During the Reformation of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the church worked to find a biblical principle that would guide the way we worship. Two main approaches have become common.
The normative principle of worship (typically practiced by Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans) says that whatever is not prohibited in the Scriptures is appropriate, while the regulative principle of worship (embraced by Reformed and Presbyterians) looks to passages such as Leviticus 9 and 10 and concludes that we should worship God only as he explicitly wishes to be worshiped. That is, the elements of corporate worship should be set by Scripture and not according to the “imagination and devices of men” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 21.1).
In today’s culture many want freedom to mean no rules at all, and yet anarchy is not a suitable replacement for true freedom. An obvious example is a fence on the edge of a cliff which provides the freedom for a child (or me!) to play.
Related to congregational worship, the Scriptures present specific ways to please God, a fence. There are clear instructions, limits, and expectations, all of which provide the context for true freedom to please God in worship. This, in fact, is a great gift to his people.
Working out all the details takes work. However, establishing the principle helps us understand that doing whatever we want becomes its own kind of prison, while knowing what our Father wants becomes the freedom we need. While the expressions may differ, we can enter into fellowship with brothers and sisters around the world knowing that we can come before the throne of God through Christ in a way that pleases and blesses our heavenly Father.