Expert: Joe Norman - 9/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: Dear Joe,

I have received a letter in regards to Instruments in Church--What does the Bible Say?  A pastor of a non-denominational church in which I used to attend uses mechanical instruments during worship services in his church.  I left his church and decided to attend the church of Christ for the first time in my life.  I never even heard about the churches of Christ before I began studying mechanical instruments during worship (I've only been attending 1 year).  I always used to find myself getting distracted with praising God with the very loud use of the instruments.  I don't know what that have to do with anything, but that was the case with me.  I usually focused on the sound and beats of the instruments rather than praising God.  
Anyway, the pastor of the non-denominational church found out that I was attending a church of Christ which does not use mechanical instruments in church.  He sent me and my fiance at the time,(this was all because my fiance told him that it is wrong to use musical instruments during worship) the following letter in which I do not know how to respond to since this is still all new to me.  Here it is(exactly) as he wrote it:

It turns out that the NT never commands us to use instruments in church, so I see nothing wrong with singing in church without musical instruments.  On the other hand, the NT neither forbids nor condenms using instruments in church, so I see nothing wrong with using musical instuments (or recorded music) to assist in worship.  The NT is silent concerning musical instruments.  In my view, if it was a vital importance to the Lord, it would be very clear instructions concerning the matter.  The Bible is clear about things that will keep you from making it to Heaven.  We don't guess whether we are Born again, we know we are Born again Because we go through the born again experience.

Some say that because musical instruments are not mentioned in the NT, it is forbidden in church.  I believe that those who use that argument are not necessarily against musical instruments in general.  They are simply trying to be true to the Scriptural principles that they see in the NT.  But we should be careful about assuming that something is forbidden because just because it is not directly mentioned in the NT.  I could make the argument that microphones, hymn books, pitch pipes, or worship leaders are not directly mentioned in the NT, but does that make it forbidden, No.  Neither is using musical instruments forbidden.  Therefore, there are inconsistencies in this application of the argument.

Notice that when we selectively apply this argument in one area (such as musical instruments) while ignoring other areas where this argument also applies, shows that this is not a valid argument.  

So is worship with musical instruments in church Pagan worship (Godless)?  What about at home?  Is God only in the church building?  Is it ok to act one way in church and another at home?  I suggest to you that salvation is a daily journey.  You praise the Lord because He's worthy.  You worship Him because you love Him.

We speak where the Bible speaks; and we are silent where the Bible is silent.  Some say is the church of Christ's slogan.  Is that really true?  This might shock you, but the Bible gives us clear instructions to worship God in church, at home or anywhere else with musical instruments.  Eph 5:19 says "speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs."  And Colossians 3:16 says to admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Paul makes it clear that we are to sing "psalms", but which psalms?  Obviously he is referring to the psalms of David and many psalms say to worship God with instruments such as Psalms 150.  Also many of the Psalms were directed by David to be accompanied by a musical instrument, such as Harp or lyre.  We also see that the worship of God in Heaven will also include musical instruments, found in Rev. 15:2.  They held harps given them by God.

How do I respond to this letter in love because I really care for this pastor and his family and the questions within that letter?

Thank you very much!

Sharron


ANSWER: Hi Sharron,

I want to start by thanking you for coming to me with your questions. You ask some of the best questions I have ever had to answer. I deeply enjoy assisting you, but as always, I ask that you study what I present and investigate carefully the surrounding scriptures I use to see if what I teach is actually true. I realize that you are new to much of this and so it might be helpful for you to do a study on "hermeneutics". This is proven methods for understanding anything written. Yet that is something you can work toward gradually as well.

Now I will do my best to respond to the letter that you received from your former "Pastor".

He first begins by stating that the New Testament never commands us to use instruments in church but then states that the New Testament doesn't forbid or condemn using musical instruments in church either. This shows how little he truly understands of the Bible and also a lack of understanding regarding how the Bible teaches and guides Christians. (I probably would not tell him that though).

Much error is accepted by denominations based on their inability to determine when silence of scriptures is binding and when it allows some freedom.In fact, this is the root cause of divisions even within the churches of Christ. If God had required every "thou shalt not" to be specified in the New Testament, it would be far too large a book for anyone to read completely through in their lifetime. Silence from God's Word does not always provide freedom of choice. Here is an example:

When God commanded Noah to build an ark, He specified the type of wood to be used.

Gen.6:14  Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.

Did God say that it would be wrong to use any other type of wood? Of course not, but since He specified one type of wood (gopher), it is obvious that all other types of wood were prohibited in the building of the ark.

Here is another similar example of something specified restricting the type. This refers to Old Testament worship.

Lev.10:1, 2
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

God had specified a certain type of fire and they used a type that God had not authorized.

Consider Cain and Abel. Why was Cain's sacrifice to God not accepted by God and Abel's was?

Gen.4:6, 7
6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

God must have specified how to offer an acceptable sacrifice. He even told Cain that if he did well, he would be accepted by God.

One thing should be very clear and that is that when God specifies one type it restricts other types. Consider the Lord's Supper. What was specified was unleavened bread and fruit of the vine (grape juice or mild wine). Would it be wrong to add jelly to the unleavened bread? Would it be wrong to add other types of food? God didn't forbid nor condemn adding other types of food and drink to the Lord's Supper. (Or did He?) Obviously, what was specified automatically restricted any other type of food or drink.

If God had wanted musical instruments to be used in Christian worship, He would have stated such and He did not. He did in the Old Testament, so why wouldn't He specify their use in the New Testament? Yes, the Bible is clear on matters most important. How important do you think it is to worship God the way He wants you to worship Him? God specified singing in the New Testament. This excludes all other types of music. It is VERY clear.

