Theregulative principle of worship is aReformedChristian doctrine held byContinental Reformed,Anabaptist,Presbyterian,Congregationalist andBaptist Christians that God commands churches to conduct public services ofworship using certain distinct elements affirmatively found in theBible, and conversely, that God prohibits any and all other practices in public worship. The doctrine further determines these affirmed elements to be those set forth in scripture by express commands or examples or, if not expressed, those implied logically bygood and necessary consequence. The regulative principle thus provides a governing concept of worship as obedience to God, identifies the set of specific practical elements constituting obedient worship, and identifies and excludes disobedient practices.
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The regulative principle of worship is held, practiced, and vigorously maintained by conservativeReformed churches, theRestoration Movement, and other conservativeProtestantdenominations. Historicconfessional standards stating the doctrine include theWestminster Confession of Faith,[1] theHeidelberg Catechism,[2] theBelgic Confession,[3], theOrthodox Creed, and theSecond London Baptist Confession of Faith.[4]
The regulative principle contrasts with thenormative principle of worship, which teaches that whatever is not prohibited in scripture is permitted in worship as long as it is agreeable to peace and the 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.
A broader sense of the term "regulative principle" is occasionally cited on matters other than worship, such as to constrain designs ofchurch government to scriptural elements.[5][6] The regulative principle is often confused with the doctrine ofsola scriptura, which states that scripture is the only infallible spiritual authority, but is compatible with and taught by many churches that follow the normative principle of worship.
The Reformed confessions cite various biblical passages in support of the regulative principle, such as Deuteronomy 12,[7] in whichYahweh gives the Israelites various commands about worship, sacrifice, and the avoidance of Canaanite religious practices, and says at the close of the chapter:
Whatever I am commanding you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Likewise, Reformed theologians cite Yahweh's punishment of the brothersNadab and Abihu as illustrating an insistence by God that humans worship him only with practices that he has commanded.[8] Nadab and Abihu, the Israelite prophetAaron's own sons, "offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them." God immediately destroyed the brothers with fire of his own (Leviticus 10:1-2).
The regulative principle is characteristic ofJohn Calvin's thought: basing his approach on the Reformational principle ofSola Scriptura, Calvin removed from the order of church service any element not explicitly mentioned in theBible in order to avoid any risk of compromise with thesacred tradition - which was promoted as a second source ofdogma by theRoman Catholic Church. For instance, he associated musical instruments withicons, which he considered violations of theTen Commandments' prohibition of graven images.[9] On this basis, many early Calvinists also eschewed the use ofmusical instruments in worship and advocatedexclusive psalmody. TheChurches of Christ continues to hold to the traditional reformed interpretation of the regulative principle in regard to the prohibition of instrumental music in the worship service.[10]
In 17th-century English church debates, thePuritans argued that there was a divine pattern to be followed at all times, which they called theius divinum ("divine law", after aLatin term in the ancient Roman religion). This came to be known by the milder term "regulative principle" in English.[11]
Those who oppose instruments in worship, such asOrthodox Presbyterian Church ministersJohn Murray andG. I. Williamson, argue first that there is no example of the use of musical instruments for worship in the New Testament and second that theOld Testament uses of instruments in worship were specifically tied to the ceremonial laws of theTemple in Jerusalem, which they take to be abrogated for the Church. Since the 1800s, however, most of the Reformed churches have modified their understanding of the regulative principle and make use of musical instruments, believing that Calvin and his early followers went beyond the biblical requirements of theDecalogue[9] and that such things are circumstances of worship requiring biblically rooted wisdom, rather than an explicit command. The vast majority of Reformed churches today accordingly make use ofhymns and musical instruments, and many also employcontemporary worship music styles andworship bands.[12] A minority of Reformed churches, however — such as theFree Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the churches of theReformed Presbyterian communion—continue to interpret the regulative principle and scriptural evidence as permitting only unaccompanied psalmody in worship.[13][14]
