Baptist Worship, Ordinances, and Preaching — Unit 1: The Regulative and Normative Principles in Baptist Worship

Key Verse

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain why the question "How should the church worship?" is a question about Scripture and not about personal taste.

2. Define the regulative principle and the normative principle and name the church families that hold each.

3. Distinguish the "elements" of worship from the "circumstances" of worship and give examples of each.

4. State the main objections to the regulative principle and the main objections to the normative principle, and give the Baptist answer to each.

5. Apply a simple set of questions to a new practice that someone proposes for your church.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the Baptist tradition, for Baptist students. It is conservative. It holds that the Bible is the inspired and fully trustworthy Word of God and the final authority for faith and practice. When it says "we," it means Baptists who confess this. Other Christians, and some historians, see matters differently. We state their views fairly and then give the Baptist answer. Our history is taught in Course 1 and our doctrine in Course 2, so this course will refer to them briefly and will not repeat them.

Why Worship Needs a Principle

Every church worships. Every pastor must decide what happens on Sunday: what is sung, what is read, who speaks, and what is added or left out. These choices are never neutral. They teach the people what God is like and what He desires.

Many pastors decide by habit ("we have always done it this way") or by pressure ("the young people want something new"). Baptists have always wanted a better reason than these. Our reason begins with Scripture. Worship belongs to God. He is not the guest at our service; we are His guests. So the first question is not "What do we enjoy?" but "What does God ask of us?"

Jesus said that the Father seeks worshippers who worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24). "In spirit" means from the heart, by the Spirit's help, not only with outward forms. "In truth" means in agreement with what God has revealed. Both words matter. A service full of feeling but without truth does not please Him. A service correct in form but cold in heart does not please Him either.

Scripture gives a warning. In Leviticus 10:1-3, Nadab and Abihu offered fire "which He had not commanded them," and the Lord judged them. Jesus said of religious leaders in His day, "And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). Paul warned the Colossians against self-made religion (Colossians 2:20-23). These passages do not settle every detail, but they show that the manner of worship is a serious matter to God.

The Regulative Principle

The regulative principle says that the church should do in public worship what God has commanded in His Word, and should not do what He has not commanded. Scripture regulates, or governs, worship.

This principle was taught by John Calvin and the Reformed churches, and the English Puritans held it strongly. The Westminster Confession (1640s) states it, and the Baptist Second London Confession (1689) follows the Westminster Confession closely in its chapter on worship. The Baptists who wrote the 1689 Confession were Particular Baptists. They taught that God Himself has set the right way to worship, that He is not to be worshipped by human inventions or by pictures and images, and that the way He has set is the way revealed in Scripture.

Where the principle comes from

Those who hold this view point to several things:

• God's own commands about worship in the Old Testament, such as Deuteronomy 12:32, which tells Israel not to add to or take away from what the Lord commanded.

• The judgment on Nadab and Abihu, and Jesus' words in Mark 7.

• The sufficiency of Scripture. If the Bible is "profitable... that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), then it is enough to guide our worship too.

• The experience of our own people. Baptists were persecuted in England because they would not use the Book of Common Prayer that the Act of Uniformity of 1662 required. They believed the king and the bishops had no right to command worship that Christ had not commanded. Conscience and Scripture stood together.

The elements of worship

Those who hold the regulative principle usually list the elements of worship, meaning the parts God has commanded. Most list these:

1. Reading of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:13).

2. Preaching and hearing the Word (2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 20:7).

3. Prayer (Acts 2:42; 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

4. Singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

5. The two ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

6. Giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

Acts 2:42 gives a short picture of the first church: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

The circumstances of worship

No honest church can obey the Bible without making some decisions the Bible does not make. The Scriptures do not tell us at what hour to meet, how long to preach, what kind of building to use, whether to have benches or chairs, or how to light the room. These are called circumstances. The 1689 Confession teaches, with the Westminster Confession, that such matters are to be arranged by Christian prudence and the general rules of the Word. Even Paul said, "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40).

This is a very important distinction. The regulative principle does not say, "Whatever is not mentioned in the Bible is forbidden." It says, "The elements, the parts of worship, must be commanded; the circumstances may be arranged wisely." A hymnbook, a microphone, a printed bulletin, and the time of the meeting are circumstances. Dance, drama, and incense, if they are brought in as acts of worship, are claimed to be new elements, and the question must be asked whether God commanded them.

The Normative Principle

The normative principle says that the church may do in worship whatever is not forbidden by Scripture, so long as it is done decently, in order, and for the building up of the church. Scripture does not regulate every detail; it sets limits and norms.

This view is held by Lutherans and Anglicans, and by many other Christians. In the Baptist family, it is held by many churches today, though often without the name. Those who hold this view point to these things:

• The New Testament does not give a full order of service. It gives few details. The silence leaves room for wisdom and local custom.

• Jesus attended the feast of dedication (John 10:22), a festival that the Old Testament law did not command, and He did not condemn it.

• Paul told the Corinthians, "Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification" (1 Corinthians 14:26). The goal was the church's building up, and the order was left to them.

• Churches in different cultures cannot all worship in the same way. A church in the highlands of Mexico, a church in a city in Nigeria, and a church in Cuba have different languages, instruments and customs. The normative principle gives them freedom to worship as their own people, not as foreigners.

Weighing the Two Principles

Objections to the regulative principle, and the answer

Objection 1: It is too narrow, and no one really follows it. Critics say the Bible does not command the Sunday School, the printed bulletin, the church building, or the sound system. If we obeyed the principle strictly we would have none of them.

