This essay was originally published during the Easter season, but it applies equally to celebrations of Advent and Christmas. Today (the day upon which I write this essay) is Maundy Thursday. Tomorrow will be Good Friday and this Sunday is Easter. In the liturgical calendar, each of these days has a special significance. Maundy Thursday… Continue Reading
John Frame is among one of the most influential theologians to defend contemporary worship music and practice, particularly through his two popular books, Worship in Spirit and Truth and Contemoprary Worship Music. What many may not realize is that his philosophy expounded in these books emerges from a softening and redefinition of the governing doctrine of his… Continue Reading
A few days ago, Pastor Aaron Menikoff had a piece posted from the most recent 9Marks eJournal on the 9Marks blog.1 In this piece, entitled “What About Movie Clips? Applying the Regulative Principle,” Menikoff advocates the regulative principle and gives a couple brief reasons (in application) to avoid movie clips in sermons. The piece is… Continue Reading
[This essay was originally published on July 8, 2005.] Patriots come in more than one variety. Some patriots honor their nation more than they honor God. That kind of patriotism is arrogant, idolatrous, and immoral. Other patriots, however, are motivated by a sense of gratitude at the patrimony they have received from their homeland. They… Continue Reading
Tuesday I linked to an important article by Carl Trueman about the sufficiency of Scripture. I believe this article is so important that I’d like to highlight a few of his points here. Trueman makes an intriguing statement in his article: There is a sense in which we might say that Protestants believe in the insufficiency of… Continue Reading
(The articles in this series were originally written for publication in the local newspaper of the town in which I pastor.) Last week, I proposed that we would do well to consider what God looks for in a church, and our first characteristic of such a sound church is that it will be one that… Continue Reading
Yesterday I suggested that some kind of expression of union between brothers in Christ should be part of corporate worship, particularly as part of the observance of the Table, which is a celebration of our union with Christ and each other through him. I suggested that in the early centuries this was a kiss of… Continue Reading
The fifth principle derived from the fact that culture is behavior is that the Word of God alone governs the behavior of the church as an institution. The danger VanDrunen expressed regarding describing behaviors in the civic sphere as “Christian” is that when everything becomes Christian, nothing is Christian. In this concern he is right, especially in… Continue Reading
An interesting online discussion has emerged in the past few weeks about the issue of not singing a particular song in a service when that song expresses sentiments you do not believe to be true. The discussion began with Roger Olson, who argued that we should not sing a song when the doctrine does not… Continue Reading
At this year’s Conference on Conservative Christianity (which concluded Tuesday), Steve Thomas of Huron Baptist Church made a point in one of his sessions that I found remarkably insightful. Most of those attending the conference would either embrace the regulative principle of worship outright, or would advocate something very much like the regulative principle. The… Continue Reading
Biblical worship is the worship revealed in the Bible as pleasing to God. Since the Bible reveals God’s nature, will, and works, we should expect that God prescribes how He wants to be worshipped in Scripture. Both Old Testament principle and New Testament precept (1 Tim 3:15) combine to show us that God’s worship is… Continue Reading
In his Nature and Causes of Apostasy from the Gospel (contained in vol. 7 of the Banner Works), John Owen (1616-1683) spends a chapter briefly discussing the “apostasy from evangelical worship.” Owen is quite broad in this chapter, seeking, as he says, to discuss “only . . . such things as the generality of Christians,… Continue Reading
One of the key passages in Scripture that illustrates deviant worship is found in Exodus 32:1-10: When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought… Continue Reading
If, as I have suggested, Christian conservatism stands upon two primary pillars (a commitment to align one’s ideas with transcendent absolutes that are rooted in God himself and a commitment to preserve those traditions that have best expressed those transcendent ideas), then we may draw at least four very important implications for Christian worship. If you’ve wondered… Continue Reading
In part 2 of this podcast, Scott Aniol talks with TJ Klapperich and Scott Williquette about the regulative principle of worship, what the difference is between conservatives and progressives, and the influence of charismatic theology on worship. [podcast]http://www.religiousaffections.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Podcast_-God-Centered-Worship-Part-2.mp3[/podcast] Download Subscribe to our Podcast! iTunes | RSS Continue Reading
Conservative Christians will commit to worship regulated by the Word of God. Ever since Cain and Abel, God’s people have been asking, “What is the best way to worship God?” Answers to this question have generally fallen into one of two categories. On the one hand are those who believe that as long as we… Continue Reading
The Glory Due His Name: What God Says About Worship by Gary Reimers. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2009. 100 pp. $9.95. The Glory Due His Name by Gary Reimers is a welcome addition to the Bob Jones University Seminary “Biblical Discernment for Difficult Issues” series. Gary Reimers is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church… Continue Reading
When discussing what are or are not acceptable elements for worship, some will raise the issue of dancing. “David danced before the Lord, didn’t he?” Here are just some sketches of thoughts about this issue: 1. Whatever “dancing” is in the Old Testament, it is nowhere found in the New Testament, so a strict observance… Continue Reading
A Radical Change Protestants have historically been suspect of Dionysian forms of music, especially in sacred contexts, because they recognized that spiritual life resides in the affections and not in the physical feelings. They did not want to stimulate artificial experiences of the senses but rather nurture biblical affections through the mind and spirit. Presbyterians,… Continue Reading
by Kevin Bauder The First Baptist Distinctive, Part Four: The Rule of Prescription Continue Reading