Reformation Sunday and the RPW

[BGF]

Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, etc. Many on this board see the observation of these holidays and seasons as a violation of the Regulative Principle of Worship, and I am very sympathetic to that view. With the advent (pun intended) of Reformation Sunday. What justification is there for the observation of this day in light of the RPW? I view the practice favorably but wonder if I'm inconsistent in my thinking.

If you argue against the celebration of man made holidays, what is the justification for celebrating this one?

 

[Bill The Baptist]

The reason that many do not observe days like Christmas and Easter is because these man-made holidays have been elevated to the status of "holy" days, and the reason that many choose not to observe Halloween is because it openly celebrates evil. As long as such occasions avoid these pitfalls, there is nothing inherently wrong with observing a special day. I doubt many would object to observing a day such as Independence Day or Memorial Day precisely because they manage to avoid those things. The only trouble I can see with such a day is that it is apparently on Sunday. We must be careful not to distract from what we have already been commanded regarding the Sabbath, and I can see how Reformation Sunday might do just that.

 

[MW]

If you argue against the celebration of man made holidays, what is the justification for celebrating this one?

I think Reformation Day arose in Lutheran and Reformed communions which already accepted the observance of holy days.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

From the Directory for the Publick Worship of God

Concerning the Observation of Days of Publick Thanksgiving.

WHEN any such day is to be kept, let notice be given of it, and of the occasion thereof, some convenient time before, that the people may the better prepare themselves thereunto.

The day being come, and the congregation (after private preparations) being assembled, the minister is to begin with a word of exhortation, to stir up the people to the duty for which they are met, and with a short prayer for God's assistance and blessing, (as at other conventions for publick worship,) according to the particular occasion of their meeting.

 

[earl40]

From the Directory for the Publick Worship of God

Concerning the Observation of Days of Publick Thanksgiving.

WHEN any such day is to be kept, let notice be given of it, and of the occasion thereof, some convenient time before, that the people may the better prepare themselves thereunto.

The day being come, and the congregation (after private preparations) being assembled, the minister is to begin with a word of exhortation, to stir up the people to the duty for which they are met, and with a short prayer for God's assistance and blessing, (as at other conventions for publick worship,) according to the particular occasion of their meeting.

So would this in your mind be justification for a yearly event? If so why not Christmas and Easter?

 

[BGF]

From the Directory for the Publick Worship of God

Concerning the Observation of Days of Publick Thanksgiving.

WHEN any such day is to be kept, let notice be given of it, and of the occasion thereof, some convenient time before, that the people may the better prepare themselves thereunto.

The day being come, and the congregation (after private preparations) being assembled, the minister is to begin with a word of exhortation, to stir up the people to the duty for which they are met, and with a short prayer for God's assistance and blessing, (as at other conventions for publick worship,) according to the particular occasion of their meeting.

So would this in your mind be justification for a yearly event? If so why not Christmas and Easter?

Earl,

I was thinking along the same lines. When does an occasional call for a thanksgiving assembly become an expected yearly observance?

 

[MW]

So would this in your mind be justification for a yearly event? If so why not Christmas and Easter?

There is no justification for an annual day of ecclesiastical thanksgiving. The divines were speaking of thanksgiving which followed individual providential occurrences, just as with days of humiliation.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

We don't fast annually for some providence that no longer is occurring.

 

[MW]

Jeremiah Burroughs, Exposition of Hosea (1643), 409: "Though men may thus depute and appoint days to worship God, yet they cannot state any such days, but as God’s providence permits, according to the present occasion. Therefore it would be a sin for a state to appoint nominally a day for religious fasting: God did so, but men have no power to do so, because they do not know but God may call them to rejoicing upon that day, they have not knowledge of the times. All that we can do is this, when God calls us to fasting, we must appoint days of fasting; when God calls us to rejoicing, we must appoint days of rejoicing. Therefore to appoint the time of Lent as a religious fast is sinful, and the statute itself threatens a mulct upon that man who shall call it a religious fast: stated fasts, which are not limited by Providence, are certainly evil. The monthly fasts now enjoined, if we should say we will have them once a month till this day twelvemonths, or two years, I persuade myself the state should sin; but to have it as long as God’s hand is upon us, as long as the occasion lasts, and God’s providence calls us to it, is justifiable."

