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GIRS syllabus index: Survey Studies in Reformed Theology Unit Index: Nomology |
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Worship and the Sabbath Day: The Regulative Principle
by Pastor Bob Burridge ©2000
Westminster Confession of Faith XXI
The Mandate of Worship (WCF 21:1a)
I. The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and doth 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...
God is wonderful and has done wonderful things! He is the Creator of all that exists. We have already studied in Confession chapters 3 and 4, that all things were made by him for his own glory and purposes (Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 1:20, Revelation 4:11). We saw in Confession chapters 3 and 5, that God upholds all things by the power of his might by his works of providence. His sovereign power is infinite (Psalm 135:5-6). And we have also studied in Confession chapters 6 though 18, that God has redeemed his people by the gracious atonement by Jesus Christ.
Since God made and upholds all things and orders them for his own glory and for the blessing of his redeemed people, we are duty bound to respond to him appropriately. Our proper response is worship.
The word worship represents three basic words in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the primary word in Hebrew is (shakhah) which most fundamentally means to bow down. The main New Testament word is (proskuneo) which literally means to kiss toward. Its believed that its origin was of a humbled subject bowing before the person to be honored and kissing his feet. But its used mostly in Scripture to represent the Hebrew term and therefore takes on the meaning to bow down, or to prostrate one's self. Another term often translated worship in the New Testament is the Greek word (latreuo) which primarily means to serve and often has a ritual sense to it, as in serving God in specific acts of worship.
Dr. Morton Smith traces the English word worship to the Anglo-Saxon term woerthscipe, which means worth-shape. He says, "It denotes worthiness of an individual to receive special honor in accord with that worth."
The terms used in Scripture confirm that worship is not centered upon man and his own feelings. Rather it is centered upon the glory of God producing a humbling of the worshipper before him in subjection, honor and gratitude.
Therefore worship is our obligation in response to God's revealed glory as expressed in his decrees. The humble attitude of our response is due to the awesome nature of his glory. The Hebrew term for glory is (cavod) which means heavy, a weighty matter. God's nature as made known as something weighty, it is awesome and ought to impress us who know him as a duty of the greatest importance. It is a heavy matter demanding our respect.
Worship is the natural response of the redeemed when God's glory is beheld. There are many examples in Scripture that confirm that conclusion.
At the dedication ceremony of the temple under King Solomon, the priests, the Levitical singers, and the trumpeters were to come forth saying in unison ...
2 Chronicles 5:13-14 "... praise the LORD saying, 'He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,' then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God..."
2 Chronicles 7:3 "...seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, 'truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting."
Other examples can be found in the Song of Moses (Exodus 15), and the Song of Deborah & Barak (Judges 5). How else but in humble praise could the redeemed react? The majesty of God's holy nature instills this humble response in his children.
The PCA's Directory of Worship in its Book of Church Order (47-3)
says,
"The end of public worship is the glory of God. His people should engage in all its several parts with an eye single to His glory. Public worship has as its aim the building of Christ's Church by the perfecting of the saints and the addition to its membership of such as are being saved -- all to the glory of God. Through public worship on the Lord's day Christians should learn to serve God all the days of the week in their every activity, remembering, whether they eat or drink, or whatever they do, to do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)."
Since worship is so important, how we worship ought to deeply concern every child of God. We want to honor him in ways that please him. The only way we can know with certainty how God is to be worshipped is by his word. This leads us to the study of how proper worship is to be regulated.
The Regulation of Worship (WCF 21:1-6)
The Prescriptive Principle
WCF 21:1b
I. ... 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.
Among humans, honor is given in many different ways. Some would be honored in ways that might offend another person. A formal handshake might be considered very cold as an anniversary wish from a husband to a wife. A hug and tender kiss on the lips would likely be deeply offensive if given by a boss to an employee as thanks for landing a new account. To some people a blue-grass band might please them at a party celebrating their birthday, while another would prefer classical music by a string quartet. The key is to know how we can please the person who is to be honored. The only way to know how to worship God is to consider what he has made known to us in his word. This is called the prescriptive regulative principle of worship. This means that we do only what God directly prescribes to us in the Bible. Another approach is the proscriptive regulative principle of worship. This method of designing worship is to be careful to exclude things God specifically forbids in his word and presumes that all other things we do might be pleasing to him.
