In Search of the Lord's Way
by Phil Sanders
"Worship in Song"
We're here to search God's Word for the Lord's Way. Because the Bible is inspired of God, we can trust it to lead us into what's right. God's Word is a light to our paths and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119, verses 1 to 5). And that's why we go to it again and again.
Hymns and spiritual songs praise God; they teach valuable lessons; and they stir the heart. Singing involves the heart, and the mind, and the lips to praise God and to build up one another. The Lord blessed us greatly when He instructed us to sing from our hearts.
The music of the church provides a great blessing, but it also has challenges. Many focus on what they like in songs and lose sight of what the Lord desires. Others go beyond what the Lord asks.
Since the Lord seeks for those who worship Him, to worship Him in spirit and truth, it's needful for us to ask, "what is the will of the Lord". What is the Lord's way for us to worship Him in song?
Our
reading today from God's Holy Word comes from the book of Ephesians chapter 5,
verses 17 to 21.
Eph. 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), ...
Now, this passage, perhaps came from the mind of Paul, as he was thinking of the mystery cult of Dionysus (deo-knee-sus). Dionysus (deo-knee-sus) was the god of wine. His adherents would get themselves drunk in their religious worship, and in that drunkenness, they believed that the spirit of the gods would come in unto them.
The apostle Paul says don't be drunk with wine, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Be filled with the spirit of God, so that when you are together with one another it will make sense. You will do it with understanding and mutual edification and God will be glorified.
Paul continues in the rest of
verses 18 through 21,
Eph. 5:18 ... but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him. 19 Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
That's from God's Holy Word.
To learn the truth about Christian worship in song, we must go to the New Testament. So, let's review the relevant passages pertaining to musical worship among Christians.
The
first mention of singing a hymn in the New Testament is found in Matthew 26,
verse 30 and Mark 14:26; two passages very much alike. The Bible says that the Lord instituted that
night the Lord's Supper;
"After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
In
Acts chapter 16 and verse 25, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison
with their feet in stocks for healing a servant girl. And the Bible says,
Acts 16:25 But about midnight when Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
Now, so far, all we have is just simple statements of people singing.
In
Romans 15 and verse 9 Paul speaks of the Gentiles glorifying God; as it is
written,
Rom. 15:9 ..."Therefore I praise You among the Gentiles,And sing praises to Your name."
Well, this quotation emphasizes how a congregation in one accord and with one voice should glorify God.
But before that, Romans 15, verses
5 and 6 said
Rom. 15:5 Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Later
in 1st Corinthians chapter 14, there are two references to singing. Verse 15 says,
I Cor. 14:15 Then what am I to do? I will pray with the spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me] and I will pray with the mind [using words I understand]; I will sing with the spirit [by the Holy Spirit that is within me] and I will sing with the mind [using words I understand].
Here the emphasis in singing is on the mind and the spirit.
Verse 26 says,
I Cor. 14:26 What then is the right course, believers? When you meet together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation (disclosure of special knowledge), a tongue, or an interpretation. Let everything be constructive and edifying and done for the good of all the church.
The early church edified each other by using "teaching songs".
Again,
let's look at Ephesians 5, verses 18 and 19, the Bible says,
Eph. 5:18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him. 19 Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The emphasis in this passage is on speaking to one another and in making melody with the heart to the Lord. The idea of having concerts or of playing instruments in worship is absent. There were no choirs, because everyone was to sing.
Colossians
3 and verse 16 is a similar passage:
Col. 3:16 Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
The emphasis again is on singing words that teach and
admonish. Now, these were activities
that require the heart, the mind, and the lips.
The
writer of the book of Hebrews twice mentions praising God in song. First in Hebrews 2, verse 12 he quotes from
Psalm 22, verse 22. He says,
Heb. 2:12 ..."I will declare Your (the Father's) name to My brethren (believers),In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise."
Again, the idea is verbal, proclaiming and singing.
Second comes from Hebrews 13,
verse 15 which says,
Heb. 13:15 Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.
