The Issue of Instrumental Music in Worship

I. Introduction: One of the first things that people notice when they worship with us is the absence of mechanical instruments (pianos, organs, bands, etc.). Why do we not use instruments in the church worship assemblies?

II. Singing in worship without instruments is clearly commanded and approved in the New Testament

A. Matthew 26:30 - ” And when they had sung an hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

B. Acts 16:25 - ” And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them.”

C. Romans 15:9 - ”…For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.”

D. 1 Corinthians 14:15 - ”… I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”

E. Ephesians 5:19 - ” Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

F. Colossians 3:16 - ” Let the word dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

G. James 5:13 - ”…Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”

III. Clarifying the issue: Does the New Testament authorize singing with instrumental music in worship?

A. No one disagrees that singing is a commanded part of worship

B. Musical instruments in worship are absent from these verses.

IV. Who risks dividing Christians over this issue?

A. An article written to defend the use of musical instruments in worship that stated, “the SING ONLY DOCTRINE continues to divide those who might otherwise be able to communicate with each other and resolve the other remaining differences.”

B. There has never been a division over whether we should sing in worship assemblies.

C. The author is either willfully deceitful or ignorant of the history of the church, because the division arose from the introduction of the musical instrument, not the removal of the instrument.

D. Historically, the church only had vocal music.

1. Historical practices of early Christians is not a source of authority for what we practice; however, history helps us understand how early Christians who lived shortly after the New Testament was written understood the scriptures and what the apostles taught about worship.
2. Church historians note that instruments were introduced in church worship around the 8th century and their use was often challenged as being worldly.

V. What arguments do people make for the use of instruments in the worship of the church?

A. It was used in the Old Testament with God’s approval.

1. 1 Chronicles 25 describes David’s organization of priestly musicians for tabernacle worship that continued when Solomon built the temple and reformers restored temple worship.
2. Psalm 150 names many instruments used in temple worship.
3. How do the Old Testament practices affect our view of New Testament worship?
   • Many things were approved by God for Old Testament temple worship that we do not practice today: burning incense, dancing, blood sacrifices, sprinkling blood on the people, etc.
   • The Old Law was abolished and is not binding on Christians.

Ephesians 2:14-15 – The Old Law was abolished.

Romans 7:4-6 – Dead to the Law and discharged from any obligation to it

Hebrews 10:9 – The first covenant removed to establish the second

The Old Law was abolished and is not bound on Christians.

• Some argue that it was in the Psalms and, therefore, not abolished.

Jesus considered the Psalms part of the Law: John 10:34, 15:25.

There is no distinction in the Old Law between the ceremonial and moral laws, they all constitute the Old Law.

B. There are musical instruments in heaven.

1. Revelation passages
   • 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: “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.”
   • Revelation 15:2: “And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”
2. We must first note that the book of Revelation is a message given in symbols.
   • Revelation also includes the burning of incense, altars, a temple, etc.
   • We do not seek to introduce these things based on the book of Revelation.
3. More importantly, these are heavenly beings, no longer part of the earthly existence.
   • If one wants to use Revelation 5:8 to prove that instruments of worship are commanded, he must acknowledge that each one had a harp.
   • If Revelation commands instrumental worship, then it commands that each person have an instrument of worship and a bowl of burning incense.
   • Revelation 15:2 is so obviously symbolic that to take one element out of the heavenly scene to bind today would be foolish.
   • Gary Hargis: “If when I get to heaven God places a harp in my hand and tells me to play; then fine, I’ll do the best I can. But since he hasn’t done that here on earth in the church, then I’d better leave it alone until I get to heaven.”
4. It is poor scriptural interpretation to use symbols used by heavenly beings who are not bound by an earthly New Testament covenant to authorize real practices by earthly beings.

C. It is an aid to singing like a tuning fork or pitch pipe.

1. To compare a piano, organ, or band to a pitch pipe is comparing apples to oranges.
2. Dictionaries define music as the combination of notes to form a melody or harmony.
3. A musical instrument forms a combination of rhythmic notes to make a melody or harmony.
   • Neither the pitch pipe or the tuning fork can do this.
   • Tuning forks and pitch pipes never accompany instrumental or vocal groups.
   • A pitch pipe gives the starting note but is not used when the song begins.

D. It is an aid like songbooks.

1. We have songbooks in order to carry out the command to sing.
2. In order to fulfill the command to sing, we must have some song to sing.
   • We could uses the book of Psalms and sing to an agreed upon melody.
   • We could sing from memory.
   • We can purchase songbooks that have songs to allow us to fulfill the command to sing.
3. The musical instrument is not the same thing as songbooks.
   • Songbooks are not another type of music.
   • The musical instrument creates another type of music.
4. Parallel argument to understand aids: The Lord’s Supper.
   • The New Testament commands Christians to eat the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week.
   • We must have containers to serve the bread and fruit of the vine.

The containers, like the songbooks, are not an addition to the command, but are aids to allow us to carry out the command.

We are not free to substitute Coca-Cola for the fruit of the vine nor add food, such as pretzels, instead of the unleavened bread.

The containers aid in obedience but do not replace the commanded elements.

