STR 14.

2 (Fall 2023): 115–29 116 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

A Biblical Basis for Dogma
In Acts 15, various δόγµατα, “dogmas” or “decisions,” were prom-
ulgated by a local church acting as a democratic body to consider dis-
The Free Church Form of Dogmatics: puted teachings. The church of Jerusalem was led in its discussions by
Covenant and Conscience under Christ the apostles and elders, but the whole church deliberated, agreed to
James’s summary of the matter, and affirmed the dogmatic letter sent to
Malcolm B. Yarnell III Antioch (vv. 4, 12, 22).1 Jerusalem’s dogmas were received with joy, thus
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX necessarily according to free conscience, by the other New Testament
churches (Acts 15:30–31; 16:4–5).
Abstract: This article explores the distinct dogmatic framework of free churches The Word of Christ proclaimed by the apostles and elders, and by
within the context of their personal and congregational commitment to the illuminated the various evangelists, prophets, and pastors and teachers given by God
Word of God. The study draws from Acts 15 and the early Church Fathers to em- to the church, was the sole normative authority for the construction of
phasize the church’s role in adjudicating interpretations of the Word and highlights the early churches’ dogmas. The body of Christ was assigned the sole
the significance of covenant in English Baptist and evangelical Anabaptist traditions. adjudicatory responsibility under Christ to decide between disputed in-
Focusing on covenantal freedom, the article underscores the need for a recovered under- terpretations of the Word among its various preachers (cf. 1 Cor 14:29–
standing of this concept within Baptist theology, especially regarding dogmatic con- 33; Eph 4:7–16). From the perspective of authority, the doctrinal sys-
struction. By referencing Paul Fiddes’s conceptualization of the “vertical” and “hori- tems crafted by individual theologians remain personal and speculative
zontal” dimensions of covenant, the study traces the development of covenant theology enterprises which carry no dogmatic weight. Dogma is determined
and ecclesiology in Baptist thought. Emphasizing the harmonization of personal jus- through the interpretive authority of the church, and the church is nec-
tification and communal Christian life, the article demonstrates how covenant theology essarily a covenantal body.
informs various aspects of Baptist doctrine. The analysis also addresses the anthropo-
logical challenges faced by free churches and advocates for the integration of intellectual A Distinct Reformation Strand of Churches
doctrine and moral practice through the lens of progressive revelation and the work of In 2017, Paul Fiddes of the University of Oxford, the leading British
the Holy Spirit within the covenanted community of faith. Baptist theologian, gathered several Baptist scholars to consider the
Key Words: Anabaptist, Baptist theology, covenant, covenantalism, dogmatics, “Fourth Strand of the Reformation.” Fiddes argued that a certain group
English Baptist, free church theology
1The two views of church polity advocated by Daniel L. Akin (Single-
For the free churches of Jesus Christ, dogma is formally established Elder-Led Church) and James Leo Garrett Jr. (Congregation-Led Church) are
only in the context of covenant life in, with, and under the Lord Jesus. ultimately compatible as demonstrated by those authors and in the experience
of multiple Southern Baptist Churches. Replying to Akin, Garrett agreed,
In the free church context, which today includes Baptists, Churches of “Congregational polity is fully congruent with effective pastoral leadership of a
Christ, Mennonites, Methodists, and other communions which histori- servant type, wherein mutual trust, mutual accountability, and Christian love
cally championed religious liberty in their early days, the practice of and forbearance are the norm.” “Response by James Leo Garrett Jr.,” in Perspec-
church dogma is intricately bound with the problems of church authori- tives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity, ed. Chad Owen Brand and
ty and freedom of conscience. The burden of this essay is to describe R. Stanton Norman (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2004), 79. Replying to Garrett,
how the free churches have a distinct form of dogmatics which derives Akin showed great admiration, even as he offered friendly criticisms. “In sum,
from their simultaneously personal and congregational commitment to Dr. Garrett does an excellent job in defending Congregational polity.” “Re-
be faithful to the Word of God illumined by the Spirit. The thesis of this sponse by Daniel L. Akin,” in Perspectives on Church Government, 198. The models
essay is that free church dogmatics is characterized by a dynamic dialec- advocated by Akin and Garrett are compatible not only with each other, but
tic between communal covenant and liberty of conscience where Christ with the historic dogmatic model uncovered in this essay.
is present to his people and offers them blessings.
