2 Comments
Oct 21, 2023Liked by Matthew Edmund

“Calvinism is contagious and appeals to the intellect. It will catch you if you're not careful.” @Matthew Edmund 😂 that’s good! I wish more people understood the regulative principles of worship, as Protestants, we have done a terrible job teaching this over the centuries since the reformation. Glad you mentioned it, most people have never studied it. Also, what you are saying about moving from Arminianism to Calvinism resonates with me. It wasn’t a “departure” from old to new, but a clarification of what I already believed. I felt like I had never heard the word “doctrine” until I came to a reformed church. I knew all these truths, but had never gathered these truths into neat folders called “doctrines” and then bound them all together in my mind. Calvinism is what took me from immaturity to maturity.

Expand full comment
author

Thank you, Sabrina. I put a lot of work into this one. As you can see, it evolved a ton from the little reply it started as on Facebook. It's funny how things work out like that. Rather than just criticize, I wanted to make it actually worth people reading. Reading why I think someone is wrong didn't seem like a whole lot of value to me. However, using this as an opportunity to expose people to the rich historical and doctrinal depth of Reformed Theology that I wasn't aware of before becoming Reformed felt like a worthy goal. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I did it justice.

The Regulative Principle of Worship is often overlooked and misunderstood. While there are different interpretations of how it should be applied, I agree we should be better at explaining it. When first coming to Reformed Christianity, it felt like legalism, and it can be, but more often it is a sincere attempt to be obedient to God and worship God as God has prescribed.

While I may not have outright said it, in my article regarding whether Jews worship Yahweh, that was a serious argument in the back of my mind. It's also why Trinitarian doctrine is essential. We must worship God as God has revealed Himself and we must worship God as God has told us to. In the OT there were very serious consequences for departing from God's prescribed ordinances of worship and we would be wise to take note.

I appreciate your feedback and kind words!

Expand full comment