The
last mention of Christian worship in song is found in James 5 and verse 13,
which says,
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God].
In each and every instance, the music described in Christian worship emphasizesverbal communication: singing, speaking, teaching,admonishing, making melody with your hearts, confessing, giving thanks, proclaiming, and the fruit of lips.
The clear instruction of the New Testament is that we should sing from our hearts praise to God. Now, instruments of music cannot speak, teach, admonish, give thanks, praise, proclaim, confess, or make melody in their hearts.
Instruments of music fail to do any of these. And this is why they become additions; they go beyondthe instructions of the New Testament.
No
reference to instrumental music is startling to me! Neither Jesus nor the apostles commanded
them. The New Testament gives no
example of churches using them in worship. God purposely did not include them. You see God desires music of the mind and
the spirit.
You
might wonder why we're discussing instruments of music in Christian worship at
all, because most people think churches have always used instruments of music
in worship. And they're surprised to find
out that some churches today have never used instruments of music, and
they begin to think
that peculiar.
Churches, however, didn't always use instruments; and some churches, like the Orthodox churches, have never used instruments. The word a cappella is a reference to singing unaccompanied and what it means in Latin is "in the manner of the church."
Early Christians actually rejected the use of instruments in worship. In fact, for several centuries they were adamantly opposed to using instruments of music in worship. Not until the thirteenth century did churches widely begin using instruments of music.
Both Jews and Greeks used instruments in worship. And converts to Christianity surely knew this, but still Christians didn't use harps or organs or anything else in their worship for centuries. They consciously said no, because they had no God-given reason to use them.
Dr.
Everett Ferguson, who is an authority in the early church, said,
"It's quite late before there is evidence of instrumental music, first the organ, employed in the public worship of the church. And recent studies put the introduction of instrumental music even later than the dates found in reference books. It was perhaps as late as the tenth century when the organ was played as part of the service. This makes instrumental music one of the late innovations of the medieval Catholic Church."
As late as 1250 AD, Thomas Aquinas
said,
You see, he understood that harps were for Jews not for Christians.
"Our church does not use instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God with that she may not seem to Judaize."
Instruments of music came along as an innovation brought in because people liked them, not because the New Testament gave instructions for them. God has spoken to us in His Word. The Lord promised the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into ALL the truth in John 16, verse 13.
Well, "all the truth" means the New Testament teaches us everything God wanted us to know to have eternal life and to live the Christian life. Nothing is missing. And we shouldn't imagine that God has forgotten something.
When God revealed all the truth, He intentionally stopped. Since God has revealed all the truth, He didn't need to say any more. To add more or to pursue additional practices says to God that His teaching was not sufficient.
So, how is God honored when men are not content and then decide to add practices to their worship? To start new practices, going beyond God's teaching, is presumptuous. It fails to listen to God and does what it wishes.
The
Lord said in John chapter 8, verses 31 and 32 that,
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. 32 And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin]."
Christ here reveals one of the marks of a true disciple. A true disciple abides in the Word. He doesn't add to it, take away from it, reinvent it, or change it. He stays in the boundaries of the teaching and instructions of the Word.
The person who stays with the Word will know the truth, and the truth will set him free. When you leave the Word, you begin to tamper with the truth. You buy into half-truths and man-made religion.
Someone says, "don't you know that David played the harp?" Yes, I am aware of passages like Psalm 150 and 2 Chronicles 29, verse 25. I also know that David lived a thousand years before Jesus Christ. David was not a Christian, and we're exploring how Christians worshiped, not how the Israelites a thousand years before Jesus worshiped. We don't offer animal sacrifices as David did. You see, David lived under the old covenant, while we live under the new covenant.
According to 2nd Chronicles 29:25, God approved of harps in the worship of the temple under the old covenant; but the New Testament never speaks of the use of instruments of music in Christian worship.