All Christians regulate worship in some manner. Certainly no believer would allow human sacrifices in worship and would never consider priestly prostitution as a proper way to honor our Lord. These would be things forbidden in God's word. All concur that worship should be regulated to avoid these extremes. But beyond what is directly forbidden, how can we know what pleases God if he does not tell us? Our own imaginations may show what pleases us, but worship is centered on its object, God, not upon the subjects, the worshippers.
Very much of the Word of God involves positive instructions on worship. It does not just give broad principles to be applied subjectively. Most of the Old Testament calls upon the basic principles given to Moses in the earliest books of the Bible. The Books of Law are taken up in large part by very detailed prescriptions about how God expected to be worshipped. He did not just give guidelines to the priests then set them free to do whatever felt right to them. Quite the opposite is the case. They were told not to innovate, but to obey very strictly what God prescribed. They did not know fully how the elements of Temple worship prefigured Christ and his work of atonement. If they tampered with what they did not fully comprehend they would have tampered with the heart of the gospel itself. Though we know much more than they did, we still only know the nature of God by way of his revelation. His being is still infinitely above our own and only in the return of Christ will we begin to know as we are known.
This reasoning alone should caution us against the introducing of human innovations into worship. But God has not left us to derive this teaching by our reason. He has made it clear in his word by direct precept and recorded example that there is offense to God and danger to ourselves when we dare to imagine what God would be pleased with beyond what he has revealed. Therefore the regulative principle of worship is not only proscriptive, it is more precisely prescriptive.
Cain and Able
From the earliest records in Scripture we see how important it is to
offer up worship as God has asked for it. The incident involving Cain and
Able shows us that this is a moral principle imposed at creation, not a later
ritual law for Israel only.
In Genesis 4 God records how Cain did not bring the offering God regarded as acceptable. He brought things he had grown in his gardens instead of animal sacrifices. Though it seems that God revealed the need for blood offerings to Adam and to Able, it is possible that Cain for some reason did not understand the significance of it. But there can be no doubt that he understood that God had respect for the blood offerings of Able but that God did not respect the fruit offerings he brought. Yet he insisted on worshipping in his own way regardless of what God approved. Cain is even described as becoming very angry when God did not accept his offerings.
When God spoke with Cain he told him that the issue was that in his worship he was not doing well. He was told to go and do what was right and warned that his present course was sin. But Cain's answer was to kill his brother, rather than to conform to the revealed wishes of God in worship. Sin is compounded by persistent sin. In this case the sin of wrong worship revealed a heart in which more sin was "crouching at the door". It issued in the horrible sin of murder.
The Ten Commandments
The summary of the moral precepts of God in the Ten Commandments
begins with four principles about how God is to be honored.
First, the one true God is to be honored alone. There are to be no other gods in our hearts than the one Creator. He alone deserves our undivided allegiance and worship.
Second, no physical images or likenesses of God are to be made or imagined by us, nor should such images be worshipped. Those who say they make images to remind them of God but do not worship them, show a misunderstanding of the impelling nature of God's revelation. When we are confronted with that which represents God or his work (such as his written word, or the elements of the Lord's Supper) we ought to be stirred to worship. To say that an image makes us think of God but does not elicit worship is to deny the very response God requires of us as we behold him.
Third, the name of God, the terms by which the divine nature is expressed and made known, should not be taken in vain. When we speak of God our minds must not wander off, and we should have a conscious awareness of his glory. How many times do people sing words of praise to God in worship while their minds drift off to other things. In this manner we deeply offend God in the midst of called worship itself. The heart of true worship, as reflected in the words used for it in Scripture, is this deep humble and respectful awe whenever God enters our minds or is mentioned by our lips.
