In three past articles we've studied the issue of instrumental music in worship through the writings of historians and religious leaders from the third century through modern times. To summarize: Early Christians sang in worship because that alone is what Christ authorized them to do. They recognized instrumental music as a relic of the Mosaic system. There was no recorded use of it until the 7th century-and no widespread acceptance of it until the 13th. When the Reformation came, most of those who left Catholicism abandoned the practice as unscriptural. Musical instruments were not used in most Protestant denominations until the early 1800s.
Everything's different now. The majority of modern "Christian" religious groups use musical instruments in worship-anything from a simple piano to a full orchestra. Many people mistakenly think it's a long-established practice in Christianity. It would never occur to them to question it. So when folks like me object to it, they think we're - well, sort of weird.
Frankly, whether or not people have been using musical instruments in worship for very long is not what's important. Nor is it whether or not Luther, Calvin, or any other scholar supported their use. Nor is it how disciples in the second or third century viewed them. These things are enlightening, but they are only the words and deeds of uninspired men and are a sandy foundation on which to build (Matthew 7:24-27). They only reflect the real issue at hand: Has Christ authorized His disciples to use instrumental music in praising Him?
To answer the question, many go to the pages of the Old Testament, where Miriam and the women of Israel praised God "with timbrels and with dances" after the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 15:20), and where the psalmist wrote of praising God with trumpets, lutes, harps, timbrels, dances, stringed instruments, flutes, and cymbals (Psalm 150). But Christ came to fulfill that old covenant (Matthew 5:17-18), and he died to replace it (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 9:15; 10:9). The Old Testament is no longer binding; it is not our standard of authority. The New Testament is what will judge us (John 12:48). And it says not one word of playing instruments in worship.
". . . be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19).
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms" (James 5:13).
"What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15).
New Testament passages about singing discuss just that: singing. No references to instruments are made. Some think the word "psalm" includes instruments. But if instruments are necessarily implied in the word, then God is telling us that we must use them at least part of the time. I have yet to hear anyone affirm that. "Psalm" does not imply musical instruments, nor does "making melody" (the verb form of "psalm") in Ephesians 5:19. Paul says there that it is the heart with which melody is made. The spirit and the voice are the only instruments implied.
When all is said and done, it is a question of Divine authority. Worship is devotion to God. Its purpose is to honor and please Him. What appeals to our tastes or gives us pleasure is not the issue. Had God merely said, "make music," we would be free to make whatever kind we like (and I'd probably be in the band). But He has told us to sing, and that is the only thing we can do with full assurance of His approval. To add musical instruments, however we might enjoy them, is to "exceed what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6); it "goes to far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ" (2 John 9). It is a dangerous assumption that puts souls at risk. Let's be content instead to do what God commands and "worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
Everything's different now. The majority of modern "Christian" religious groups use musical instruments in worship-anything from a simple piano to a full orchestra. Many people mistakenly think it's a long-established practice in Christianity. It would never occur to them to question it. So when folks like me object to it, they think we're - well, sort of weird.
Frankly, whether or not people have been using musical instruments in worship for very long is not what's important. Nor is it whether or not Luther, Calvin, or any other scholar supported their use. Nor is it how disciples in the second or third century viewed them. These things are enlightening, but they are only the words and deeds of uninspired men and are a sandy foundation on which to build (Matthew 7:24-27). They only reflect the real issue at hand: Has Christ authorized His disciples to use instrumental music in praising Him?
To answer the question, many go to the pages of the Old Testament, where Miriam and the women of Israel praised God "with timbrels and with dances" after the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 15:20), and where the psalmist wrote of praising God with trumpets, lutes, harps, timbrels, dances, stringed instruments, flutes, and cymbals (Psalm 150). But Christ came to fulfill that old covenant (Matthew 5:17-18), and he died to replace it (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 9:15; 10:9). The Old Testament is no longer binding; it is not our standard of authority. The New Testament is what will judge us (John 12:48). And it says not one word of playing instruments in worship.
". . . be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18-19).
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms" (James 5:13).
"What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15).
New Testament passages about singing discuss just that: singing. No references to instruments are made. Some think the word "psalm" includes instruments. But if instruments are necessarily implied in the word, then God is telling us that we must use them at least part of the time. I have yet to hear anyone affirm that. "Psalm" does not imply musical instruments, nor does "making melody" (the verb form of "psalm") in Ephesians 5:19. Paul says there that it is the heart with which melody is made. The spirit and the voice are the only instruments implied.
When all is said and done, it is a question of Divine authority. Worship is devotion to God. Its purpose is to honor and please Him. What appeals to our tastes or gives us pleasure is not the issue. Had God merely said, "make music," we would be free to make whatever kind we like (and I'd probably be in the band). But He has told us to sing, and that is the only thing we can do with full assurance of His approval. To add musical instruments, however we might enjoy them, is to "exceed what is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6); it "goes to far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ" (2 John 9). It is a dangerous assumption that puts souls at risk. Let's be content instead to do what God commands and "worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
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