← Back to sermon library

We can turn in your confession 
to chapter 22. We spent a lot of time over the last couple 
years on the Sabbath, last time we went through the book of Exodus, 
or recently, Exodus chapter 20, so I just want to do an overview 
of chapter 22 of religious worship and the Sabbath day, without 
getting into every jot and tittle in this particular chapter. If 
anybody has questions or comments, As we move along, please feel 
free to blurt out, and we can deal with those sorts of things. 
So beginning in chapter 22 at paragraph 1, the light of nature 
shows that there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty 
over all, is just, 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 all the soul, and with all the 
might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is 
instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, 
that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations 
and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, 
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. Religious 
worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
and to Him alone, not to angels, saints, or any other creatures, 
and since the fall, not without a mediator, nor in the mediation 
of any other, but Christ alone. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being 
one part of natural worship, is by God required of all men. 
But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name 
of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will, 
with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, 
and perseverance, and when with others, in a known tongue. Prayer 
is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men living, 
or that shall live hereafter, but not for the dead, nor for 
those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin 
unto death. The reading of the scriptures, 
preaching, and hearing the word of God, teaching and admonishing 
one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing 
with grace in our hearts to the Lord, as also the administration 
of baptism and the Lord's supper, are all parts of religious worship 
of God, to be performed in obedience to Him with understanding, faith, 
reverence, and godly fear. Moreover, solemn humiliation 
with fastings and thanksgivings upon special occasions ought 
to be used in a holy and religious manner. Neither prayer, nor any 
other part of religious worship is now under the gospel, tied 
unto, or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed, 
or towards which it is directed. But God is to be worshipped everywhere, 
in spirit and in truth, as in private families daily, and in 
secret each one by himself. so more solemnly in the public 
assemblies which are not carelessly nor willfully to be neglected 
or forsaken when God by his word of providence calleth thereto. 
As it is the law of nature that in general a proportion of time 
by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God so by 
his word in a positive moral and perpetual commandment binding 
all men in all ages he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for 
a sabbath to be kept holy unto him. which, from the beginning 
of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of 
the week, and from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the 
first day of the week, which is called the Lord's Day, and 
is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian 
Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished. 
The Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after 
a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs 
aforehand, do not only observe and wholly rest all the day from 
their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employment 
and recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the 
public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties 
of necessity and mercy. Amen. Well, as we saw last time 
in chapter 21 of Christian liberty and liberty of conscience, Cam 
gave a good overview, a good explanation of that particular 
chapter. Well, in these subsequent chapters from there, we see that 
doctrine applied. If liberty of conscience, with 
reference to the Christian, means that he's free from the commandments 
of men in both the civil and ecclesiastical sphere, then it 
makes sense that on the heels of that statement concerning 
liberty of conscience, we have a reference to religious worship 
in the Sabbath day. It's the Bible that's to regulate 
our conduct. It's the Bible that's to regulate 
our thoughts. It's not to be a body of men outside of the 
Word of God that function in a manner that is contrary to 
the Word of God. And then, of course, in the civil 
magistrate. That's going to come in chapter 24. We are not bound 
by civil tyranny. We are free with reference to 
the worship of God when civil tyrants or ecclesiastical tyrants 
tell us or command us to do that which is contrary to God. We 
must obey God rather than men. So, liberty of conscience was 
a very important doctrine at the time of the Protestant Reformation. 
So, as I said, the subsequent chapters flesh that out, give 
details on how we are able to maintain that reality and do 
so in the confines strictly according to God's holy word. So with reference 
to this particular chapter, I want to just give an overview of it, 
as I said, so I'll give you the outline. We see first the regulative 
principle of worship in paragraphs 1 and 2. So the Bible tells us, 
the Bible commands us, how we are to worship God. Second, you 
have the specific elements involved in worship. That's in paragraphs 
3 to 5. And this is an important discussion 
when it comes to the regulative principle of worship, when we 
talk about elements and circumstances. Elements are those things commanded 
by God that we need to obey. Circumstances are things like, 
which hymnal will we use? What time will we show up? And 
so circumstances and elements are a necessary part of a discussion 
concerning the regulative principle of worship. So that's why the 
Confession highlights those specific elements. And then thirdly, we 
see the appropriate location for worship in paragraph 6. So 
obviously, there's a contrast between the Old Covenant and 
the New Covenant in terms of the place of worship. They were 
commanded in Deuteronomy 12 to maintain a central sanctuary. 
And one of the reasons for that, or the rationale for that, was 
that when they were in that new land to which the Lord God was 
giving them, they weren't supposed to just go everywhere and anywhere 
to worship because of the temptation to engage in idolatry. So that central sanctuary was 
helpful to provoke orthodoxy and consistency when it came 
to the practice of religion in Old Covenant Israel. And then 
fourthly, you have the appointed day for worship in paragraphs 
7 and 8. So in paragraph 6, you have the 
location, and then in paragraph 7 and 8, you have the day, the 
Christian Sabbath. So let's look first at this regulative 
principle of worship in paragraphs 1 and 2. Notice the doctrine 
stated. It says, the light of nature 
shows that there is a God. So what is that? That's referring 
to general revelation. The heavens declare the glory 
of God, the heavens declare the righteousness, the majesty of 
God. You have that very clearly in Psalm 19. In fact, you can 
turn to Psalm 19, because I think it's very instructive in terms 
of the approach that the Confession takes. It makes this distinction 
between general revelation and special revelation, and it doesn't 
do that Just willy-nilly, it doesn't do that, you know, because 
they thought that would be a helpful construct. The Bible itself does 
that. So in Psalm 19, you have, beginning 
in verse 1, to the chief musician, a psalm of David. And then he 
says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament 
shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, night 
unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language 
where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through 
all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. in them 
he has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom 
coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to 
run its race. Its rising is from one end of 
heaven and its circuit to the other end, and there is nothing 
hidden from its heat." So that is the doctrine of general revelation. 
