Worship Is A Big Deal: Part 2 by Tullian Tchividjian
(This post is part 2 in a series on corporate worship that I began a few days ago.) Contrary to what many modern people believe, we can’t approach God any way we please. Trying to do so is extremely dangerous, as the Bible makes clear (see Cain, Nadab, and Abihu, for example). In the Bible, God provides us with commands, instructions, examples, and stories to illustrate how he wants us to worship him. Our worship, therefore, is to be regulated by God himself through his Word. The often misunderstood “regulative principle” of worship simply means we must worship by the Book—that everything we do in worship must be divinely approved. During the Protestant Reformation, two views emerged regarding how Sola Scriptura ought to be understood when it comes to worship practices. Martin Luther believed we could do anything we want in worship as long as the Bible doesn’t say “no”—whatever is not prohibited is permitted. John Calvin believed we can’t do anything in worship unless the Bible says “y...