Confessional Depth
What Is 1689 Federalism?
If you have spent any time in confessional Reformed Baptist circles — or have read deeply in the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 — you have probably encountered the phrase “1689 federalism.” It sounds technical, and in a sense it is. But it names something important. It names the distinctive covenant-theology framework of the Reformed Baptist tradition — the framework that distinguishes us, modestly but really, from our Presbyterian brethren.
This article is a brief introduction. It is not a substitute for reading the confession itself (chapter 7, “Of God’s Covenant”) or for the fuller works of writers like Pascal Denault, Sam Renihan, or Richard Barcellos. But it should help a curious reader understand what the term means, why we hold it, and how it shapes the worship and life of Pray’s Mill.
The Word “Federalism”
Covenant is the structure of Scripture.
“Federal” comes from the Latin foedus, meaning covenant. Federalism, in this theological context, is the conviction that Scripture is structured by covenants — not by dispensational shifts, not by topical themes, but by the covenants God makes with his people. To do federal theology is to read the Bible as one story unfolding under the terms of God’s covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and finally Christ.
Reformed Baptists are federal theologians. We share that with our Presbyterian brethren. Where we differ is in how the new covenant relates to the prior covenants — and especially to the Abrahamic covenant.
The Two Frameworks
One covenant of grace, gradually revealed.
Presbyterian (Westminster) federalism holds that there is one covenant of grace, administered in different forms across redemptive history. The Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and new covenants are all administrations of the same covenant of grace. Because the covenant of grace was administered to Abraham and his physical children, the same pattern continues in the new covenant: it is extended to believers and their physical children, and the sign of the covenant (now baptism instead of circumcision) is applied accordingly.
The 1689 Confession affirms the same overarching framework — one covenant of grace — but it makes a distinction that Westminster does not. The 1689 holds that the covenant of grace was gradually revealed across the Old Testament covenants but was not actually established until the death of Christ. The Old Testament covenants pointed forward to it, foreshadowed it, were partial administrations of it — but the new covenant alone is the covenant of grace in its full and final form.
From the 1689 Confession (7.3): “This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament.”
Why It Matters
Three practical consequences.
First, on baptism. If the new covenant is established only with those who have come to faith in Christ, then the sign of the covenant (baptism) is given only to those who have come to faith. Infants of believers are not baptized; converts are. See our article on believer’s baptism vs. infant baptism for more.
Second, on church membership. A Reformed Baptist church is a regenerate church — that is, a church made up of those who have made a credible profession of faith in Christ. Children of members are not automatically members; they are nurtured in the household of faith and, by God’s grace, in due time profess faith for themselves.
Third, on the relationship of Old and New Testament. 1689 federalism affirms strong continuity between the testaments — one God, one redemption, one Christ, one covenant of grace gradually revealed. But it also affirms important discontinuity: the new covenant is not the renewal of an old administration but the inauguration of something promised across all the prior administrations. Christ’s blood does not extend the Abrahamic; it fulfills it.
Where to Go from Here
Read more, ask more.
If you want to go deeper, read chapter 7 of the 1689 Confession itself. For book-length treatments, see Pascal Denault’s The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology, Sam Renihan’s The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom, or Richard Barcellos’s Getting the Garden Right. Our pastors would also be glad to talk through any of this with you.