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Originally Posted by JBaldwin  I am not an EPer, though I strongly believe we should be singing Psalms in worship along with the hymns. I also believe the hymns should be doctrinally sound. Can I add something from the perspective of someone who does not hold to the EP viewpoint?
Corporate worship is about unity, not division. If someone sits and does not join in with the singing for any reason, it can be a huge distraction for me, especially if I see the person is singing other words or doing something else during the corporate singing.
Corporate worship is about joining together with "one heart" and "one mind" unlike private worship which is primarily about our one-on-one relationship to God. When we worship God as the body of Christ we have to take into consideration our brothers and sisters in the Lord. When we sing, we sing with our whole hearts, and we join in with our fellow believers with one voice in worship to our Lord. If I sit out and don't participate, I may as well be at home, because I am not wholehearted about my worship, neither am I worshipping with my brothers and sisters. |
However, this could apply to several other elements in the worship also.
Suppose the preaching is not sound doctrinally. Should I not return again? Certainly I will speak to the pastor and get clarification. But suppose he preaches amil, and I believe postmil?
What if the pastor does not give the admonition for those who are not believers to not partake of the Lord's Supper, and I know a person who is a non-believer sitting in the pew ahead of me and partakes of the Supper. Should I still partake, or should I let the elements pass by?
The point is there can be numerous instances where one's conscience could potentially be violated in almost any given worship service. Should I break fellowship because all members of the congregation don't believe and think the same way that I do? One could find himself or herself to become lonely very quickly.
I do not believe in worshipping at home alone if there is no "perfect" RPW church within 100 miles. I think you talk and work with the session and other members of the congregation to try and bring about change. I don't see how isolationism really helps anything. There is enough schism in American Christianity already; unless there is a very strong compelling reason, I will not add to it. And simply refusing to sing one or two hymns that I believe are not honoring to the Lord is not it.