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What does it mean to be Reformed? Minister’s Fraternal 08.03.2005.

Why the need for this question?

In his book The Worship of God: Reformed Concepts of Biblical Worship Joseph A. Piper Jr. discusses what he calls “the worship wars”.

These are debates current in the Church about the nature and practice of worship as a congregational activity. Worship is discussed in the context of its contemporary relevance, modernity, impact upon the unbeliever, use of music and the extent to which it meets the needs of the believer. Such debates are referred to by Piper as “wars” because of the way in which they are conducted and the effects upon the Ministers and churches involved. The context of debate is often one of anxiety and suspicion; anxiety over the perceived condition of the church herself and suspicion of those with alternative views. The effects of such debates are often divisions within and between congregations and a parting of the ways amongst Ministers.

This attempt to arrive at a definition of “Reformed” is undertaken in order to address the issues raised in such worship wars from a perspective which is avowedly common to us all.

To be Reformed.

1. Firstly to be Reformed is to be interested in the subject of Authority; its nature, scope and location. A person of reformed conviction will ask himself what is his authority for thinking, believing and doing all that he does as a Christian first and as a Minister second.

There appears to be a number of options regarding the location of authority:

a) Tradition. Tradition can be expressed in ways that are theological, denominational, ecclesiological, confessional and doxological.

b) Reason. This tradition finds its authority in our rational faculty. A Christian is expected to assess, make judgements, to form opinions and to consider what he/she considers to be right and to provide arguments for doing so. For the purposes of our discussion it is the authority of reason in the conduct of worship with which we are concerned.

c) The non-believer. Here an action or a practice is thought to be authoritative if it is thought to appeal to, to make sense to or might be accessible to the unbeliever. This is not the same issue as seeking to make the Gospel clear to the unsaved (we would all agree here) but is a consideration of the unbeliever which makes our understanding of him/her the basis upon which we do things. Evangelism is the justification for this approach and it seems to be pragmatic in its nature rather than principled.

d)The believer. Authority lies here with an assessment of the condition of the Christian/congregation for whom we have responsibility. A Pastor may be concerned about the apparent lifelessness, joylessness, dullness of his congregation and finds ministering in such a context week by week difficult and onerous. He may fear the possibility of loss of numbers, particularly of young people to charismatic type churches and may wonder whether or not members of the church are growing restless. Such a Pastor may reflect upon what he can do to address such perceived issues and to keep/attract believers. His assessment of what the believer needs/wants becomes the basis (how aware?) of what he introduces into the worship of the congregation. Thus music, various elements are introduced.

e) The Holy Spirit. This view of authority is found in RT Kendall’s autobiography. Paul Cain talks of the need for Westminster Chapel to “keep open to the Holy Spirit” following Kendall’s retirement from the Pastorate. The Holy spirit is understood to operate in a ways that do not rely upon the Scriptures and a Christian’s duty is to be sensitive to the Spirit in order to hear what He is saying to the churches today.

f) The Scriptures. The cry of the Reformation was “Sola Scriptura”. A

Reformed Pastor will find ultimate (sole?) authority in the Scriptures. Tradition and reason have a part to play but have to be in subjection to the Scriptures themselves. The Scripture bares witness to its own sufficiency as our guide for all that we believe and do = 2 Tim 3v16, 1 Tim 3v15. To be reformed is to continually bring under the authority of the Bible all aspects of the Christian life. It is a constant process of “re-forming”. This approach to authority is Deontological in its nature.

2. Secondly to be a Reformed Pastor is a matter of Historical Continuity. Such a Pastor sees himself as inheriting and maintaining a witness to the truth of the Gospel that began with the Apostles, incorporates the work of Augustine, and finds its clearest articulation and fullest expression in the 16^th /17^th Centuries with Calvin, other Continental Theologians and the English Puritans. This witness continued through, amongst others, Whitefield, Edwards, Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones.

This historical inheritance takes the form of Confessions, Commentaries, Directories and other writings. It covers all areas of belief and action. To be reformed is not merely a matter of Soteriology (as it often appears to be amongst many) but also of Ecclesiology, Eschatology and Doxology. What has been discovered in relation to the subject of the act of worship?

a) The Concept of Worship. What is worship? Jeremiah Burroughs in Gospel Worship says that worship is a communal desire to commune with God as a result of the command of God issued to His people (indeed to the whole world) and in the place appointed by God for this purpose, cf Psalm 100. God Himself is the focus of attention in worship and the aim is the glory of God.

b) The Importance of Worship. Calvin writes in The Necessity of Reforming the Church (Protestant Heritage Press, 1995, trans Henry Beveridge):

“the whole substance of Christianity is a knowledge first of the mode
in which God is duly worshipped and secondly of the source from
which salvation is to be obtained” (pg15).

c) The Nature of worship. The WCF Chpt XX1:1 states:

“he (God) may not be worshipped according to the imagination and
devices of men or the suggestion of Satan, under any visible
representation or any other way not prescribed in Scripture”.

d) The Content of worship. God has revealed in Scripture the way in which He is to be worshipped in the church. Scripture prescribes:

