In his sermon, Mike Davenport addresses the importance of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith and similar creeds and confessions. He argues that these documents, despite being centuries old, hold relevance today as they summarize and express the basic elements of the Christian faith, grounded in Scripture. Davenport emphasizes that these confessions are subordinate to Scripture and serve as tools for public affirmation and defense of truth, standards of fellowship and discipline, a means to evaluate ministers, and a link to historical continuity. The sermon also warns against abandoning traditional creeds in favor of untested new ideas and highlights the balance between doctrine and practical application. Davenport concludes by urging the congregation to value doctrine as a means of fostering unity, love, and true religion in the church and at home.

What is the relevance of such a document that was written more than 300 years ago? We're in a society in America where newer is better. It's always better. So why would we be interested in a church document that wasn't even created in America and 300 years ago? And you children should know that's probably why it wasn't created in America right so why study something like this is not the Word of God sufficient as our creed as our confession You hear that cry among many and it sounds pretty good when you think about it.

Men will say I have no creed but the Bible. It sounds well and good but what do they believe the Bible teaches? Peter says that men take the scriptures and twist them to their own destruction. So what kind of creed is that that you can take from the Bible and twist to your own destruction? So what are creeds what are confessions Well Carl Truman in his book the creedal imperative defines them as follows creeds and confessions are human attempts to summarize and express the basic elements of the Christian faith.

Okay? They're human attempts to summarize and express the basic elements of the Christian faith. Okay? There are human attempts to summarize and express the basic elements of the Christian faith. He goes on to say, they have been constructed throughout the ages by people from very different contexts, but who are all bound together by the shared horizon of God's Revelation in Christ and in the biblical text and their own common human nature as readers of that text this is what gives creeds and confessions a quality that transcends the local conditions of their original composition and that allows us to take them seriously.

Of course, it does not guarantee their truthfulness. All creedal formulations are subordinate to scripture and subject to correction thereby So he says these creeds or confessions are human attempts to summarize and express the simplest Christian elements of the faith. And what gives these still such a power today, such an efficacy today, is the fact that their horizons were the same. They weren't built out of something that was happening in their day and time. It was built upon the scriptures It was built upon this revelation of God in Christ Jesus and that biblical text the way they understood it.

And he says all creedal formulations are subordinate to Scripture. And if you look at our very 1689, the very first chapter is on the scriptures and it says this in paragraph 10 this is the confession now the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined and all decrees of councils opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, we heard about that today, right? What they are to be examined by and in whose sentence we are to rest can be no other, no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit into which Scripture so delivered our faith is finally resolved. So even the confession itself says the end of all wonder about truthfulness is not go to your confession, it's go to the word of God. This confession was built upon an understanding of the word of God.

Now we hold the 1689, the second London Baptist Confession of Faith, which obviously means children, that there was a first confession of faith. Now the documents used to produce this confession at a minimum were the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Savoy Declaration of Faith in Order, the first London Confession of Faith which was published in 1643, and the Word of God. Now it is widely thought that the source and the editors of this confession was the Petty France Church in London and its pastors Nehemiah Cox and William Collins. It was that little congregation that came together to really put this together. Now the confession was actually published in 1677, but 1689 Being the year that it was actually adopted by the London General Assembly of the particular Baptist churches hence it came to be known as the 1689 second London Baptist confession of faith So why study?

Why study a confession of faith? Well, in his introduction, in his commentary on the confession, our brother Sam Waldron points to the usefulness of the confession in four areas. Number one, a confession is a useful means for the public affirmation and defense of truth. A confession is a useful means for the public affirmation and defense of truth. The church is called to be the pillar and the ground of the truth.

What does that mean? Well the pillar we need to think of as support, right? Children, as you look around the room, what's holding this roof up in the very middle? What's keeping the roof up? These main beams here in the middle That rise up out of the floor and they're holding The ridge line of this roof and keeping it from caving in it's a pillar It's upholding and the church is to uphold the truth But it's to be the ground of the truth, what does it mean to be the ground of the truth?

