“…Heresy is commonly restrained to signify any perverse Opinion or Error in a fundamental Point of Religion, as to deny the Being of God, or the Deity of Christ, or his Satisfaction, and Justification alone by his Righteous∣ness, or to deny the Resurrection of the Body, or eternal Judgment, or the like…Two things render a Man an Heretick according to the common description signification of the Word. 1. An Error in matters of Faith, Fundamental or Essential to Salvation. 2. Stubbornness and Contumacy in holding and maintaining it. A Man that is an Heretick, after the first and second Admonition reject. Now that this Rejection is all one with Excommunication, appears by what Paul speaks, 1 Tim. 1.20. Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to Blaspheme. Their Heresy, or Blasphemy was in saying the Resurrection was past.” 1
Particular Baptists have not been strangers to dealing directly with heretical opinions among their ranks and from outside. They were dead serious about obedience to God and with the importance of getting the fundamentals of religion right. In fact, it was considered hateful by early Particular Baptists to stand by while false doctrine takes root in the church:
“If any shall judg what we have here declared doth savor of uncharitableness, rigidn̄ess, censoriousness & bitterness of spirit to them that dissent from us, we desire all such seriously to take notice, that true love and charity is not the soothing of any in their sins, the healing of wounds slightly, the crying peace, peace, when sudden destruction is at hand; it is not the daubing with untempered morter, but it is a true love to the Truth, and to all for the Truths sake, consisting in plainness and simplicity, engaging us to endeavor the restoring of them that are faln, to pull them as brands out of the fire, to contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints, to note such persons that walk disorderly, to endeavor the preserving of them that are sound in the faith. While some men cry out against us for uncharitableness, in crying down sin and sinful practices, O how uncharitable in truth are they, that can suffer God to be dishonored, his Son to be vilified, his Truth trampled under foot, his Ordinances sleighted, and their own and thousands of poor souls in danger of being utterly seduced, to their own destruction, and yet have not a heart to relent for such practices, nor a tongue to plead against them, whereby others might be forwarned of their swift approaching danger;”2
While being accused of being bitter, uncharitable, etc. in calling out sin and sinful actions, they turned the tables on their accusers and said that what is actually unloving would be to allow false doctrine and sin to continue in the church unchallenged. You cannot love your neighbor if you aren’t properly calling attention to wickedness in a church. Love does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).
Keach, the fiery pastor who was not afraid to shy away from a fight (for better or for worse), provides some principles for identifying heretics in the church:
- They must subvert one or more fundamentals of the Christian faith.
- A heretic persists in their opinion (s) and/or error (s) despite biblical means being used for their repentance.
First, a heretic corrupts or “subverts” a fundamental of the faith. Notice that Keach doesn’t say that a heretic merely denies a fundamental doctrine completely, but presents a “perverse” error or opinion. An outright denial is surely part of what would be in mind here, but “subverting” a doctrine also could include changing it as to no longer be orthodox. Corruption, perverseness, and subversion, strictly speaking, requires the good in order for there to be something to corrupt. This means a heretic may use very orthodox language (the good) on a fundamental doctrine while changing aspects of it (perversion) to fit their desires. It should be no wonder then heretics can be hard to spot at times. Swimming in the grey can be even more deadly than outright denying doctrines like the deity of Christ or justification by faith alone.
Second, a heretic persists. Heretics don’t repent when corrected. They embrace their heresy as truth.
“Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,” Titus 3:10 NKJV
It is irrelevant whether a heretic truly believes he’s in heresy, the issue is do they continue in a doctrine that contradicts one or more fundamentals of Christianity. The text above provides the imperative from Paul that a divisive man (a heretic) is to be rejected if he persists, not whether he is “sincere” in those beliefs.
Persistence in heresy after being corrected multiple times demonstrates the person has embraced the doctrine. He must repent quickly. A true Christian does not stay long in fundamental error. Yes, he may stay for a time, even after being rebuked, (given the layered nature of Paul’s model which requires two admonitions before rejecting them), but they won’t remain. If they persist, we must follow Nehemiah Coxe’s exhortation, “There can be no Gospel Peace without truth, nor Communion of Saints, without an agreement in fundamental principles of the Christian Religion.” 3 Heresy not only divides one from orthodoxy, it divides Christians from Christians, and can have a devastating effect upon churches, interpersonal relationships, and hinder the work of the church in propagating the gospel. Making disciples that already confess Christ cannot begin to happen unless, at the very least, the fundamentals of the faith are taught. Dividing from a heretic is what is loving for the people of God, to protect them against evil men (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).
Footnotes:
- “The glory of a true church, and its discipline display’d wherein a true gospel-church is described : together with the power of the keys, and who are to be let in, and who to be shut out / by Benjamin Keach.” In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A47522.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 1, 2026. ↩︎
- “Heart-bleedings for professors abominations: or, A faithful general epistle, presented to all who have known the way of truth, forewarning them to flee security, and careless walking under the profession of the same; discovering some of Satans wiles, whereby also, wanton persons, and their ungodly wayes are disclaimed. / By the churches of Christ in London, baptized into the name of Jesus Christ, and walking together through the grace of God, in the order of his Gospel, according to the Scriptures.” In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A86159.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 1, 2026. ↩︎
- “Vindiciæ veritatis, or, A confutation […] the heresies and gross errours asserted by Thomas Collier in his additinal word to his body of divinity written by Nehemiah Coxe …” In the digital collection Early English Books Online 2. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A34850.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 1, 2026. ↩︎
The Particular Baptist 
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