Fourth, one day in seven must be set aside to remember the work of God in creation. This is a creation ordinance first seen in Eden, continued all through the Scriptures even in the establishment of the post-resurrection church. Though the ritual sabbaths of the era of Mosaic law were temporal and were fulfilled in Christ, the Creation Sabbath continues to be a special day of consecrated worship of God's people.
Aaron's Golden Calf
As the Law of God was being engraved on stone for the people of
Israel, while Moses was up in the Mountain of God with Joshua receiving
the details of how the Lord was pleased to be worshipped, his brother
Aaron had an innovative idea to calm the restless rebellion of Israel and
motivate them in their worship of Jehovah who had led them out of Egypt
(Exodus 32:4-5). Everyone knew that God required sacrifices of animals.
And calf of the ox was also a familiar form of worship which was part of the
pagan Egyptian religion in the midst of which they had been raised. So
why not take their precious gold jewelry and melt it down and make a
statue of a calf by which the true God could be worshipped in a familiar
way? Certainly, as they vainly justified their sin, God would understand
their need and heart. So to combat the discouragement of the people while
they waited for the return of Moses, the gold was collected and a beautiful
monument to Jehovah was made and a feast was proclaimed in his honor.
There was one problem, it did not please God! In fact it was a deep offense. Their imagined good intentions were no excuse at all. They were not good because they were in defiance of the true spirit nature of God and were directed toward things not prescribed by him as proper forms of worship. They openly did things forbidden in the Commandments delivered at that very mountain not long before.
When Moses and Joshua returned from the mountain and found Israel engaged in such licentious behaviour and a golden calf being worshipped, they sent the Levites out in judgment. 3,000 were slain for that rebellion against the Lord. The calf was burned and ground into powder which was scattered on the waters from which Israel was made to drink. Clearly God was angry with their innovation in worship which did not please him.
Nadab & Abihu
Moses also records the tragic story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of
Aaron. This is an incident not only of defiance of revealed truth, but of
innovation in worship beyond what was prescribed by God.
Leviticus 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. (2) And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
These men fired up the incense offering in a manner that provoked God to immediately judge them by execution. The Fire of the Lord had just descended to consume the offering of Aaron consecrating his priesthood and inaugurating the worship God himself had meticulously prescribed by direct revelation through Moses (Leviticus 9:24). In that context a violation of the just imposed law of worship would have undermined the importance of God's regulations. This is why this incident was so dramatically and immediately severe.
Instead of following that which God himself called for, these rebellious sons of Aaron used fire which was called strange. The Hebrew term used here is (zarah) from the root word (zur). Its the term commonly used for the expression to be a stranger. It means strange in the sense of being foreign, unusual, or not what is expected.
There are many theories about what was strange about this firing of the incense offering. Some suggest they failed to take the coals from the altar fire (though this was not directly commanded for the incense offering), others suggest they didn't bother to prepare the incense according to God's word in Exodus 30:9, some suggest that they offered it at a time other than at the morning or evening sacrifice, and some say it might have been some innovation not touching on matters specifically recorded in Scripture. The common element in all these is not the heart or intent of these men, but that in some way the offering deviated from what God had so carefully commanded of the details of how he was to be worshipped. The only distinction between what they did and what was acceptable, according to the inspired text itself, is that it was strange.
If the regulation of worship is only a matter of proscription, we would expect the text to say they brought fire that had been forbidden. But that is not the term the Holy Spirit chose. He said it was something foreign, strange, or we might accurately say that it was something God had not prescribed.
The fire of Jehovah that had just miraculously fallen upon the offering of Aaron, now fell upon these presumptuous sons who neglected to obey the prescriptive regulative principle of worship. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
More Biblical Examples
To these examples we could add many more where the wrath of God is
directed against those who defied his prescribed ways of worship.
