austinbrown2
Puritan Board Freshman
I am currently wrestling with the EP no instrument position. As I listen to lectures and read literature certain questions come to mind that I would like interaction with.
Please consider the following point:
Point one: The basic contention of the cessation of instruments in public worship is as follows:
1. The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is affirmed.
2. Instruments were commanded by God to be used by the Levites.
3. The Levites were part of the Temple and sacrificial, ceremonial system.
4. This system has been fulfilled in Christ and the old way has therefore passed away.
5. There is no command to use instruments in the public worship of God.
6. Therefore, the Church is not to use instruments in the public worship of God.
One of the principle points of concern centers on the RPW and non-public worship. What is it that governs all non-public worship?
Is it:
(A) The RPW?
(B) Some other principle?
I would like to know what the implications are for answering with (A). Can we only sing Psalms for worship- in any context? And if we answer with (B), I would like to know how it is that the RPW doesn’t have dominion over non-public worship. The answer to this question will have direct bearing upon Point 2. This is to say that how one answers these questions may or may not highlight inconsistencies in their paradigm, or at least the application of their paradigm.
Point 2: How does one distinguish between commands or examples in the NT that pertain to public worship and commands or examples in the NT that pertain to non-public worship?
Why is the command to greet one another with a holy kiss not an element for public worship? (Rom_16:16; 1Co_16:20; 2Co_13:12; 1Th_5:26; 1Pe_5:14). Should women not braid their hair? (1 Timothy 2:9). Why don’t all men lift up holy hands when they pray? (1 Timothy 2:8). Why isn’t the Lord’s Supper observed in the midst of a meal? (1 Corinthians 11). Is weekly observance of the Lord's Supper an element? When an example can become normative, which is granted by those of the Psalms only no instrument position, the issue becomes highly complex. Of course, complexity doesn’t disprove a doctrine, but a failure to adequately provide a sound methodology which can handle the various strands of data might mean that doctrine is wanting.
Along these lines, how does one determine whether or not Ephesians 5:19 is for public worship or simply for non-public worship? Is there really a command to sing Psalms in public worship in the NT? And if Ephesians 5:19 is used to establish that Psalms are only meant, then why is it that non-public worship can sing non-Psalms for worship?
If we admit that non-public worship isn’t governed by the same standards as public worship, and we recognize that the NT doesn’t spell out with much regularity when it is talking about public worship and non-public worship, then might we wonder if the principles which govern non-public worship might actually apply to public worship in the NT? If this is so, and if the looser requirements for non-public worship are coordinate with public worship, methodologically speaking, and if instruments are permitted in non-public worship, then why not public worship? It may be the case that there has been a significant historical redemptive shift that can account and explain why the NT doesn’t legislate public worship in the same way that the OT prescribes various elements.
All of this points to what I think is a fundamental question. What is our methodology for distinguishing between public and non-public worship in the NT? How do we determine application of NT data and OT data for NT worship... and consistently?
Thank you,
Austin
Please consider the following point:
Point one: The basic contention of the cessation of instruments in public worship is as follows:
1. The Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is affirmed.
2. Instruments were commanded by God to be used by the Levites.
3. The Levites were part of the Temple and sacrificial, ceremonial system.
4. This system has been fulfilled in Christ and the old way has therefore passed away.
5. There is no command to use instruments in the public worship of God.
6. Therefore, the Church is not to use instruments in the public worship of God.
One of the principle points of concern centers on the RPW and non-public worship. What is it that governs all non-public worship?
Is it:
(A) The RPW?
(B) Some other principle?
I would like to know what the implications are for answering with (A). Can we only sing Psalms for worship- in any context? And if we answer with (B), I would like to know how it is that the RPW doesn’t have dominion over non-public worship. The answer to this question will have direct bearing upon Point 2. This is to say that how one answers these questions may or may not highlight inconsistencies in their paradigm, or at least the application of their paradigm.
Point 2: How does one distinguish between commands or examples in the NT that pertain to public worship and commands or examples in the NT that pertain to non-public worship?
Why is the command to greet one another with a holy kiss not an element for public worship? (Rom_16:16; 1Co_16:20; 2Co_13:12; 1Th_5:26; 1Pe_5:14). Should women not braid their hair? (1 Timothy 2:9). Why don’t all men lift up holy hands when they pray? (1 Timothy 2:8). Why isn’t the Lord’s Supper observed in the midst of a meal? (1 Corinthians 11). Is weekly observance of the Lord's Supper an element? When an example can become normative, which is granted by those of the Psalms only no instrument position, the issue becomes highly complex. Of course, complexity doesn’t disprove a doctrine, but a failure to adequately provide a sound methodology which can handle the various strands of data might mean that doctrine is wanting.
Along these lines, how does one determine whether or not Ephesians 5:19 is for public worship or simply for non-public worship? Is there really a command to sing Psalms in public worship in the NT? And if Ephesians 5:19 is used to establish that Psalms are only meant, then why is it that non-public worship can sing non-Psalms for worship?
If we admit that non-public worship isn’t governed by the same standards as public worship, and we recognize that the NT doesn’t spell out with much regularity when it is talking about public worship and non-public worship, then might we wonder if the principles which govern non-public worship might actually apply to public worship in the NT? If this is so, and if the looser requirements for non-public worship are coordinate with public worship, methodologically speaking, and if instruments are permitted in non-public worship, then why not public worship? It may be the case that there has been a significant historical redemptive shift that can account and explain why the NT doesn’t legislate public worship in the same way that the OT prescribes various elements.
All of this points to what I think is a fundamental question. What is our methodology for distinguishing between public and non-public worship in the NT? How do we determine application of NT data and OT data for NT worship... and consistently?
Thank you,
Austin