Our answer. This objection is fair against a careless form of the principle, but it fails against the careful form. The Baptist confession itself separates elements from circumstances. Sunday School and a sound system are helps to the commanded elements: teaching and hearing the Word. The line is not always easy to draw, and sincere Baptists draw it in different places. But a line that is hard to draw is not a line that does not exist.

Objection 2: The Old Testament commands do not bind the New Testament church. Deuteronomy 12 and Leviticus 10 were given to Israel under the old covenant.

Our answer. We agree that the old covenant temple worship has ended in Christ. But the principle behind the commands, that God is the one who says how He is to be worshipped, is not a ceremony; it is part of who God is. The New Testament itself carries the principle forward in Mark 7 and Colossians 2, which were written to the new covenant people.

Objection 3: It can produce cold and legalistic worship. Critics say a church can become so concerned with rules that it forgets the heart.

Our answer. This danger is real. Jesus' words in John 4 require both spirit and truth. A church that keeps the correct elements but loves neither God nor people has failed. The answer to the danger is warmth joined to obedience, not freedom from obedience.

Objections to the normative principle, and the answer

Objection 1: It opens the door to anything. If everything not forbidden is allowed, the church will drift toward entertainment, showmanship, or the customs of the world.

Our answer. This objection is serious, and the history of the church supports it. The Roman Catholic Church added many practices over the centuries on the ground that Scripture did not forbid them. Baptists became a separate people partly because they refused to accept them. So even Baptists who do not hold the regulative principle must hold a firm rule: anything added must serve the commanded elements, must be consistent with the gospel, and must build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:26, 40).

Objection 2: It leaves the conscience at the mercy of the majority or of the pastor. If worship is decided by custom or vote, who protects the believer who is troubled?

Our answer. Here the Baptist teaching on the priesthood of all believers and the liberty of conscience is important. No pastor may command what Christ has not commanded. When a practice is questioned, the church must be able to show from Scripture that it is permitted and useful.

What do Baptists actually do?

Historians have discussed how strictly the early Baptists held the regulative principle. The Particular Baptists of the 1600s expressed it clearly in their confession. Yet Baptists also disagreed with each other from the start. The controversy over singing hymns, which we study in Unit 3, shows that even strong supporters of the principle could differ about what Scripture commanded. Some historians conclude that the Baptists always held a wide range of views. Others say the confessional position was the standard and the variety shows only the human difficulty of applying it. Both statements contain truth.

Today most conservative Baptist churches stand somewhere between the two principles. They agree that the elements of worship come from Scripture, and they use wisdom and local custom for the circumstances. Our conclusion in this course is as follows: the elements of Baptist worship must rest on Scripture; the circumstances may be arranged by wisdom and love; and whatever a church adds must be tested by the Word. This conclusion honors the Baptist concern that worship be biblical, and it keeps the freedom that lets Baptist churches worship in their own language and culture.

A Set of Questions for New Practices

When a person proposes something new, a pastor can lead the church through these questions:

1. Is this an element or a circumstance? If it is only a circumstance (a time, a place, a tool), it may be decided by wisdom.

2. If it is an element, is it commanded or shown in Scripture?

3. Does it serve the reading, preaching, prayer, singing or ordinances, or does it replace them?

4. Is it understandable to the people? Paul said we should pray and sing with the mind also (1 Corinthians 14:15).

5. Does it build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:26), or does it draw attention to the performer?

6. Does it cause a brother or sister to stumble (Romans 14:19-21)?

7. Is it consistent with the gospel? It must not suggest that we earn favor with God by ceremony.

Pastoral Application

A young leader in a small church wants to add a time of dramatic reenactment of Bible stories on Sunday mornings and to shorten the sermon to make room. Older members are upset. They say, "This is not worship." The young leader answers, "The Bible does not forbid it."

The pastor does not choose a side too quickly. First, he asks both to come with Scripture. Second, he explains the difference between an element and a circumstance. Drama as a teaching help for children, in the Sunday School, may be a circumstance. Drama that replaces the preaching of the Word would change an element. Third, he leads the church through the seven questions above. Fourth, he does not allow the sermon to be shortened for the sake of something that cannot take its place, because preaching is a commanded element. Finally, he thanks the young leader for his zeal. The result may be that the drama is used in the children's ministry and as an introduction before the preaching, and the sermon is kept. All sides are treated with respect.

Summary

Worship belongs to God, and He has the right to say how He is to be worshipped. Jesus requires worship "in spirit and truth." The regulative principle, held by the Particular Baptists of the 1689 Confession, teaches that the elements of public worship must be those God commanded: reading, preaching, prayer, singing, the ordinances, and giving. The normative principle, held by Lutherans, Anglicans and many others, allows what Scripture does not forbid. Each principle has strengths and dangers. The first is accused of narrowness and legalism; the second of opening the door to anything. Most conservative Baptists today hold the elements to the Word and arrange the circumstances by wisdom. A pastor needs a clear set of questions for testing a new practice, and he must lead his church with humility and love.

Further Reading

• The Second London Confession (1689), chapters 1 and 22, available in the public domain.

• Benjamin Keach, The Breach Repaired in God's Worship (1691), public domain.

• J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual (1867), public domain.

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, public domain.

• James Leo Garrett Jr., Baptist Theology: A Four-Century Study (2009).

• H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage (1987).

Submit Exam & Check Pass Reset