Joint Statement on Liturgical Freedom and Glory
Preamble:
In our churches, as we have been rediscovering the richness of liturgical worship, we have been also rediscovering some of the pitfalls that come with rediscovering anything. There are at least four temptations that can hinder faithful liturgical reformation: (1) traditionalists may hold to their immediate tradition too tightly because they are afraid any change represents slippery-slope liberalism; (2) reformers may “overshoot” by thinking that anything new is automatically an improvement and thus confuse reform with radicalism; (3) moderates who try to make everyone happy by including even contradictory ideas or practices just to keep a form of peace between opposing camps; and (4) those who have good, conservative, reforming or moderating instincts, but are uncharitable to those who disagree with their position (to a devoted traditionalist, everyone else can look like a radical leftist; to a committed reformer, every else can look like a traditionalist; to a moderate everyone else can look like an extremist). Because we want to be scriptural Christians, we want to make sure that the center of our endeavors is a sincere effort to discover what the Bible actually teaches, and to obey that, while also observing what the Bible teaches about honoring our fathers in the work of liturgical reformation. In our desire to help churches that are working with the same issues, we have drafted the following statement.
Freedom and Glory:
The life of Christian worship is nothing less than a participation in the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the model of perfect freedom and overflowing glory, a freedom and glory that mutually establish one another. Freedom with no glory is ungrounded; it is really no freedom at all. It is “carried about with various and strange doctrines.” It is not sufficiently aware of what worship is or the grace being given. Freedom needs the weight of glory. On the other hand, glory with no freedom is turgid and lifeless. Glory is heavy, and the glory of God is our shield. But glory with no freedom is like David in Saul’s armor. It is awkward and cumbersome, and doesn’t fit. Glory with no freedom will eventually reduce to stifling traditionalism, and will cease to be glorious. Freedom with no glory will reduce to whimsical worship, and will soon cease to be free. And when freedom and glory are divorced from one another, one sign this has happened is an erratic swinging back and forth from one to the other. This has the result that worship is treated like a smorgasbord, a liturgical talent show with a little bit of everything for everyone. And the end result in both cases is neither freedom nor glory. Liturgical freedom is not anarchy; liturgical glory is not hidebound. In order to keep a balance between the two, we must make and maintain the following distinctions.
Three Categories:
There are three categories under which to consider possible liturgical practices: first are practices that we must do (things commanded), second, practices that we may not do (things prohibited), and third, practices that may or may not be fitting, helpful, or edifying depending on circumstances, needs, or gifts. While this third category is generally referred to as adiaphora (things indifferent, i.e. things neither commanded nor forbidden), we would insist that this does not mean that the decisions made in this category do not matter. Rather, depending on many particulars, different decisions may be lawfully and wisely made. And just because something is adiaphora does not mean there is an automatic protection against a lack of wisdom. Such decisions can matter greatly, but their nature is such that completely opposite decisions may both be correct, given the different circumstances. And the nature of time and history must be given sufficient weight in such considerations. The bronze serpent was a symbol of Israel’s salvation and a powerful reminder of grace, but later became a great stumbling block. Hezekiah was right to tear it down (Num. 21, 2 Kgs. 18:4). In the realms of liturgical practice, specific examples of this same kind of thing would include certain bodily postures, sermon length, specific instruments/music, vestments, sanctuary adornment, the selection of particular prayers and creeds, as well as less important decisions like meeting times and seating arrangements, etc.
The Glory of Tradition:
While the Scriptures are critical of certain kinds of tradition (e.g. Col. 2:8), the Scriptures also require us to keep and honor other kinds of tradition (e.g. 1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15, 3:6). The fifth commandment requires that we honor our fathers and mothers (Ex. 20:12), following them unless they have been rebellious (Ps. 78:7-8), and this command to honor them does not cease to apply after they have died. Removing the ancient landmark was a temptation for Israel as much as it is a temptation for us (e.g. Prov. 22:28). This means that, in addition to our earthly parents, within the one family of God, we are required to honor the fathers and mothers of our own particular “tribe.” In God’s providence, Christians are sometimes orphaned, neglected, or abused and they must seek out and find new families. But we are more fortunate and our call is to cultivate thankfulness for what God has given to us. In our particular context, we recognize the Reformed tradition broadly as our branch of the family, while gladly embracing the western, catholic tradition more broadly as our family tree. All of God’s people throughout Christendom are our people, but the Reformation branch is our place in Christendom, and the great Reformed confessions, catechisms, and liturgies tell the story of our faith well. In saying this, we do not mean to imply that doctrinal issues can be reduced to mere geographical placement. There are truth claims involved, and this means that over time, the entire tree will necessarily grow up into a greater unity and like-mindedness.