God's revelation of himself in the created order. And then in 
verse 7, notice the emphasis upon special revelation. The 
law of God is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the 
Lord is sure, making wise the simple. It continues to go on 
and amplify that blessed reality of special revelation. So the 
confession comments here with reference to the duty to worship 
God. It says this is a light of nature, 
a general revelation Truth, the light of nature shows that there 
is a God. And if the light of nature shows 
that there is a God and that that God created us and we are 
his creatures, then it follows that we're supposed to worship 
him, we're supposed to honor him, we're supposed to adore 
him. And that's what the Confession says. The light of nature shows 
that there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty over 
all, is just, good, and doth good unto all. Romans 1 is sort 
of a New Testament counterpart to this Psalm 19. And in Romans 
1, the Apostle Paul says that God makes himself known through 
the created order. We look at the created effects 
and it leads us back to a consideration of the God who created all things. 
And when you go to Romans chapter 1 specifically, there are concrete, 
objective truths that the creation reveals concerning God. In fact, 
you can turn there. Because as we look at this confession, 
we say, well, wait a minute, not everybody does believe that 
there is a God, not everybody does believe that he is just 
good and doth good unto all. Well, everybody as a result of 
the fall in Adam distorts and twists what is known of God in 
terms of their being image bearers and them seeing the revelation 
of God all around them. If you notice in chapter 1 at 
verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against 
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth 
and unrighteousness. Now notice in verse 19, because 
I mean, that's a powerful statement in verse 18, the wrath of God 
is revealed from heaven. Well, why would he do that? Why 
is God's wrath revealed? Why is he, you know, upset, to 
use creaturely language? What's the problem? Well, verse 
19 tells us what the problem is. Because what may be known 
of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. So 
regardless of the fact that persons say, well, I'm an atheist, I 
don't believe that God is, and I certainly don't believe that 
He's just, good, and doth good unto all, the Bible tells us 
differently. The Bible tells us that God has 
made man in His image, that God has revealed Himself through 
this light of nature, a general revelation, and that man does 
know. But man works hard to suppress 
that knowledge, and that's the emphasis in this section. Notice 
in verse 20, he says, for since the creation of the world, his 
invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the 
things that are made. So you see that. The effect leads 
us back to the cause. That's the argument of the apostle. 
And then he says, even his eternal power and Godhead. So the light 
of nature reveals the eternal power of the living and true 
God, and the light of nature reveals something of His Godhead, 
who He is in Himself. And then drop down to verse 32. He says, "...who," he's talking 
about those that are the targets of God's wrath, "...knowing the 
righteous judgment of God." They know that. It's in them. They, 
again, suppress that truth and unrighteousness, but that is 
knowledge that is available to them, who, knowing the righteous 
judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving 
of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who 
practice them. And so, back to verse 20. He 
says, Literally, they're without an apologetic. They're without 
a defense. And then he goes on to say, because 
although they knew God, this is man's problem, they did not 
glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in 
their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing 
to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the 
incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and 
birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. So man, 
the image-bearer of God, looks at the revelation of God in the 
created order, and it resonates with him at some level, and he 
knows certain truths about God. But what does he do with that 
knowledge? He suppresses that truth in unrighteousness. He's 
like that fool in Psalm 14. The fool has said in his heart, 
there is no God. Well, that is his sort of, you 
know, soliloquy with himself. He's trying to convince himself 
of something that at one level he knows is not the case. And so when we come to our confession, 
the light of nature functions in the manner that God intended 
it. It's a good thing. General revelation, we can't 
speak of it as being deficient or being bad. It does precisely 
what God has intended it to do. but it does not provide or afford 
the information concerning blood atonement through the Son of 
God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that necessitates special 
revelation. So man, the creature, is sinful. 