 

[TylerRay]

I agree with Bill that "Reformation Sunday" distracts from the Sabbath. "Reformation Day" (observed around the 31st, but not on the Sabbath) is not as dangerous, but it still makes me wary. It's probably unwise to multiply annual celebrations in the modern West, where there is so much confusion about holy days.

 

[earl40]

As a side note why would we celebrate Reformation Day in that it appears the time of great reformation has passed? Maybe we could have a call to mourn the state of the church in that the majority of it knows as much about the reformation as I do about Quantum physics. I was speaking to a coworker yesterday about so called holy days and said that if I was in mourning during a holy day and wanted to cry while others celebrate I would be looked upon as acting inappropriate. Now if I am sad I can weep in church on His Holy Day and not be looked at as if I had 3 eyes. Not so if I am at a service that is designated a celebration. Our Lord gave us the one day a week to act and be human before Him which can entail both mirth and joy. I can attest that I loved being in church on Sunday while I mourned the death of my loved ones and I had no one look at me as if I was crazy because I was in mourning. This simply does not happen with so called holy day celebrations.

 

[jwithnell]

We enjoy warm fellowship around a meal, then have a huge worship service with brothers from surrounding congregations. How in the world does that detract from the sabbath?

 

[alexandermsmith]

The problem is in the fact the Sabbath is the day for the regular, public worship of God; not for man-made celebrations. I don't think it matters if what one is celebrating is a good thing: the Sabbath is not for that. Our upcoming Communion Season will be over the weekend which includes Remembrance "Sunday" (the Sabbath closest to the 11th of November, Armistice Day), commemorating the end of WW2. This happens every year. Now, commemorating the sacrifice and the bravery of those who fought and died protecting our country and other free countries in WW2 is a commendable thing to do, but it is not appropriate for the Sabbath, which is strictly regulated by the Word of God. We will not observe that commemoration because we are gathered to worship God as He has appointed (beside the fact that we are commemorating an infinitely greater and more efficacious sacrifice). The Sabbath is the Lord's Day: it is the one day of the week He has reserved for Himself and for His people to worship Him. It is not for us to start "doubling up" celebrations- of whatever kind- on His day because, as is often the case, it's convenient (we'll get a bigger crowd than during a weekday; captive audience) or even if it's "religious". Man-made celebrations/remembrances should be kept for the six days which God has given us for our own labour and recreation. This is where the RPW becomes so valuable: it makes us analyse whether what we're doing, even if it's "religious" or commendable, is something which God Himself has asked and commanded of us. Fallen man is always tempted to add to and tweak the worship of God, thinking he will make it more appealing, more appropriate, or even to celebrate worthy things/events; this tendency is to be resisted. It is not what God has commanded.

I think that is a very good point in relation to appointing annual events/celebrations divorced from providence. It is quite appropriate for a church body to appoint a day of fasting, or thanksgiving, or humiliation and prayer in response to a particular act of providence, or act of a nation's government, or at a time of war &c. but these should be on an "ad hoc" basis, as deemed appropriate at the time.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I'm curious if most of you don't celebrate Thanksgiving for the same reasons articulated.

Incidentally, I'm not arguing for it to disrupt the normal worship of God. I don't think anyone is calling it a holy day or a day that is required to be remembered. Whether it qualifies formally for a day of Thanksgiving. No Churches are making it a stated worship service where people are expected to attend. I find it interesting that the Puritans regularly practiced preaching outside of stated worship services but that when people want to voluntarily (not under compulsion) gather for a service outside of stated worship to gather to remember the Reformation that we're calling it a holy day. It seems like a category error to me.

What's the fundamental difference between people meeting in a home after Church to give the day over to the Lord and gathering together later as regional Churches (that only occurs very infrequently) to have fellowship and a time of worship?