The regulative principle was historically taken to prohibit the use of dance in worship.[10] In 1996 reformed theologianJohn Frame broke the consensus and argued that the regulative principle does permit dancing, a view that was criticised by more conservative scholars.[12][15]
While music is the central issue in worship debates, other matters have been contentious as well, includingdoxologies,benedictions, corporateconfession ofsin,prayer and the readings ofcreeds or portions ofscripture. The presence of any one of these, their order and priority have ranged over various denominations.[citation needed]
The original Lord's Day service designed by John Calvin was a highly-liturgical service with the Creed, Alms, Confession and Absolution, the Lord's Supper, Doxologies, prayers, Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, Benedictions. The following are Orders of Service for the Lord's Day as designed by John Calvin (Collect is a short prayer;Lection is a scripture reading;Fraction and Delivery are the breaking of the bread and distribution thereof, respectively):[16]
| Calvin: Strasbourg, 1540 | Calvin: Geneva, 1542 |
|---|---|
| Scripture Sentence (Psalm 124,8) | |
| Confession of sins | Confession of sins |
| Scriptural words of pardon | Prayer for pardon |
| Absolution | |
| Metrical Decalogue sung withKyrie eleison after each Law | |
| Collect for Illumination | Collect for Illumination |
| Lection | Lection |
| Sermon | Sermon |
| Liturgy of the Upper Room | |
| Collection ofalms | Collection of alms |
| Intercessions | Intercessions |
| Lord's Prayer in long paraphrase | Lord's Prayer in long paraphrase |
| Preparation of elements whileApostles' Creed sung | Preparation of elements while Apostles' Creed sung |
| Consecration Prayer | |
| Words of Institution | Words of Institution |
| Exhortation | Exhortation |
| Consecration Prayer | |
| Fraction | Fraction |
| Delivery | Delivery |
| Communion, while psalm sung | Communion, while psalm or scriptures read |
| Post-communion collect | Post-communion collect |
| Nunc dimittis in metre | |
| Aaronic Blessing | Aaronic Blessing |
96. Q. What does God require in the second commandment? A. We are not to make an image of God in any way, nor to worship Him in any other manner than He has commanded in His Word.
... Those who govern the churches ... ought always to guard against deviating from what Christ, our only Master, has ordained for us. Therefore we reject all human innovations and all laws imposed on us, in our worship of God, which bind and force our consciences in any way. So we accept only what is proper to maintain harmony and unity and to keep all in obedience to God.
... The acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped 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.
... the regulative principle of church government: Christ's Word clearly reveals the structure of the church, and so the government of the church must find its basis in apostolic teaching and practice. ... the 'regulative principle of polity'
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Those who adhere to the Regulative Principle by singing exclusively the psalms, refusing to use musical instruments, and rejecting "Christmas", "Easter" and the rest, are often accused of causing disunity among the people of God. The truth is the opposite. The right way to move towards more unity is to move to exclusively Scriptural worship. Each departure from the worship instituted in Scripture creates a new division among the people of God. Returning to Scripture alone to guide worship is the only remedy.
Singing God's praise is part of public worship in which the whole congregation should join. The Book of Psalms, consisting of inspired psalms, hymns and songs, is the divinely authorized manual of praise. The use of other songs in worship is not authorized in the Scriptures. The Greek words in the New Testament which are translated "psalm," "hymn" and "song" all appear in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Book of Psalms. Ps. 95:2; Ps. 40:3, (4); Ps. 96:1; Col. 3: 16; Eph. 5:19; Mark 14:26; 1 Cor 14: 26; Jas. 5:13. The Psalms are to be sung without the accompaniment of instruments, which are not part of the New Testament pattern of worship. Musical instruments were commanded for use with the offering of sacrifices in the Old Testament temple worship. The death of Christ being the perfect and final sacrifice brought an end to this way of worship. There is neither command for nor example of the use of musical instruments in the words or practice of Christ and the apostles. The command of the New Testament is to offer the sacrifice of praise—the fruit of our lips. Num. 10:10; 2 Chron. 29:25-30; Heb. 9:12; Heb. 13:15.