Text: Psalm 150

Introduction:

If you were visiting with us for the first time today, what feature of our worship would stand out to you as unique?
Hopefully you would notice that we care about you and want you to feel welcome.
The fact that we have communion every week might seem unusual but the odds are that you would just assume that you had happened to show up on the Sunday when it was observed. You probably would not realize we observed it weekly until you attended a second Sunday.
Perhaps our reliance on the Bible as our only rule of faith may seem a new concept, but many churches claim to teach only the Bible.
What would seem the most unusual to you? The lack of instrumental music.
And yet, how many of us have ever heard a complete sermon on the subject of music in the worship?
As a young man, I thought that we refused to use instrumental music because it was used by the Denominations and we were trying to be non-denominational.
I remember arguing with a preacher who was visiting the campus of DLU about it.
Then, at the age of 21, I heard my first full sermon on the subject. I was aghast at how clear the information in the Bible, and church history was. I was a little embarrassed by some the comments that I had made on the subject (to that preacher at DLU) and realized I had needed to repent.
At the same time, I was a little upset that I had been attending services for eleven years and had never heard much of the information that was in that sermon.
This morning we are going to study the subject of whether or not God has authorized the use of instrumental music in the worship of the church.
We are not here to judge other people or to be mean spirited and unloving. We are merely going to answer the question, "What kinds of music does God authorize in the assembly of the Church.
Is it God's desire that we sing, play or do both?
And, does it really matter?

Discussion:

I. The music used in all of the New Testament passages:

Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Acts 16:25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Romans 15:9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name."

1 Corinthians 14:14-15 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What is the result 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.

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Colossians 3:16 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.

Hebrews 2:12 saying: "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You."

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 14:2-3 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. ³ And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. Revelation 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!

A.    The only passages mentioning instruments place them in heaven. Concerning the harpers, Are the forms of worship shown in the book of Revelation binding examples of what is required or even acceptable in our worship services?

1.    Example: Are the other things used in Rev. 5:8 permissible in our assemblies today?

Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings and an earthquake.

B.    Our basic thesis:

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17).

C.     How does God authorize an activity?

II. The Laws of Generic and Specific commands considered:

A.    When God gives a command in generic terms, we are free to carry it out however we see fit.

B.    When God gives us specific instructions the specific language is exclusive.

C.    Consider the following chart.

Generic Commands

Specific Commands

Cattle Farm
è

Hereford Farm.

Ark of Wood
è

Gopher Wood (Gen. 16:14).

Fire to Burn Incense
è

Fire from Brazen Alter (Lev. 10:1; Ex. 30).

Music (2 kinds sin & play)
è

Sing

Sing (any song).
è

"Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs" (Eph. 5:19).

Melody (any place)
è

In the Heart (Col. 3:16).

III. Is this how the Bible Treats generic and specific language?

A. There are many examples of In the Bible of this kind of exegesis..

B. Jesus' superiority Old Testament angels established specific language.

Hebrews 1:4-5 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. ⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"?

C. Superiority of Jesus' priesthood established.

Hebrews 7:12-14 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. ¹³ For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.

IV. History Speaks.

A.     McClintock And Strong's Cyclopedia "Pope Vitaline in A. D. 660, the first who introduced organs into the churches. but students of Ecclesiastical archaeology are generally agreed that instrumental music was not used in churches till a much later date; for Thomas Aquinas, A. D. 1250, has these remarkable words; 'Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.'"

B.     Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious, Vol. II, p. 1702 "In the Greek church the organ never came into use, but after the eighth century it became common in the Latin church, not however without opposition."

C.     Martin Luther -- "The organ in the worship of God is an ensign of Baal."

D.     John Calvin -- "Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of god would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps and the restoration of the shadows of the law."

E.     John Wesley -- "I have no objection to organs in our chapels provided it is neither heard nor seen."

F.     Adam Clark -- "Music, as a science, I esteem and admire; but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music and I here register my protest against shall such corruption in the worship of the infinite Spirit who requires his followers to worship him in spirit and truth."

G.     Charles Spurgeon -- When asked why he did not use the organ in his services he first quoted 1 Cor. 14:15, which says, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also," then he declared, "I would as soon to pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.