He twists and distorts the general revelation that's available to 
him. Through regeneration, God saves him, God gives him an appreciation, 
yes, for general revelation, so that now we look at the sun, 
we look at the sky, and we rejoice in the goodness of God. But he's 
also given us special revelation. so that we know how we are to 
deal or worship this true and living God. So that's the emphasis 
in the first half. The light of nature shows that 
there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is 
just, good, and doth good unto all. and is therefore, so here's 
a conclusion based on general revelation, if he is just, good, 
and doth good unto all, he is therefore worthy to be feared, 
worthy to be loved, worthy to be praised, worthy to be called 
upon, trusted in, and served, and to do so with all the heart 
and all the soul and with all the might. So it's a wonderful 
statement there. And so it's not, you know, out 
of the norm to, you know, in evangelism, upbraid a sinner 
because they don't worship God. Well, you know, we have this 
mindset, well, only Christians are going to worship God. Yeah, 
but all creatures are supposed to worship God. Jeremiah says 
this in Jeremiah 10, and John the Apostle says this in the 
book of Revelation, Who would not fear thee, O King of the 
nations? For indeed it is thy due. The 
fact that He's the King of the Nations, the fact that He is 
the Creator, the fact that He is God Most High, that He's just, 
good, and doth good unto all, resonates in the heart of man 
that he should worship this God. Now notice the confession turns 
the corner, says that general revelation is good, it manifests 
the duty. But it goes on to stipulate, 
but the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by 
himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may 
not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices 
of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, 
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. So again, 
the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by 
himself. That is crucial information, 
and it reflects what the scripture teaches. You can turn to the 
book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 12 upholds 
the moral principle involved. Obviously, there's positive law 
that differs in the Old Covenant and New Covenant, but the underlying 
principle is the same in both covenants. We are not to twist, 
we are not to distort, we are not to make up how to worship 
God. Notice I mentioned Deuteronomy 
12 is the emphasis on a central sanctuary, so that the children 
of Israel couldn't just go hankering after God wherever they pleased, 
but this would be a help to promote in them fidelity to the true 
and living God. So notice in 1229, when the Lord 
your God cuts off from before you nations which you go to dispossess, 
and you displace them and dwell in their land, Take heed to yourself 
that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed 
from before you. And that you do not inquire after 
their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? I also 
will do likewise. You shall not worship the Lord 
your God in that way. For every abomination to the 
Lord which He hates, they have done to their gods. For they 
burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Now, 
notice the principle in verse 32, "...whatever I command you, 
be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it, nor 
take away from it." Regulative principle of worship. You shall 
not add to it, nor take away from it. That is a, you know, 
two sides of the same coin in terms of sin against God. You 
have that in Proverbs 30. It is a sin to take from God's 
Word, but it's also a sin to add to God's Word. When you turn 
to the New Covenant, you see the same emphasis that the acceptable 
way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself. You 
can turn to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Again, I think passages that 
are hopefully familiar to us, and probably you know that there's 
differences among churches that have the regulative principle 
of worship. Well, usually those are intramural debates. Those 
are debates concerning elements and circumstances and that sort 
of thing. But in terms of the basic principle, 
the fact is that the Bible does stipulate the way that man is 
to approach God in religious worship. So in 1 Timothy 3.14, 
these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you 
shortly. But if I am delayed, I write. so that you may know 
how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God." Now, that's 
not sort of recommended or suggested. You know, Timothy, I just want 
to give you a few things that you should ponder and think about, 
pray about it, and you know, if you're so inclined, then do 
that. No, the oughtness here is a divine oughtness. This is 
how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. which is 
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the 
truth. Since it's his household, he gets to stipulate the rules, 
just like in your household, you get to make the rules. I 
don't come over to your house and, hopefully not, disobey the 
house rules, or I might get the boot in the rear end and, you 
know, ejected from that house. And yet we in the Christian Church 
think it's perfectly acceptable to come into the house of God 
Most High and say, well, you know, He has commanded these 
things, but they're not really, you know, emotionally vigorous. 
So we want to do this, and we want to do that, and we want 
to substitute this, or add this, or take away that. We don't have 
that privilege or prerogative. We have the duty to obey God. And then over in Hebrews chapter 
12. Hebrews chapter 12, specifically at verse 28. Hebrews 12, 28, Therefore, since 
we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have 
grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and 
godly fear. Again, that language of acceptably. Who's it acceptable to? Us? I 
mean, that defines or describes the sort of user-seeker-friendly 
church. Well, let's find out. Let's go 
to the neighborhood. Let's pass out sort of surveys 
or go door to door and ask people what they're looking for in a 
church. A lot of people would say, well, I like really emotional 
music. I like plays. I like drama. What about a sermon? Well, you 
know, maybe 10 minutes, something like that. OK, and then we come 
back. We crunch the numbers. We crunch the data. And then 
we tailor or formulate a service so that it's acceptable to the 
creature. That's not the acceptability in view here in verse 28. Therefore, 
since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us 
have grace by which we may serve God acceptably, and we are to 
do so with reverence and godly fear. And then notice the rationale 
in verse 29, right out of Deuteronomy 4, for our God is a consuming 
fire. So the God that was, in fact, 
revealed as a consuming fire in Leviticus chapter 10 is the 
God who we worship in this New Covenant era. And you can go 
back to Leviticus chapter 10 because the scripture, Deuteronomy 
4, Hebrews chapter 12, is speaking metaphorically. Our God is a 
consuming fire. But there are instances, or at 
least this one instance, where it is literal that he was, in 
fact, a consuming fire. Remember that in Leviticus chapters 
1 to 9, we have the question, how can sinful man dwell in the 
presence of God? The book of Exodus ends with 
the tabernacle built, the Shekinah glory of God present, but no 
one, including Moses, could not go in to meet with God. So the 
book of Leviticus comes on the heels of that to solve the tension, 
to relieve the tension. How do we get from this dwelling 
place of God to being a meeting place with God? Well, sacrifice, 
bloody knife, smoking altar. So they go through that legislation, 
the detailed legislation on how they're to approach the living 
God. Notice in chapter 9, we see that they implement this 
and we see God's approval. Leviticus 9 at verse 22. Then 
Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and 
came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, 
and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into 
the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. 
Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came 
out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and 
the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they 
shouted and fell on their faces. That was divine approval. God 
received their sacrifice. God blessed them. It was a time 
of joy and happiness. It was a time of communion with 
God. They shout and fall on their faces. Now notice in verse 1 
of chapter 10, Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each 
took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, 
and offered profane fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded 
them. So fire went out from the Lord 
and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said 
to Aaron, This is what the Lord spoke, saying, By those who come 
near me I must be regarded as holy, and before all the people 
I must be glorified. So Aaron held his peace." So 
divine approval, chapter 9, and then we see this divine judgment 
in chapter 10. Now there's no little conversation 
concerning the strange fire. Some see the prohibition against 
wine or intoxicating drink in verse 9 of chapter 10, and they 
suggest that that was probably Nadab and Abihu's sin. They were 
a bit inebriated, they were affected by wine or intoxicating drink, 
so they were sloppy in terms of the strange fire. I don't 
think that's the case. I think it's probably more the 
case that they tried to go into the Holy of Holies when they 
weren't supposed to? Now again, that's a debated question. 