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 117 118 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

of churches arising during the Reformation possessed a unique identity This essay shall focus on the fifth Baptist theme of covenantal free-
in contrast with the magisterial identities of the Lutheran, Reformed, dom vis-à-vis dogmatics, a theme faced by all the churches with some
and Anglican strands of the Protestant Reformation. While Fiddes ana- connections, even if perhaps only through inspiration, to the Refor-
lyzed the covenantal identity of the English Separatists, Bill Brackney mation’s fourth strand. I noted in The Formation of Christian Doctrine the
and I evaluated covenant within the English General Baptist and evan- challenges to covenantal freedom presented by misshapen ideas of au-
gelical Anabaptist traditions.2 That conference recalled the previous thority and religious liberty as well as the divisive anthropology which
studies of covenant by Champlin Burrage,3 Charles Deweese,4 and, more fueled my own denomination’s historic racial hypocrisy.9 Those chal-
succinctly, Jason Lee.5 It also coincided with the recent doctoral treat- lenges have yet to be adequately addressed in doctrine or in practice.
ments of Baptist covenant theology by Samuel Renihan6 and Baptist Developing the covenantal basis of our dogma may help prompt an-
covenant ecclesiology by Travis Trawick.7 I herein build upon those swers to recurring and often horrifying challenges.
previous studies. In the following sections, I presume the need for the recovery of
In the final chapter of my earliest systematic monograph, I identified covenantal freedom in Baptist life, particularly regarding dogmatic con-
five historical-theological themes which derive from the Great Commis- struction. We must address the shape of covenantal dogmatics, the
sion and require further deliberation in the Baptist theological context: scope of covenantal dogmatics, and the blessing of covenantal dogmat-
missions and evangelism; church polity; Trinitarian revelation; personal ics. These were outlined in the historic covenants adopted by the
salvation; and covenantal freedom. In both expected and surprising churches.
ways, those five themes continue to prompt deliberation by Southern
Baptists in both popular and academic venues. For instance, as widely The Shape of Covenantal Dogmatics
expected, the Calvinist-Arminian debate continues to unfold in discus-
Two Aspects of Covenantal Dogmatics
sions of personal soteriology. But in a surprising development, many of
us now perceive the classical doctrine of the Trinity has been challenged The shape of covenantal dogmatics must account for at least two
by a peculiar anthropology of male hierarchy which fuels the theological parts in the covenant. John Smyth, the first Baptist theologian and first
error of Eternal Functional Subordination.8 pastor of the first Baptist church, identified the two parts of the cove-
nant as, “1. respecting God and the faithful. 2. respecting the faithful
2 Paul Fiddes, ed., The Fourth Strand of the Reformation: The Covenant Ecclesiology mutually.… The first part of the covenant respecting God is either from
of Anabaptists, English Separatists, and Early General Baptists (Oxford: Centre for God to the faithful, or from the faithful to God.… The second part of
Baptist History and Heritage, 2018). the covenant respecting the faithful mutually conteyneth all the duties of
3 Champlin Burrage, The Church Covenant Idea: Its Origin and Its Development love whatsoever.”10 Paul Fiddes accordingly refers to these two parts as
(Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1904). the “vertical” and the “horizontal” dimensions of the covenant.11 The
4 Charles W. Deweese, Baptist Church Covenants (Nashville: Broadman Press,
two parts of the covenant sometimes go by the names of the eternal
1990). “covenant of grace” and the earthly “local church covenant.” I shall re-
5 Jason K. Lee, “Baptism and Covenant,” in Restoring Integrity in Baptist
fer to these two related aspects of covenantal dogmatics as covenant
Churches, ed. Thomas White, Jason G. Duesing, and Malcolm B. Yarnell III
theology and covenant ecclesiology.