H.     Andrew Fuller (Baptists) -- The New Testament speaks of praising God by singing but further it says not . . . If my memory does not deceive me, it originated in the dark ages of popery, where almost every other superstitions are more prevalent. (Works of Andrew Fuller, vol. III p. 520).

I.     James W. McKinnon -- in a doctoral dissertation for Columbia University in 1965, entitled "The Church Fathers and Musical Instruments"...has no bias against instrumental music in worship, and was astonished at the unanimity and hostility against musical instruments that he discovered in his voluminous research through the late fourth and early fifth centuries of patristic Christian literature-for which he diligently sought explanation...In this "abstract" McKinnon says: "The Fathers of the early Church were virtually unanimous in their hostility toward musical instruments." For a Church Father of the third and fourth century a musical instrument was a symbol of lasciviousness and debauchery. "One arrives at two distinct yet related conclusions. There is the fact early Christian music was vocal and there is the patristic polemic against instruments. One can only imagine what rhetorical outbursts the introduction of instruments would have elicited from Fathers like Augustine, Jerome and Chrysostom."

J.     Chrysostom "Where the harp and the lyre are, Christ is nowhere near."

K.     Alexander Campbell--"To those who have no real devotion or spirituality in them, and whose animal nature flags under the oppression of church service, I think that instrumental music would be not only a desideratum but an essential prerequisite to fire up their souls to even animal devotion. But I presume to all spiritually-minded Christians such aids would be as a cow bell in a concert." -- Memoirs of A. Campbell, p. 366.

L.           “Although Josephus tells of the wonderful effects produced in the Temple by the use of instruments of music, the first Christians were of too spiritual a fiber to substitute lifeless instruments for or to use them to accompany the human voice” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1913, Vol. X, p. 651).

M.         “There is no record in the NT of the use of instruments in the musical worship of the Christian church” (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, p. 1163).

N.           “Whatever evidence is forthcoming, is to the effect that the early Christians did not use musical instruments” (William Smith & Samuel Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, London: John Murray, 1880, II, p. 1365).

O.    Thus we find that Instrumental Music in worship of God in the New Testament Dispensation was instituted by a man.

Mark 7:7 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

V. What music did God authorize in the Old Testament church? And HOW did he authorize it?

A.    He authorized both singing and playing, by commanding it and by giving approved examples of it in the Old Testament.

B.    2 Chronicles 29:25 Then he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

C.    Psalms 150

D.    Note that instrumental music was never allowed in the holy place that typified the New Testament church.

VI. Objections of our friends considered.

A.    "It (instrumental music) is just an aid"

1.    Psalm 150 says that when instrumental music is used it is an act of worship not just an aid.

(Psalms 150:3 NKJV) Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp!

B.    "Many of us have instruments in our homes."

1.    Answer: All that is permissible in the home is not allowable in the worship service. Example: Would you allow your children to run up and down the isles during the services the way you allow them to at home?

2.    We eat food and watch TV at home. Is it therefore proper to eat and watch TV in the worship service?

3.    We sing secular songs at home, is it therefore proper to sing secular songs in the worship service?

C.    David did it and he was "A man after God's own heart."

1.    David Burned incense and offered the blood of animals on an alter as a sacrifice. If we can use Instrumental music beacuse David did, then shouldn't we also be offering blooding sacrifices and observing the Sabath?

2.    David also committed adultery. Does that mean we are allowed to commit adultery too?

3.    David murdered Uriah the Hittite. Does that mean we are allowed to commit murder?

4.    David had 10 wives and 100 concubines.

5.    Illustration: Burning incense, butchering cows, and playing the guitar because David was a man after God's own heart.

D.    The New Testament doesn't say "Thou shalt not use Instrumental Music." Explain "Where the Bible Speaks . . . "

1.    It didn't say "Thou shalt not use potato chips and Pepsi for the communion."

a)    When the Lord said use unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, that automatically excluded all else.

2.    He didn't say, "Thou shalt not use women for Elders."

3.    He didn't say, "Thou shalt not use children for Deacons."

4.    Example: If I were to address a letter to Marietta, Ohio I wouldn't have to list on the envelope all of the places that I did not want the envelope to go to. The mailman automatically understood that the phrase Marietta, Ohio excluded Marietta Georgia.

5.    If you were to send your child to the store to get bread and he bought candy instead and ate it, would you punish him. After all you did not say, "Thou shall NOT buy candy."