Either way, it doesn't affect the sense of the text. But when 
we see in chapter 16, concerning the legislation regarding the 
Day of Atonement, there's a reminder of this incident wherein God's 
wrath, or God in His wrath, destroyed Nadab and Abihu. But the point 
is, our God is a consuming fire in Deuteronomy 4.24 and in Hebrews 
12.29, again, metaphorically, to teach us that He is, in fact, 
conscious of the means or the manner in which His creatures 
worship that. but literally a god who is a 
consuming fire in the case of Nadab and Abihu. So back to the 
confession, we have this emphasis on the acceptable way of worshiping 
the true God is instituted by himself. And then when we go 
on, we see why that is the case. It's limited by his own revealed 
will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations 
and devices of men. We do not have that ability. 
We do not have that sense or savvy to say, well, this is the 
way God is to be worshipped. Ask the Bible how that typically 
ends for anybody who engages in worship that way. It doesn't 
end well. And then it goes on to say, nor 
the suggestions of Satan. We would obviously agree. We're 
not supposed to worship God in a way that is suggested by Satan. And then with a sort of reflection 
of the first and second commandment, under any visible representations, 
you're not supposed to image God or picture God. In fact, 
you can turn to Deuteronomy chapter 4 to see that emphasis in terms 
of the people of God. Deuteronomy chapter 4. specifically 
at verse 15, and this underscores the reality that in both covenants, 
the people of God are the people of the book. They are the people 
of God's revealed will. They are the people of hearing 
the Word of God and seeking by the grace and power of the Spirit 
to implement that Word of God. So in Deuteronomy 4.15, take 
careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord 
spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire. Lest you 
act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of 
any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any 
animal that is on the earth, or the likeness of any winged 
bird that flies in the air, the likeness likeness of anything 
that creeps on the ground, or the likeness of any fish that 
is in the water beneath the earth. And take heed, lest you lift 
your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and 
the stars, all the hosts of heaven, you feel driven to worship them 
and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the 
peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage." So the emphasis 
is take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form. Since you 
saw no form, you do not have the prerogative or the wherewithal 
to try to image God. That is absolutely contrary to 
his revealed will and his revealed word. So the acceptable way is 
instituted by God Himself, it's limited by His own revealed will, 
so that we don't engage in the imaginations and devices of men, 
we don't engage in the suggestions of Satan, we don't worship under 
any visible representations, and then just in case we missed 
all that, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. 
As I said, this is called in history the regulative principle 
of worship. William Cunningham describes 
it this way, there are sufficiently plain indications in scripture 
itself that it was Christ's mind and will that nothing should 
be introduced into the government and worship of the church unless 
positive warrant for it could be found in scripture. Great, 
great statement. Benjamin Keech, one of our Baptist 
forefathers, says, So that's, again, just a bit 
of a historical expression. And the contrast is between what 
we find here, it's been called the Regulative Principle of Worship, 
versus what's called the Normative Principle of Worship. The Roman 
Catholics and the Anglicans are not regulated by the Regulative 
Principle of Worship. I mean, they are, but they don't 
consciously recognize that. They think that they're free 
to do those things that are not forbidden. So when it comes to 
the regulative principle of worship, the Bible tells us, or the doctrine 
tells us, that only what is commanded is acceptable, and anything outside 
of what is commanded is forbidden. Very important. And these are 
the nuances that we need to take away from this. So only what 
is acceptable and anything outside of what is commanded is forbidden. 
So we do what God commands us. That's the regulative principle 
of worship. Now, the Anglican, or what's called the normative 
view, they said what is commanded is acceptable, so we agree there, 
plus anything not expressly forbidden is acceptable. So if there's 
no text that forbids puppet shows in the worship of God, we can 
have puppet shows in the worship of God. That wouldn't be an Anglican 
sin, but it would be broader evangelical. I don't know if 
they're still doing puppet shows, but you sort of get the point. 
So what is commanded is acceptable, plus anything not expressly forbidden 
is acceptable. So for them, only what is expressly 
condemned or forbidden is prohibited. So if the Bible doesn't condemn 
something in terms of the normative principle, they're free to do 
it. Their only suggestion is that you can't do what God commands 
you not to do. You see that? It's just a little 
nuance, but it's quite a big deal. James Bannerman describes 
it this way, he says, in the case of the Church of England, 
its doctrine in regard to church power and the worship of God 
is that it has a right to decree everything except what is forbidden 
in the Word of God. In the case of our own church, 
its doctrine in reference to church power and the worship 
of God is that it has a right to decree nothing except what 
expressly or by implication is enjoined by the Word of God. So again, I want us to connect 
with the larger context in the confession of faith. Do you mean 
that the regulative principle of worship is an expression of 
liberty of conscience? Yes. Liberty of conscience means 
that we're not bound by the dictates of men. When men step outside 
of the scripture, vis-a-vis Rome, vis-a-vis Anglicanism, and command 
us in the worship of God to do that which God himself has not 
commanded, it's a matter of Christian liberty to resist that. It's 
a matter of liberty of conscience to resist that. They do not have 
that prerogative. So chapter 22 is the outworking 
of liberty of conscience in an ecclesiastical context. We are 
not bound to the Pope. We are not bound to the Church 
of England or the King now of England. Charles is the head 
of the Anglican Church. If he commands us to do something 
that is contrary or not commanded in the scripture, then we are 
duty-bound to resist him and to obey God. And in that, we 
express liberty of conscience. See, liberty of conscience was 
huge going back to this context in the 17th century. You had 
all this ecclesiastical tyranny, and certainly you had political 
tyranny. They were under monarchs. I mean, 
this confession bears the date 1689, not because it was written 
in 1689. It was written in 1677. But in 1689, William and Mary 
ascended the throne, and they passed the Act of Toleration 
so that the Baptists could legally confess what they believed. And 
so that's why we call it the Second London Confession of 1677 
slash 1689. So 89 is the actual publication 
date when they get these doctrines out to show, first and foremost, 
that they are not eager to clog religion. They had no itch to 
clog religion with new and vain words. They wanted to show their 
solidarity with the independents. They wanted to show their solidarity 
with the Presbyterians. And so they published this doctrine 
or they published this confession of faith. But as well, they want 
to distance themselves and they want to guard the people of God 
from both ecclesiastical and political tyranny. I mean, it's 
easy to see political tyranny. I mean, just, you know, come 
to a prayer meeting here and we listen to, you know, the various 
prayer letters from various countries all throughout the earth. Typically, 
the persecution that is coming is governmental. It's governmental 
sanctions. We're going to consider that 
theme today. Today's the International Day 
of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. I'm going to re-preach 
Hebrews 13, 3. It's the rationale as to why we remember the prisoners. And then tonight for the supper 
meditation, the stoning death of Stephen in Acts chapter 7. 
