How Are You Principled?

You might think the title is misstated: that it should read "How Principled Are You?"  Such is not the case.  Each person is principled with varying degrees of commitment.  This is asking what those principles are.

Within Christendom there are two competing principles of worship.¹  The first is the Regulative Principle.  This is articulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith which states:

The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and does good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might.  But 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 imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture. (WCF 21.1)

John Frame simplifies and explains the statement well when he refers to it as

the Reformed view of how God regulates our worship and provides that worship is by divine appointment.  Everything we do in worship must be divinely warranted.  And since Scripture is the sufficient Word of God, everything we do in worship must be "prescribed in the Holy Scripture."…In biblical worship, we seek God’s glory, not our own pleasure.  And we have no sure way of determining what pleases God in worship except God’s own revelation of Himself in Scripture.  So Scripture is sufficient to tell us God’s will for worship.  We dare not add to, or subtract from, God’s own Word (Deut 4:2; 12:32; Rev 22:18-19).²

The other principle is known as the Normative Principle.  There is no creedal definition.  It is generally presented as the opposite view practiced in Anglican, Lutheran, etc. churches and stated as in these examples:

Worship can include elements that are not prohibited by the Scriptures.³
"You're allowed to do this thing in church so long as Scripture doesn't forbid it"⁴

Payne goes onto explain how a great division arose between the extremes.

The dispute arose at the time of the Reformation, and was classically argued out between Richard Hooker (for the Normatives) and the more radical puritans (Thomas Cartright et al., for the Regulatives). The issue at the time was how far one should go in reforming the accumulated Roman Catholic dross of centuries. Given that some things definitely had to go (the Mass, the mediatorial priests, the supreme authority of the Pope, and so on), how far should the razor be permitted to cut? Putting it simply (and I hope not simplistically), Hooker argued that if something was ancient, and approved of by reasonable men, then unless Scripture forbade it, the practice should remain. Cartwright and others argued that this approach did not give Scripture 'enough say', and that practices and forms should only survive the axe if Scripture gave them clear warrant.⁴

So this begs the question, "With all the feuding going on over the centuries, who is correct?"  The answer appears to be, "Neither one."  Both holding to their positions regularly bring in extra-biblical practice.  Frank Viola points this out when he writes:

Many modern evangelicals have embraced the benighted idea that only those things that are "explicitly commanded" in Scripture are binding.  Everything else can be safely ignored.  Ironically, most who espouse this idea deny it in their practice.

They rigorously defend the importance of having the Lord's Supper on a regular basis, the necessity of baptizing new converts, and the importance of assembling together on a weekly basis.  Yet none of these practices is explicitly commanded in Scripture!⁵

At this point the reader is reaching for blood pressure medication, scoffing in derision, or pondering quizzically.  Let's face the truth.  Much of what is done in the local church has no biblical warrant.  Two examples are in order.

Order of worship – Every local church has a liturgy whether formal or not.  Everybody who has been part of the group for any length of time understands what is happening and can articulate its meaning and purpose to some degree.  What is the biblical order of worship?  Break bread (1 Cor 11:17-34), and exercise individual priesthood (1 Cor 14:26-33).  How many churches do that today in a scriptural manner (i.e. as outlined in the chapters just cited and those between)?  I can say that, though part of the Plymouth Brethren who come as close as any group, I have neither experienced nor seen it.  Let's face reality: who reading this has ever been in a meeting where "each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation?"  There might be one or two.  In any typical church only the song/band leader has a hymn, only the speaker has a lesson, only during an infrequent testimony time might there be any "lay" worship.

Church discipline – Who is ultimately responsible for administering church discipline and excommunication?  Most people will say the pastor, the elders, or some combination of those groups.  What does scripture say?  Jesus says in Matt 8:15-20 that I am to go, then bring witnesses if necessary, then "tell it to the church."  Paul gives instructions concerning one in grievous sin that "when you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan" (1 Cor 5:4-5).  Who disciplines?  The assembled church does, not just the church leadership.  Are the spiritual leaders involved?  Of course!  There's is the ministry of restoration (Gal 6:1).

It is quite a bit to consider.  We hang onto our ecclesiastical traditions out of fear that releasing the grip of authority will thrust the assembly of God's people into utter chaos.  That attitude speaks volumes for the lack of trust in the Holy Spirit, and correct teaching/training will fix the problems.

So where are your principles?  Are they regulative, normative, or biblical?


¹ As used here, worship refers to all that happens at or pertains to a regular, main meeting of a local church.
² John M. Frame, "The Regulative Principle: a Broader View," n.p.  Online: http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/RegulativePrinciple.htm.
³ Aleksander Katanovic, "The Spiritual Law of Worship," n.p.  Online: http://early-church.net/worship.html.
⁴ Tony Payne, "Regulative or Normative?," n.p.  Online: http://solapanel.org/article/regulative_or_normative.
⁵ Frank Viola, Rethinking the Wineskin: the Practice of the New Testament Church (n.d.: Present Testimony Ministry, 2001), 60.