A friend of mine told me that his pastor upon learning that we coming here to Grand Rapids to study and worship told him "to watch out for that regulative principle." The pastor is a Calvinist, and offers words of warning about the regulative principle. In my estimation, to be a Calvinist is to hold to the regulative principle. In posts long ago, I made the case (convincingly, I pray) that historic Baptists do hold to the regulative principle in agreement with the Calvinistic wing of the Reformation.
Yesterday as I thought about defending the practice of congregational psalm-singing using the NT I re-read portions of 1 Corinthians 14. To refresh some memories, the regulative principle asserts that God must be worship according to his commands; we must worship God within the confines he has set. In NT we see Jesus and his apostles regulating worship. Jesus regulates the Sabbath Day, and he renders the Passover obsolete by insitutionalizing the Lord's Table that points to him. Paul in Corinthians regulates the worship practices of the Corinthians. Note in this chapter that Paul approves of the singing that took place at the Church of Corinth. He approves of psalm-singing. He deems psalm-singing a part of New Covenant worship never to be neglected. Also note that he mentions no other type of singing. The Church at Corinth practiced exclusive psalm-singing.
For those who rail against exclusive psalm-singing, would you substitute coffee for the fruit of the vine at the Lord's Table? Would you substitute good Christian literature for reading the Scriptures in corporate worship? Why not? We know that there are clear commands behind our rituals in worship, and we have no liberty to do as we please. This is all the regulative principle argues. Is this something to be warned about? Or is it something to be joyful about?
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