Dr. Bob Gonzales
Puritan Board Junior
I've noted a slight variance in wording between the WCF and the Savoy/LBCF on their respective chapters dealing with "Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience." I'll cite the relevant portions, which come from paragraph 2:
WCF
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word, or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship ....
Savoy/LBCF
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left if free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any thing contrary to his Word, or not contained in it ....
The WCF appears to refer to a broader and a more narrow principle--one that applies to all of life and another that applies to worship. I've heard some appeal to the phrase in the WCF as the basis for the RPW. I guess it's possible that the framers of the Savoy (which the LBCF followed) intended their alternative phrase "or not contained in it" to refer more specifically to the context of corporate worship. But my real question is whether the RPW is set forth in the confessions as a normative principle that is distinct from sola Scriptura or whether it's merely an application of sola Scriptura to the context of corporate worship, which differs from other contexts of life. In other words, are the confessions positing something like solo Scriptura for worship in the narrow sense (i.e., corporate worship) and sola Scriptura for worship as a way of life? If so, are there particular proof texts that distinguish two different normative principles for the Christian life--one for worship in the narrower sense and another for worship in the broader sense?God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word, or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship ....
Savoy/LBCF
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left if free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any thing contrary to his Word, or not contained in it ....