Affirmations and Denials
1. We affirm the clear teaching of Scripture that we live in a God-centered world, and that all of life is to be lived before God as an act of worship. We deny, however, that this statement fully and adequately defines all of man's duty to God in worship. The Scriptures and our confession of faith, the 1689 London Baptist Confession, clearly teach the place of public worship when the church gathers together on the Lord's Day.
2. We affirm the clear implications of sola scriptura for the regulative principle of worship.
The authority, infallibility, sufficiency and perspicuity of Scripture inform the Christian as to what pleases God in worship. We deny the role of man’s preference as a standard in these matters. Worship is always disciplined by theology, never determined by personal taste. It is not a matter of applied sociology.
3. We affirm that God may be approached in worship only through the means of his appointment, namely the merit of his Son. We deny that there are multiple approaches to God, and that man might find acceptance with God through one of them.
4. We affirm that the very elements of public worship are appointed and revealed, to which nothing can be added or subtracted if God is to be pleased. We deny that the circumstances of worship of God are so ordered. Elements are matters commanded by God in particular and are non-negotiable; circumstances are matters common to human societies in general and are changeable. Elements are fundamental to worship; circumstances are functional elements that allow it to take place. The distinction between elements and circumstances is clear; circumstances must never assume the status of elements.
5. We affirm that God regulates his worship by insisting upon the non-negotiable elements of worship. We deny that it is ever right to admit into the public worship of God elements because he has not forbidden them. Worship is always a matter of what God commands, never a matter of what he has not condemned. Worship is always a matter of what we must do, never a matter of what we may do.
6. We affirm that charity and liberty of conscience mandate a minimalist approach to worship. The Christian is free both from bondage to sin and the tyranny of men. He is free to serve and worship God. We deny the popular notion that love for brethren and liberty of conscience call for breadth and toleration in the public worship of God. Neither the church nor her officers can require of people in worship other than what God requires in his word.
7. We affirm that public worship is always a matter of edification, the means of which are ordained by God. We deny that public worship is ever a matter of entertainment, though in other contexts entertainment may be a legitimate pursuit.
8. We affirm that preaching is an element of public worship and its central feature. We deny that a music service is worship if preaching is ancillary to what transpires, that is, something added to it.
Questions
What are the various views on public worship? Do these alternate views endanger the confessional position on the regulative principle or do they merely reveal careless wording, ignorance, or inconsistency of thought?
There are three basic and historical views regarding how God may be worshiped. Though there are variations of those three views within each view, yet they may be grouped together under the three. They are 1) the inventive principle of worship. This is the view of Rome. It says that the church is free to establish the parameters of worship, hence the inventiveness of certain elements, like the mass, etc. The church may invent or create as it pleases. Authority resides in the church. Because Roman Catholicism recognizes the church and church tradition as an equal authority with the Bible, it is impossible to say that this is only careless wording or ignorance. It is most certainly a position that has been established with careful thought. This view cannot coexist with the regulative principle. It is antithetical to the regulative principle. 2) The normative principle. This view held most notably by Lutheranism and Anglicanism states that you may have in worship whatever God has expressly commanded plus whatever is not expressly forbidden. Included under this view of worship would be many of the elements of worship found in high church liturgy, the charismatic movement, modem day contemporary worship, seeker-sensitive worship, etc. Such elements would consist of drama, dance, performance oriented music, etc. The statement "God doesn't prohibit this practice," justifies many of these practices. That statement is a key to the normative principle. Those churches that hold to such practices in worship often de-emphasize the role of the Word of God in worship. It is not uncommon in such services to hear very little reading of the Word of God and little if any exposition of the Scripture. Many of the sermons, rather than being expositions of the Scripture are topical sermons directed toward "felt needs" of the individual. While one could in charity assume that there are those who have not studied this issue carefully and thus adopt the normative principle, or are inconsistent in their application of this principle, the key would be the response of those individuals when the clear teaching of Scripture is presented as it pertains to the regulative principle. Do they accept the teaching of Scripture in spite of established patterns or preferences or do they reject it? Unfortunately, because of emotional attachment to various worship forms and because of theological error, there are many who consciously reject the regulative principle in favor of the normative principle. 3) The regulative principle of worship. The regulative principle emphasizes the instituted elements of worship as the priority. Scripture reading, significant exposition of Scripture, prayers, congregational singing, the sacraments, etc., mark the priority of worship according to the regulative principle. Worship according to the regulative principle examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. It does not reject an old hymn simply because it is old nor does it reject new hymns and songs simply because they are new. Reformed hymnology was "new" when it was instituted. Worship according to the regulative principle does not jump on the bandwagon of high church liturgy, exclusive Psalmody, contemporary music, or normative additions of any kind from the motive of personal tastes. It examines the order, elements, priorities, and musical selections from a regulated biblical perspective. God regulates his worship. Worship is prescribed and commanded, and the elements of his worship are revealed.
What is the difference between what is essential (the elements) and what is circumstantial in public worship? What are those elements?
The elements of public worship are those parts of worship that are essential to the worship itself, those acts commanded by God in His word. They are non-negotiable. The elements are what constitute worship as worship. Those elements are 1) reading of the Scriptures, 2) preaching and hearing the Word of God, 3) singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, 4) prayer with thanksgiving for all things lawful, and 5) administration of the sacraments. These elements take place within the worship service itself and are directed toward God. The taking of an offering might be considered an element, since the Apostle Paul commands it of the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 16:2, "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come." On the other hand it might be considered under the category of things commanded of believers generally (like brotherly love, etc.).
The circumstances of worship are those functional aspects that enable worship to take place. They are "common to human actions and societies." They include place of meeting, time of day for the meeting, the choice of pews or chairs, electronic amplification of the voice, musical instruments used, length of service, the use of a bulletin or a hymnal, etc. ill the nature of the case, such circumstances will vary from country to country, season to season, and place to place. All circumstances must serve the elements, and must never be permitted to assume the status of elements. It is necessary to exercise great caution in this regard. Some have used the idea of circumstances to validate unbiblical elements of worship such as drama, dance, etc. It is necessary to keep clear the distinction between circumstances and elements lest we introduce into our worship elements that go beyond what God has commanded.
What principles must be used to determine what music is acceptable in public worship? What is the role of instrumentation in public worship? What can or should we say about music in worship other than congregational participation? What does the Confession teach or imply about participation or the participants? Why don't we sing only the psalms?
One of the great privileges of the people of God is that we are invited to sing praises to our great and glorious God. God has commanded that we sing praises to him, because it is pleasing to Him and in being pleasing to Him brings great pleasure as well to us. The elements of public worship do not appear because they please the worshipers but are included because they please God and yet in coming into His presence and fulfilling that which is pleasing to Him, we experience fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. In determining what music is acceptable in worship, we must acknowledge that the words that we sing ought to be as biblical as the prayers that we pray and the words that we preach. As we study the psalms we generally note that they possess certain qualities: God-centeredness, dignity, biblical ideas, theme, order, resolution, etc. The hymns and songs we sing should follow that pattern. The Statement of Principle for Music in the Church, taken from the Christian Reformed Psalter Hymnal (Grand Rapids: CRC Publications, 1988, pp .11-15) gives some very useful guidelines in this regard. It states the following:
1. The music of the church should represent the full range of the revelation of God.
2. The service of music should contribute to the service of the word.
3. The poetry of the songs should be good poetry; it should not have to rely upon the music to carry it.
4. The music of the songs should be artistically defensible as good music; it should not have to rely upon the words to carry it.
5. The poetry of the songs should be true to the inspired Word. Such poetry at the same time must be free from the defects of artificiality and sentimentality. The poetry should be genuinely expressive of religious experience, but should be in harmony with the whole counsel of God.
6. The music should be suitable to the scriptural text to which it has been adapted.
7. Music of the church. . . [should not] suggest places and occasions other than the church and worship. . . lest a secular association with the music interfere with the worshiper's service.
8. The music of the church should be expressive of our Reformed tradition.
The primary role of music in worship is for the congregation to express praise and worship to God. Consequently the music of worship should be primarily geared toward congregational participation. The Apostle Paul, in Colossians 3: 16, commands that the members of the church "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." This would imply that the predominance of the music in the worship service should be of the nature of congregational participation. According to this text, the songs that are sung should have three elements, 1) giving of praise and thanksgiving to God, 2) teaching of theological truth, and 3) exhortation of one another. Hymns, both old and new, seem to fulfill this requirement. Simply because a hymn is new does not make it of lesser quality than an older hymn, nor does the fact that it is new make it of higher quality. A hymn, regardless of when written, should conform to the high musical standards fitting for the worship of God and the theological standards of Scripture. Though less traditional forms of music, if used judiciously, may be appropriate, great care and caution is urged to ensure that the congregation in its corporate praise conforms to the biblical parameters fitting for the worship of God. Thus it would be more appropriate to use them in conjunction with the fuller theological concepts embodied in the hymns and psalms. It is not our view that the regulative principle requires exclusive psalmody. The Scriptures record prayers, include sermons, reveal God's word and will. But we do not thereby conclude that we must pray the very words of Scripture every time we pray, or just read the Scriptures without preaching. The prayers of the Bible are models for ours, and we must be careful to expound the word of God in preaching. The specific words of our prayers are our own, and the specific words of our sermons are of human composition. So it may be with the praises that we sing. The psalms should be a pattern for the songs that we sing in worship, i.e. the words that we sing ought to be as biblical as the psalms.
The word "psalmos" means "played upon a stringed instrument," as in the Psalter of the Old Testament. The Psalms mention a wide variety of instruments, stringed, brass, percussion, etc. The Scripture does not specify what instruments are acceptable or not acceptable. Thus one must assume that an instrument is acceptable if it is played skillfully and in a manner fitting to worship. It would be improper to use instruments in such a way that the worshipers mind is drawn to settings outside of worship because of the manner in which it is played. The usage of instruments is primarily designed to accompany the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Instrumentation is to be used in corporate worship primarily to enhance the singing of the congregation. If it overpowers the singing of the congregation, either in volume or in arrangement, then it is not functioning as intended by Scripture and should be altered. Likewise the music played by the instruments should produce the same sense in the emotions as that produced by the words of the hymn or psalm or spiritual song being sung so that the worshiper does not feel a disjunction.
While congregational singing is to receive the emphasis in public worship, the regulative principle does not of necessity exclude the use of special music. To prevent special music from becoming entertainment driven, the elders of the church should stress to those providing special music, that the purpose of special music is still that outlined in Colossians 3:16. Those who provide special music should be carefully and clearly instructed that the purpose is not entertainment but edification as commanded by the Apostle Paul. The elders of the church must assume the responsibility for such instruction and carefully monitor the situation so that the special music meets the same biblical criteria as congregational singing.
How should we understand the regulative principle in relationship to liberty of conscience?
We assert that liberty of conscience must be bounded by revelation concerning the instituted elements of Christian worship. The regulative principle does not allow uncommanded elements and practices in worship for the sake of one's perceived liberty of conscience. Christian liberty, in terms of the regulative principle, must be seen from two perspectives. Positively, Christian liberty in worship means freedom to worship God as He would be worshipped. Christian liberty in general is freedom from sin and freedom to please God. It is no different in worship. It does not give us freedom to worship as we please but as He pleases. Man enjoys his greatest liberty when he lives in obedience to the truth revealed in God's Word. Negatively, Christian liberty in worship means freedom from being forced to worship God according to human invention, in ways that are devised by men and not according to Scripture. Practically speaking, a church is not free to devise its own ways of worship, no matter how strong the cultural consensus may be. A church finds liberty in Christ, and liberty in worship is to be found in worshipping according to the commands laid down by Christ, the head of the church. Consequently, Christian charity is exercised toward the brethren when we do not institute patterns in worship that offend their consciences nor require that they participate in worship that is not in accordance with Scripture.