Protestant Reformed group

2024-12-11 20:06:30 -

What is the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) and how does it rightly apply?

The RPW is specifically concerned with the public worship of the Triune God in the church gathered (congregation). In a broader sense, it's concerned with all of life as worship to the glory of God. Simply stated, the RPW teaches that God's Word alone teaches how to rightly worship Him.

The RPW is grounded in the total, absolute authority and sufficiency of the Bible for all doctrine and practice, for all of life and godliness. Just as God is absolutely sovereign over His creation, not just in the generalities but also in the specifics, and just as God's command to love God and love neighbour is not just a general command but one with specific content found in His law, so also the worship God commands and is willing to accept is not just given in terms of general principles but also in terms of specific commands. All of life is meant to be regulated by God's holy Word.

As it pertains to public worship in the congregation on the Lord's Day (Sunday), the Lord has given a specific purpose, with specific elements of worship, and the circumstances we find ourselves in must be bent in service to that purpose and those elements. 1) The purpose: That saints of God in covenant with Him and each other must assemble themselves together on His Day and offer to Him acceptable worship (glory/weight and sacrifice) as He defines it in His Word. 2) The elements: hearing the Word read, taught, and preached, singing the Word back to Him, praying the Word back to Him, seeing the Word in the sacraments of holy communion and baptism, and offering to the Lord our financial gifts. All these elements must be done with a heart attitude of deep thankfulness, reverence, and awe. 3) The circumstances: whether we use microphones, musical instruments, videography, or power point, all these things must be intentionally used to lead our hearts towards the Triune God according to elements of worship He's commanded, and not away from Him. He is indeed the only right audience of worship, commanding us to turn neither to the left nor the right in doing so.

As we move out from the Lord's Day worship, the RPW applies to the local church as a whole, to the family, to the state, and to every other part of life. Why? Because all of life is meant to be lived as worship, giving glory/weight and sacrifice to our Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. Each arena of life has its own God-given purpose, elements, and circumstances that must serve that purpose and those elements.

For example, the purpose of the family is to be the foundational building block of society - a little church, a little school, and a little society as it were. As mom and dad in marriage covenant with each other exemplify and teach their children to faithfully follow Jesus in the fear of the Lord, they're preparing their children to be released into the world to turn creation into godly culture that's built around the gospel. Within that purpose, God has commanded specific elements - like covenant marriage and the discipline of children - and expects parents to use sanctified wisdom to intentionally make their circumstances bend to serve the purpose and elements He's given. Yet, the family has a God-given jurisdiction of authority, for it cannot practice ecclesiastical due process (church discipline), just as the local church cannot practice civil due process (innocent until proven guilty in a court of law).

In this way, the doctrine of sphere sovereignty is really just the RPW applied to all of life under the Lordship of King Jesus, to the praise of His glorious name.

Hopefully this post can be a help to you. Blessings.

What is the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) and how does it rightly apply? The RPW is specifically concerned with the public worship of the Triune God in the church gathered (congregation). In a broader sense, it's concerned with all of life as worship to the glory of God. Simply stated, the RPW teaches that God's Word alone teaches how to rightly worship Him. The RPW is grounded in the total, absolute authority and sufficiency of the Bible for all doctrine and practice, for all of life and godliness. Just as God is absolutely sovereign over His creation, not just in the generalities but also in the specifics, and just as God's command to love God and love neighbour is not just a general command but one with specific content found in His law, so also the worship God commands and is willing to accept is not just given in terms of general principles but also in terms of specific commands. All of life is meant to be regulated by God's holy Word. As it pertains to public worship in the congregation on the Lord's Day (Sunday), the Lord has given a specific purpose, with specific elements of worship, and the circumstances we find ourselves in must be bent in service to that purpose and those elements. 1) The purpose: That saints of God in covenant with Him and each other must assemble themselves together on His Day and offer to Him acceptable worship (glory/weight and sacrifice) as He defines it in His Word. 2) The elements: hearing the Word read, taught, and preached, singing the Word back to Him, praying the Word back to Him, seeing the Word in the sacraments of holy communion and baptism, and offering to the Lord our financial gifts. All these elements must be done with a heart attitude of deep thankfulness, reverence, and awe. 3) The circumstances: whether we use microphones, musical instruments, videography, or power point, all these things must be intentionally used to lead our hearts towards the Triune God according to elements of worship He's commanded, and not away from Him. He is indeed the only right audience of worship, commanding us to turn neither to the left nor the right in doing so. As we move out from the Lord's Day worship, the RPW applies to the local church as a whole, to the family, to the state, and to every other part of life. Why? Because all of life is meant to be lived as worship, giving glory/weight and sacrifice to our Creator, Judge, and Redeemer. Each arena of life has its own God-given purpose, elements, and circumstances that must serve that purpose and those elements. For example, the purpose of the family is to be the foundational building block of society - a little church, a little school, and a little society as it were. As mom and dad in marriage covenant with each other exemplify and teach their children to faithfully follow Jesus in the fear of the Lord, they're preparing their children to be released into the world to turn creation into godly culture that's built around the gospel. Within that purpose, God has commanded specific elements - like covenant marriage and the discipline of children - and expects parents to use sanctified wisdom to intentionally make their circumstances bend to serve the purpose and elements He's given. Yet, the family has a God-given jurisdiction of authority, for it cannot practice ecclesiastical due process (church discipline), just as the local church cannot practice civil due process (innocent until proven guilty in a court of law). In this way, the doctrine of sphere sovereignty is really just the RPW applied to all of life under the Lordship of King Jesus, to the praise of His glorious name. Hopefully this post can be a help to you. Blessings.

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