(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2008), 119–36.
6 Samuel Renihan, From Shadow to Substance: The Federal Theology of the English

Particular Baptists, 1642–1700 (Oxford: Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, 9Malcolm B. Yarnell III, The Formation of Christian Doctrine (Nashville: B&H
2018).
7 Travis H. Trawick, “The Regenerate, Gathered, Baptized Congregation of Academic, 2007), 195–203.
10 John Smyth, Principles and Inferences, 1:254; cited in Lee, “Baptism and
Christ: A Theology of Church Covenant” (PhD Dissertation, Southwestern
Covenant,” 127.
Baptist Theological Seminary, 2021). 11 Paul S. Fiddes, Tracks and Traces: Baptist Identity in Church and Theology, Stud-
8 Keith S. Whitfield, ed., Trinitarian Theology: Theological Models and Doctrinal
ies in Baptist History and Thought (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2003), 22.
Application (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2019).
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 119 120 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

But what is the bond between these two parts of covenantal dogmat- ing faith in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The trans-
ics? Fiddes, following Barrie White, argues Robert Browne the Separatist formed state of a cleansed conscience before God is then manifested
was the first English Reformer to develop the local church covenant before humanity in water baptism. The human being receives baptism
idea, but the eternal covenant was left disconnected. John Smyth, how- from the church and pledges herself to God with the church. John
ever, was the first to “fuse together” the eternal covenant with ecclesiol- Smyth thus concluded, “the true forme of the Church is a covenant be-
ogy through making a covenant in time. Thomas Helwys, the first pastor twixt God & the Faithful made in baptisme in which Christ is visibly put
of the first Baptist church on English soil, clearly united the practice of on.”15 According to Lee, “Baptism fulfills the role of agreeing to the
believers’ baptism with the making of the covenant.12 The shape of the church covenant for Smyth because he now sees that baptism will
covenant, therefore, requires a connection between the doctrine of the demonstrate a person’s agreement to the eternal covenant.”16
eternal covenant and the doctrine of the local church covenant. This If I might supplement the historical consensus, I would add that we
linkage is located internally with personal conversion and externally in need to speak of four parts in the covenant. The first three aspects of
water baptism. covenantal dogmatics are affiliated, as we have just described them, with
The Anabaptists were, historically, the first of the free churches to theology proper, ecclesiology, and soteriology. Covenant theology and
correlate the highly personal nature of evangelical justification with a covenant ecclesiology are connected through covenant soteriology, for it
vigorously communal understanding of the Christian life. Their key bib- is salvation to a right relationship with God that determines a person’s
lical text was 1 Pet 3:21, which Luther translated as der Bund eines guten right to participate in the local church covenant. First, covenant theolo-
Gewissens mit Gott, “the covenant of a good conscience with God.” Mod- gy considers the works of God in his covenants with humanity. Second,
ern scholars agree that Peter’s ἐπερώτηµα, “appeal” or “response,” is covenant ecclesiology considers the church as the place of God’s cove-
best understood as “pledge” or “promise,” thus affirming Luther’s nantal relationship with his redeemed community. Third, covenant sote-
choice of Bund, “covenant.”13 Peter Davids says the apostle Peter was riology considers the transformation of the human conscience by the
referring to “the pledge of oneself to God as a response to questions Spirit’s gift of faith through the proclamation of God’s Word.
