THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE OF WORSHIP: WELL INTENDED BUT BADLY BUNGLED

THE REGULATIVE PRINCIPLE OF WORSHIP:

WELL INTENDED BUT BADLY BUNGLED

By Forrest Wayne Schultz

I am not going to say much about the Regulative Principle of Worship (The RPW) beyond what I just said in the Title. The RPW has an excellent motivation behind it -- to worship God the right way, in a way which honors God and is well-pleasing to Him and is a good testimony before the watching world. Unfortunately, that is not the whole story. Instead the RPW has led to acrimonious debates, the sundering of fellowships, and a poor testimony before the watching world, and has brought dishonor upon the Name of God.

Let me say that I am all in favor of church worship services which use only the best music. I am appalled at the degenerate stuff now found in many churches, such as so-called "Christian Rock", for example. But I am also appalled at the exclusive psalmody dogma. How dare any church forbid Haydn's Creation or Handel's Messiah or Bach's Jesu Joy Of Man's Desiring or such grand hymns as "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" or "Thine Be The Glory, Risen Conquering Son"?? This is preposterous in extremis!! That kind of music is the very kind we need, the kind we wish to encourage, the kind which glorifies God and edifies the listener. To EXCLUDE music of this quality is the height (or is it the depth) of absurdity. That is the very thing the RPW is supposed to encourage and to INCLUDE in our worship services!!

There is one of two conclusions to which we must come based on the absurdity of using the RPW to exclude excellent christian music. Either the RPW itself is false. Or the ones who claim to believe in the RPW do not understand it.

OK, here is the line to be drawn. If The RPW includes and encourages and praises Handel's Messiah and Thine Be The Glory, Risen Conquering Son and other GREAT GOD-HONORING Christian music then it is true, so that anybody who uses it to exclude great stuff does NOT understand it. But if the RPW, rightly understood, excludes Handel's Messiah and Thine Be The Glory, Risen Conquering Son, then it is false and must be emphatically repudiated.

That is where I stand!! Where do you stand??

Sincerely,

Forrest Wayne Schultz