E.    The claim is made that the word for psalm (PSALLO) in Eph. 5:19 meant to sing with instrumental accompaniment.

1.    This claim is made by those who purposefully read out only the first half of the definition given by the Lexicons. The Lexicons actually state that the word PSALLO used to mean of to pluck or pull a string. But this definition was only used about centuries before the New Testament. It then came to mean to sing an Psalm to instrumental accompaniment. But, by the First Century the word had changed in meaning to the definition of "to sing a psalm." Check Thayer’s Lexicon..

F.    It makes me feel so close to God.

1.    Feelings to not prove we are close to God.

Genesis 28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

Judges 16:20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

2.    Are we here to please God or to feel good?

3.    Music is not sacred the words are

John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

4.    The power is in the word not the instrument

5.    The tune to "How Dry I Am" is the same tune found in "Oh Happy Day."

G.    "I know it's wrong but I can just turn it off.

VII. Summary of objections to Instrumental Music in worship.

A.    Christ did not authorize it (Mat. 28:20; Col. 3:17).

B.    The Apostles and the Holy Spirit did not teach it.

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

C.    All truth is revealed in the Bible, Instrumental music is not in the New Testament, therefore it is not a Spiritual Truth that sets men and women free (John 16:13-15; 17:17; 4:24; 8:34)

D.    It is a tradition of men, and as such is vain worship (Mark 7:7; Mat. 15:9).

E.    It is going beyond the Word of God (II John 9; I Cor. 4:6; Num. 22:18; 23:26; 22:35; 23:20).

CONCLUSION:

We have been told specifically how to worship in song. We have been told to sing making melody in our hearts.
Example: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel". If Christ had said walk into all the world, we would all be required to walk. If he had said ride a donkey we would have been required to ride a donkey. But instead he said "Go ye". That means that we can go any way we want to go. However, when the Apostles discussed Music they commanded us to sing.
WHY??? The Jews and Gentiles both came from churches that used Instrumental music. They tried to introduce many things from their religious background: Jews--circumcision, the Gentiles Gnosticism and yet NO ON ever suggested bringing the instrument in. WHY???
The word worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon Worthship--to declare the worth of. Are we here to declare the worth of God or ourselves?

David E. Parks

dave@wcofc.org

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Text: Psalm 150

Introduction:

If you were visiting with us for the first time today, what feature of our worship would stand out to you as unique?

Hopefully you would notice that we care about you and want you to feel welcome.

The fact that we have communion every week might seem unusual but the odds are that you would just assume that you had happened to show up on the Sunday when it was observed. You probably would not realize we observed it weekly until you attended a second Sunday.

Perhaps our reliance on the Bible as our only rule of faith may seem a new concept, but many churches claim to teach only the Bible.

What would seem the most unusual to you? The lack of instrumental music.

And yet, how many of us have ever heard a complete sermon on the subject of music in the worship?

As a young man, I thought that we refused to use instrumental music because it was used by the Denominations and we were trying to be non-denominational.

I remember arguing with a preacher who was visiting the campus of DLU about it.

Then, at the age of 21, I heard my first full sermon on the subject. I was aghast at how clear the information in the Bible, and church history was. I was a little embarrassed by some the comments that I had made on the subject (to that preacher at DLU) and realized I had needed to repent.

At the same time, I was a little upset that I had been attending services for eleven years and had never heard much of the information that was in that sermon.

This morning we are going to study the subject of whether or not God has authorized the use of instrumental music in the worship of the church.

We are not here to judge other people or to be mean spirited and unloving. We are merely going to answer the question, "What kinds of music does God authorize in the assembly of the Church.

Is it God's desire that we sing, play or do both?

And, does it really matter?

Discussion:

I. The music used in all of the New Testament passages:

A. The only passages mentioning instruments place them in heaven. Concerning the harpers, Are the forms of worship shown in the book of Revelation binding examples of what is required or even acceptable in our worship services?

1. Example: Are the other things used in Rev. 5:8 permissible in our assemblies today?

B. Our basic thesis:

C. How does God authorize an activity?

II. The Laws of Generic and Specific commands considered:

A. When God gives a command in generic terms, we are free to carry it out however we see fit.

B. When God gives us specific instructions the specific language is exclusive.

C. Consider the following chart.

III. Is this how the Bible Treats generic and specific language?

A. There are many examples of In the Bible of this kind of exegesis..

B. Jesus' superiority Old Testament angels established specific language.

IV. History Speaks.

B. Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious, Vol. II, p. 1702 "In the Greek church the organ never came into use, but after the eighth century it became common in the Latin church, not however without opposition."