formally asked at baptism.”14 However, the theological, soteriological, and ecclesiological aspects
of the covenant require a personal anchor. We must recall the exalted
Third and Fourth Aspects of Covenantal Dogmatics
place of Jesus Christ as the sole mediator between the eternal God and
The conscience, which personally obligates the human person to the rebellious humanity. Therefore, we must be careful to incorporate a nec-
judgment seat of God, is relieved of its crushing burden through justify- essary fourth component of covenantal dogmatics, the preeminent
component of covenant Christology. The cup of the Supper represents
“the new covenant in my blood,” he said (Luke 22:20). It is in the Chris-
12 Fiddes, “Covenant and the Inheritance of Separatism,” in The Fourth tological center of covenantal theology that we may also find requisite
Strand of the Reformation, 78. On the dynamic view of the human conscience in resources for addressing the anthropological problems which yet plague
the life and witness of the earliest community of Baptist churches, see Malcolm the free churches of Jesus Christ. Christ’s saving presence in the human
B. Yarnell III, “We Believe with the Heart and with the Mouth Confess: The conscience is the key to our salvation, for he brings us before the eternal
Engaged Piety of the Early General Baptists,” Baptist Quarterly, 44 (2011): 36– throne through the covenant of grace. Christ’s saving presence in the
58; Yarnell, “Political Theology among the Earliest Baptists: The Foundational
human conscience is the key also to the Christian life, for Christ unites
Contribution of Leonard Busher, 1614–1616,” in Freedom and the Powers: Perspec-
tives from Baptist History Marking the 400th Anniversary of Thomas Helwys’ The Mys- redeemed humanity not only with God but with one another.
tery of Iniquity, ed. Anthony R. Cross and John H. Y. Briggs (Didcot, Oxon: Covenantal baptism in the Holy Spirit through faith in the resurrect-
The Baptist Historical Society, 2014), 23–34. ed God-Man forms the believer’s internal union with God, while cove-
13 Malcolm B. Yarnell III, “The Covenant Theology of the Early Anabap-

tists, 1525–1527,” in The Fourth Strand of the Reformation, 35–37. 15

14 Peter H. Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerd- Smyth, The Character of the Beast, 2:645.
16 Lee, “Baptism and Covenant,” 135.
mans, 1990), 145.
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 121 122 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

nantal baptism in water forms the believer’s external union with the vis- Baptist churches begins with a paragraph which unmistakably speaks in
ible body of Christ on earth. It is through Trinitarian reconciliation with Trinitarian terms. In these covenants the Trinity is treated primarily in
God in Christ by the Holy Spirit that we have reconciliation with one economic terms, for the Trinity is the God who saves.19 Theology and
another: “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Fa- economy are integrated within covenantal dogmatics through our holis-
ther” (Eph 2:18 EVS). With the Trinitarian shape of covenantal dogmat- tic Christological soteriology.
ics manifested in four parts—covenant theology, covenant Christology, Before witnessing that integration in three historically significant lo-
covenant soteriology, and covenant ecclesiology—we may now suggest cal church covenants, we must note how the free churches correlated
how the scope of covenantal dogmatics proceeds aesthetically to en- the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. Preserving the centrality of
compass the whole of Christian theology. Jesus Christ, the free churches have continued to refuse Reformed at-
tempts to conflate baptism with circumcision, the church with the state,
The Scope of Covenantal Dogmatics and the Spirit with the flesh. Rather than parroting the Reformed, Eng-
lish Particular Baptists thus argued circumcision belonged to the cove-
Evangelical systems typically begin either with revelation or with
nant of works with Israel while the baptism of believers belongs to the
God. Because recent theological discourse, both liberal and conserva-
covenant of grace with the church.20 In choosing this route, they fol-
tive, has too often prioritized human conceptions of revelation and in-
lowed the Anabaptists who had already rejected conflating the covenant
terpretation, it seems best now to begin with God. It is God alone who
of grace with Old Testament stipulations. It was the Reformed tradition
freely reveals himself by his condescension of grace. Arrogant men may
that created that novel move.21 Progressive revelation hereby undergirds
never compel the Word to come down or the Spirit to open (Rom 10:6;
Baptist dogma—the church follows Israel in time.
