Two of the most distinguishing features of churches of Christ are the teaching of baptism for the remission of sins and the non-usage of instruments in the worship of God. This study will focus on the latter of these and will continue for the next week or two.
MUSIC IN WORSHIP IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
- Clearly, God intends for Christians to worship Him with singing. Notice the following passages:
- Ephesians 5:19 – “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”
- Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
- 1 Corinthians 14:15 – “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
- Hebrews 13:15 – “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
- Looking at the passages above, it is easy to conclude that God has prescribed a certain kind of music in our worship assembly. Note some significant points here…
- The kind of music is acapella (or, singing alone).
- The words are intended to be reciprocal in nature, giving instruction and admonishment to one another.
- The silence pertaining to the instrument in the NT speaks loudly since the instrument was clearly used to worship God in the OT (note just a few examples: 1 Chron. 15:19-21; 16:1-6; 28:11-19; Ps. 150:1-4).
- Also note that Jesus explains (in Jn. 4:24) that worship in the NT Age is more spiritual in nature. He states, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
- You may recall at the very beginning of the church, Luke recorded that Christians just added to the body of Christ, “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). From day one they understood that the Lord had given great authority to the apostles to guide them in matters of faith and practice.
- One of the most powerful arguments against the use of instruments comes in Colossians 3:17, immediately following Paul commanding Christians to sing to one another. There he states, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Paul is talking about the source of religious authority. Everything we do in worship is to be authorized by the Lord. What has the Lord authorized us to do in worship? The verse immediately preceding verse seventeen indicates (see above) that Christians are simply to sing in worship. Christians have authority to worship God in song. No one has authority to worship God with an instrument.
LEARNING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
- Some appeal to the OT for the practice of instrumental music, when in fact the real appeal from the OT leads us in quite a different direction. Consider the following:
- Paul said the OT Law was written for our learning (Rom. 15:4). Note: It was not written as a standard for our faith and practice (except that if we truly follow it, it simply leads us to Christ and His new way.
- So, in a real sense, when we embrace Christ and the apostles’ doctrine, we are indeed following Moses and the Prophets! That is exactly where they point us!
- If we learn anything in particular from the OT, surely it is that God means what He says, and that this principle is extremely relevant in the domain of worship. Notice the following:
- The first time that the Bible records worship unto God, half of it was rejected by God. Cain’s worship was in some way not what God intended it to be. He did “not do well” (Gen. 4:7). Something about his worship was in accord with the will of God.
- Nadab and Abihu “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them” (Lev. 10:1). In case anyone had trouble understanding what unauthorized meant, God explains that it is something which God had not commanded to be offered. This OT story should weigh heavy with those who promote adding the instrument to the worship of God today.
- Perhaps it is helpful to understand the principle that is in play here and why the Lord consumed Nadab and Abihu with fire (see v. 2). The text records in verse 3: “Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘That is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Offering worship to God is not a matter to be taken lightly!
- Other examples could be given, but surely we see that a recognition of who God is demands that we approach Him with care and humility!
Next week we will plan to continue with this study.
Daren Schroeder