Would there even be, in some minds, any reason why local congregations ought to be encouraged to gather together on an annual or semi-annual basis to worship together or are we making it a "holy day" any time we do that? I'm seriously asking becaus, universally, everyone who attends talks about what a blessing it is to spend time together as a broader Church (since we're not Baptists) and the desire to do it more often. Nobody is compelled to come but it seems as if, for some, the mere mention of any kind of regular gathering of Churches becomes, de facto, a "holy day" and we're crypto-Anglican because we desire to gather together for a time of worship.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Is what is described below a "Holy Day"?

Prophesyings

A third form of Puritan preaching was the prophesyings—also called “exercises” or “godly exercises.” Prophesyings were a kind of biblical conference or form of continuing education for the ministers.27 Though the forms varied in different localities, prophesyings were held at centrally located churches where three to six ministers would preach on the same text, moving from the youngest to the oldest. The last preacher would summarize the findings and emphasize the practical “uses” of the doctrines that were expounded. A senior moderator would then lead a session critiquing the sermons. In these “iron-sharpens-iron” sessions, ministers could hone their exegetical and preaching skills.
From the early 1570s on, the public was invited to some of these preaching seminars, since they too had a passion for sound preaching. Not all ministers were in favor of this practice, however. Francis Bacon (1561–1626) later wrote, “I know that prophesyings were subject to great abuse, and would be more abused now; because heat of contentions is increased. But I say the only reason of the abuse was, because there was admitted to it a popular auditory, and it was not contained within a private conference of ministers.”28 The public—sometimes as many as a few hundred—sat in the back of a conference, usually with the Geneva Bible open on their laps, looking up each text cited by the ministers. Afterward, they often could ask questions that the ministers would answer. Sometimes, however, they were excluded from the critiquing sessions so they would not intimidate ministers whose sermons were being “censured.”
The scriptural precedent for prophesyings was 1 Corinthians 14:29, 31, which says, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.… For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” These prophesyings, which started in the 1520s in Zurich, were imported by the early Puritans in the 1550s, used extensively at Christ’s College by Laurence Chaderton (c. 1536–1640), and soon proliferated in several counties in England. They grew out of a need for Puritan ministers to improve their preaching, though they were sometimes initiated by bishops who felt the need to remedy “ignorant preaching.” The prophesyings reached their peak in the mid-1570s. In 1577, against the advice of Archbishop Grindal, Queen Elizabeth—who viewed the prophesyings as a threat to her control of state and church—encouraged her bishops to prohibit them.29 In this, she was only partially successful; some prophesyings continued into the reign of King James I, particularly where bishops tolerated them.30


Beeke, J. R., & Jones, M. (2012). A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (pp. 703–704). Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books.

 

[Clark-Tillian]

We do not observe it with other churches, and I rarely even mention it--maybe I'll recall once every 6-7 years. I do schedule "A Mighty Fortress most years, but mostly as an afterthought and because it's a good hymn that we sing well. If a church in the West does utilize it today it should be in sackcloth and ashes because the Church is in disrepair. To The Torah!

 

[earl40]

I'm curious if most of you don't celebrate Thanksgiving for the same reasons articulated.

What I do this time a year is enjoy the family get together and am grateful to The Lord He has allowed me to enjoy this time via the sinful proclamation of this day by the magistrate being set apart....every year. Now in saying this what The Pilgrims did was to have that first thanksgiving which specifically celebrated the providence at that time. Now someone can correct me if I remember incorrectly that the first Puritans did not last too long here in the USA and maybe we could have called for a time of mourning for them after they vanished? Of course hard to do if hardly anybody is left to mourn. So am not I celebrating "Thanksgiving" officially but am grateful to the Lord for providing myself with a day off of work (sometimes) though my wife and the ladies do not celebrate it to the extent I do because I enjoy the fruit of their labor which I would happily give up if they wished.

 

[alexandermsmith]

To me the issue isn't one of making it a "holy day": churches are free to organise lectures, conferences &c. as they see fit. The issue is the Sabbath. People should only be going to other people's homes on the Sabbath if they have been in the public worship together. Meeting up with others, especially for events, becomes social visiting which is not for the Sabbath, if we follow the teaching of the Westminster Standards on the keeping and sanctification of the Sabbath.

Preaching outside the public worship service is different: it is the primary means of grace, and there is Biblical precedent for "street preaching". Of course great wisdom and discernment is necessary when approaching such a task.