E. The Greek word Psallo in Ephesians can also mean “to play.”

1. The word is translated “make melody” in Ephesians 5:19.
2. Greek experts tell us that psallo used to mean “to pluck, to twang as a bowstring, an instrument or a carpenter’s chalk.”
3. By the New Testament time, the word came to mean sing.
   • Words change meaning over time.
   • Sophocles was a native Greek who came to America and was the professor of Greek at Harvard University for nearly 40 years.

He published a Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine periods.

In his examination of Greek literature from 146 BC to 1100 AD he did not find a single instance where psallo was used to mean “sing with instrumental accompaniment.”

• Henry Thayer, in his Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says, “In the New Testament, to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song is the meaning of psallo.”
• E. Vine, in the Expository Dictionary of New Testament words says “it denotes, in the New Testament, to sing a hymn, sing praise.”
• The nearly 160 translators of the ASV and NKJV translate it as sing or make melody and nearly all of the translators were members of churches using instrumental music.
• If, for the sake of argument, we grant that the word psallo authorizes the use of instruments, there are certain conclusions that one must make.

Only stringed instruments that can be plucked or twanged could be used.

No wind instruments such as horns, percussion instruments like drums, nor electronic keyboards could be used.

If psallo meant to play, then everyone must play and sing for the command in Ephesians 5:19 is for everyone to do (“speaking to one another…”).

1. If we assume psallo meant to pluck, then we must acknowledge that it is a verb and the direct object would define what is plucked or twanged.
   • For example “throw” is a verb, but the direct object tells what is thrown.
   • Even in its ancient use it did not demand the plucking of an instrument: in its ancient use before the New Testament, could be used of an archer plucking a bowstring or a carpenter plucking a chalk line.
   • If we assume that psallo means to pluck, then the direct object is the heart.
   • The heart would be the instrument that is played when we sing.

F. We like it, we want it, so we are going to have it.

1. It is the argument that cannot be answered because the person is ignoring using the Bible as God’s authority.
2. However, we know that only those who do the Father’s will can go to heaven, Matthew 7:21.
3. If we are determined to worship according to our own wills, and to appeal to our own tastes, we have left God and His authority behind already.

VI. As observed before, it is unquestionably safe to understand that we are commanded to sing.

A. The command to sing excludes any other type of music.

B. There are two types of authority in the scripture: generic and specific.

1. Generic authority authorizes all things within a particular class.
2. Specific authority is exclusive in that it defines something to be done and necessarily excludes other things in that class.

C. Example

1. Genesis 6:14 – “wood” would be generic authority; “gopher wood” is specific. Does not require God to say, “not pine, not oak…”
2. Matthew 26:26-29 – “food and drink” would be generic; “unleavened bread and fruit of the vine” are specific and exclude other types of food.
3. When God has specified a thing, it necessarily excludes what was not said.
4. To introduce what God has excluded is presumptuous.
   • Leviticus 10:1-2 – Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire in that was not commanded.
   • Malachi 1:8 – God rejected the lame and blind sacrifice because He specified that they bring the perfect lamb without blemish.
   • Hebrews 7:11-14 – Jesus could not be a priest in Israel because He was from the tribe of Judah, of which God spoke nothing concerning the priesthood!
5. The New Testament commands “singing” not “playing” instruments of music.
   • If God had simply commanded make music, we could sing, or play instruments, or both.
   • The command to sing is specific and necessarily excludes playing musical instruments since singing and playing instruments are two types of music.

VII. It is interesting to note the views of Biblical scholars on this subject:

A. Thomas Aquinas (13th Century Catholic Scholar) ” Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.”

B. John Wesley (Methodist) ” I have no objection to the organs in our chapels provided they are neither seen nor heard.”

C. Alexander Campbell (Christian) “…to all spiritually minded Christians, such aids would be as a cowbell in a concert.”

D. Charles Spurgeon (Baptist) ” I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”

E. Benedict (Baptist Historian) ” In my earliest intercourse among this people, congregational singing generally prevailed among them. This instrument [organ-rfd], which from time immemorial has been associated with cathedral pomp and prelatical power, and has always been the peculiar favorite of the national churches, at length found its way into Baptist sanctuaries… Staunch old Baptists in former times would as soon tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries, and yet the instrument has gradually found its way among them.

F. Joseph Bingham (Anglican) ” Music in churches is as ancient as the apostles, but instrumental music is not so.”

G. Martin Luther (Lutheran) ” The organ in the worship is an insignia of Baal.”

H. Erasmus (16th Century Theologian)” We have brought into our churches certain operatic and theatrical music; such a confused, disorderly chattering of some words as I hardly think was ever in any of the Grecian or Roman theatres. The church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes, and dulcimers; and human voices strive to bear their part with them. Men run to church as to a theatre, to have their ears tickled. And for this end organ makers are hired with great salaries, and a company of boys, who waste all their time learning these whining tones.

VIII. Summary: Why do we not use instrumental music in our worship.

A. We are commanded to sing and the specific command excludes playing musical instruments.

B. The ancient churches did not use musical instruments though they could be found in the Jewish temple worship and the pagan society.

C. Although it was used in the Old Testament, and it is used as a symbol in the book of Revelation, there is no New Testament authority for its use in the worship of Christ in the church.

D. Musical instruments are not an aid to singing, but an additional type of music not commanded.

E. The Greek words used in the commands to sing do not authorize the use of musical instruments.

F. We do not worship to please ourselves, we worship to please God and so we do things in the way that He commanded.