So there is great persecution in terms of government towards 
people, not just in the 17th century, but in the 21st century. 
But ecclesiastical tyranny is a reality as well. The Pope of 
Rome, as the so-called vicar of Christ, is an antichrist. Now, I mean it as an against 
Christ. Anti, as we know from our Saturday 
morning study, has two meanings. It means to be against something, 
but it also means in the place of something. He thinks he's 
in the place of Christ, the vicar or substitute of Christ on earth. 
No, he's an antichrist. He's against Christ because he 
has set himself up in opposition to Jesus as being the head of 
the church. That's tyranny too, brethren. 
We ought to appreciate that our brothers and sisters fought for 
Christian liberty and liberty of conscience so that we're not 
bound to listen to the Pope of Rome, we're not bound to listen 
to the King of England, and we're not bound to listen to a thousand 
popes in evangelicalism. Very often, outside of the reform 
community, oh, you're your confessions of faith function like popes. 
No, you as an independent pastor that has absolute unrivaled authority 
in your local church, you're the one functioning as a pope. 
The confession tethers us to history, it tethers us to theology, 
it tethers us to the Bible, And it makes a good case for there 
not to be potpourri in the church. So it's not just the pope, not 
just the king, but every sort of independent church that has 
no accountability, no consistency, no doctrinal standard to hedge 
them in. That's a potpourri that is just 
as offensive in my estimation. So, when it comes to this particular 
principle, it is important that we maintain it, not only because 
God commands the way that we worship it, but that we don't 
subject ourselves to the contrary or to the arbitrary commands 
of other men. Williamson describes it very 
simply, what is commanded is right and what is not commanded 
is wrong. What is commanded is right, and 
what is not commanded is wrong. Very simple. That's the regulative 
principle of worship. Now again, the Catholics and 
the Anglicans would agree to a degree, but then they would 
say, if there's not something, a prohibition in scripture against 
this, that, or the other, well then, we're free to do it. And 
incidentally, Roman Catholic theology, Roman Catholic worship, 
they really have no positive law distinction at all. They 
engage in sacrifice, they engage in incense, They engage in old 
covenant worship, or they ape it, or they seek to imbibe it. 
They have a priesthood, they have that, it's called satirodotalism, 
where you emphasize the priesthood. They have sacramentalism, where 
you emphasize the sacraments, which has far more truck with 
old covenant religion than it does with new covenant religion. 
So positive law functioning in the covenants is most necessary 
to keep us from those sorts of abuses. Why don't we have incense 
in the public worship of God today? Because we're not in the 
old covenant. Why don't we bring sacrifices? Now we bring our 
sacrifices of praise, as Hebrews tells us. We bring our, you know, 
our financial offerings and those sorts of things. But you know 
what I mean. You didn't fetch a goat out of your backyard this 
morning and schlep him into, you know, church so I can, you 
know, or you can cut its throat and I can pray over it and then 
offer it up to God. Why is that? Because that's old 
covenant worship. Those things are no longer binding 
on the people of God. And then I think Johnson, Terry 
Johnson, really highlights it in a very practical way. To put 
it simply, in worship, we pray the Bible, sing the Bible, read 
the Bible, and preach the Bible, and see the Bible. And we see 
the Bible in the sacraments. Any questions or comments up 
to this point? Any at all? We got time? We don't 
have a lot of people? Yes? Yeah, that's always an issue 
as well. Having a good confession is only as good as our fidelity 
to it or with it. Yeah, that's a good observation. And it's not just perhaps in 
some of the churches you might be thinking. I think it's quite 
common today to find Calvinistic Baptists saying, yeah, we hold 
to the 1689. Well, they hold to parts of the 
1689. They hold to the Calvinism of 
the 1689. They hold to, you know, the doctrine 
of justification by faith alone in the 1689. And I'm all for 
that. Praise God. I'd rather have a Calvinistic 
Baptist than an Arminian Baptist, all things being equal. But when 
you come to this confession of faith, it's, to use a very overworked 
term today, it's systemic. It holds together. It's bound 
up in one consistent sort of presentation of God's Word in 
these 32 heads of doctrine. And so to just pick and choose 
and say, yeah, you know, I'm a Reformed Baptist. I hold to 
the 1689. And then go to one of their worship 
services and they have, you know, puppets or they have, you know, 
things that I would conclude are strange fire. It's not just 
the Calvinism that we need to subscribe in the confession of 
faith. And again, no one has to subscribe to the confession 
of faith. Nobody has to. You know, I've never said, hey, 
I'm going to take a gun and put it in people's heads and say, 
you must subscribe to the 1689. But if we are going to confess 
that, then our confession should be faithful to the doctrine contained 
therein. So again, Any church that has 
a confession of faith that has somewhat drifted from it or has 
taught contrary to it should do the honest thing and say, 
well, no, that's not our confession of faith. That's not what we 
are holding to. That's not what our position 
is. So I think that's a very helpful 
point. Any other questions or comments 
before we soldier on? Yes, sir? So the queen, one of 
her titles was Defender of the Faith. There's a huge difference, 
yeah. Yeah, and you can believe in 
this coffee cup, but as long as you have faith, that's okay. 
