An Introduction to the Regulative Principle
Throughout both Old and New Testaments, Scripture make clear that God cares about how we worship. It’s not something He has left to us; rather, He has given us principles to follow.
From the beginning God has been interested in how we worship Him. The first Scriptural occasion in which worship is mentioned is the Cain and Abel narrative. Abel’s worship was pleasing to God, but Cain’s was not. Perhaps the most explicit Old Testament example of God’s concern for our worship is found in the Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them” (Exod. 20:4-5a).
God’s concern for the way we worship Him can also be seen in the New Testament. For example, Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” These verses suggest that our worship is not something we do flippantly, but with great reverence and seriousness.
If, then, God is concerned with how we worship Him, as these passages suggest, we must also be concerned. One of the approaches that Christians have historically followed to address this concern is known today as the regulative principle of worship (“RPW”).
What Is the Regulative Principle?
RPW is the practice of worship that consists only in things that the Bible commands or clearly implies. “The regulative principle of worship states that the only way to worship God is in the manner that He has commanded in the Holy Scripture; all additions to or subtractions from this manner are forbidden.”[1] This principle is the application of the Reformed doctrine of sola scriptura (by Scripture alone), which holds, “Scripture alone is the church’s authority for faith and practice.”[2] It is a reliance on the sufficiency of Scripture applied to the worship context.
This understanding of Christian worship can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Ligon Duncan explains that this emphasis can be found in John Calvin, and other first-generation Reformed theologians like John Knox and the Puritans.[3] Many Reformed confessions and catechisms also discuss this principle. For example, the Westminster Catechism implies the RPW when answering questions about the Second Commandment:
Q. 50. What is required in the second commandment.
A. The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his word.
Q. 51. What is forbidden in the second commandment?
A. The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his word.[4]
Other Reformed confessions and catechisms express similar views, like the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). Duncan also cites Baptists’ appropriations of this doctrine, evident in the Second London Confession (1689) and the Philadelphia Confession of Faith (1742). Both say, “The acceptable way of worshiping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”[5]
The RPW is therefore not a new convention that the church has devised. But what does the RPW look like in today’s church?
How Does One Observe the Regulative Principle?
A helpful example of the RPW in practice is given in The Deliberate Church, co-authored by Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church. There he outlines several ways in which the regulative principle is observed in their worship.
In the chapter, “Applying the Regulative Principle,” Dever summarizes: “church leaders who have been committed to seeing the church reformed according to God’s Word down throughout the ages have had a common method: read the Word, preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, see the Word.”[6] By reading the Bible, Dever explains that the church shows the great value of Scripture and their dependence on it by making time in every service for it to be read without interruption. His congregation is sure that they also preach the Bible in every service since that is the way God has ordained to communicate the message of the gospel.
When Capitol Hill Baptist prays the Bible, they follow the ACTS pattern, which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.[7] Prayer within corporate worship is imperative because it models how prayer should be done for the church members, and it also shows the church’s dependence on God.
Singing the Bible is another element of the RPW. Songs should be biblically accurate, and the music should complement the words rather than the words complementing the music. Worship music should engage the minds of the congregants, focusing them on God. Dever says, “The best of the hymns and the best of the more modern worship choruses are those that direct our focus away from ourselves and onto the character and Gospel of God.”[8]
Finally, when Dever mentions “seeing the Bible,” he is referring to the ordinances. The ordinances are the visual signs of the New Covenant being corporately practiced among believers—things such as baptism, communion, and the washing of the saints’ feet.[9] It is important to note that the way in which the RPW is carried out may differ between congregations. Despite the differences that exist in how a church carries out the RPW, they are differences in degree, not kind.
A helpful distinction in understanding these differences of application lies in the concepts of elements, forms, and circumstances:
- An element is the content of worship found in Scripture, those unchanging components of worship that should be present in the church throughout its history and location.
- Forms may vary according to geographic and chronological boundaries. For example, the preaching of the Word is mandated in Scripture for all corporate gatherings for worship, thus making it an element. However, the length of the sermon is not explicitly given in Scripture, thus leaving this decision to the discretion of the church. This does not mean, though, that forms lack guidelines. One must use scriptural principles—for instance, the concepts of reverence to God and the accessibility of the Word to those present—to help make an informed decision about such matters.
