Foreword

In the middle of the twentieth century, the modern Reformed Baptist movement began to take shape in America as several men, including some pastors and itinerant evangelists, began to embrace the doctrines of grace. These men found great help from the theological instruction coming out of Westminster Theological Seminary but could not embrace the paedobaptist view of the sacraments or church. Following the example of Charles Spurgeon in the nineteenth century and the Particular Baptists before him, they regarded the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, commonly called the “1689 Confession,” to be a trustworthy expression of their beliefs.

They embraced the designation “Reformed Baptist” to describe their unity with other groups who hold to the doctrines that were clarified and propounded in the confessions that arose out of the Protestant Reformation. Some from both the Reformed and the baptistic branches of evangelicalism believe that moniker is an oxymoron. Baptists might be Calvinistic, but that does not make them Reformed.

Despite such criticism, a growing number of churches, institutions and organizations have identified as Reformed Baptist over the last several decades. Added to this has been the development and considerable growth of Reformed Baptist scholarship. As a result, more and more evangelicals and Christians from other traditions have taken note of this movement, which in turn has led to the frequent posing of the question, “What is a Reformed Baptist?”

That is the question that Tom Hicks answers in this carefully researched and imminently readable book. As one who unashamedly owns that description of his own views, Dr. Hicks explains what it means to be a Protestant Reformed Christian who holds to believers’ baptism. He does so by providing biblical, theological, and historical insights that are widely recognized and affirmed by Reformed Baptists.

The result is a book that draws deeply from the 1689 Confession, showing how it summarizes biblical-theological views that are rooted in the orthodox, Protestant, reformational, and evangelical heritage that all Reformed Christians hold in common. Hicks also explains where and why Reformed Baptists part ways with other Reformed evangelicals on matters of church polity and practice.

This book is valuable for many reasons, not the least of which is the concise systematic treatment that it gives to key issues like what it means to be confessional, the threefold division of the law of God and the three uses of the moral law, proper principles for interpreting Scripture that take seriously the progressive nature of revelation, covenant theology, the relationship between law and gospel, regenerate church membership, the regulative principle of worship, and Christian liberty.

Each of these subjects is treated exegetically by citing key Bible passages that inform Reformed Baptist understanding and practice. Orthodox and Protestant history is also cited to demonstrate that these convictions are grounded in what the Lord taught our forefathers from His Word. In addition (and in one of the most useful features of this book), Hicks regularly shows how biblical teachings instruct our minds, shape our affections, and direct our wills.

He writes as a pastor who is determined to lead God’s people to see and savor the beauties of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The result is a book that can and should be used to assist with basic Bible study of the teachings it addresses. While I recommend that the whole book be studied, each chapter (or even sections within chapters) can be easily consulted to get careful, succinct treatments of key Reformed Baptist commitments.

Pastors who want to introduce churches to the healthy streams of belief and practice that are articulated in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) will find a great aid in this book. Churches already committed to that confession should secure copies for every member and prospective member. The time and effort invested in working through these brief pages will be more than repaid in deeper appreciation for the biblical foundations and historical roots of the people known as Reformed Baptist.

Those of us in that doctrinal stream owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Hicks for serving us so well with this book. I highly commend it.

Tom Ascol

September 7, 2024