I have been a reader of the Puritan Board for quite some time and have learned a great deal from the wisdom on this forum. However, I have just recently joined, and this is my first post. I am seeking advice regarding some RPW issues/church choices that I am currently struggling with.
Some background/assumptions for context…
Positions I hold regarding the RPW:
Assumptions for the advice I am seeking:
Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.
Some background/assumptions for context…
Positions I hold regarding the RPW:
- Exclusive Psalmody (EP)
- No instruments/choirs/solos/special music allowed
- No observance of a church calendar, Advent/Christmas, Lent, Easter, etc.
- Wine only (instead of grape juice) for the Lord’s Supper
- No images of Christ, the Holy Spirit (descending dove), etc.
- No women serving as deacons (some ARP churches allow this), teachers, etc.
Assumptions for the advice I am seeking:
- These are not hypothetical questions. These are real life decisions that I face every Lord’s Day and struggle to know what to do. We are in the process of visiting churches to find one to join.
- There are literally zero churches within a reasonable driving distance from me that hold these positions. I’ve visited ARP, PCA and OPC churches and they all without exception have RPW violations to one degree or another. So…just “finding a better, more ‘pure’ church” is not an option. Moving is also not an option. Therefore, I will have no choice but to join a church that has many practices that I hold to be violations of the RPW, and are therefore sinful.
- I hold that violations of the RPW are sinful. For example, assuming the EP position is correct, then it is a sin to sing uninspired compositions. Therefore, for me to sing uninspired hymns or drink grape juice instead of wine, would be a sin.
- I am not an office holder in the church, so advice will need to be appropriate/relevant to my place and station.
- Some things are within my control, some are not. For example, I can refrain from singing when uninspired hymns are sung, but I can’t stop the organist from playing.
- As a side note, the rest of my family (wife, adult children, mother, in-laws) and friends do not share my beliefs about the RPW. For example, they have no issues with singing uninspired hymns, having a choir, using grape juice, or celebrating Advent/Christmas. I am literally all alone in the stand that I am taking on these issues. I am working to educate my family on these issues, but they are not where I am...at least not yet.
- In churches that sing some Psalms, but are not EP…should I sing only the Psalms and refrain from singing the uninspired hymns? And how do I go about this? Do I still stand and hold the hymn book open with my wife, but just remain silent while she sings? Do I remain seated? What if this causes my wife (who is not EP) to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed when others notice that I am not singing? If asked why I don’t sing, how do I respond? If I say that due to my EP position it would be a sin for me to sing uninspired hymns, would that not potentially offend (by implying that the church is in sin for not holding an EP position), be considered divisive, etc.?
- What about churches that do sing some Psalms, but sing them to instrumental accompaniment? Is it OK to sing these despite the instruments being a RPW violation?
- What about churches that don’t sing any Psalms at all (exclusive hymnody?) …this would mean that I would never sing in corporate worship?
- Is it OK for me to worship in churches that have choirs, instruments, solos/special music if I do not actively participate in the choir or play an instrument myself? In these scenarios, which are outside of my control, would the people actually playing the instruments and singing in the choir be the only ones in sin…or would I also be guilty of violating the RPW merely by being there in worship (implying that I condone it by remaining in the meeting place while it is occurring)? In other words, in a church that has a choir…is it only the actual members of the choir who are violating the RPW (and the session that allows it), or is the church as a whole in violation?
- What about churches that observe “pretended holy days” (Advent season, Advent wreath/candle lighting ceremonies, trees, and decorations in the place of worship, Christmas Eve/Day services, etc.? Do I just not attend church for the entire month of December (to avoid the candle lighting rituals every Lord’s Day, trees in the meeting place, Christmas carols/sermons, etc.)? When the entire worship service (decorations, music, sermon, Scripture readings, unbiblical rituals, etc.) is centered around the Advent/Christmas theme every Lord’s Day for an entire month…how does one avoid that?
- Regarding the use of grape juice (no wine as an option) in the Lord’s Supper, should I refrain from drinking the grape juice, but still take the bread? Or should I refrain from the Lord’s Supper altogether in this scenario (even though the bread is not a violation)? I have heard that both John Murray and B.B. Warfield would refuse to administer/partake of the Lord’s Supper in churches that used grape juice, but I have no quote/source to verify this.
- What about images? If the church has images in the meeting place, should I simply avoid that church altogether? Or since I am not an office holder in the church – and therefore have no authority to cover/remove them – can I worship there with a clean conscience (assuming of course that I am not using the images for worship)?
- Would any of the above violations be automatic deal breakers/non-starters for churches that we are considering joining? For example, if there is a large stained-glass image of Christ in the meeting place, or if it is an exclusive hymnody church, should those types of violations automatically exclude those churches from consideration? Are some RPW violations worse than others?
Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.