2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith

What is a Confessional Church?

A confessional church holds to an historic doctrinal statement known as a confession. This means that what we believe and teach at Emmanuel is both public (any one can look up our confession and read it) and historically Christian. Among Protestant churches that use confessions there are several: The 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) used by Particular or Reformed Baptists, The Westminster Confession (1646) used by Presbyterians, the Belgic Confession (1561) used by various Dutch Reformed churches, and the Augsburg Confession used by conservative Lutherans. These confessions are like the early creeds of the Church except with more detail. They do not replace the Bible nor are they viewed as being on par with the Bible. Rather, to the extend that these confessions declare and teach what the Bible says about the subjects they address, these are seen as an authoritative statement of Church doctrine. This is why the pastors and teachers at Emmanuel are required to subscribe to the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith with minimal exceptions. This ensures that the members of Emmanuel are taught consistently and transparently by all leaders in the church. We do not require subscription to the Confession in order to be a member of Emmanuel. A credible profession of faith in Christ as Lord & Savior and the free choice to become a member of Emmanuel is all that is required for membership.

Being a confessional church is especially important in our modern times. Having a detailed statement of doctrine can appear on the surface rather restrictive, but in fact it provides liberty from the tyranny of a particular church leader or group of leaders. What Emmanuel believes and teaches is not subject to the whims or desires of any particular man or group in the church. As Carl Truman states, “Since non-creedalist pastors and teachers will not write down what they believe so that their beliefs can be critiqued, they may teach their churches whatever they personally come to believe the Bible says even if that changes over time. For non-creedal teachers, primary authority is located in their own personal interpretation, rather than in the church’s written and agreed upon creedal interpretation, which is open to public scrutiny.” (The Creedal Imperative)

If you have any questions about why we are a Confessional church or what is taught in the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith, please feel free to reach out to us here.

What is a Reformed Church?

A reformed church is a Protestant Christian church that has its roots in the 16th century Reformation. Specifically, reformed churches are gospel centered churches that emphasize the sovereignty of God over all things, the glorious and covenantal plan of God in the salvation of sinners, and a strong conviction regarding the inspiration and authority of Scripture and the necessity to faithfully proclaim its teachings in the local church.

Reformed churches are confessional churches though not all confessional churches are reformed. Lutheranism, for example, is a non-reformed Protestant confessional denomination.

Emmanuel is a non-denominational reformed church meaning that we have no specific denominational ties or obligations. While we are independent of any denominational authority, we do consider fellowship with other like-minded churches to be a vital help to avoid authoritarianism and provide accountability for our leaders.

What is a Baptist Church?

Emmanuel is a Baptist church to the extent that we believe in baptizing those individuals who have made a credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Thus we consider those who have faith to be the only proper subjects of baptism and the only proper members of the local church. This means that we do not baptize infants or children who have not come to an age where they confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The age at which a child is able to make such a profession varies. Working together with the parents, the elders will baptize children when such a determination can be made.

As for the mode of baptism, we believe that this should follow the biblical meaning of the word “baptize” and follow naturally from the meaning of baptism (Romans 6:1-3). For this reason, we practice baptism by immersion unless there is a physical reason that immersion would be unwise or harmful to the person being baptized.

Come fellowship with us each Lord’s Day!

Meeting Times

Adult Education & Children’s Sunday School @ 9:00am

Worship @ 10:00am

Address

5330 N. Nickel Plate St.

Louisville, Ohio 44641

To listen to our sermons or live stream with us on Sunday mornings, please go please click on the image below:

Contact Information

Phone

330.990.5288

Email

charlie.refpastor@gmail.com