Strange Fire

"In Lev 10:1 there is a story of the priests, Nadab and Abihu, offering a “strange fire” in worship before a holy God and as a consequence their death by fire. The reason is because this holy God, a consuming fire, had prescribed or regulated how He was to be worshipped (“which He commanded them not”). What was true under the Old Covenant, is true of all time and today under the New Covenant. We must worship God corporately as He wants to be worshipped and not as we wish. We must worship in “spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:24)

This discussion has generally been framed between the regulative principle (we are only to worship God how He has expressly said He should be worshipped) and the normative principle (we may worship God in any way that He has not expressly forbidden) (though some have taken the normative to an extreme some have called the affective principle, if I like it and it makes me feel close to God it is good). The danger with the former is we can lose the “spirit” from “worship the Lord in spirit and in truth” and settle for nominalism. The danger of the latter is we can compromise the “truth” under the guise of spiritual liberty. Truth is what God has said about worship; the spirit is joy and love and self-control as we commune with Him. Maintaining spirit and truth is the regulative principle (and it is important to recognize it is a principle. It regulates the elements and spirit, yet not the form [e.g. written or extemporaneous prayers, or styles of sermons] nor the circumstances [e.g. a 9 a.m. or an 11 a.m. service, pews or chairs, etc].

A number of years ago I, the guest preacher, was almost taken out by a lady swinging flags in a church I was visiting. In many mega-churches and Pentecostal churches, sometimes in the extreme vein of attractionalism and sometimes because of poor or bad theology, there is no end to the true tales of what goes on in worship (something the window of Youtube reveals). Recently Transformation Church, OK, USA, made the news for an Easter service that was dubbed “the Christian Grammy’s” (not a compliment). Likewise, during Covid I watched a liberal church service that included non-Christian readings, a gong and eastern meditation (and I’ve even heard of inviting Imam’s, etc, to preach the sermon).

The regulative principle protects the Church from expressive individualism, the abuse of authority by leaders and bad theology. We should all know what to expect when we gather for corporate worship because God has instituted the worship of Himself lest our pride turn worship into a mockery.

"But all things should be done decently and in order." 1 Cor 14:40

"…self-made religion..." Col 2:23

Our Baptist (and Protestant) forbearers put it this way:

1. …But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself,2 and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture (1689.22.1b)
2. 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 an holy and religious manner. (1689.22.5)

As we scan the Bible we can gather the essence of the regulative principle, or how God desires to be worshipped:

• On the Lord’s Day (Acts 20:7; Ex 20:6–11; 1689.22.8)
• In His Way:
  • Singing (Eph 5:19)
  • Praying (and Fasting) (Mt 21:13)
  • Reading the Bible ( 1 Ti 4:13)
  • Preaching (2 Ti 4:2)
  • Administering Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38, 42)
  • Other occasional acts that build up the body (e.g. commissioning’s, etc).

Here is meaningful simplicity.