But I see no reason why these celebrations need to be held on a Sabbath. It is not a Biblically mandated service/event therefore it should be kept to those days which God has given us for our own labour and recreation.

But there is also a lot to the point that what do we actually have to celebrate, when the church has fallen into such a dismal state? If our churches were full of the same spirit and spirituality of the Reformers and the Puritans and the older godly generations I have the feeling we wouldn't need an annual day to celebrate the Reformation: we would be living it out in our lives, in our congregations and denominations on a daily basis.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

But there is also a lot to the point that what do we actually have to celebrate, when the church has fallen into such a dismal state?

The issue is not whether the past is being celebrated or whether the Church at large is in a healthy state. Most Reformation Day services I've been involved in are times not where we're celebrating things being in a good state but an opportunity for the people gathered to be reminded of Reformational principles. It's a time to be reminded of Semper Reformanda and that the Church needs to stay true to the principles recovered in the Reformation.

I guess I'm having a hard time seeing that members of several Churches desiring to gather on the Lord's Day at a Church is inappropriate where the only appropriate use of the time is private or family meditation throughout the day. People gathering to hear someone preach about the nature of faith or grace doesn't seem to me to be a violation of the day being given to the Lord. Again, nobody is binding the conscience that they must use that time on the Sabbath to attend the service but it does afford opportunity for the regional Church members to gather in one place to worship. I get the impression from some that the very idea that Churches could gather is the establishment of a holy day even if it didn't occur on the Sabbath.

 

[Clark-Tillian]

To me the issue isn't one of making it a "holy day": churches are free to organise lectures, conferences &c. as they see fit. The issue is the Sabbath. People should only be going to other people's homes on the Sabbath if they have been in the public worship together. Meeting up with others, especially for events, becomes social visiting which is not for the Sabbath, if we follow the teaching of the Westminster Standards on the keeping and sanctification of the Sabbath.

Preaching outside the public worship service is different: it is the primary means of grace, and there is Biblical precedent for "street preaching". Of course great wisdom and discernment is necessary when approaching such a task.

But I see no reason why these celebrations need to be held on a Sabbath. It is not a Biblically mandated service/event therefore it should be kept to those days which God has given us for our own labour and recreation.

But there is also a lot to the point that what do we actually have to celebrate, when the church has fallen into such a dismal state? If our churches were full of the same spirit and spirituality of the Reformers and the Puritans and the older godly generations I have the feeling we wouldn't need an annual day to celebrate the Reformation: we would be living it out in our lives, in our congregations and denominations on a daily basis.

Alexander, as I mentioned, the church I serve doesn't participate in "group church gatherings" on this Sunday, and I rarely mention it. However, I recall Missouri Presbytery many moons ago (late 90's early 00's) having massive gatherings in one of the larger churches on that Sabbath evening. The worship was marvelous, the preaching sound, the service twice as long as usual, and it wasn't a "celebration" of any sort. Maybe you've picked up the wrong impression of what occurs here in the States--in the NAPARC world. Actually, I've never been to a Reformation Sunday service in a NAPARC church that was anything but a normal Sabbath service. The preaching was always Word faithful and not man-centered, nor "holy day" centered.

 

[earl40]

The issue is not whether the past is being celebrated or whether the Church at large is in a healthy state. Most Reformation Day services I've been involved in are times not where we're celebrating things being in a good state but an opportunity for the people gathered to be reminded of Reformational principles. It's a time to be reminded of Semper Reformanda and that the Church needs to stay true to the principles recovered in the Reformation.

So we have a pastor give an "optional" call to worship?

I guess I'm having a hard time seeing that members of several Churches desiring to gather on the Lord's Day at a Church is inappropriate where the only appropriate use of the time is private or family meditation throughout the day. People gathering to hear someone preach about the nature of faith or grace doesn't seem to me to be a violation of the day being given to the Lord. Again, nobody is binding the conscience that they must use that time on the Sabbath to attend the service but it does afford opportunity for the regional Church members to gather in one place to worship. I get the impression from some that the very idea that Churches could gather is the establishment of a holy day even if it didn't occur on the Sabbath.