- Lastly we have the concept of circumstances. These “are those functional aspects that enable worship to take place.” Examples may include the time a congregation chooses to meet for services, the location of their services, and other practical matters.[10]
Why Practice the Regulative Principle?
Why is the RPW so vital? One reason is because it aims to please God, not people. In seeking to follow His guidance for worship, we avoid letting our preferences, or the preferences of others, dictate how we approach God. This can be a danger of the alternate perspective of worship known as the normative principle (“NPW”). The NPW allows for practices of the church to be used as long as Scripture does not forbid them. However, if one’s approach to worship is not bound to what the Scripture teaches, it becomes easier to do what is appealing to his or her “target group” rather than what God commands.
Another issue that may arise with this approach is that we as depraved people usually do not desire the things of God. If worship becomes based on depraved man’s preferences, it will not result in biblical worship. The NPW, then, often relies too heavily on man’s wisdom rather than God’s wisdom found in His Word. Since God is the focus of Christian worship and the One being worshiped, attention should be given to what He has revealed through His Word.
Conclusion
We need a renewed faith in the sufficiency of Scripture in the church today. The abundance of church growth books shows that people are looking for something new to implement in the church. And there is a multitude of programs to help grow churches and get more people in the pews. Our focus, however, should not be on worldly things such as these, but on Christ, building His church His way.
Certainly, many of those striving to build the church via the normative principle, or other approaches that allow more latitude with elements of worship, have good motives. Although I do not agree with them, we should not be so quick to judge these people. However, we must stand firm, remain faithful to sola scriptura, and continue to make the case for why the RPW is the most effective way to ensure that God’s Word is followed, thus fostering worship which is acceptable and pleasing to God.
Charles Spurgeon expressed his concern this way in an 1888 sermon: “There is no need to go down to Egypt for help. To invite the devil to help Christ is shameful. Please God, we shall see prosperity yet, when the church of God is resolved never to seek it except in God’s own way.”[11]
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About the Author: Zach Vickery is a Taylor, Alabama, native currently residing in Ashland City, Tennessee, where he is the youth pastor at Friendship Free Will Baptist Church. He graduated from Welch College this month with a Bachelor’s degree in General Christian Ministry, and is currently working on a Master’s degree in Theology and Ministry from the same institution. Zach enjoys spending time with his wife, Emily, studying biblical languages, spending time outdoors.
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[1] John Allen Delivuk, “Biblical Authority and the Proof of the Regulative Principle of Worship in the Westminster Confession.” Westminster Theological Journal 58 (1996): 239.
[2] J. Matthew Pinson, Free Will Baptists & The Sufficiency of Scripture (Free Will Baptist Historical Commission, 2014), 3.
[3] J. Ligon Duncan III, “Does God Care How We Worship?” in Give Praise to God, ed. Philip Graham Ryken, Derek W. H. Thomas, and J. Ligon Duncan III (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing Company, 2003), 21.
[4] “Westminster Shorter Catechism” accessed April 1, 2016, http://www.shortercatechism.com/resources/wsc/wsc_052.html.
[5] Duncan, 21-22.
[6] Mark Dever, The Deliberate Church (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005) 81.
[7] Ibid., 83.
[8] Ibid., 85.
[9] While Dever does not include the ordinance of feet washing in his list, we as Free Will Baptists recognize it as an ordinance.
[10] Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America, “A Position Paper Concerning the Regulative Principle of Worship,” ARBCA, March 8, 2001, accessed April 27, 2016, http://www.arbca.com/regulative-principle.
[11]Evangelism Coach, “What Spurgeon Thought Was Sufficient to Grow Your Church,” Evangelism Coach, January 24, 2013, accessed April 1, 2016, http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2013/what-spuregon-thought-was-sufficient-to-grow-your-church/
May 24, 2016
Thanks Zach for a great article. I’m glad someone has finally written an article on this subject and has set the record straight. Good job!
June 14, 2016
Thank you for reading!
June 11, 2016
Great article and much needed. I think you captured heart of the issue when you stated, “We need a renewed faith in the sufficiency of Scripture in the church today.” Do we truly rely upon the scriptures to guide us in our worship or have we turned to the world to draw an audience. I love the Spurgeon quoted had a way with words. I hope to see more articles from Zach in the near future.
June 14, 2016
Thanks for your comments, Adam!
July 27, 2016
Excellent article! Definitely sharing! And it’s a small world. I live near Dothan! 🙂