In our last post we saw how the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW) is the standard by which we should approach the question of instrumental music in the corporate worship of the church. We demonstrated how instrumental music—as part of the ceremonial worship of the old covenant—has been abrogated and is no longer part of […]
Statement of the Question. Is instrumental music acceptable in new covenant worship? To answer this question we must be precise about what we are trying to investigate. The question is not whether instrumental music may be enjoyed in private, nor whether it may be used in secular, non-ecclesiastical social gatherings. It certainly can, and is… Read More A Concise Case for A Capella Worship
Is instrumental music acceptable in new covenant worship? To answer this question we must be precise about what we are trying to investigate. The question is not whether instrumental music may be enjoyed in private, nor whether it may be used in secular, non-ecclesiastical social gatherings. It certainly can, and is a great blessing… Read More Practical Considerations on A Capella Worship
John L. Girardeau Instrumental Music in the Public Worship of the Church pp. 105-120. 3. Instrumental music is doctrinally excluded from the public worship of the church by the Confession of Faith. The passage which is appealed to in support of [instrumental music in public worship] is as follows: “…there are some circumstances concerning the… Read More Circumstances of Worship & Musical Instruments
Zacharias Ursinus Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism CHRIST’S DESCENT INTO HELL Question 44. Why is there added, “he descended into hell?” Answer. That in my greatest temptations, I may be assured, and wholly comfort myself in this, that my Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains, terrors, and hellish agonies, in which he was… Read More Did Jesus Descend into Hell?
W.G.T. Shedd Dogmatic Theology Vol. II, Christology, ch. 5, pp. 330-349. The doctrine of Christ’s person is not complete without considering the subject of his impeccability. That he was sinless is generally acknowledged. But the holiness of the God-man is more than sinlessness. The last Adam differs from the first Adam by reason of his… Read More Christ’s Impeccability
Cyril Lukaris was was the Patriarch of Alexandria (1602-1620) and the Patriarch of Constantinople from 1620 until his death in 1638. He corresponded with several European Protestants for many years, eventually resulting in his acceptance of the Reformed Faith. He was accused of treason against Murad IV, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and was arrested… Read More The Confession of Cyril Lukaris (1629)
“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13). Zacharias Ursinus Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, pp. 129-133. IV. WHAT DO THE TERMS ESSENCE, PERSON, AND TRINITY SIGNIFY, AND IN WHAT DO THEY DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER? Essence, from the Greek ουσια, signifies,… Read More The Trinity and the Importance of Extra-Biblical Terminology
Thomas HallThe Pulpit Guarded, pp. 1-7 The Thesis That private persons (though they be gifted, yet) may not preach in a constituted Church without a Call. Private Persons First, by private persons, I mean such as the Apostle calls the flock, the people of God, hearers, such as must obey their teachers in the… Read More Who May Preach?
John Owen The True Nature of a Gospel Church and its Government, ch. 6. Of the Office of Teachers in the Church, or an Inquiry into the State, Condition, and Work of those called Teachers in the Scripture. The Lord Christ hath given unto his Church pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11). He “hath set some in… Read More Pastor and Teacher: Distinct Church Offices