If members of several churches gather around every year to celebrate reformation day may I ask what is the difference between that and gathering every year on easter Sunday? In my most humble opinion this is establishing a certain day above and apart from the other Sundays. Now I understand you believe this would be optional, though the option is if one does not go they would be missing out on something special, which if The Lord wanted His children to attend it would be sinful in of itself. It is clear what Our Lord wants or requires of us, and "optional" attendance is based on the will or preference of individuals.

PS. I am not one of the "some" who would say if a group of churches wanted to gather during the week to worship is sinful. To pray for a particular providential working of God when circumstance call for such is I believe a pastors prerogative. Though I would feel and think I missed a grace of God that I should not have missed and may I ask.....is that a good thing?

 

[Semper Fidelis]

So, as long as there is no planned regularity to it and the Churches make sure they are completely random about when they decide to get together to have a service where all the Churches are invited then it's OK? Perhaps a random number generator where the month and day are picked (excluding when it falls on Sunday) so as to avoid any taint that it might become a holy day of obligation?

The point to the service is like any other gathering at a Church outside of the appointed time for worship. One can preach outside of the normal Sunday morning worship service (and even have a call to worship) without it being Sunday worship where members are expected to gather weekly on the Lord's Day.

Presbytery meetings are once a quarter here and any/all are welcome to attend. There is a worship service (with preaching since some men have to be examined on their preaching). Only members of the Presbytery and commissioners must request an excused absence. Is the fact that this is predictable and once a quarter now a "holy day"? I might add that both Presbytery meetings (and the General Assembly) worship services are quite profitable but I would not presume to say that those who do not attend are sinning because they have the option to not make it to these services.

 

[Captain Picard]

I already posted the "I'm not opposed, generally speaking" thing on the Halloween thread, so I suppose my thoughts here and there could be merged. I don't see anything wrong with a mention of the Reformation on the nearest Sunday, or an observation in thanksgiving of the day as long as it is severed from superstitious practices or matters of explicit sin. Certainly to observe it in the way Rome does its fasts and feasts would be wrong, but I don't think my bible study watching a movie and fellowshipping in observation of the day is a superstitious holy day.

And, in passing, I have to say, saying we shouldn't be celebrating the providence of the Reformation because it "isn't happening anymore" is kind of odd to me. Is the true bride of Christ not "semper reformanda"? Do the ripples in history cast by the Reformation still have benefits for us and our descendants?

 

[earl40]

So, as long as there is no planned regularity to it and the Churches make sure they are completely random about when they decide to get together to have a service where all the Churches are invited then it's OK? Perhaps a random number generator where the month and day are picked (excluding when it falls on Sunday) so as to avoid any taint that it might become a holy day of obligation?

The point to the service is like any other gathering at a Church outside of the appointed time for worship. One can preach outside of the normal Sunday morning worship service (and even have a call to worship) without it being Sunday worship where members are expected to gather weekly on the Lord's Day.

Presbytery meetings are once a quarter here and any/all are welcome to attend. There is a worship service (with preaching since some men have to be examined on their preaching). Only members of the Presbytery and commissioners must request an excused absence. Is the fact that this is predictable and once a quarter now a "holy day"? I might add that both Presbytery meetings (and the General Assembly) worship services are quite profitable but I would not presume to say that those who do not attend are sinning because they have the option to not make it to these services.

When you gather for Presbytery meetings is this not an orderly thing where you ask God to bless your meeting at that particular time and do so withing the context of a service? This may be appropriate to do, in the providence of God, for that time you meet. Of course I am sure there are others here that have thought about this more deeply than I have, though I know that the idea of a reformation day celebration service every year is no different in my mind than christmas and easter. May I ask why one would need an excuse to not attend the service at Presbytery? There may be a reason which I am not aware of that is derived from scripture.

 

[earl40]

Do the ripples in history cast by the Reformation still have benefits for us and our descendants?

As a former RC I can say each and every day, especially on Sunday, I think of this and thank God for The Reformation.

 

[Captain Picard]

Do the ripples in history cast by the Reformation still have benefits for us and our descendants?

As a former RC I can say each and every day, especially on Sunday, I think of this and thank God for The Reformation.

Praise God for *former* RCs, myself included.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

When you gather for Presbytery meetings is this not an orderly thing where you ask God to bless your meeting at that particular time and do so withing the context of a service? This may be appropriate to do, in the providence of God, for that time you meet. Of course I am sure there are others here that have thought about this more deeply than I have, though I know that the idea of a reformation day celebration service every year is no different in my mind than christmas and easter. May I ask why one would need an excuse to not attend the service at Presbytery? There may be a reason which I am not aware of that is derived from scripture.

There is a worship service before the Presbytery meeting. I don't know where you got the idea that I was calling for a disorderly worship service.

The point is that a worship service occurs once a quarter before the Presbytery meeting. It is not therefore, by definition, a holy day, because the time for each Presbytery meeting is set in our Presbytery's Bylaws.

It's not so much being excused from worship, per se, but the Presbytery meeting itself. All members of Presbytery (namely TE's) are required to attend Presbytery meetings or seek an excused absence. They are not required to seek an excused absence from the worship service that precedes the Presbytery meeting. It is profitable for them to be there and we're often hearing either a potential licentiate or ordinand preach so we can evaluate his preaching as he'll either be approved/disapproved later that day in the meeting.

The larger issue is that it is an example of a regular gathering of people for the purposes of worship that is not at the appointed Lord's Day time that is not something that every member of every Church in the area is required to attend although they are perfectly welcome to attend and it might be profitable for them to do so. It is not a "holy day" because it occurs with regularity.

As for Christmas and Easter, the idea that every yearly or semiannual opportunity that a Church sets up to invite other Churches to gather for a time of worship together is, by extension, equivalent is a category error. As I said earlier, even if everyone was eager to get all the Churches together for a time of worship at some agreed upon time every year outside of weekly corporate worship then it could never happen, by definition, because it has to be viewed as a holy day. This logic is patently absurd. I don't see any reason why quarterly Presbytery worship services are not, by definition, caught up in the same category if this is true.

The 4th Commandment requires weekly gathering of the people for worship. There is a requirement for all, if able, to attend to worship God with the people of God on the Lord's Day.

 

[earl40]

I don't know where you got the idea that I was calling for a disorderly worship service.

I apologize if you saw I did such. I simply meant to covey that the regular call to worship every quarter is simply out of the ordinary day Our Lord appoints.

 

[earl40]

Jeremiah Burroughs, Exposition of Hosea (1643), 409: "Though men may thus depute and appoint days to worship God, yet they cannot state any such days, but as God’s providence permits, according to the present occasion. Therefore it would be a sin for a state to appoint nominally a day for religious fasting: God did so, but men have no power to do so, because they do not know but God may call them to rejoicing upon that day, they have not knowledge of the times. All that we can do is this, when God calls us to fasting, we must appoint days of fasting; when God calls us to rejoicing, we must appoint days of rejoicing. Therefore to appoint the time of Lent as a religious fast is sinful, and the statute itself threatens a mulct upon that man who shall call it a religious fast: stated fasts, which are not limited by Providence, are certainly evil. The monthly fasts now enjoined, if we should say we will have them once a month till this day twelvemonths, or two years, I persuade myself the state should sin; but to have it as long as God’s hand is upon us, as long as the occasion lasts, and God’s providence calls us to it, is justifiable."

I can see where the state can do such as providence lasts. So what about how the quarterly worship services the church calls to the pastors every quarter? Of course I ask as one who is not an officer in the church but I suppose there may be a history of pastors gathering and worshipping before the gathering, and if so was there any disagreement if this ought to be done? Maybe Pastor Strange would have some thoughts on this with his background.

 

[bookslover]

Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, etc. Many on this board see the observation of these holidays and seasons as a violation of the Regulative Principle of Worship, and I am very sympathetic to that view. With the advent (pun intended) of Reformation Sunday. What justification is there for the observation of this day in light of the RPW? I view the practice favorably but wonder if I'm inconsistent in my thinking.

If you argue against the celebration of man made holidays, what is the justification for celebrating this one?

Getting back to the OP: Doesn't the RPW only apply specifically to what goes on during a stated Lord's Day worship service? If so, then I don't see how it can be applied to making declarations, one way or the other, about Christmas, Easter, etc.