The Freedom of Sola Scriptura:
At the same time, constrained by Scripture, we also confess the sins of our fathers and cling to the promises of Scripture that call us to work for and expect more glory, new glory. Reformation is not to be understood as merely a onetime event, but rather as our marching orders. Sanctification is not just for individuals, but also for the Church as a whole. With the 16th century reformers we affirm the supremacy of Scripture and rejoice in the freedom of the Spirit to lead the Church into all truth. Grounded in the Scripture, we trust the Lord to grow us up into all maturity (Eph. 4:13; 5:27). While we stand with the fathers of our tradition, we confess with faithful fathers like Athanasius and Luther and many others that our fundamental allegiance is to stand faithful to the Word of God. This is necessary despite the fact that many may oppose us even from within the Church of Jesus. We trust the Holy Spirit to work out all truth in His timing through history, and we are happy to trust Him to lead us in this. We are therefore not dismayed by popes, councils, individual pastors or factional movements, or political pressures when they differ with the Scriptures.
CREC Memorial on Worship:
We affirm the
CREC Memorial on Worship which helpfully describes positively what faithful Christian worship seeks to embody and grow in, and in addition to that statement, we find it necessary, in our particular circumstances, to address several specific areas where liturgical questions usually arise.
Freedom and Glory in the Details:
We warn our people and our children against religious pageantry. While worship is a dramatic event, the sinful heart of man naturally inclines to hide behind theatrical forms. And any sort of service can be turned into a theatrical facade. Both High Church rituals and Low Church “anti-ritual” rituals can be opportunities for confusion, undue offense, and provide a stumbling block for those who prefer empty form and ritual to honest communion with the triune God (Is. 1:12; Jer. 7:4; Hos. 6:6; Ps. 40:6; 1 Sam. 15:22; Rom. 2:29).
Against traditions that say otherwise, the Scriptures teach that the action of bowing is reserved for God and His living image bearers. God’s people are not to bow before man-made objects, the elements of communion, or any other relic or icon (Ex. 20:4-6). While human beings may not be worshiped as God (e.g. Acts 10:25-26, Rev. 22:8-9), because they are living icons of the true God (Gen. 1:27), the kind that only He can make, they are to be venerated or honored as appropriate (e.g. Ex. 20:12, 1 Kgs. 1:2, 1 Pet. 2:17) and may be honored with the holy kiss (Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12, 1 Th. 5:26).
Likewise, kneeling is a posture which is not suitable for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and may suggest a sort of veneration that is not fitting for this festive memorial meal. Sitting or reclining was the posture used by those who celebrated it first at the Last Supper (Mk. 14:18, Jn. 13:23), and we believe it continues to be the most beneficial. Other postures like hand-raising, clapping, prostration, and even standing or sitting are not neutral, and anything we do like this should be carefully compared with Scripture. Even prudent applications of biblical postures can become occasions for pride and idolatry and as such should be reformed as need arises.
We stand with the Reformed tradition wanting to see the Word of God honored, and therefore those ministers who declare it ought to be dressed as befits the dignity and responsibility of that office. While it is not required, it is legitimate for ministers to be vested for the worship service. But because this, when done, is “for glory and beauty” (Ex. 28:2), it is important that it not be overdone. We therefore warn against undue pageantry, and commit ourselves to pursuing a glorious simplicity even and especially here. We also warn against those who believe that the status quo (whether high or low) is somehow safer or more orthodox just because we’re used to it. High and Low Church traditions can each be turned into their own kinds of will-worship or pageantry.
We recognize that there will be others who may find places to hide in traditional Reformed elements, seeking refuge behind the words of catechisms, confessions of faith, and a certain regulated simplicity. And still others will soothe their guilt in ancient prayers, liturgy, and ritual. And therefore, wherever the sinful heart seeks to hide from God in our worship, we pray for God’s wisdom to be upon us and our children and that the Holy Spirit might lead us to expose all darkness to the light of the gospel that God’s mercy may be upon us and our congregations to a thousand generations.
A Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving:
Finally, we confess that ingratitude and bitterness is at the heart of all sin. But at the heart of faithfulness and love is thankfulness and praise. We want to receive all the elements of our worship with thankfulness, as the grace of God to us, and we want to embrace them and rejoice in them as gifts of grace. The format of our liturgies therefore needs to be received as grace, the words of our prayers and confessions need to be received as grace, the instruments and music and words of our psalms and hymns need to be received as grace, the weekly observance of the Supper needs to be received as grace, the Scripture readings, congregational responses, and the benediction need to all be received as grace. And we commit ourselves and charge our descendants to continue the reformational work necessary to be steadfast in this spirit of thanksgiving, in the glory and freedom of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