It's the foundation It's the very basis not only the pillars that it stands on but the very foundation of the truth and The church is to be that the church is called to be that But still why a confession? Well We read in 2nd Timothy 113 the following this was Paul talking to his son in the faith Timothy and he says in second Timothy 113 hold fast the pattern of Sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus the good thing which was committed to you keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us Hold fast the pattern of sound words. So Paul here is talking about that Timothy as a pastor in the church, as an elder, how was his church to be the pillar and ground of the truth? It was to hold fast to this pattern, this pattern of sound words, not mixed sound words, but a pattern. You have a pattern, things are in order, things are understood, and there's a soundness to it.

And so we see that even in the earliest church even the New Testament that they were called to hold a pattern of sound words because they were the pillar and ground of the truth so number one a confession is useful means for the public affirmation and defense of the truth. Secondly, a confession serves as a public standard of fellowship and discipline. It serves as a public standard of fellowship and discipline. And so it's something that we can rally around, that we can agree to, because we carry our Bibles into the church. Many people carry their Bibles into the church.

You can go to some churches where it's not even necessary to carry a Bible. One verse might be read as a springboard to have some stories told or some lessons to pass along and there's no exposition. But it gives us something to rally around, to understand these are the truths that we hold. These are the truths that we say the scripture teaches. To the best of our ability we understand these to express the mind of God in the scriptures.

Andrew Fuller observed the following, but the object of articles of faith is to keep at a distance not those who are weak in the faith, but such as are its avowed enemies. So we don't have a doctrine to keep people at arm's length. Well, you don't believe this or quite understand this, or okay, well, we keep you, no. It's to defend against those who are the avowed enemies of the truth That's what we're called to uphold so it gives the church a public standard of fellowship and discipline. Thirdly, a confession serves as a concise standard by which to evaluate ministers of the Word.

It serves as a concise standard by which to evaluate ministers of the Word. If you hear something from the pulpit, an opening up of the Word of God, we as elders have said that we bind ourselves to the 1689 confession. And So if something is heard that doesn't sound like the confession you should be able to go to that confession and say This is what we say we believe this is what our elders say they believe and then you can come and say did I hear something different or am I not hearing you correctly can you please tell me it's a standard so that you know what we hold to and hopefully our exposition is truthful to the things we say we hold to concerning them because that's what the confession is it's concerning the scripture and the revelation of God in Christ Jesus And so it serves as a concise, it's concise, it's to the point. Not all exposition is concise, right? We draw, if you look at the confession, a good confession will have many, many references at the bottom, multiple verses.

It doesn't say turn to Philippians 3 1 through 6 for this doctrine it pulls from all of scripture. So it's a concise standard by which to evaluate ministers of the Word. And a fourth usefulness of the confession is it contributes to a sense of historical continuity. Okay, of historical continuity. This is something held by particular Baptists for over 300 years It serves as an anchor The church of Jesus Christ as the pillar and the ground of the truth means that that pillar and that ground that foundation shouldn't be moving we would think it very odd if we came here next week and part of the floors missing and the columns here these these beams everything is relocated because somebody went to great lengths to measure to figure out the weight of the roof the type of roofing material that was used and figure out these need to be spaced out at such a if you go long farther than this it will cave in and so if we come and these things are moved we ought to start wow I'm kind of hesitant now to sit in here because somebody had gone to great lengths.

The church has gone to great lengths over time to come up with a document like this. Is it perfect? No. Because it's not infallible, it's not inerrant in and of itself. It is true only as long as it is true to the Scripture, but the church has gone through many decades and much effort to come up with such a document.

And we need to rest on some of the history of that church to have some continuity as long as it is faithful, as long as it is true. So I want to give two warnings, two warnings. This also taken from Mr. Truman in the book, The Credal Imperative. He says, do not precipitately abandon creedal formulations, which have been tried and tested over centuries by churches all over the world in favor of your own ideas.

On the whole, those who reinvent the wheel a lot of time either to come up with something that looks identical to the old design or Something that is actually inferior to it. This is not to demand capitulation before church tradition or rejection of the notion of Scripture alone. Rather it is to suggest an attitude of humility toward the church's past which simply looks both at the good that the ancient creeds have done and also the fact that they seem to make better sense of the testimony of Scripture than any of the alternatives. The Lord has graciously provided us with a great cloud of witnesses throughout history who can help us to understand the Bible and to apply it to our present day. To ignore such might not be so much a sign of biblical humility as of overbearing hubris and confidence in our own abilities and the uniqueness of our own age." So he says, don't be so ready to abandon something.