No, defender of faith and defender of the faith is astronomically 
huge. Good observation there. So yeah, 
he's the new head of the church in Anglicanism or Episcopalianism. Episcopal church outside of England 
is basically Anglicanism. Alright, and then notice the 
specific restriction in terms of paragraph 2. So we have the 
statement concerning acceptable worship, and then in paragraph 
2 we see a restriction, a qualification. Religious worship is to be given 
to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. and to him alone, not 
to angels, saints, or any other creatures, and since the fall, 
not without a mediator, nor in the mediation of any other, but 
Christ alone." So again, you have this sort of two fronts 
the divines are operating on. You've got to fight Catholics, 
you've got to fight Anglicans, you've got to fight, you know, 
Anabaptists, you've got to fight Quakers. I don't mean physically 
fist fight, I mean defending the faith. So, certainly, we 
see a reference here to Catholicism. Now, in defense of Catholicism, 
they say, well, it's a different kind of worship. Now, I'm not 
defending them in the case that I think it's right or they're 
accurate, but they'd say, oh no, the worship that we give 
to the Trinity is not the worship that we give to Mary. It's kind 
of like it, but it's not the exact same. Well, we're not supposed 
to give any kind of worship to Mary. We're not supposed to give 
any kind of worship to any creature whatsoever. And so this qualifying 
or restricting statement applies to paragraph one, the acceptable 
way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and 
then paragraph two, the only God that we do that to is the 
living and true God. And I think I've shown you before 
on the first and second commandment. The first commandment defines 
who we worship. The second commandment defines 
how we worship. They're very similar, they're 
intertwined, they're inextricably connected, but they deal with 
those two issues. Who do we worship? You shall 
have no other gods besides me or before me. And the way that 
you worship that God is not by making images, not by carving 
images, not by picturing or representing, because you saw no form, Deuteronomy 
4.15. Therefore, you cannot possibly 
conceive of picturing or building a carved image that reflects 
His glory. And so we have this emphasis 
on the who and the emphasis on the how in the first and second 
commandments, and the confession here follows suit. Now notice 
the specific elements involved in worship in paragraphs three 
to five. You've got ordinary elements 
and then you have occasional elements. The ordinary elements 
are found in paragraph 3. Prayer with thanksgiving being 
one part of natural worship is by God required of all men. but 
that it may be accepted it is to be made in the name of the 
Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will, with understanding, 
reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance, 
and when with others, in a known tongue." Now, typically, we would 
apply that known tongue to the tongue speakers in our own generation, 
but probably what's in view is Latin, the Latin mass. I mean, that's been a perennial 
issue in Roman Catholicism is that, you know, at least to some 
degree, They used service language that people couldn't even get. 
They couldn't even understand it. So yeah, it definitely refers 
to a known tongue in terms of if I'm, you know, the only Dutch 
speaker and you're all English speakers, I'm not going to pray 
in Dutch. That's not under edification. 
But certainly tongue speaking is in view as well as we have 
the mandate from 1 Corinthians 12-14. So whatever's going on 
in 1 Corinthians 12-14, you're not supposed to pray in a means 
or in a way or a tongue that people can't understand. So, 
prayer. But then notice it goes on in 
paragraph four. Prayer is to be made for things 
lawful and for all sorts of men living or that shall live hereafter, 
but not for the dead. You don't pray for the dead. 
Again, Roman Catholicism is certainly in the crosshairs here. I remember 
being a young papist, and you'd pay for a candle, and yeah, you'd 
actually pay for a candle, and then prayers would be said for 
dead people. as a result of that little transaction 
and the candle. So it goes on to say, "...not 
for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin 
unto death." That's certainly from 1 John chapter 5. I would 
suggest that's a tough one. We don't know. How would we know 
who has committed the sin? unto death, but it does definitely 
appeal there to 1 John chapter 5. So we've got prayer specifically 
as a means in terms of worship, and then paragraph 4 qualifies 
that, gives more sort of information concerning prayer, and then other 
elements are contained in paragraph 5. Notice it says, the reading 
of the Scriptures, preaching and hearing the Word of God, 
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and 
spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, 
as also the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper 
are all parts of religious worship of God. So those are your elements. And I think there's a good case 
to be made, and I don't want to develop this, but paedo-baptism. If paedo-baptism is wrong, then 
it is a violation of the regulative principle of worship. If in the 
public worship of God you've introduced something that is 
not scriptural, then that flies in the face of the regulative 
principle of worship. I know one church, the Free Presbyterian 
Church, I'm not compromising anything or picking on them, 
I'm just simply stating a fact, when that denomination, you can 
be either A, Paedo-Baptist, or B, Baptist. You can go Either 
way. In fact, I think they'll even 
do baby dedications. So they cover sort of all three 
bases. But from what I've understood, 
when they have a paedo-baptism, they do it in the basement outside 
of public worship. So, I don't know why they would 
do that. It seems an odd thing to me. 
