Does how we worship really matter? (Part One)
“The Evangelical Presbyterian Church? How can a church be evangelical and presbyterian?!”
That was the question someone asked me several years ago when I told them that I was going to be ordained as a minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. As the conversation continued, the assumptions behind the question became clear. In the person’s mind, to be ‘evangelical’ meant to worship in an upbeat, modern, contemporary style. On the contrary, to be ‘presbyterian’ meant to worship in a traditional, old fashioned, sombre style.
Despite the person’s confusion regarding terminology, their comment nonetheless highlights something that we’re all aware of. As Reformed and Presbyterian congregations, our corporate worship tends to have a rather different feel to it compared to many mainline evangelical churches. For example, we are far more likely to be found singing a psalm, and far less likely to be accompanied by a plurality of musical instruments. Why is that? Is it simply a matter of taste? Is it just because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’? Is it due to an underlying suspicion of change or novelty? Or is there something more to it than that?
In this series of blog posts I would like to unpack what is known as the ‘regulative principle of worship’ (RPW). If you’ve just read that last sentence and thought to yourself, “the what principle?!” – great! Read on…
In this first article I would like firstly to define the RPW, and then demonstrate it from Scripture.
1. DEFINING THE RPW
For Christmas last year my wife Mary bought me a book all about cricket. If I can borrow a quotation from Bob Marley, I don’t like cricket… I love it! And I loved the book; I read it cover to cover in just a few days. Now, it is safe to say that Mary will not be reading this book herself any time soon. Unlike me (and Bob Marley), Mary neither likes, nor loves, cricket. However, she was pleased to buy that book for me because she loves me, and wanted to offer a gift to me that she knew would please me. When giving a gift, the desire of the one who receives is paramount, and the preferences of the one who offers are secondary.
This principle applies to our worship of God: when offering worship, the desire of the one who receives that worship (God) is paramount, and the preferences of those who offer the worship (us) are secondary.
The question is therefore, how can we set aside our own personal preferences, and instead offer to God the worship he desires – simply because we love him? And how do we know what kind of worship God is pleased to receive? God has not left us in the dark here. We are not like a clueless husband at 4:30pm on Christmas Eve, dashing around the shops desperately trying to think of the right thing to give his wife for Christmas – knowing that he really ought to give her something, but with no idea quite what. No, God has told us in clear terms, through his word, how he desires to be worshipped.
This, then is the regulative principle of worship: the worship of God must be regulated by the word of God. When the church gathers for worship, first and foremost we must look to God’s word and ask, “how does God desire to be worshipped?”
“God has told us in clear terms, through his word, how he desires to be worshipped”
The Westminster Confession of Faith summarises the RPW as follows:
“[T]he 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 the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 21.1)
2. DEMONSTRATING THE RPW
Someone may ask, “But is the regulative principle of worship itself found in the bible?” The answer is, “yes, it is!”
At Mount Sinai, Moses was repeatedly instructed by the LORD to construct the tabernacle “according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain” (See Exodus 25:40, 26:30, 27:8 and also Hebrews 8:5). Through his law, the LORD detailed the pattern and plan for worship that would be pleasing to him. Whenever Israel departed from this, and worshipped God according to their own preferences, disaster ensued. Think, for example, of the story of Nadab and Abihu who died as a result of offering “strange fire” to the LORD (Leviticus 10), or God’s rejection of Saul’s unlawful sacrifice, and the later judgment against King Uzziah for a similar sin (1 Samuel 15, 2 Chronicles 26).
The RPW carries over into the New Testament as well. Jesus rejected the worship of the Pharisees, quoting from Isaiah by saying “in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”, before adding, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:7-8). In Colossians 2 Paul describes the false worship promoted by the false teachers as “will worship” (KJV) or “self-made religion” (ESV) – that is, worship shaped by their own preferences rather than the word of God.
The way in which we worship God is therefore of great importance. We worship God through his Son, by his Spirit, all in accordance with his word, and for his glory alone. In future articles, the practical application of this principle will be explored.
