclamation of the gospel to the world.