That's 300 years old. That was for the church in England 300 years ago. This is America. We got our freedom from those folks. We need something new.

This won't suffice for today. We need to be careful because if we invest our time trying to reinvent the wheel, we'll either come right back to where these men did or we'll probably have something inferior. The second warning that he gives speaks specifically to us as reformed people. In the reformed constituency, the Accent upon correct and precise doctrine can lead to an intellectualism that separates doctrine from doxology in a manner that is unfortunate and unbiblical. In other branches of the Christian Church and over emphasis on experience or activism or particular Aesthetic forms can lead to the relegation of doctrine to a secondary position or even worse this side of heaven this side of heaven he says it is unlikely that any church or congregation will ever achieve the perfect balance.

But being aware of the problems and pitfalls does help us to be more Self-critical and more aware of the potential weaknesses and temptations to which our particular traditions Might be peculiarly vulnerable and That applies to us as a congregation knowing that we all come from different backgrounds We come from different backgrounds and so We come having looked at doctrine differently maybe than we do now or maybe we come having looked at the practice in life the orthodoxy of life and didn't really hold to the doctrine doctrine wasn't important and and we're coming from that and he says we as a people have to make sure We don't just go into an intellectual state that robs us from glorifying God That robs us from giving him this glory But yet we have to make sure that we don't push doctrine to the side and relegate it to the back burner and just say Orthopraxy is important, but not orthodoxy They're like floating docks that are chained one to another if one starts to Fade out into the water. The other will either hold it tight and pull it back or float along with it Orthodoxy and orthopraxy are very important So this is a warning that we need to heed as reform people who take our doctrine Seriously that we need to make sure that we have the doctrine and we have doxology So if you are at all a product of the age that we live in and it's hard to separate ourselves from the age that we live in.

But if you're at all a product of the age that we live in, you might be tempted to say one of two things. First, why focus on doctrine? Doctrine is not healthy. It divides even among Christians. It divides.

Well, it is first of all healthy to understand the difference between distinguishing and dividing What distinguishes us as a people? But what can if we're not careful divide unnecessarily in the writers of the confession? They're convicting to me The writers of our confession took great pains they took great pains to seek a genuine catholicity Among the true people of God Listen to what they say in their book. This was the introduction To this it's it's to the judicious and impartial reader. This was the introduction to their confession They realized that the Westminster Assembly had met and formed this great document.

They realized that after them came the Congregationalists, men such as John Owen and Thomas Manton of the Congregationalists, who also came up with a confession. And so these had gone before, and the Congregationalists borrowed largely from the Westminster Confession. And this is what these men said. When we observed that those last mentioned, that is, the Congregationalists, did in their confessions choose not only to express their mind in words concurrent with the former, that is with the Westminster assembly, in sense concerning all those articles wherein they were agreed, But also for the most part without any variation of the terms we did in like manner conclude it best to follow their example in making use of the very same words with them both in these articles which are very many wherein our faith and doctrine are the same with theirs. And this we did the more abundantly to manifest our consent with both in all the fundamental articles of the Christian religion as also with many others whose Orthodox confessions have been published to the world on the behalf of the Protestants in diverse nations and cities and also listen to this and also to convince all that we have no itch to clog religion with new words but do readily acquiesce in that form of sound words, the sound words that Paul talked to Timothy about, to acquiesce in their form of sound words which hath been in consent with the Holy Scriptures used by others before us, hereby declaring before God angels and men our hearty agreement with them in that wholesome Protestant doctrine which with so clear evidence of scripture they have asserted some things indeed are in some places added some terms omitted and some few changed but These alterations are of that nature as that we need not doubt any charge or unsoundness in the faith from any of our brethren upon the account of them.

