Great Commission and the Regulative Principle

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Does anyone else see some RPW ideas in this passage?

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

"Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" not "Teaching them to be creative and find new ways to impress Me", right?

Thoughts?

 

[ReformedWretch]

"Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" not "Teaching them to be creative and find new ways to impress Me", right?

I LOVE IT!

 

[Dan....]

I'm not sure I'd use that argument. Here's why:

The Regulative Principle of Worship relates specifically to corporate worship.
"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" goes well beyond corporate worship. Unless you are willing to say that we are not to ever do anything outside of what Christ has commanded (hence there is no Christian Liberty) then applying this to worship as an exclusive statement is inadequate.

 

[ReformedWretch]

I still love the quote.

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Originally posted by Dan....
I'm not sure I'd use that argument. Here's why:

The Regulative Principle of Worship relates specifically to corporate worship.
"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" goes well beyond corporate worship. Unless you are willing to say that we are not to ever do anything outside of what Christ has commanded (hence there is no Christian Liberty) then applying this to worship as an exclusive statement is inadequate.

I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is, as this applies to worship in the Church, Christ is clear that we are to seek out obedience to His commandments above all else. Creativity is not a command, especially in corporate worship.

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

The way I commonly think of it is this:

If no one can be God's counselor, and nothing we invent is outside of what He has already thought of, how can we really impress Him with our new worship songs and dramas and videos and all of the other postmodern existential balogna that has infested the Church? God demands obedience as worship. Worship is described as a SACRIFICE of praise of our lips. We are to worship in spirit and in truth. What truth is there that comes not from God's Word?

Deuteronomy 12:1 “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.

8 “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes

31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

As people in covenant with God, we are not to be like the pagans in our worship practices, but worship according to God's commandments, because He has rescued us from sin and dwells among us. So, how rediculous is the 'seeker sensitive' movement or any other church that desires to 'draw in crowds' by doing things that the world enjoys as entertaining?

Just some random thoughts on obedience and worship. Feel free to discuss further.

[Edited on 10-2-2005 by WrittenFromUtopia]

 

[Dan....]

Gabriel,

I agree.

..and the context of Deut 12 appears to be worship-specific. Hence, this is a good support for the RPW.

My only concern about using the Great Commision passage as a proof text for the RPW is that this passage is not worship-specific. It is applicable to all of life. Whatever application is made to worship from this passage must also be true for all of life.

So if you say:

1.Christ commanded in Mt 28:20 to observe all that he had commanded. We are to this alone and not anything more.
2. hence, we are to worship only as He has specifically commanded and do nothing else in worship (RPW).

Then you must also say:

1.Christ commanded in Mt 28:20 to observe all that he had commanded. We are to this alone and not anything more.
2. hence, we are to do, throughout our lives, only as He has specifically commanded and do nothing else in our lives (no Christian liberty -e.g., Christ didn't command us to watch TV, hence we cannot watch T.V., etc...).

Here are the proof-text of the WFC for the RPW:

[405] Deuteronomy 12:32. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. Matthew 15:9. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Acts 17:25. Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. Matthew 4:9-10. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Deuteronomy 4:15-20. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. Exodus 20:4-6. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Colossians 2:23. Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

[Edited on 10-2-2005 by Dan....]

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

Again, I don't think it is a proof-text for the RPW, but if we consider that worship of God is a positive institution of Christ and the apostles, this passage applies to worship in such a way that we are to do only what He has commanded. It further supports the idea that Christ desires obedience above all else. I do agree with your points, though, but hopefully you see that is not exactly what I'm getting at.