Every Man's Conscience, By Ryan Burton King

I'm now into my 3rd year as a Reformed Baptist minister here in London, UK, a location for many influential Reformed Baptists over the centuries. It is fair to say I have never liked the title Reformed Baptist, because I've met so many people who are downcast in their temperament that hold the name. London seems different to that with many defrosted Calvinists among them. 

What a delight it was then to read this book, in the last couple of weeks, where Ryan shows that many Particular Baptists were not the Frozen Chosen, were not legalistic and seeking to ensure others lived like them. Instead it was their desire to proclaim Christ and His Gospel to any man, they wanted the liberty to be able to do. Not for the State to compel men what they must and must not believe. 

This is a very short book, but don't let that fool you into thinking that it says little, it says a lot and is packed full of import information, so I believe it should be read slowly, the chapters are short but give you plenty to chew on. The issue for this book and for Ryan King who wrote it, is that our freedoms are being done away with slowly. The State has done this from time to time, usually under the control of the State Church. Freedom to worship is a privilege we have had in the west for a long time, it isn't the result of secularism, look at secular States if you want to see what freedom to worship exists in such places. It surprisingly isn't a result of Christendom, Christendom for all of the benefits it did bring, and it did, religious tolerance and freedom to worship wasn't one of them. Even the Presbyterian divines didn't believe in freedom and tolerance in the way we take for granted. In this book Ryan King shows that these freedoms were fought for and argued for by Non Conformists, including Baptists, but not exclusively by Particular Baptists. They wanted to have the right to worship without interference from the State, what power does the Magistrate have to legislate the kingdom? But not only for themselves but for all. I have seen some posts on X, formerly twitter by Christians arguing for a Theocracy, but there had only ever been one true Theocracy, God is not in covenant with any nation on the planet. God rules His church and it is the job of the church to proclaim Christ and for every man's conscience to worship in freedom. It is the Christian, the believe in Christ's job not to compel people to come through the power of the State but through persuasion, to compel them to see the beauty of the gospel and their need of Christ. In seeing it to turn from their sins and embrace the true God, through His Son. 

This book is timely when there are conservative evangelicals arguing for State control to compel people to worship God through the law. When we are compelled in the heart through the power of the gospel, Read this book slowly and learn from these great men of the past.