Reformed Baptist Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Theology

Reformed Baptist Doctrines of Grace

The Reformed Baptist understanding of the doctrine of grace is rooted in the biblical concept of God's unmerited favor towards humanity. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the term "grace" encompasses various aspects, including God's forgiving mercy, the gospel as distinguished from the law, and gifts freely bestowed by God ^[1].

In Reformed Baptist theology, the doctrine of grace is closely tied to the concept of salvation. Charles Hodge, a prominent Reformed theologian, argues that the covenant of grace is formed with Christ, and salvation is offered to all men on the condition of faith in Christ ^[6]. This covenant is understood to be a gracious act of God, where He provides a substitute for sinners and spares not His own Son, but freely gives Him up for humanity's salvation ^[8].

The Reformed Baptist tradition emphasizes the efficacy of divine grace in the salvation of humanity. According to Hodge, the Holy Spirit's influence is necessary for the sacraments to be effective, and their efficacy does not depend on the virtue of the sacraments or the one administering them, but on the attending influence of the Holy Spirit ^[2]. This understanding is in line with the Augustinian doctrine, which asserts that efficacious grace is the almighty power of God that acts immediately on the soul, making it irresistible ^[4].

The doctrine of grace is also closely related to the concept of justification. Hodge argues that justification is a declaration of righteousness, not based on human merit, but on the merits of Christ. Faith is not the ground of justification, but rather the instrument by which the believer is united to Christ ^[7].

In contrast to the Pelagian doctrine, which emphasizes human ability to avoid sin and fulfill duty without divine aid, the Reformed Baptist tradition stresses the necessity of divine grace. The Pelagians were criticized for ignoring the necessity of divine grace, which is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures ^[10]. Augustine, a key figure in the development of the doctrine of grace, argued that true grace is the gift of the Holy Ghost, which kindles in the soul a delight in and love of God ^[9].

The Reformed Baptist understanding of grace is also reflected in their view of the sacraments. According to Hodge, baptism is an ordinance of divine appointment, and its efficacy is not tied to the time of its administration, but to the attending influence of the Holy Spirit ^{[2, 3]}.

The historical development of the doctrine of grace is marked by the Pelagian controversy, which highlighted the importance of divine grace in salvation. The Reformed Baptist tradition has continued to emphasize the doctrine of grace, distinguishing it from other theological perspectives ^{[5, 10]}.

The patristic tradition, as represented by Augustine, also emphasizes the importance of divine grace in salvation. Augustine argues that the human will is divinely aided in the pursuit of righteousness, and that the Holy Ghost forms in the mind a delight in and love of God ^[9].

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Grace — (1.) Of form or person (Prov. 1:9; 3:22; Ps. 45:2). (2.) Favour, kindness, friendship (Gen. 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Tim. 1:9). (3.) God's forgiving mercy (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:5). (4.) The gospel as distinguished from the law (John 1:17; Rom. 6:14; 1 Pet. 5:12). (5.) Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues (Rom. 15:15; 1 Cor. 15:10; Eph. 3:8). (6.) Christian virtues (2 Cor. 8:7; 2 Pet. 3:18). (7.) The glory hereafter to be revealed (1 Pet. 1:13).”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 65: § 12. Efficacy of Baptism. Doctrine of the Reformed Churches. In the section which treats of the efficacy of the sacraments in general, it was shown that according to the Reformed Church the sacraments (1.) Are ordinances of divine appointment. (2.) That they are means of grace, and therefore are not to be undervalued or neglected. (3.) That their efficacy does not depend upon any virtue in them or in him by whom they are administered, but upon the attending influence of the Holy Spirit. (4.) That their efficacy is not tied to the time of”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 65: is good to be of the number of those to whom God has made a special promise of grace and salvation. For the promise is unto us and to our children. It is a great evil to be “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise.” They, therefore, sin against God and their own souls who neglect the command to be baptized in the name of the Lord and those parents sin grievously against the souls of their children who neglect to consecrate them to God in the ordinance of baptism. Do let the little ones have thei”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 1: of the Spirit distinct from Providential Efficiency 665 An Influence of the Spirit Common to all Men. — Effects of Common Grace 670 § 4. Efficacious Grace 675 Why Efficacious. — Not simply ab eventu . — Not from its Congruity 677 The Augustinian Doctrine 680 Statement of the Doctrine. — The Main Principle involved 682 It is the Almighty Power of God. — Hence 1. It is Mysterious and Peculiar. 2. Distinct from Common Grace. 3. Distinct from Moral Suasion. 4. Acts immediately. In what Sense Physical. 5. It is Irresistible. 6. The Soul is Pass”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 142: § 7. History of the Doctrine of Grace. The doctrines of sin and grace are so intimately related, that the one cannot be stated without involving a statement of the other. Hence the views of different parties in the Church in reference to the work of the Spirit in the salvation of men, have already been incidentally presented in the chapter on Sin. With regard to the period antecedent to the Pelagian controversy, it may be sufficient to remark, (1.) As there was no general discussion of these subjects, there were no defined parties whose ”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 73: § 5 . The Covenant of Grace. In virtue of what the Son of God covenanted to perform, and what in the fulness of time He actually accomplished, agreeably to 363 the stipulations of the compact with thu Father, two things follow. First, salvation is offered to all men on the condition of faith in Christ. Our Lord commanded his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The gospel, however, is the offer of salvation upon the conditions of the covenant of grace. In this sense, the covenant of grace is formed w”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 18: is, declares that the claims of justice, so far as he is concerned, are satisfied, so that he cannot be justly condemned, but is in justice entitled to the reward promised or due to perfect righteousness. 4. The meritorious ground of justification is not faith; we are not justified on account of our faith, considered as a virtuous ot holy act or state of mind. Nor are our works of any kind the ground of justification. Nothing done by us or wrought in us satisfies the demands of justice, or can be the ground or reason of the declaration th”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 26: He provided a substitute for sinners, and that He spared not his own Son, but freely gave Him up for us all It was a matter of grace, i.e ., of love to sinners, to the ungodly, to his enemies, that the eternal Son of God became man, assumed the burden of our sins, fulfilled all righteousness, obeying and suffering even unto death, that we might not perish but have eternal life. It is of grace that the Spirit applies to men the redemption purchased by Christ; that He renews the heart; that He overcomes the opposition of sinners, making the”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 5 [III.] -- TRUE GRACE IS THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST, WHICH KINDLES IN THE SOUL THE JOY AND LOVE OF GOODNESS.: We, however, on our side affirm that the human will is so divinely aided in the pursuit of righteousness, that (in addition to man's being created with a free-will, and in addition to the teaching by which he is instructed how he ought to live) he receives the Holy Ghost, by whom there is formed in his mind a delight in, and a love of, that supreme and unchangeable good which is God, even now while he is still "walking by faith" and not y”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 142: Church, and has continued to distinguish the theology of that Church to the present day. Pelagian Doctrine. The Pelagian doctrine has already repeatedly been presented. It is only in reference to the views of Pelagius and his followers on the subject of grace that anything need now be said. As the Pelagians insisted so strenuously upon the plenary ability of man to avoid all sin, and to fulfil all duty, it was obvious to object that they ignored the necessity of divine grace of which the Scriptures so frequently and so plainly speak. Thi”

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