2 Pet 1:19–21), no matter how much historical critical method or histor-
The scope of the dogmatics found in our written covenants does not
ical grammatical theory they exercise. (This statement does not consti-
typically follow a systematic format, but the various loci appear, none-
tute a denial of the utility of these methods, but it flatly denies their fun-
theless. When we turn to the formal confessions which the covenanted
damental independence.) Theologically, the grace of God necessarily
churches adopted, the central dogmas become evident. The covenanted
precedes the knowledge of humanity, while philosophically, ontology
churches’ confessions consider the traditional systematic loci of God,
necessarily precedes epistemology. We know God simply because God
revelation, creation, providence, humanity, sin, Christ, the Holy Spirit,
reveals himself by his Word and in his Spirit.17
salvation, ecclesiology, and eschatology. But the confessions, like the
The God which the covenanted churches have encountered and
covenants, also consider the practical theological matters of Christian
worship is the triune God. In the General Baptist tradition, John Smyth
worship, Christian mission, and Christian conduct in family, church, and
thus affirmed the Trinitarian shape of the covenant, as did Benjamin
world. The free church dogmatic claim is that both the mental and the
Keach in the Particular Baptist tradition. The Sandy Creek tradition cod-
moral, through their individual and communal expressions in the lives of
ified the ontological Trinity in one of its covenants: “We take the only
the churches and all their members, must necessarily be integrated in
living and true God to be our God, one God in three Persons, Father,
covenantal dogmatics.22 The holistic assimilation of life with theology
Son, and Holy Spirit.”18 The most popular covenant in many Southern
19
Malcolm B. Yarnell III, “Baptists, Classical Trinitarianism, and the Chris-
17 In our forthcoming volume on revelation, David Dockery and I seek in
tian Tradition,” in Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Towards an Evangelical Baptist
part to demonstrate how Trinity and revelation integrate seamlessly. David S.
Catholicity, ed. Matthew Y. Emerson, Christopher W. Morgan, and R. Lucas
Dockery and Malcolm B. Yarnell III, Special Revelation and Scripture (Brentwood:
Stamps (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2020), 65.
B&H Academic, forthcoming 2024). In the first volume of my popular-level 20 Renihan, From Shadow to Substance, 324–27.
systematic theology, I put this claim in practice. Malcolm B. Yarnell III, God, 21 See my extended note on the priority of Anabaptist covenant theology in
vol. 1, Theology for Every Person (Brentwood: B&H Publishing, forthcoming
Yarnell, “The Covenant Theology of the Early Anabaptists, 1525–1527,” 59–
2024).
18 “Covenant of Grassy Creek Baptist Church” (1757), in Deweese, Baptist 62.
22 Demonstrating this unique Baptist and free church penchant for integrat-
Church Covenants, 202.
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 123 124 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

can be seen in the following three important covenants from our free as Lord, and upon the further light being shed upon God’s Word. The
church tradition. assistance of divine grace, formal separation from the world, and heart-
felt conversion are also evident. This covenant was adopted about two
The First Anabaptist Covenant
years before Smyth’s church recovered covenantal baptism in Amster-
The first known Anabaptist covenant, adopted in Zürich on January dam.
