The Regulative Principle: Scripture as Our Sole Guide
The Puritan Case for the Sufficiency of Scripture in the Life of the Church
Sermon Description
In this recording from the 1963 Puritan Conference at Westminster Chapel, Iain Murray delivers a paper tracing the origins and scriptural foundations of the regulative principle — the conviction held by the Puritans that the Word of God must govern not only what the Church believes, but how she worships and how she is governed. Beginning with Tyndale's confrontation at Sir John Walsh's table in 1522, Murray follows the thread of this principle through the English Reformation, the Elizabethan settlement, and the great controversies between Puritans and their opponents, showing that the question of Scripture's authority over the life of the Church was never merely academic but always urgently practical.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones chairs the session, introduces Murray's paper, moderates the discussion that follows, and offers characteristically penetrating closing remarks. In his summary, Dr. Lloyd-Jones affirms that the regulative principle can stand, but warns against the danger of becoming "defenders of positions instead of inquirers as to the mind and the meaning of the Scripture." He presses the conference to face the hardest practical question: if we accept this principle, how do we proceed in the situations that actually confront us? The entire session — paper, questions, and Dr. Lloyd-Jones's concluding reflections — is a vivid example of serious theological engagement at its best.
Scripture
Sermon Breakdown
- The recording opens at the 1963 Puritan Conference with Dr. Lloyd-Jones introducing Iain Murray's paper on Scripture and adiaphora — things alleged to be neither commanded nor forbidden by God's Word — and its direct relevance to the church's present condition.
- Murray traces the origins of the regulative principle to William Tyndale, who insisted that the Church must bring God's Word for all she does, and demonstrates that the Puritan position was not an Elizabethan novelty but was rooted in the earliest years of the English Reformation.
- The clash between Tyndale's policy and Thomas Cranmer's approach is examined: Cranmer accepted Scripture as authoritative in matters of salvation but did not hold that it must regulate the church's ceremonies, practices, or government.
- Murray outlines the two Puritan propositions — that everything introduced into the church without scriptural sanction is unlawful, and that the form of the New Testament church is permanently binding — and the counter-propositions of Whitgift and Hooker, who argued that Scripture allows liberty for the church to introduce "things indifferent."
- The Puritan answer to the charge of legalism is carefully stated: they did not claim that every detail must be prescribed in the New Testament, but that nothing of spiritual significance may be added to worship or church government beyond what Scripture warrants.
- Three rules for distinguishing natural circumstances from parts of worship are given from George Gillespie: a thing must be only a circumstance and not a sacred ceremony; it must not be something already determined by Scripture; and the church must have a sufficient reason and warrant for appointing it.
- The scriptural evidence for the regulative principle is summarized: the sufficiency of Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, the prohibition against additions in Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32, Christ's exclusive authority over His church in Matthew 28:20, and the pattern of corruption that follows whenever human additions are made.
- Murray concludes with four observations, chief among them that apart from the regulative principle there is no solid ground on which to resist the claims of Rome or any imposed form of church government, and that the principle was historically a persecuted truth for which more Christians suffered than died in Mary's reign.
- The open discussion that follows raises honest practical difficulties: how the regulative principle can yield differing conclusions among its own adherents, the tension between explicit prescription and necessary deduction from Scripture, and whether modern liturgical scholarship reopens settled questions.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones closes by affirming the principle while pressing its implications: we must not become defenders of positions but inquirers after the mind of Scripture, and the ultimate question left before us is how to handle the matters about which we are not yet certain — recognizing that there is no blueprint, only the Word, the Spirit, and a humble dependence upon God.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers
What is the regulative principle of Scripture?
The regulative principle, as Murray presents it in this conference paper, is the conviction that Scripture contains all things necessary for the government and worship of the Church of Christ. The Puritans held that just as no spiritual teaching is to be accepted which is not found in Scripture, so nothing of spiritual significance is to be added to the Church beyond what is warranted by the Word of God. This means that the parts and substance of worship — preaching, prayer, the administration of the sacraments, the singing of God's praise — and the offices and government of the Church must have scriptural sanction. The principle does not mean that every natural detail must be prescribed; matters such as the time of services or the material of the pulpit fall under Christian prudence. But anything given a spiritual meaning or made a part of worship requires a clear warrant from God's Word.
Why did the Puritans believe this principle was relevant to the health of the Church?
Murray explains that the Puritans rejected the idea that the real problem was simply the modern denial of Scripture's authority. They believed a more fundamental question was at stake: why are we not enjoying the manifest favour of God upon our churches? If we are not obeying Scripture to the extent that Christ wills, then our very defense of the Bible may be undermined by our own disobedience to it. Dr. Lloyd-Jones affirms this concern in his closing remarks, warning that the danger is becoming defenders of positions rather than genuine inquirers into the mind and meaning of Scripture. The Puritans held that the corruption of the government of the Church was directly connected to the corruption of the Gospel, and that questions of church order could not be dismissed as mere externals.
How did the opponents of the Puritans argue against the regulative principle?
The defenders of the Elizabethan settlement, particularly John Whitgift and Richard Hooker, advanced two counter-propositions. First, they alleged that while Scripture is binding in all matters relating to salvation, it allows liberty to the Church to introduce things indifferent — adiaphora — that are neither commanded nor forbidden and which Christian prudence may suggest as beneficial. Second, they denied that the pattern of the New Testament Church was permanently binding, arguing that the information Scripture gives us on church government is incomplete and indecisive, and therefore Christ did not intend any one form of government to be of divine authority. They supported this by pointing to practical consequences: if only what the apostles did is lawful, they argued, then Christians must meet only in houses, baptise only in fields, and receive the Lord's Supper only at suppertime — consequences they considered absurd.
What was Dr. Lloyd-Jones's own position as expressed in his closing remarks?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones affirms that the regulative principle can stand as a valid principle. But he immediately adds that the real difficulty lies in exegesis — determining what the Scripture actually teaches. He warns that there are dangers on every side. The Puritans must be as careful as their opponents, because they too were children of their age, and even their teaching must be brought to the bar of Scripture. At the same time, Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists that if you depart from the regulative principle, you must answer the question: on what principle do you then proceed? And you must be careful that acting on other principles does not lead to a position that contradicts the teaching of Scripture. He closes by acknowledging honestly that the matter is difficult and that no one possesses a blueprint, and he calls the conference to humility, dependence upon God, and a willingness to ask what we can be certain of and how we handle the matters about which we are not certain.
How does Murray trace the origins of the regulative principle back before the Elizabethan era?
Murray argues that the standard account — which places the origin of Puritanism in the reign of Queen Elizabeth — is misleading. He shows that the regulative principle in all its essential features is found in the writings of William Tyndale, some thirty years before Elizabeth's accession. Tyndale insisted that the Church must bring God's Word for all she does, demanded that not only the creed but also the organization and services of the Church should have scriptural sanction, and held positions on the parity of the ministerial office, the calling of ministers by the congregation, and the restoration of the diaconate that would later become hallmarks of Puritanism. Murray also highlights the controversies in Edward VI's reign — John Hooper's stand on vestments and John Knox's opposition to kneeling at communion — as further evidence that the principle predated the Elizabethan settlement. The reason this earlier history has been overlooked, Murray explains, is partly that both sides suppressed the evidence of their divisions in the face of Roman Catholic opposition, and partly that the clash between Tyndale's policy and Cranmer's policy has not been adequately recognised by historians.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust's collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.