One of the key divisions in our convention is between the historic Baptists who believe in religious freedom – a free church in a free state – and the recent rise of more passionate nationalists who believe, as John MacArthur has stated, that religious freedom does not reflect Scripture. We should seek to assert Christ’s Lordship in every area, even government.
This movement comes largely from Reformed circles (not surprising if you know about Calvin and other reformers, perhaps).
The second resolution was on Religious Freedom and formed the first test case about the relative strengths of the traditional Baptists who support religious freedom and those who are supporting the Christian nationalist movement.
There were multiple attempts to amend the resolution, all of which failed by various amounts (one very close). The resolution itself passed comfortably.