If you think it is acceptable and it is appropriate within 
the worship of God, then bring it in the sanctuary and praise 
God and do it. If that's where your conscience 
is bound. But with reference to these things, 
those are the elements involved. And then notice it says, "...are 
all parts of religious worship of God." and they are to be performed 
in obedience to him with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear." 
So I would suggest those are the ordinary elements involved 
in Christian worship. And there are scripture proofs 
for each of those things. The reading of the scriptures, 
1 Timothy chapter 4, the preaching of the scriptures, 2 Timothy 
chapter 4, the hearing of the word of God, those same scriptures. He's not preaching it to an empty 
building, he's preaching it to the people of God that are hearing. 
Teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and 
spiritual songs. You've got that in Ephesians. 
You've got that in Colossians. Gives the manner there. Singing 
with grace in our hearts to the Lord. As also the administration 
of baptism. Every positive statement in the 
book of Acts. That's the command of our Lord 
Jesus in the Great Commission. Certainly, baptism is a part 
of the worship of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, you've 
got that emphasis on the Lord's Supper. So these are all ordinary 
parts of, or ordinary elements of Christian worship, and then 
the manner prescribed, obedience to Him with understanding, faith, 
reverence, and godly fear, and then notice occasional elements. 
occasional elements ends that particular chapter. It says, 
moreover, solemn humiliation with fastings and thanksgivings 
upon special occasions ought to be used in a holy and religious 
manner. So the confession identifies 
there are times and seasons in the life of Christ's church where 
they may set apart a season for prayer and for fasting, for expressing 
thanksgiving and those sorts of things. Typically when we 
install officers, at least the officers in the church commit 
to fasting and praying in conjunction with that. So those are occasional 
elements that we see sprinkled in to this regulative principle 
of worship. If Isaac was here, he'd laugh, 
because I said, sprinkled in, and I said, beheto baptism 10 
minutes ago. So we'll laugh in his absence. So any questions or comments 
on any of that? Again, there's an intramural 
debate. There's the Psalms-only view of the regulative principle 
of worship. There's the Psalms and hymns view of the regulative 
principle of worship. I think those are good debates 
to have. I think those are good discussions 
to have. I think those are good, you know, things to challenge 
the people of God and iron sharpening iron. But for now, just that 
there is this concern. So while we would differ with 
the three forms of unity, while we would differ with the Westminster 
Confession and the Savoy Declaration, all of those various denominations 
would differ in their regulative principle of worship. It's just 
the case. But those differences or intramural 
discussions, to me, are a far cry better than a Roman Catholic 
approach, an Anglican approach, or the evangelical approach that 
basically says, oh no, we're free to do whatever the Bible 
doesn't forbid. So understand that. When we say 
regulative principle of worship, you're going to get eyebrows 
raised, but you guys sing hymns. That's not regulative principle 
of worship. Yes, it's, you know, a brand of the regulative principle 
of worship. There's, I think, good arguments 
to be made on the Psalms only, brethren. Honestly, I mean, it 
wouldn't take much to kind of, you know, knock me into that 
camp. I think there's a good argument to be made for no musical 
instruments. These are, you know, my preferences 
at this point, so I would never elevate that to the place of, 
you know, we're going to sell the piano, we're going to get 
rid of the hymn book or anything like that. But those are good 
discussions, and I think they're valuable. And it is intriguing 
that, I quoted Benjamin Teach earlier, He was one of the Baptists 
that introduced hymn singing in the context of particular 
Baptists. Prior to that, it was Psalms 
only. So I've often thought that, you know, his comment here is 
great. Whatsoever we do in the worship of God, we must see that 
we have a command from God to warrant our practice, and also 
we must not add to, nor diminish from, nor alter anything. If 
we do, God will not hold us guiltless. I've always thought that's an 
intriguing statement in light of the fact that he was the guy that 
helped introduce hymn singing in the context of the particular 
Baptist movement. Again, having thoughts or having 
some, you know, preferences or having debates in terms of the 
intramural I think is good and healthy. I think it's a blessing. I think it's an aspect of iron 
sharpening iron. We should never come at this 
by saying, oh yeah, our version is absolutely positively correct. 
I like to see our identity, and I like to see our camaraderie, 
and I like to see our unity over against the Pope of Rome, over 
against the King of England, and over against all of the individual 
popes that operate in evangelicalism. And then notice, oh go ahead, 
yes. Yes Yes Yes, I agree. That's something 
I definitely need to address. Because I think we need to be 
fasting more than... I mean, when you look at the 
Bible as a whole, there's more emphasis on feasting than fasting. All in all, celebration, joy 
unto the Lord. That doesn't mean it mitigates 
the place of fasting. So, we have in our history, prior 
to, I think, Doug's been here and Joanne. I know we've called 
apart days before in the past and I suggest or I think that's 
probably not a bad idea. So good observation and definitely 
noted. As we work through the Book of 
Acts, I know that I dealt with fasting. when it was there, but 
have not sort of prescribed, hey, we're going to have a day 
set apart. As I said, when it comes to the selection of officers, 
with Ryan, the officers involved all agree to fast and pray relative 
to that. And, you know, to me, it's not 
consistent with fasting to announce that. Oh, by the way, brethren, 
your pastors or your elders are all fast. No, you just do that. But yeah, to bring that to the 
corporate level, I think, is a good idea. And I think certainly 
as we face the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted 
Church, there's every indication that much of what's happening 
out there is coming closer to us in terms of Western civilization. So I think it is a good emphasis. 
