Are Reformed Baptists Federalists?
1. What Federal Theology Means
Federal theology, also known as covenant theology, teaches that God relates to humanity through covenants with covenant heads, or federal representatives.
Adam stood as the covenant head of humanity in the covenant of works (Genesis 2:16–17; Romans 5:12).
Christ stands as the covenant head of the elect in the covenant of grace (Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 15:22).
The question of whether Reformed Baptists are federalists depends on how they understand these covenants in relation to the Old and New Testaments.
2. Reformed Theology and Federalism
In the Reformed tradition more broadly (as reflected in the Westminster Confession of Faith):
The covenant of works is foundational, broken by Adam.
The covenant of grace is seen as one covenant, revealed progressively but substantially the same in both Old and New Testaments.
The children of believers are included in the covenant, which grounds the practice of infant baptism.
Thus, Reformed theology uses “federal” to describe Adam’s representative role in sin and Christ’s role in salvation, while also framing the church’s life within covenant continuity from Old to New Testament.
3. Reformed Baptists and the 1689 Confession
Reformed Baptists subscribe to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), which adapts covenant theology in a distinct way:
They affirm the covenant of works with Adam.
They affirm the covenant of grace as God’s eternal plan of salvation in Christ.
But unlike Presbyterians, they argue that the covenant of grace is only formally established in the New Covenant, not in the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenants.
This distinction shapes Baptist identity: baptism is applied only to those who profess faith, not to infants, because membership in the New Covenant is for the regenerate alone (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:6–13).
4. How Reformed Baptists Are Federalists
Reformed Baptists are indeed federalists in several ways:
They affirm Adam’s federal headship, teaching that his sin brought guilt to all (Romans 5:12–14).
They affirm Christ’s federal headship, teaching that His obedience brings righteousness to all who believe (Romans 5:18–19).
They interpret all of Scripture through the framework of covenants, just as Reformed theologians do.
Thus, they stand within the broader stream of federal theology, though their articulation differs.
5. How Reformed Baptists Differ from Other Federalists
At the same time, Reformed Baptists diverge from Presbyterian and other Reformed covenantal systems:
On baptism – they reject infant baptism because they see the New Covenant as made only with believers.
On covenant continuity – they emphasize discontinuity between Old Testament covenants and the New Covenant.
On church membership – they define the covenant community as composed of regenerate members, not mixed with believers’ children.
These differences mean that while they are federalists, they are not “Reformed” in the confessional sense that includes paedobaptism and covenant continuity.
6. The Biblical Basis for Baptist Federalism
Reformed Baptists root their federalism in Scripture:
Adam as head – “By the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).
Christ as head – “By the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
New Covenant exclusivity – “They shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (Jeremiah 31:34).
For Baptists, these texts show that covenant membership is tied to faith and new birth, not to outward lineage.
7. The Gospel and Federal Headship
The federal framework is not merely a theological detail but essential to the Gospel itself:
In Adam, all are condemned (Romans 5:12).
In Christ, all who believe are justified (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Through covenant headship, believers receive what Christ has accomplished on their behalf.
This makes federal theology deeply practical: it explains both humanity’s universal problem and God’s gracious solution in Jesus.
Conclusion
Are Reformed Baptists federalists? Yes. They affirm federal theology in Adam and Christ and read the Bible through covenants. However, they articulate federalism differently from Presbyterians, emphasizing that the covenant of grace is formally established only in the New Covenant.
This conviction leads them to a distinct view of baptism, church membership, and covenant continuity. While not “Reformed” in the confessional sense, Reformed Baptists are genuine federalists who proclaim the same Gospel: in Adam all die, and in Christ all are made alive.
10 Bible Verses Related to 1689 Federalism
Genesis 2:16–17 – “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
Hosea 6:7 – “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.”
Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Romans 5:18–19 – “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
1 Corinthians 15:22 – “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
1 Corinthians 15:45 – “Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
Jeremiah 31:31–32 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers.”
Jeremiah 31:34 – “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Hebrews 8:6 – “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