• Prayer. I Cor 11:2-16, 14:14-17, 1 Tim 2:1f.
• Congregational Singing. Col 3:16, Eph 5:19. (Discuss 1 Cor 14:26)
• The Ministry of the Word in reading and preaching. 1 Tim 4:13, 2 Tim 4:1/2.
• The Lord’s Supper. 1 Cor 11:17-34.
• The Collection for the needs of the Saints. 1 Cor 16:1/2

Thus “lawful” worship is that which the Lord has established “by Himself”. He is the Sovereign Lord and is to be worshipped in recognition of His rights as Lord. Worship is to be brought into conformity with His revealed will.

e) The Organisation of Worship. The Westminster Standards organise worship by making a three-fold distinction between Elements, Forms and Circumstances.

1. Elements. These are Scripturally determined and unchangeable. True worship (God honouring worship) can only contain such prescribed elements (as found in the above list).

2. Forms. This refers to the content of the elements The Forms have to be consistent with the elements to which they give expression and concerning which there is considerable freedom. Thus form of a sermon refers both its content (which Book of the Bible am I preaching from) and the manner in which it is delivered. Delivery has to be consistent with its element. Is a power point presentation consistent with the element of preaching? What about the pneumatic element? Is a discussion consistent with the element of preaching?

3. Circumstances. This is concerned with the how and the when and the where of worship. The WCF 1.6 states that circumstances have to be ordered by principles that are common the human society and action, by the light of nature and by Christian prudence. All must be consistent with the light of Scripture.

Implications for the Worship Wars.

1. The Worship Service. The reformed perspective calls for reflection upon the current notion that considers worship to be that which is done prior to the sermon. How legitimate is it to separate the sermon from the act of worship? Does not the sermon provide the climax to worship?

2. Music. This broad subject includes such elements as the nature of the music used to give expression to song and the place of musicians in worship. A reformed perspective would place the type of music to be employed under the heading of Circumstances but would reject the idea of musicians performing to or on behalf of the congregation (whilst it remains silent) because of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers 1 Pet 2:9. The idea of a soloist, choir or group performing to a congregation as one aspect of worship is to be rejected because it is not a prescribed element. Historically such innovations appear to have two roots: The Medieval practice in which singing became the preserve of monks and clerics and the Anglo-Catholic tradition (Tractarianism) beginning in 1830’s Oxford. The influence of John Jebb (1841, as quoted in James White’s book “The Church Choir Friend or Foe?”) was firstly felt in the Church of England before influencing other Protestant denominations (The Worship of God pg 288f)

3. The Words to Sing. There has been debate here between the case for Exclusive Psalmody and the legitimacy of the use of Hymns in public worship, the latter seemingly becoming common during the 19^th century.

4. The Unsaved. Cliff Blair of Charlotte, North Carolina argues that it was the influx of un-churched men and women into the churches during the Second Great Awakening in America in the early 19^th Century that lead to change of emphasis in the Presbyterian Church. Previously the aim of worship was the adoration of God but upon the coming of many “unsaved” during a period of revival the emphasis shifted to ways of “convicting” them. Choirs and soloists were introduced as means to this end and this approach was continued and popularized by the ministry of Finney and, later, Moody. This method crossed the Atlantic as a result of the ministry of both men and was reinforced by an increasing awareness of the need to “reach” the unsaved masses outside the church. Note the effect of the first National Religious Census 1851 upon the non-Conformist conscience.

Conclusion.

In reaching an answer to the question we have set ourselves it is important not to begin with specific issues such as the rightness/wrongness of exclusive psalm singing, infant baptism, church government, the place of preaching, the application of the Regulative Principle or the manner of worship. It is important to see that the question centres upon how our understanding of such issues is to be governed and what is our attitude to how they are settled. A reformed individual will have an attitude of submission to the authority of Scripture. It is an attitude that is prepared to bow to the Sovereignty of God. To be reformed is to be truly Biblical and a reformed identity is a Biblical identity. Each ecclesia is to be taken incrementally towards the Biblical standards in the knowledge that complete conformity to the ideal is not possible until Heaven. We need to avoid a Guantanamo Bay approach to our understanding. Calvin writes:

“I know how difficult it is to persuade that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned by His Word. The opposite persuasion cleaves to them, that whatever they do has in itself a sufficient sanction, provided it exhibits some kind of zeal for the honour of God. But since God…plainly abominates whatever we undertake…if at variance with His command. The words of God are clear and distinct: ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’ and ‘In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men’ 1 Sam 15:22. Mere ‘will worship’ is vanity Col 2:23. This is the decision and when the Judge has decided it is no longer time to debate” ( On the Necessity, pg128f).

Discussion.

1. The need to be Contemporary. What does this statement mean?

2. Unity. What is the nature of unity we are required to demonstrate with one another? Discuss Adiaphora here?

3. Identity as a group of churches as well as a Fraternal.

4. Individual freedom of expression and the right to organise worship in our congregations according to our own understanding of the Biblical principles.