There is the incident recorded in 2 Samuel 6:6-7 where Uzzah reached out to steady the ark being brought back to Israel on a cart. The oxen pulling it nearly upset the cart so Uzzah steadied the ark to keep it from falling. There were a number of regulations of God being defied in the whole process. First, the ark had been taken away because of the rebellious and superstitious reason for which it had been brought into battle. Second, David had chosen to transport it back to Israel in an improper way. The ark was only to be moved by the exact method prescribed in God's law and was only to be carried by the sons of Kohath of the tribe of Levi. Third, touching the ark was a crime that was to be punished with death.
Even David became angry with the Lord when Uzzah was struck dead immediately on the very spot where he touched the ark. He had developed an attitude that was innovative rather than obedient. He failed to treat this important object of Old Testament worship in exactly the manner God prescribed. His good intentions, and the intentions of Uzzah, did not excuse them from the principle of prescriptive regulated worship.
David learned his lesson, and made it clear to Israel in 1 Chronicles 15, that the ark had to be treated only in the manner exactly prescribed by the God it was designed to honor.
The innovative changes in worship by King Jeroboam after the division of Israel into two nations shows a similarity with the innovative thinking of Aaron back in the wilderness. He made golden calves to become helps to worship through which the people could honor the God who brought them out of Egypt (1 Kings 12:28ff).
There were the intrusions into the priestly office by Korah and his family (Numbers 16), by King Saul (1 Samuel 13), by King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26), and by King Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28). Though each thought they had a good reason to change what God had prescribed, they were each clearly condemned and judged.
What About Our Liberty in Christ?
Some have argued against the prescriptive principle of regulated
worship on the grounds that we are set free in Christ. However, in the past
chapter we discussed Christian liberty and have seen that it is not the
removal of boundaries but the enablement to move more easily within
them. Clearly the New Testament books of Hebrews and Galatians
specially show that the old forms of worship connected with the Levitical
priesthood, the Temple and the sacrifices are now obsolete. Their purpose
is fulfilled in the work of Christ and therefore the forms are not binding in
the post-incarnation era.
It should be kept in mind however, as we studied under WCF chapter 19, that while the outward forms of the Mosaic law are changed in Christ, the principles they represented are not eliminated. They are brought to a greater level of clarity and blessing. The overwhelming evidence of the New Testament shows us that God is still very concerned that we worship in acceptable ways, only in ways revealed to us by the one who is to be worshipped. Many references in the New Testament detail the elimination of the priesthood, of the sacrifices, of the many holy days, of the dietary laws and other temporal regulations. But these passages never tell us that is has become acceptable to introduce man made innovations. Only God may change and institute worship forms.
In speaking against the confused views of the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus showed that the traditions that help us keep in line with what is right, must be God given not man invented.
Mark 7:6-9 And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. (7) But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' (8) Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." (9) He was also saying to them, "You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition."
The foundation for the prescriptive principle of regulated worship is seen here very clearly. The concern of our Lord was to ensure that our practices, particularly our methods of worship (7:7) are bounded only by traditions that preserve what is prescribed by the Lord for his people. Traditions that perpetuate human innovations are not to be our guide.
Jesus spoke directly of the changes in worship that his coming would bring. In his discourse with the woman at the well in Samaria, he affirmed that the outward forms previously required by God would be done away. But his reasoning with her does not imply that he meant an elimination of the prescriptive principle of regulated worship. Rather, his comments affirm its continuance. The woman asked about a specific difference between the worship she knew as a Samaritan and that of Israel. The woman asked in John 4:20, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."
John 4:21-24 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. (22) You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. (23) But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. (24) God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us."
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
There are several relevant points made here that serve to direct us in this new era after the completion of the Mosaic law in Christ.
First, God's revelation is alone the source of how he is to be worshipped. The Samaritans were in error because their innovation was in ignorance while the practice of the Jews had been in accord with what God himself had made known (4:22).
Second, the modes of worship can only change when God gives further revelation directly. Only one who was a true prophet could announce such a change. Jesus, as the Messiah, had even greater authority than a mere prophet.