21, 1525 with the recovery of believers’ baptism, is described this way, So many, therefore, of these proffessors as saw ye evill of these
They came to one mind in these things, and in the pure fear of things in thes parts, and whose harts ye Lord had touched wth
God they recognized that a person must learn from the divine heavenly zeale for his trueth, they shooke off this yoake of anti-
Word and preaching a true faith which manifests itself in love, christian bondage, and as ye Lords free people, joyned them
and receive the true Christian baptism on the basis of the recog- selves (by a covenant of the Lord) into a church estate, in ye fe-
nized and confessed faith, in the union with God of a good con- lowship of ye gospell, to walke in all his wayes, made known, or
science, and henceforth serve God in a holy Christian life with all to be made known unto them, according to their best endeavours,
godliness; also, to be steadfast in affliction to the end.23 whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them.26
The subsequent Schlietheim Confession, literally Brüderliche Vereinigung, An Influential American Baptist Covenant
“Brotherly Union” or “Brotherly Covenant,” focuses on practical Chris-
tian life in the redeemed community witnessing to a fallen world.24 The The influence of the 19th-century covenant of J. Newton Brown,
Anabaptist covenants presumed a common classical theology with other subsequently reprinted for Southern Baptists by James Marion Frost, the
evangelicals but explicitly connected Christian salvation with Christian first President of the Baptist Sunday School Board,27 and broadly pro-
life, theology with practice. They emphasized “true faith” in opposition moted by both James Madison Pendleton in his Baptist Church Manual
to the false faith they detected in unregenerate Romanists and antinomi- and Edward T. Hiscox in his The Baptist Church Directory, is difficult to
an evangelicals, including some Anabaptists. The affirmation of credal overstate. The popularity of Brown’s covenant among Baptists in Amer-
orthodoxy and the emphatic integration of discipleship is particularly ica remains without peer.28
notable among these early baptistic evangelicals.25 Note how this American Baptist covenant affirms the Trinitarian
shape of dogmatics, along with its theological, Christological, soteriolog-
An Early English Separatist Covenant ical, and ecclesiological parts, in its first paragraph. Demonstrating the
The Gainsborough Covenant recorded by William Bradford, the first same integration of thought and practice as the early covenants from the
governor of Massachusetts, tells us much about the covenantal dogmat- Anabaptists and the Separatists, the remainder of Newton’s covenant
ics of the Separatist tradition and of Bradford’s erstwhile pastor, John confesses at length the need to “walk together” continually with other
Smyth. Notice their focus upon community, upon obedience to Christ Christians in practical, responsible, and loving ways.
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive
ing theology with the Christian life, James Leo Garrett Jr. added chapters on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; and, on the profession of
both Stewardship and the Mission of the Church into his Systematic Theology: our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of
Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical, vol. 2, 2nd ed. (North Richland Hills, TX:
BIBAL, 2001), 405–28, 527–48. 26 William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation (Boston: Wright and Pot-
23 A. J. F. Ziegelschmid, ed. Die älteste Chronik der Hutterischen Bruder (Phila-
ter, 1898), 13.
delphia: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation, 1943), 46–49; trans. in John C. 27 J. M. Frost, Baptist Why and Why Not (Nashville: Baptist Sunday School
Wenger, Glimpses of Mennonite History and Doctrine (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1949),
Board, 1900).
24–25. 28 For the numerous reasons why Brown’s covenant was so influential in
24 Michael D. Wilkinson, “Brüderliche Vereinigung: A Brief Look at Unity
both its 1833 and 1853 renditions, as well as various revisions, see Deweese,
in the Schleitheim Confession,” SwJT 56 (2014): 199–214.
25 Yarnell, “The Covenant Theology of the Early Anabaptists,” 51–56. Baptist Church Covenants, 61–63, 65–76.
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 125 126 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of John Smyth understood that Christ gives power “to the body of the
God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter church” with the covenant.32 The important powers of communion of
into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.29 members and election of officers are always retained in the church, nev-
er transferred. Leo Garrett argues there are lesser powers which can be
The Blessing of Covenantal Dogmatics delegated when a congregation so decides democratically. I have argued
that Christ retains all church authority even as the minister instrumental-
When dogmatics is pursued in the context of the free churches’ deep
ly exercises authority through proclaiming the omnipotent Word.
and abiding respect for both covenant and conscience, various tensions
“Simply put, the Word of God is the pastor’s entire authority.”33
inevitably arise. These tensions, however, are God’s providential means
for blessing his church. Covenantal dogmatics evince blessings through The Local Church and the Body of Christ
the dynamic presence of Christ in the tensions over conscience and cov-
While Baptists find the direct presence of Christ to the congregation
enant, over the local church and the wider body of Christ, over liberty of
comforting and the authoritative theological source for local church au-
conscience and life in communities, over consciences in various other
tonomy, they also have understood that there is only one Christ over all
covenants, and in the expected completion of dogmatics in the escha-
his churches and, therefore, there is only one body of Christ. As the Par-
ton.