Some say the word "psalm" and the Greek word psallo, used in Ephesians 5:19 for "making music in the heart," permits us to play instruments. And while it's true that many years before the time of the New Testament the Greek word psallo meant to pluck on a string or play a harp, the word changed in its meaning over time. Well, how did this happen?
The Jews sang psalms with instruments in the temple but sang without them in the synagogue. Musical worship in the temple was limited to the Levites who had choirs and many instruments, but the worship of the synagogue had no musical instruments.
From day to day, and Sabbath to Sabbath, in their homes and in the synagogues, Jews regularly sang psalms for hundreds of years without any use of the harp.
So, when the word psallo or the word psalm was used, they normally thought of singing the words of the song unaccompanied. It never occurred to early Christians, who know Greek better than we do, that these words psallo or psalmos meant that we should or could use instruments of music in our worship.
If those words had pointed to instruments, why didn't the early church use them? Why did the early church refuse to use them? Why did it take many centuries before someone started using them?
Others ask, "Well, aren't people playing harps in heaven?" Yes, John's visions found in the highly figurative book of Revelation speak of harps in heaven. Saints in heaven also wear crowns and cast them before the throne of God. Angels and people in heaven say many things in heaven that were not allowed to say on earth.
2nd Corinthians 12,
verses 3 and 4 says,
II Cor. 12:3And I know that such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words which man is not permitted to speak [words too sacred to tell].
Heaven and earth are very different.
Our task is not to imitate what's done in heaven. Our task is to be obedient to Jesus and His teachings in the New Testament. If harps in heaven means the church ought to play harps, why didn't the apostles and the early church understand that they were supposed to play them? Why did they refuse to play them for centuries?
Someone says, "The Bible doesn't condemn playing an organ!" That's true; it doesn't saythat. But neither does the Bible specifically condemn burning incense, or praying to Mary, or using roast lamb in the Lord's Supper, or offering animal sacrifices today, or substituting sprinkling for immersion in baptism, or baptizing infants.
Just because the Bible doesn't specifically condemn something doesn't mean that God approves of it. All of these things I've mentioned, just like using the instrument of music in worship, come not from God but were innovations of men.
The right question is not "Where does the Bible condemn an instrument in worship?" but "Where does the Word of God authorize using instruments of music in Christian worship?" To act without God's permission or instruction is presumptuous.
If the Bible were to include everything that God condemned, why it would be too large to carry. The Lord has chosen to instruct us in positive terms what His will is for our lives and our worship. He has shown us the way, which rules out all other ways.
There is "one baptism" (Ephesians 4, verse 5); and that means there cannot be another approved baptism. The Bible says there is "one gospel" in Galatians 1, verses 6 to 9. Well, that means that all other gospels are condemned. The Bible says there is "one body" or church in Ephesians 4 and verse 4; also, we know that from Ephesians 1:22 to 23. That means there cannot be other approved churches.
The specific instruction to sing means that one should sing. There's no authority for us to add other forms of music. When God instructs us through His Word, He tells us what He wants. We shouldn't expect God to exclude all other possibilities with a series of "don'ts."
If I ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes at my favorite restaurant, I expect the waitress to bring just what I ordered. If she brought me liver and onions, I'd say to her, "This is not what I ordered; I ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes." Telling her what I specifically want excludes everything else. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if I had to go down the whole menu at the restaurant and tell her everything I don't want? We should hear and do what God wants.
At
the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24 to 27, the Lord told this
story:
Matt. 7:24 "So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Then in verses 26 and 27, He said
Matt.7:26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall."
Wisdom is hearing God's Word and doing it. Foolishness is hearing God's Word but doing something else that you want to do. I can read clearly in the New Testament the Lord's instructions about singing in worship.
Not one word is said about using instruments of music in worship. They weren't used in any church for hundreds of years. Now, let's put singing in worship on one side and singing with instruments on the other. They're different, aren't they?
Which one is wise and follows the Lord's teaching and which one is foolish? Which is wise and which is foolish? Which does the Lord's will and which is an innovation of man?
