The wording of our Statement IV (1970) represents the combination of two of the original articles from Benoni Stinson.

Stinson’s article 4 provides the basic structure and wording for our present statement. Next month’s essay will discuss these matters in more depth.

Stinson’s article 11 expressed the distinctive belief that caused him to establish a separate congregation in 1823. That church was named Liberty Church of Christ. (Church of Christ was a common name for Baptist churches before another denomination began to use it.)

The next year, 1824, Liberty and three other churches (which Stinson either convinced or started) joined together on the basis of the same eleven articles of Liberty Church. The new association took the name “Liberty Association of General Baptists.” That is the first time we find the name General Baptist used by Stinson.

Stinson’s article 11 read: “We believe that Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man; yet none can partake of his divine benefits, only by repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

These words are taken from Hebrews 2:9 and Acts 20:21.

The theology behind “tasted death for every man” was not the dominant theology among Baptists at the time. Most Baptists would have said that Christ died only for those whom God had already chosen to save.

Most Baptists had adopted the theology of the Reformed Tradition, associated with John Calvin (d. 1564) and usually called Calvinism.

In that theology, the way of salvation consisted of three acts of God. The first was that God decided to save some of humanity (but not all). This decision is called election. The “elect” are those God decided to save.

The second act is to send Jesus to die on the cross to atone for the sins of the elect. This view is called limited atonement, meaning limited to the elect. When Jesus died, these sins were expiated (removed or covered).

The third act happens when God makes a person’s election known to the person. The person is moved by irresistible grace to come to faith. Baptists understood that all the elect (at least those who reach adulthood) would consciously experience salvation at some point in their lives.

For Stinson, this combination of beliefs declared some people hopeless from birth. It undermined the message of John 3:16.

Stinson argued that God loved all the world and God provided atonement for the sins of all people. That view is called universal atonement or general atonement. Hence our name, General Baptist.

The Calvinists objected. If Christ died for all people, then according to Calvinists, all sins were expiated and all people would be going to heaven. Stinson denied this conclusion. Christ’s death had provided the means for all, but none received atonement except those who repented and believed.

Stinson argued that God provided prevenient grace (grace that comes before salvation, that is “pre-event” grace) that enables a sinner to repent and believe. This grace is given to all. Moreover, this grace is not irresistible. One can still reject the Gospel.

Dr. Douglas Low, Professor of New Testament, Chapman Seminary and OCU