ticular Baptists of London early confessed, the power of the churches
The Dynamic Presence of Christ in the Tension regarding one another is that of “counsell and help,” made present “un-
der Christ their onely head.”34
The New Testament doctrine of the covenant is both highly personal
The sole headship of Christ over each congregation is clearly main-
and highly communal. First, the covenant that believers have with God
tained in the Baptist covenantal tradition. Christ’s Lordship is, moreo-
in Christ is highly personal: It is “the covenant of a good conscience
ver, displayed in his threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. This
with God” (1 Pet 3:21). Second, the covenant believers have with God
threefold office is “so proper to Christ, as neither in the whole, nor in
in Christ is also highly communal: “If two of you agree on earth about
any part there-of, it can be transferred from him to any other.”35 The
anything they ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven”
unique mediation of Jesus and the inalienable and non-transferable as-
(Matt 18:19).
From an anthropological perspective, Paul Fiddes says this dual fo-
cus results in a set of “tensions” which foster a “dynamic” view of au- Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention proposed in 2021 that the Mis-
thority. A first tension occurs between the pastoral oversight of the sion and Ministry Statement be amended to read, “The SBC Executive Com-
community and the pastoral oversight of the church’s officers. The sec- mittee seeks to empower churches to prioritize, elevate, and accelerate .…”
ond tension is found between the local congregation and the association Spence Shelton moved that the word “empower” be changed to “serve,” for
of churches. These tensions can only exist in a context of “trust.”30 the local churches are the source of the authority in the convention. Book of
Fiddes has suggested something important here, which I would like Reports of the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention, 53; 2021 Annual Meeting of the South-
to make more explicit: It is in the covenantal tensions of our faith that ern Baptist Convention Daily Bulletin, Wednesday, 3.
32 Smyth, Paralleles, Censures, Observations, 2:388–89.
the presence of Christ brings blessings. The origin, transmission, and 33 Garrett, “The Congregation-Led Church: Congregational Polity,” in Per-
exercise of various authorities, as seen repeatedly in the history of Chris-
spectives on Church Government, 157; Malcolm B. Yarnell III, “Article VI: The
tianity must be perceived properly and handled delicately.31 Church,” in The Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America’s Largest
Protestant Denomination, ed. Douglas K. Blount and Joseph D. Wooddell (New
29 York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007), 60–62.
J. Newton Brown, The Baptist Church Manual (Philadelphia: American Bap- 34 The associational wording derives from the 1596 Separatist confession
tist Publication Society, 1853), 23–24; Deweese, Baptist Church Covenants, 161–
and was taken into the 1644 First London Confession. William L. Lumpkin,
62.
30 Fiddes, “Covenant and the Inheritance of Separatism,” 65–68. Baptist Confessions of Faith, rev. ed. (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1969), 168–69.
35 Lumpkin, Baptist Confessions of Faith, 159.
31 A recent example of it not being handled delicately is when the Executive
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 127 128 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

pects of his present headship to the covenanted church are inextricably for the sole Lordship of God over every conscience.38
bound to the Baptist and free church conception of communal authori-
Dogma as Eschatologically Complete
ty. Christ’s authority over the church’s dogma remains perfect, entire,
and continually active—the Word is alive an energetic (Heb 4:12). A final tension requiring recognition concerns the certain yet incom-
Liberty of Conscience and Life in Community plete nature of church dogma. Where Scripture speaks clearly to each
conscience, covenanted Christians evince a strong sense of certainty.
The unique headship and non-transferable mediation of Jesus Christ Dogmatic foundationalism in such certain areas does not necessarily
is also displayed in Christ’s relation to each human person’s conscience. offend. Indeed, convictional confessionalism to the absolute exclusion
Bill Leonard thus reminds us, “Biblical authority is mediated through of heresies regarding Trinity, Christ, and gospel are absolutely neces-
individual and communal interpretation based on liberty of con- sary.39
science.”36 God alone is Lord of the conscience, and each and every per- However, covenanted Christians also recognize their own epistemo-
son remains ultimately accountable to humanity’s sole Mediator for their logical limitations. The Gainsborough Covenant, therefore, agreed “to
own faith and practice (1 Tim 2:5). The early Baptist confessions make walke in all his wayes, made known, or to be made known unto them,
much of liberty of conscience even as they simultaneously retain com- according to their best endeavours.” In other words, some truths are still
munal responsibility for one another through voluntary life in cove- in epistemological progress from the temporal human perspective. “Fur-
nant.37 ther light” must be cast upon the deep riches of God’s Word, even as it
A continual dialectic of the authority of the conscience before God remains perfect and eternal.