So thank you. Yes? Yeah, that's right Yeah, that's a good point. And again, that would be the 
elements versus circumstances. No one's suggesting that you 
can only use the Trinity Psalter hymnal. You can only do it this 
way. But baptism is an ordinance. Baptism is a sacrament, a new 
covenant ordinance that has binding authority on the people of God. 
And in the Great Commission, there's two legs, right? Make 
disciples, make them baptize them, and then teach them. Well, 
where does that happen? It happens in the church. You 
make the disciples through the preaching of the gospel. You 
baptize those who have confessed saving faith in Jesus. and then 
they enter into the life and ministry of the church and they 
are taught to observe all things that the Lord has commanded. 
So I think it is a it's a churchly ordinance, it's a binding ordinance, 
and thus it is an element of worship. So yeah, it's not a 
tertiary, it's not a you know, well, you know, whatever floats 
your boat. I mean, the Free P, however they 
got to that place where, you know, either or. Bunyan as well. Bunyan allowed, I think, Pato 
Baptist to be members. So I have not read his rationale 
for that. But there have been those approaches. 
Probably, and not wrongly so, we want unity. We want you know, 
camaraderie. We want the fellowship of the 
saints. We want all of that. But we can't have that and still 
respect those differences in terms of, you know, elements 
of worship. All right. Any questions or comments? Paragraph 
6, we're not tied to the central sanctuary. Paragraph 7 and 8, 
keep the Sabbath day and do it this way. Yes? Let me just struggle 
with something. Your comments then on finding 
head coverings in worship. What's your comment there? I 
would suggest that the point in 1 Corinthians 11 is male headship 
in the church. I think that the head covering 
there is illustrative. I don't think it is a commanded 
thing. Thou must wear a head covering 
in order that when the angels look on the church they see that 
everything is functioning in a proper way. You could have 
a head covering heavy church with women leading, with women, 
you know, with tambourines, with women not submitting to their 
husbands. I think the point of the passage in verse 10, when 
the angels look upon the church, we saw that in Ephesians 3 last 
Sunday night, they look at God's graces, you know, that you and 
I are in the church, angels are like, man, that's grace, right? 
But they also look to make sure that God's created order is upheld, 
the fact that men are leading in public worship. And I think 
that's the point in 1 Corinthians 11. The point is that it's male 
headship. So that if you have men as elders, 
men as officers in the context of the church, and men leading 
in terms of praying and prophesying in the context of the church, 
that's what's in view in 1 Corinthians 11. So the head covering or the 
hair, I think he's appealing to the created order. You know, 
there's stuff. in creation that reveals something 
about God. When you see a bird, it's supposed 
to fly. When you see a fish, it's supposed 
to swim. When you see a man, he's supposed to lead. When you 
see a woman, she's supposed to submit. Now, it's obvious in 
Ephesians 5 when you deal with the husband-wife relationship 
in the home, but 1 Corinthians 11 grounds the principle or applies 
the principle in the context of the local church. And again, 
it would take us more time than we have right now, but I think 
that the head covering in 1 Corinthians 11 is illustrative. It's an illustration 
of the main principle that Paul wants men to be the ones who 
lead in prayer and prophesying in the context of the church. 
I actually have a paper on that. I preached through that years 
ago. Obviously, we have a community 
wherein people have that. So I have dealt with that, you 
know, way back when. You know, it's been 25 years 
now, so some of these things probably bear some, you know, 
revisiting. But I have I used it as a paper 
for Theology Proper when I was in Whitfield Seminary. So if 
you want it, email me. I think it needs some revising 
in terms of format and structure, but I'm pretty sure I still stand 
by the content and the exegesis involved. I agree with you, but 
yeah, I'd love to have it. Yeah, sure. Just send me an email. 
I'll forget. So text me or email me, and I 
can make that available to you. All right, so as I said, paragraph 
six, you're not tied to any particular place. Obviously we have church 
buildings, but we all know that the church is the people of God. 
If the building was destroyed and we met in a field, that would 
be us as the church worshiping God most high. So in verse, or 
paragraph six, likely the background, or some of the background is 
John four. Remember Jesus' discussion with that Samaritan woman, and 
the Samaritan woman said, your father's taught we worship here, 
Our fathers taught that you worship here. Behold, the hour is coming 
and now is when men will worship in spirit and truth. It's not 
connected to any particular place. There's no mandate on a central 
sanctuary in this new covenant era. Again, positive law changes 
in terms of covenant. The moral principle is the same. That we worship is the same. where we worship has changed 
in terms of that covenantal transformation from old to new. And then paragraph 
7 deals with the appointed day, which we call the Christian Sabbath 
or the Lord's Day. So that's the appointed time. 
And then paragraph 8 ends with how one should sanctify that 
Lord's Day. All right, so we will move on 
from there. And as I said, we've dealt with 
the Sabbath quite a bit over the last couple of years. I'm 
sure those are clear, probably on sermon audio, not too far 
from the top. All right, so I'll close in a word of prayer. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this confession of faith. We know 
it's not infallible. It isn't given by inspiration 
of you, but it's a very helpful summary statement of what the 
Bible teaches. And we thank you for these clear, concise statements 
of Christian doctrine. Thank you for the Word of God 
and that you've not left yourself without witness, certainly in 
the created order, but also in this redemptive order in terms 
of the Bible. We ask now that you would go 
with us into public worship. We pray that the nearness of 
God would be our good, that you would bless and encourage all 
of the brothers and the sisters today and we pray through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen.