Sunday, June 3, 2007

Reformed Baptist Distinctives Part II--Regulative Principle of Worship

II. Sola Scriptura and The Regulative Principle of Worship

The elements of acceptable worship of God are to consist only of that which God commands in His Word. Any element of worship that is not commanded in the Bible is forbidden. This principle is known as the Regulative Principle of Worship.

From the BCF CH 22 Of Religious Worship and the Lord's Day:


22.1 The light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all. He is just and good and does good to all. Therefore he is to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart and soul and strength. [1]

But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God has been instituted by himself and delimited by his own revealed will. He may not be worshipped according to human imagination or methods, nor according to the suggestions of Satan, nor by way of any visible representation, nor by any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. [2]

  1. Jeremiah 10:7 Mark 12:33
  2. Genesis 4:1-5 Exodus 20:4-6 Matthew 15:3,8-9 2 Kings 16:10-18 Leviticus 10:1-3 Deuteronomy 17:3 Deuteronomy 4:2 Deuteronomy 12:29-32 Joshua 1:7 Joshua 23:6-8 Matthew 15:13 Colossians 2:20-23 2 Timothy 3:15-17

22.5 The reading of the Scriptures, [1] the preaching and hearing of the Word of God, [2] the teaching and admonishing of one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord, [3] as well as the administration of baptism [4] and the Lord's Supper [5] , are all parts of the worship of God. These are to be performed in obedience to him, with understanding, faith, reverence and godly fear. Also to be used on special occasions in a holy and reverent manner, [6] are times of solemn humiliation, with fasting and thanksgiving. [7]

  1. Acts 15:21 1 Timothy 4:13 Revelation 1:3
  2. 2 Timothy 4:2 Luke 8:18
  3. Ephesians 5:19 Colossians 3:16
  4. Matthew 28:19-20
  5. 1 Corinthians 11:26
  6. Exodus 15:1-19 Psalms 107
  7. Esther 4:16 Joel 2:12 Matthew 9:15 Acts 13:2-3 1 Corinthians 7:5


      The following Old Testament Scripture passages establish the regulative principle of worship:


      Genesis 4:3-7 (New King James Version)

      3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.

      [Young's Literal Translation translates verse 3 as 3And it cometh to pass at the end of days that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah. This phrase "end of days" implies that this was the 7th day of the week which was the old covenant Sabbath and that that day was set apart by God as the day on which Cain and Abel were to bring acceptable sacrifies of worship to God.]

      4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
      6 So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”


      The New Testament commentary on this passage is in Hebrews 11:4:

      4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

      [God accepted Abel's worship because he had done it according to God's command, but he did not accept Cain's worship because he had not done it according to God's command-my comments]

      Exodus 20:4-6 (New King James Version)

      4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

      [A violation of the second commandment that occured soon after the giving of the ten commandments is described in Exodus 32. The people worshipped God in a way that was not authorized by God. They made an image of the true God in the form of a golden calf and this is considered idolatry by the LORD-my comments]

      Exodus 32:7-8 (King James Version)

      7And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

      8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.


      Exodus 25:40 (New King James Version)

      40 And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.

      Leviticus 10:1-2 (Engish Standard Version)

      Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

      Deuteronomy 4:2 (New King James Version)

      2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

      Deuteronomy 12:29-32 (New King James Version)


      29 “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
      32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

      Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7 (New King James Version)

      21 “You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God. 22 You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.

      Deuteronomy 17

      1 “You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish ordefect, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God.
      2 “If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, 3 who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, 4 and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. 6 Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

      1 Samuel 13:11-13 (New King James Version)

      11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?”
      Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and       that you did not come within the days appointed, andthat the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
      13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

      2 Samuel 6:6-8 (King James Version)

      6And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.

      7And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

      8And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perezuzzah to this day.

      [I Chronicles 15:11-15 is a commentary on the incident that is recounted in 2 Samuel 6:6-8-my comments]

      1 Chronicles 15:11-15 (New International Version)

      11 Then David summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites. 12 He said to them, "You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13 It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way."14 So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.

      2 Chronicles 26:14-21 (New King James Version)

      14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, or he was marvelously helped till he became strong.

      16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD—valiant men. 18And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.”
      19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him.
      21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

      [King Uzziah was struck by God with leprosy because he offered unauthorized worship to the LORD that was only commanded by God to be offered by the Levitical priests-my comments]
      Bold

      1 Kings 12:28-33 (New King James Version)

      28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
      32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense

      [King Jeroboam not only violated the second commandment by worshipping the true God in ways that were not commanded by God, i.e. by worshipping idols, erecting shrines on the high places, and using priests from tribes other than the Levites. He also devised in his own heart what month offerings should be offered to God rather than offering offerings to God when God had commanded-my comments]


      Psalm 115:1 (New King James Version)

      1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,

      But to Your name give glory,
      Because of Your mercy,
      Because of Your truth.

      Isaiah 1:12 (New King James Version)

      12 “ When you come to appear before Me,
       Who has required this from your hand,
      To trample My courts?

      [Worship is to be done to bring glory to God, not to men-my comments]

      Isaiah 8:20 (New King James Version)

      20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.


      Jeremiah 7:29-31 (New King James Version)

      29 Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the LORD. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart.

      Jeremiah 19:3-5 (New King James Version)

      3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.
      4 “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),


      The following New Testament Scripture passages reaffirm the regulative principle of worship for New Covenant believers:


      3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, k ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and,l ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” [1] 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have m made void the word [2] of God. 7 n You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

      8 o “‘This people honors me with their lips,
      but their heart is far from me;
       9 in vain do they worship me,
      teaching as p doctrines the commandments of men.’”


      Matthew 28:18-20 (New King James Version)

      18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.[b]

      Mark 7:7-9 (King James Version)

      7Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

      8For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

      9And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

      Romans 1:20-25 (New King James Version)

      20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
      24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.



      Ephesians 5:19 (New King James Version)

      19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

      Colossians 3:16 (New King James Version)

      16 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.

      Galatians 4:9-11 (New King James Version)

      9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

      Colossians 2:20-23 (King James Version)

      20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

      21(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

      22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

      23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

      2 Timothy 3:16-17 (New King James Version)

      16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

      Hebrews 12:28-29 (English Standard Version)

      28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

      Revelation 22:18-19 (New King James Version)


      18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

      An excellent book that makes the case for the regulative principle of worship is "With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship" by D. G. Hart and John R. Muether

      You may purchase this book here

      There is an excellent review of this book by prominent blogger Tim Challies here"

      Another excellent book is "How God Wants to Worship Him : A Defense of the Bible as the Only Standard for Modern Worship" by Joe Morecraft, III

      Finally, another book that I discovered recently is "Reformed Worship: Worship That is According To Scripture" by Terry L. Johnson

      There is a review of this book by Rob Hill, Senior Minister at St. Paul Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. at the Reformation 21 website

      If one would like to do further formal study on this issue there is an Institute for Reformed Worship of Erskine Theological Seminary. A brochure for the Institute is found here .


      Related articles and audios:

      Baptist views:

      "A Position Paper Concerning the Regulative Principle of Worship". A Report by the Theology Committee of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America




      "

















      The Genevan Book of Order

      The Form of Prayers and Ministration of the Sacraments, etc. Used in the English Congregation at Geneva (1556)

      "The Directory of Publick Worship of God" from the Westminster Standards (1645)










      Pluralistic Worship
      Terry Johnson






      Scriptural Worship, Dr. Carl Bogue



      by G.I. Williamson


      by: G. I. Williamson

      Holy Days of Men and Holy Days of God
      by G. I. Williamson

      Why Do Presbyterians Observe Holy Days?- "Puritans desired that only those elements directly instituted by God were present in their worship."
      By Andrew Webb

      The Religious Observance of Christmas and 'Holy Days' in American Presbyterianism.
      by: Chris Coldwell




      New Songs Of Zion, Michael Bushell







      """ddd




      AddThis Social Bookmark Button

      Posted by John at 10:07 AM

      Labels: , , , , ,

      No comments:

      Post a Comment

      Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)