Benjamin Keach was the greatest theologian of the second generation among English Baptists. He was raised in a Christian home, converted at age 15, and began pastoring at age 18 at a little church in Winslow, England.

During his first pastorate at Winslow, he wrote a little booklet called “The Child’s Instructor,” which included sections on believers’ baptism. This got him into a lot of trouble with the authorities, so he was arrested. The judge even pressured the jury to find him guilty. So Keach was thrown into jail for two weeks, put in stocks, pilloried, mocked, and made fun of in front of the town. After they let him out, Keach continued to preach.

But then he made a move in his theology to the doctrines of grace. He had been an Arminian, but around the time that he became a Calvinist, he changed churches and began pastoring in Southwark, England. There, he preached the Word of God faithfully. But Keach is well-known for the several controversies he was involved in, one of which was the hymn-singing controversy. One of the reasons we sing hymns today as Baptists, practically speaking, is because Keach won that debate. His side argued that we should sing hymns in churches.

But Keach himself would say that his most important controversy was with Richard Baxter and the doctrine of Neonomianism. Keach opposed Richard Baxter’s legalistic Neonomian theology, and he asserted, instead, the reformed doctrine of justification, which is the ground of our assurance of salvation and is one of the motives of our obedience to Christ.

If you would like to learn more about Benjamin Keach, you can audit or register for a class taught by Tom Hicks and Chris Holmes titled “The Life & Ministry of Benjamin Keach.”

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Tom Hicks

Tom serves as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Clinton, LA. He’s married to Joy, and they have four children: Sophie, Karlie, Rebekah, and David. He received his MDiv and PhD degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a major in Church History, emphasis on Baptists, and with a minor in Systematic Theology. Tom is the author of The Doctrine of Justification in the Theologies of Richard Baxter and Benjamin Keach (PhD diss, SBTS). He serves on the board of directors for Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary and is an adjunct professor of historical theology for the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies.