Regulative Principle

[InevitablyReformed]

I come from the LCMS and before a few months ago I had never heard of the Regulative Principle of Worship. Does anyone have any suggestions for a primer on this oft debated subject of which I am largely unaware?

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

I come from the LCMS and before a few months ago I had never heard of the Regulative Principle of Worship. Does anyone have any suggestions for a primer on this oft debated subject of which I am largely unaware?

Thanks,

Daniel

Daniel

Check out the sermon I linked by Carl Bogue in the other thread.

I have a book The Regulative Principle of Worship: Explained and Applied

 

[Zadok]

Daniel

As you study this issue please be aware that it is not that people understand the regulative principle (RP) in different ways and hence their disagreements. The RP can be easily stated and all parties who agree with it agree as to what it is. The differences arise from the understanding of how the principle should affect practice.

I may get shot down for stating this or even (this pic says burned alive to me- don't know about flaming Scot), but it appears to me that many on this board who hold to EP would accuse the non-EP of abandoning the RP - This is simplistic and may make for good rhetoric but one needs to examine the substance of the arguments very carefully.

Unfortunately for us non-EP people the majority of material in print is from the EP position and so one could easily come away with the impression that to be "Reformed" one must also hold to EP. This is simply not the case.

As to where Daniel Ritchie stands on issues - you'll have to pay the man to find out!

 

[InevitablyReformed]

Zadok,
What you are saying is that some folks say that the Reg. Pr. necessarily means EP? If so, why would they say that?

 

[InevitablyReformed]

Daniel,

I will check out that sermon. Thanks.

 

[DMcFadden]

I come from the LCMS and before a few months ago I had never heard of the Regulative Principle of Worship. Does anyone have any suggestions for a primer on this oft debated subject of which I am largely unaware?

Thanks,

Daniel

If you really want to understand the issue, I would encourage you to buy and read Daniel's book. He has done some good work and it is kind of cool to have a book by a PB brother. If you want a "textbook" summary in a nutshell, here is the Wikipedia beginning:

The regulative principle of worship is a 20th century term used for a teaching shared by Calvinists and Anabaptists on how the second commandment and the Bible orders public worship. The substance of the doctrine regarding worship is that only those elements that are instituted or appointed by command or example in the Bible are permissible in worship, or in other words, that God institutes in the Scriptures everything he requires for worship in the Church and that everything else is prohibited. The term "regulative principle" is less frequently broadened to apply to other areas such as church government (Thornwell, 1841-2), but in this sense it becomes synonymous with the principle of sola scriptura.

The regulative principle is often contrasted with the normative principle of worship which teaches that whatever is not prohibited in Scripture is permitted in worship, as long as it is agreeable to the peace and unity of the Church. In short, there must be agreement with the general practice of the Church and no prohibition in Scripture for whatever is done in worship.

. . . it finds expression in confessional documents such as the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the London Baptist Confession of Faith.

. . . Likewise, some have applied the regulative principle to argue for exclusive psalmody, which allows for singing only from the Book of Psalms and excludes any hymns or other non-Biblical songs. Many early Calvinists eschewed musical instruments and advocated exclusive psalmody in worship, and this practice typified Presbyterians and other Reformed and Calvinist churches for some time.

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

Daniel

As you study this issue please be aware that it is not that people understand the regulative principle (RP) in different ways and hence their disagreements. The RP can be easily stated and all parties who agree with it agree as to what it is. The differences arise from the understanding of how the principle should affect practice.

I may get shot down for stating this or even , but it appears to me that many on this board who hold to EP would accuse the non-EP of abandoning the RP - This is simplistic and may make for good rhetoric but one needs to examine the substance of the arguments very carefully.

Unfortunately for us non-EP people the majority of material in print is from the EP position and so one could easily come away with the impression that to be "Reformed" one must also hold to EP. This is simply not the case.

As to where Daniel Ritchie stands on issues - you'll have to pay the man to find out!

Although I am EP, I would not accuse all non-EP people of abandoning the RPW.

 

[Staphlobob]

Hello Daniel. Welcome to Reformed theology. I too come from a Lutheran background (though a pagan one - elca). As you study the RP you will be starting on a wonderful adventure into the thoughts and history of some wonderful theologians and theology. The study of the RP was a real eye-opener for me.

Though my wife is still liturgically-oriented, she and I are increasingly discussing it. In fact, she recently removed all my old vestments and put them away as she finally realized I'm no longer in need of such things.

Welcome!

 

[Zadok]

Zadok,
What you are saying is that some folks say that the Reg. Pr. necessarily means EP? If so, why would they say that?

They say it because in the application of the RP to songs/music (and only these aspects) in worship services they want to apply an even narrower criteria. This narrower criteria is what the argument is over.

Remember no one holding to RP says that we should not sing Psalms, the argument is whether we should sing nothing but the Psalms - and don't be intimidated by some who make the case in the form of "inspired praise vs uninspired praise" - Any person who has a high regard for the Bible as the Word of God would immediately feel that somehow they were betraying the Bible by singing "uninspired" songs!

 

[Zadok]

Although I am EP, I would not accuse all non-EP people of abandoning the RPW.

Glad to hear it Daniel.

I for my part can equally say that I do not accuse EPers of abandoning the RPW.

 

[Quickened]

I recommend a book called

The Worship of God: Reformed Concepts of Biblical Worship

I started reading it to shed some light on this same issue. Pretty helpful so far

 

[InevitablyReformed]

Thanks to all of you gentleman for responding. I look forward to studying this topic.

Daniel

 

[AV1611]

I come from the LCMS and before a few months ago I had never heard of the Regulative Principle of Worship. Does anyone have any suggestions for a primer on this oft debated subject of which I am largely unaware?

A talk I gave a few months ago:

The Regulative Principle of Worship Explained​

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.” - Psalm 115:1
​

In this talk I am going to be answering the question “what are we to do in the worship of God?” In answering this question I shall;

first, define the principle by which this question is answered and demonstrate it from Scripture;

second, I shall differentiate between the elements of worship, the circumstances of worship and forms of worship;

So first, what is the Regulative Principle of Worship? The regulative principle can be defined very simply as “Whatsoever is not commanded [“either expressly set down in Scripture (command or example), or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture” (WCF i.6)] is forbidden”. We can also look to the Westminster Confession of Faith where we find it defined thus:

“the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited to His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men…or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.” (WCF xxi.1)​

There are a large number of Scriptural proofs for this principle but I shall focus upon four. The first is Exodus 20:4-6 which reads

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”​

We should note that the underlying principle upon which this commandment rests is that God alone has the right to determine how he is to be worshipped, but in case this is not immediately apparent it is also taught by the very words of the command – “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness”.

· The verb (doing word) “to make” could also be translated as “to appoint” or “to constitute”.
· The phrase “unto thee” means “for yourself”.
· Therefore: “You shall not appoint for yourself…“
· The meaning is quite clear, we are forbidden from devising worship of our own invention for by the terms “graven image” and “likeness” we find the forbidding of all contrary means of worship by means of a synecdoche (putting a part for the whole).

This is summarized by Answer 109 of the Westminster Larger Catechism:

“The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and anywise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; …the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshipping of it, or God in it or by it”​

So we find Thomas Watson writing, “Idolatry is to worship a false god, or the true God in a false manner”.

The second proof comes from Leviticus 10:1-3 which reads

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.”​

In these verses we find two priests offering fire to Jehovah. We are also told that this offering was not commanded by God hence its being called “strange fire”. God’s response was quick for immediately he sent fire from heaven and consumed both priests. Because these were both sons of Aaron Moses explains to Aaron why Jehovah did what he did. The reason was that they had not sanctified God in their hearts and had rather offered him a worship of their own devising. What is also important to note is how Aaron’s response was the humble acceptation of God’s explanation. Calvin notes well that “if we reflect how holy a thing God’s worship is, the enormity of the punishment will by no means offend us.” “Their crime is specified, viz., that they offered incense in a different way from that which God had prescribed…Let us learn, therefore, so to attend to God’s command as not to corrupt His worship by any strange inventions.”

The third proof is Deuteronomy 12:32 which reads

“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”​

The meaning of this text is self evident and so I will simply quote John Calvin who writes, “In this brief clause he [Moses] teaches that no other service of God is lawful, except that of which He has testified His approval in His word, and that obedience is as it were the mother of piety; as if he had said that all modes of devotion are absurd and infected with superstition, which are not directed by this rule…By forbidding the addition, or diminishing of anything, he plainly condemns as illegitimate whatever men invent of their own imagination; whence it follows that they, who in worshipping God are guided by any rule save that which He Himself has prescribed, make to themselves false gods…”

My final proof is 1 Kings 12:25-13:1-3 (Cf. 2 Kings 23:15) I will not read it all out for the sake of time but highlight the key points:

“And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah [i.e. the Feast of Tabernacles], and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”​

You will recall that the kingdom of Israel has split with Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) ruling over the southern tribe of Judah and Jeroboam ruling over the northern ten tribes. According to the law, male Jews were required to go to the temple in Jerusalem to worship three-times each year (Deuteronomy 16:16 [Unleavened Bread (7), Weeks (1), and Tabernacles (7) = 15 days])

Jerusalem was of course in Judah and Jeroboam was worried that faithful Jews would go to Jerusalem to worship and this would lead to his downfall. Jeroboam’s response was to

· Create images and set up altars before them.
· Build a temple
· Create his own priesthood.
· Ordain a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month.

Ultimately Jeroboam created a system of worship not commanded by God. Note that this was not a first commandment issue but a second commandment issue for the Jews were going to worship Jehovah by means of this new ceremonial system.

How then does God respond? Immediately God sends a prophet who prophesied against the altar and ultimately God’s response was to raise up Josiah of whom we read in 2 Kings 23:15, 20 where it says “Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men’s bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.” From this we learn that God is not pleased with the worship of men that they have devised with their own hearts.

Foundational distinctions
I shall now distinguish between elements, circumstances and forms of worship,

Elements of worship
An element of worship is that which the worship of God actually consists of, or, that which constitutes worship, the substance of worship. Specifically the elements of the ordinary religious worship of God are:

1. “Prayer, with thanksgiving” (WCF xxi.3)
2. “The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear;” (WCF xxi.5)
3. “The sound preaching of the Word” (WCF xxi.5)
4. “Conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence;” (WCF xxi.5)
5. “Singing of psalms with grace in the heart;” (WCF xxi.5) and,
6. “The due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ” (WCF xxi.5)

To which should be added
(1) the collection for the poor (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2),
(2) a ministerial blessing (Numbers 6:23-27; 2 Corinthians 13:14), and

Circumstances of worship
A circumstance of worship is something “common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed” (WCF i.6). By this is meant those things needful to facilitate the worship of God and/or those things that are to accompany the worship of God but do not, in and of themselves, formally constitute worship. There are two types of circumstances, the first are regulated and the second are unregulated.

Regulated circumstances of worship
These are circumstances that are regulated by God and include:
(1) The Sabbath day or Lord’s Day (Genesis 2:2, 3; Exodus 20:8-11; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10);
(2) Headcovering (1 Corinthians 11:1-16);
(3) Women in silence (1 Corinthians 14:34, 35); and,
(4) Ministry, i.e. only men who have been ordained can preach and publicly read the Scriptures (1 Timothy 2:11-15).
(5) Weekly communion.

Unregulated circumstances of worship
Unregulated circumstances would include:
(1) The time the services are held;
(2) The seating used; and,
(3) The building, or, where the service is held.

Forms of worship
A form of worship is simply the means by which the elements are ordered within a service. The regulative principle will regulate the form of worship insofar as it regulates the elements that the form contains.

Summary
So to summarise, the true worship of God is appointed by God alone and comprises of:

(1) Reading Scripture;
(2) Preaching Scripture;
(3) Hearing Scripture;
(4) Singing Scripture (i.e. the psalms);
(5) Praying Scripture (i.e. patterned upon the Lord’s Prayer); and,
(6) Seeing Scripture (i.e. the administration of the ‘visible words’ or sacraments).

 

[Zadok]

A talk I gave a few months ago....

Hi Richard - have you ever been to the Met Tab? I'm just trying to figure out if we have met.

Where did you give the talk and how did it go down?

Are you a preacher?