C. Martin Luther -- "The organ in the worship of God is an ensign of Baal."

D. John Calvin -- "Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of god would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps and the restoration of the shadows of the law."

E. John Wesley -- "I have no objection to organs in our chapels provided it is neither heard nor seen."

G. Charles Spurgeon -- When asked why he did not use the organ in his services he first quoted 1 Cor. 14:15, which says, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also," then he declared, "I would as soon to pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.

H. Andrew Fuller (Baptists) -- The New Testament speaks of praising God by singing but further it says not . . . If my memory does not deceive me, it originated in the dark ages of popery, where almost every other superstitions are more prevalent. (Works of Andrew Fuller, vol. III p. 520).

J. Chrysostom "Where the harp and the lyre are, Christ is nowhere near."

M. “There is no record in the NT of the use of instruments in the musical worship of the Christian church” (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, p. 1163).

N. “Whatever evidence is forthcoming, is to the effect that the early Christians did not use musical instruments” (William Smith & Samuel Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, London: John Murray, 1880, II, p. 1365).

O. Thus we find that Instrumental Music in worship of God in the New Testament Dispensation was instituted by a man.

Mark 7:7 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

V. What music did God authorize in the Old Testament church? And HOW did he authorize it?

A. He authorized both singing and playing, by commanding it and by giving approved examples of it in the Old Testament.

B. 2 Chronicles 29:25 Then he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.

C. Psalms 150

D. Note that instrumental music was never allowed in the holy place that typified the New Testament church.

VI. Objections of our friends considered.

A. "It (instrumental music) is just an aid"

1. Psalm 150 says that when instrumental music is used it is an act of worship not just an aid.

B. "Many of us have instruments in our homes."

1. Answer: All that is permissible in the home is not allowable in the worship service. Example: Would you allow your children to run up and down the isles during the services the way you allow them to at home?

2. We eat food and watch TV at home. Is it therefore proper to eat and watch TV in the worship service?

3. We sing secular songs at home, is it therefore proper to sing secular songs in the worship service?

C. David did it and he was "A man after God's own heart."

1. David Burned incense and offered the blood of animals on an alter as a sacrifice. If we can use Instrumental music beacuse David did, then shouldn't we also be offering blooding sacrifices and observing the Sabath?

2. David also committed adultery. Does that mean we are allowed to commit adultery too?

3. David murdered Uriah the Hittite. Does that mean we are allowed to commit murder?

4. David had 10 wives and 100 concubines.

5. Illustration: Burning incense, butchering cows, and playing the guitar because David was a man after God's own heart.

D. The New Testament doesn't say "Thou shalt not use Instrumental Music." Explain "Where the Bible Speaks . . . "

1. It didn't say "Thou shalt not use potato chips and Pepsi for the communion."

a) When the Lord said use unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, that automatically excluded all else.

2. He didn't say, "Thou shalt not use women for Elders."

3. He didn't say, "Thou shalt not use children for Deacons."

4. Example: If I were to address a letter to Marietta, Ohio I wouldn't have to list on the envelope all of the places that I did not want the envelope to go to. The mailman automatically understood that the phrase Marietta, Ohio excluded Marietta Georgia.

5. If you were to send your child to the store to get bread and he bought candy instead and ate it, would you punish him. After all you did not say, "Thou shall NOT buy candy."

E. The claim is made that the word for psalm (PSALLO) in Eph. 5:19 meant to sing with instrumental accompaniment.

F. It makes me feel so close to God.

1. Feelings to not prove we are close to God.

Genesis 28:16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

Judges 16:20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

2. Are we here to please God or to feel good?

3. Music is not sacred the words are

John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

4. The power is in the word not the instrument

5. The tune to "How Dry I Am" is the same tune found in "Oh Happy Day."

G. "I know it's wrong but I can just turn it off.

VII. Summary of objections to Instrumental Music in worship.

A. Christ did not authorize it (Mat. 28:20; Col. 3:17).

B. The Apostles and the Holy Spirit did not teach it.

Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.