Reformed Baptists

Reformed Baptists, also called Particular Baptists, or Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Reformed soteriology (i.e., understanding of the mechanics of salvation). The name "Reformed Baptist" dates back to the latter part of the 20th century, to denote Baptists with a distinct form of covenant theology. Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting Baptist covenant theology; all Reformed Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism, meaning that they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the late 1630s. Reformed Baptists are distinguished from General Baptists, whose soteriology is Arminian. Reformed Baptists have produced two major confessions of faith as summary of their beliefs: The First London Confession of Faith (1644) and the Second London Confession of Faith (1689). Benjamin Keach, John Gill and Charles Spurgeon were some of the most prominent theologians for the Calvinist Baptist strand in England.