Theological term
Credible Profession of Faith
2 sermons · All terms
2LCF Chapter 28 - Of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Chapter 28 of the Second London Confession of Faith introduces baptism and the Lord's Supper as the two ordinances of the New Testament church, distinguishing the particular Baptist position from both Roman Catholic sacramentalism and paedobaptist covenant theology. The Baptists' deliberate use of 'ordinance' rather than 'sacrament,' and their inclusion of 'positive institution,' reflects a credobaptist insistence that only regenerate believers can obey these commands of Christ, the sole lawgiver of his church. The confession grounds both ordinances in Christ's mediatorial work, connects them to the means by which faith is increased and preserved (2LCF 14.1, 17.3), and reserves their administration for those qualified and called according to Christ's commission. Neglecting these ordinances is not a minor failure but a forfeiture of appointed means of grace and a disservice to the covenant community.
The Response to Peter's Sermon
Acts 2:41–47 records the immediate fruit of Peter's Pentecost sermon: three thousand souls baptized and a church marked by steadfast doctrine, fellowship, the Lord's Supper, and prayer. This exposition argues that the passage is both descriptive and prescriptive — what the early church did defines what the church in every age must be. Along the way, believers' baptism is defended against paedo-baptist readings of verse 39, and the growth of the church is traced not to programs or techniques but to the sovereign calling of God through the faithful preaching of Christ crucified.