and the authority in the covenant before God in Christ with one another These various tensions call for faith in the Lord, patience with one
results in ongoing tensions which can only be lessened through faith in another, and openness toward the work of the Holy Spirit within and
Christ alone and forbearance with one another. When individual Chris- beyond the covenanted community of faith. While some Christians are
tians honor each person’s radical dependence upon Christ for salvation uncomfortable with tensions, others recognize that in the tensions
and obedience, the tensions begin to disappear. The presence of Christ themselves there is evidence that the God who is beyond human power,
to the redeemed conscience through personal faith and the presence of indeed the source of all power, works freely and sovereignly and is pre-
Christ to the redeemed community through covenant belong together. sent in a personal and dynamic way to the community in covenant with
Him. “For where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I
Christ as Lord of Conscience in Other Covenants
among them” (Matt 18:20).
In the tension between conscience and covenant, freedom under
Christ and freedom before one another coalesce. There is no real free- Conclusion
dom outside the human person’s eternal covenantal relation with God.
Free church theologians recognize the way we approach dogmatics
And earthly covenants remain the only way in which human relations
will sometimes be characterized by a different set of priorities than those
can be properly oriented, not only within the church, but also within the
of other communions. While we certainly hold to the Christocentric
family and within human society at large.
Trinitarian shape of dogma maintained by all true Christian churches, we
The covenanted conscience retains freedom to voluntarily enter ap-
also perceive an eternal covenant theology manifested in a covenant ec-
propriate bonds with other humans precisely because Christ alone re-
clesiology joined together through a highly personal covenant soteriolo-
mains both Lord of conscience and Lord of covenant. There is perfect
freedom in communal covenants when consciences find their freedom
38
Article XVII of the Baptist Faith and Message begins, “God alone is Lord
in continual dependence upon Christ alone and show irreducible respect
of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and command-
36 ments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it.”
Bill J. Leonard, Baptist Ways: A History (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2003), 39 Dockery and Yarnell, Special Revelation and Scripture, 369, 398–400; Yarnell,
6.
37 God, ch. 13.
Leonard, Baptist Ways, 65–66.
 THE FREE CHURCH FORM OF DOGMATICS 129

gy. This encourages us to approach the whole scope of systematic the-

ology with a deep appreciation for progressive revelation in the canon
and a profound desire to integrate intellectual doctrine with moral prac-
tice.
Ultimately, free church dogmatics are stretched between two poles, a
dynamic respect for free consciences on the one side and a real respon-
sibility toward community on the other. The resulting tensions in au-
thority between congregation and officer, between local church and as-
sociation, and between certainty and incompletion call us to depend
upon the real presence of Christ to his covenanted community. Christ
promised to be present with the community gathered under his authori-
ty, and we trust his presence in his offices will lead every faithful con-
gregation into truth. Christ promised to be present to the covenanted
church with his theological and moral dogmatic authority. However, the
Lord always retains his divine freedom over every covenant and over
every conscience. We would be wise always to listen to the Word in the
Spirit, worshiping God and conforming to Christ.40

40 In a brilliant essay, Rowan Williams demonstrates why the presence of

Christ to the community is real yet the actions of the community may never be
identified entirely with Christ. Christ is present to his church in a paradoxical
way, such that the power of Christ comes to the church with a “fundamental
ungraspability.” This keeps humanity from pretending to possess divine author-
ity. Rowan Williams, “Between the Cherubim: The Empty Tomb and the Emp-
ty Throne,” in On Christian Theology (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000), 183–96.