Third, the eliminating of the Jerusalem Temple as the only authorized place of called worship did not mean that all concern for what God specified was changing. It only meant that the specifications were changing. The realized form was not to be less careful about offending the unknown aspects of God's nature. It was to be just as committed to revealed truth. So Jesus said not only that the new era of worship would be more oriented in the non-physical part of man as led by the Holy Spirit. He also insisted that it would be a worship in truth. That is, in accord with what God has made known.
Contrary to the issues in the Samaritan debate, true worship would not be determined by man made traditions, it would not be set by individual convictions about what helps them feel as though they were honoring God. It was to be in accord with direct revelation. Again, the prescriptive principle is the only way to account for the way Jesus answered the questions at the well.
Why Were Worship Abuses Tolerated?
Some try to soften God's displeasure over innovative worship by
pointing out that God does not treat all violators with death as he did in the
cases of Cain and Uzzah. They surmise that other factors must have been
involved that we are not aware of, factors other than mere innovation in
worship. The problems with such reasoning are rather obvious.
First, we are not to ignore what is said in the context of a Biblical account of a judgment of God simply because we suspect there may be unrevealed issues that are the real reason for the judgment. There are always matters beyond what we know. But if God gives us a reason for his judgment, we had better accept it as such. When we begin surmising about unstated extenuations, we open the door to confuse every statement of human language and make the Bible a totally obscure book. God has not failed in his purpose to make himself known in the Scriptures. They are our sufficient guide, even though they may at time teach things we would rather not face as true.
But the more serious error is to presume that forbearance implies approbation. God many times spoke of how he had allowed sin to abound as men heaped judgment upon themselves. Its certainly true that Aaron was not executed for making the golden calf. Many times kings, priests and false prophets turned the masses of Israel from the true worship of Jehovah to idols. But in almost every case, though not always resulting in immediate death, God's displeasure is beyond doubt. Often the purpose of a biblical passage is to record what happened in a situation leaving the moral principles involved for passages where they are directly taught. Its certainly true with the examples cited earlier in this lesson that God severely punishes those who dared to pervert his worship by innovations of man. The instances recorded are enough to establish the point clearly.
We must also keep in mind that God's ordinary way of dealing with sin is by means of human instruments. He instituted offices of authority to carry out his judgments on earth. Authority is given to elders to oversee his church, and to various types of governors to rule in the state for him. The civil government is called God's minister for good in Romans 13, and is said to bear the power of the sword by God's appointment. This is why God does not intervene supernaturally to execute murderers or rapists on the spot. He has entrusted that duty to the rulers of the state. Similarly God does not strike all false worshippers down supernaturally. That judgment is the duty of the elders of the church. One of their awesome jobs is to follow the detailed process of church discipline as laid out in the Scriptures. They may have to, in some cases, remove an unrepentant and contumacious member of the covenant community from the table of the Lord. The lack of supernatural intervention in temporal judgments is not a denial of the fact of the sin, but an affirmation of the process God instituted by which it is ordinarily to be administered.
The Prescriptive Principle Summarized
As long ago as the time of Moses God had clearly summarized the
basic principle of Sola Scriptura (that Scripture alone is our absolute rule in
matters of faith and practice). The prescriptive principle for the regulation
of worship is nothing more than an application of that principle.
Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I am
commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep
the commandments of the LORD your God which I command
you.
The Object of Worship
WCF 21:2
II. Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creature: and, since the fall, not without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ alone.
That God alone is to be worshipped, was taken up in the first section of this syllabus lesson. The First Commandment makes it clear that no other person or other created thing should receive the honor due to the Creator. To attribute the special characteristics of deity to any but the true God, or to credit original good any other than him, be it to a person, to a force or to the mathematical laws of probability, is to defy our purpose as humans.
That we cannot approach God in worship other than by a Mediator who could be none other that our Savior Jesus Christ, was covered under our study of that topic in the eighth chapter of the Confession.