In these things wherein we differ from others, we have expressed ourselves with all candor and plainness that none might entertain jealousy of aught secretly lodged in our breast that we would not the world should be acquainted with, yet we hope we have also observed those rules of modesty and humility as will render our freedom in this respect inoffensive even to those whose sentiments are different from ours The catholicity that they expressed the oneness that they expressed with these their Presbyterian and Congregationalist brothers and They said there is so much that we agree with Now there are changes and additions that we've had to make to be plain and declare what we believe is true, but we don't do it and flaunt it. We desire not to offend, but to state our true purpose and cause. So to say doctrine is not healthy is not true. It is very healthy and it doesn't have to divide These men did not seek to divide from their Protestant brothers. They sought to distinguish themselves and That very clearly But they didn't seek unnecessary division and neither should we The second area you might be tempted to say Is how boring?

How? Uninteresting a book of doctrine doctrine is dry. I would rather study something more practical, something more practical than doctrine. Well, did the men who wrote the confession see doctrine as an impractical thing? What was the purpose of the men who formed this confession?

What moved them to write? Distribute and embrace this confession will hear them in their own words and see if they thought doctrine was dry and impractical. One thing that greatly prevailed with us to undertake this work was the prophet that might from thence arise unto those that have any account of our labors in their instruction and Establishment in the great truths of the gospel in the clear understanding and steady belief of which our comfortable walking with God and fruitfulness before him in all our ways is most nearly concerned. Oh that other contentions being laid asleep, the only care and contention of all upon the Upon whom the name of our blessed Redeemer is called might for the future be to walk humbly with their God in the exercise of all love and meekness toward each other To perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord each one endeavoring to have his conversation Such as be cometh the gospel and also suitable to his place and capacity vigorously to promote in others the practice of true religion and Undefiled in the sight of God our father and that in this backsliding day we might not spend our breath in fruitless complaints of the evils of others But may everyone begin at home to reform in the first place our own hearts and ways and Then to quicken all that we may have influence upon the same work And if the will of God were so none might deceive themselves by resting in and trusting to a form of godliness Without the power of it and inward experience of the efficacy of those truths that are professed by them and then what I read I believe a couple of weeks ago he closes and verily there is one spring and cause of the decay of religion in our day, which we cannot but touch upon and earnestly urge a redress of, and that is the neglect of the worship of God and families by those to whom the charge and conduct of them is committed.

May not the gross ignorance and instability of many with the profaneness of others be justly charged upon their parents and masters, who have not trained them up in the way wherein they ought to walk when they were young, but have neglected those frequent and solemn commands which the Lord hath laid upon them, so to catechize and instruct them that their tender years might be seasoned with the knowledge of the truth of God as revealed in the Scriptures, and also by their own omission of prayer and other duties of religion of their families together with the ill example of their loose Conversation having inured them first to a neglect and the contempt of all piety and religion We know This will not excuse the blindness and wickedness of any But certainly it will fall heavy upon those that have not have been thus the occasion thereof They indeed die in their sins But will not their blood be required of those under whose care they were who yet permitted them to go on without warning, yea, led them into the paths of destruction. And will not the diligence of Christians with respect to the discharge of these duties in ages past rise up in judgment against and condemn many of those who would be esteemed such now.

And this is how they close. We shall conclude with our earnest prayer that the God of all grace will pour out those measures of His Holy Spirit upon us, that the profession of truth may be accompanied with the sound belief and diligent practice of it by us that his name may in all things be glorified through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Boring, uninteresting, impractical. They did not think so.

They did not think so. The end of all of this was to create unity in the church, love for one another, a desire to urge one another on in the ways of faith, to bring true religion to our homes. Piety, as we went through that book early piety to see piety in homes, to see the next generation rising knowing their God. That was the purpose for this doctrine and they saw it as very important So there you have an introduction our our very first chapter and Realize as we go through this that that they had a purpose even in how they organized this. Why start with the scripture before starting with of God and the Trinity?

Because they realized if you don't get the idea of Scripture correct, how are you going to form your view of God? It's very important. And so even as you go, we work our way through this, realize that there was a reason even for the ordering of this thing. And may God give us help as we study this and may we learn May our children be ground in the truth. May we as a church Truly be the pillar in the ground of the truth.

Let's pray Father we thank you for the work of these men, this even small congregation who began this and then took it before the larger gathering of those particular Baptists, that general assembly And those men who adopted it in their churches or we thank you that this document is still here today That we can study it and Lord we we asked that it would create in us a thirst for you An understanding of truth as it's put together in a concise manner. Lord, as we look at this pattern of sound words, that we might be better rooted and grounded in our Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.