He stated that we don't guess whether we are Born again, we know we are Born again because we go through the "born again" experience. This seems to contradict what he stated just prior regarding the Bible being clear about things that help ensure we get to Heaven. I KNOW that I am born again because I did what God commanded to become "born again" in the New Testament. It tells us to HEAR the gospel message, BELIEVE it is true, REPENT of our sins, CONFESS Jesus as the Son of God, and to be BAPTIZED FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS. That is the moment a person becomes a Christian and from that moment on, they commit their lives to growing spiritually as Christian servants. Personal "experience" does not affect my ability to KNOW that I am born again. I know, because I did what God required.

The Pastor's reference to "microphones", "hymn books", "pitch pipes", or "worship leaders" are not directly mentioned in the NT is NOT parallel to what we KNOW God wants in Christian worship. It is obvious that the use of a microphone and speakers is only enhancing the ability of the song leader to LEAD the congregation in songs. It is not adding to the command to sing. Pitch pipes are only an aid to the song leader. hymn books help the whole congregation to unite in what they are singing. It is obvious and logical that we need such things as these and someone to be chosen to lead the congregation in song so that there is order in our worship. We know that everything in worship must be done decently and in order. (I Cor.14:40)

There are no inconsistencies in our restricting musical instruments and not restricting those things he specified above. There are only inconsistencies when one has no understanding of when silence restricts and when it provides freedom of choice.

Our concern is not what is done in the home, but what is done in the combined worship of the local body of Christians. Although God is everywhere, His temple is no longer one that is made with hands. (Mark 14:58; 2 Cor.5:1; Heb.9:11). The word "church" means "the called out." The church is not a building, but the people who meet together. Our temple is within each of us. It doesn't matter where we meet together, when we come together, we are the church coming together. The only musical instruments that can be inside the church, are the individual voices of each and every member of the church. This is why only the voice can be used in our worship to God.

Here is what is said in the New Testament about music in Christian worship.

1 Cor.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.

Eph.5:19-21
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Col.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.

We are clearly COMMANDED to sing and make melody to the Lord with our HEARTS. Our hearts are what are to accompany our voices.

The Pastor claims that because Paul stated for us to sing "psalms", he was referring to the psalms of David and many psalms say to worship God with musical instruments and many were directed by David to be accompanied by a musical instrument such as a Harp or Lyre.

This is purely an assumption made by the Pastor with NOTHING in the words of Paul to point us to such an idea. The word "psalmos" is the Greek and specifically means to pluck or twange. It could refer to a book of psalms, but there is no way to know if Paul referred to any particular collection. Considering that we are under the New Covenant and not the Old Covenant, it is ridiculous to think the shadow would be anything like the real. I used the terms "shadow" and "real" because these are terms used in the New Testament when comparing Old Testament worship and teachings to New Testament ones. Look to I Peter 3 for an example of such. Christian baptism is compared to the flood of Noah and the Noah flood is the shadow of the real salvation that comes from water baptism.

The last argument that the Pastor uses to defend his use of musical instruments in worship is from Revelation. He thinks that since the
worship of God in Heaven will also include musical instruments, (Rev. 14:2, 3 and 15:2, 3) this somehow authorizes our use of them in Christian worship.

First, it should be clear that the book of Revelation is written in what is called "apocalyptic" language. Daniel is also written in this language. This is a completely figurative language. Nearly everything spoken of symbolizes something else. It is wrong to read Revelation and take it literally. Let me point some things out in the two passages that speak of musical instruments and singing worship to God in Heaven.

Rev.14:2, 3
2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

First, John says that he heard a voice from Heaven that was LIKE the roar of many waters and LIKE the sound of loud thunder. Then he says the voice was LIKE the sound of harpists playing on their harps. Was the voice like just one type of sound? Three types were mentioned to describe ONE voice. In verse 3 above, he says THEY were SINGING a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. Who was singing? To understand, you need verse one as well. He first says he saw the Lamb(Jesus) and with Him, the 144,000 (the church) who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads. It was the church who was singing. Not angels, the church. At the end of verse 3, John says that no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. That is a reference to the church.

Rev.15:2, 3
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire--and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

Now look at Revelation 15. Again, this is ALL symbolic imagery. Who had harps of God in their hands? I think it is clear that this again refers to the church.The sea of glass mingled with fire was not literal, but symbolic. I am confident that the harps of God were symbolic as well. There is NO WAY anything in these passages can be used to authorize musical instruments in Christian worship when the whole book is full of symbolism and is NOT providing instructions for the church regarding acceptable worship. The passages I shared from Paul's letters to the church can be used for that purpose.

Last, look at history. The very first use of musical instruments that we know of in what was called Christian worship was about 1000 AD (that is 1000 years AFTER the church was established.) but the Pope condemned it and it was removed. Then it did not return to the Catholic worship until about 1300 AD. For over half of the time since the church was established in Acts 2, all Christian music was unaccompanied voices. The word "a cappella" literally means "in the style of the chapel or church". Martin Luthor and John Calvin and even Wesley were against the use of musical instruments in Christian worship. They all believed the only acceptable music in Christian worship was unaccompanied voice. Most reformation denominations were non-instrumental for many years. It was only within the last two hundred plus years that denominations began to accept the use of musical instruments.

One last comment. The way both Colossians and Ephesians is worded in the original Greek, the instruction was to the entire church (every member). If musical instruments were commanded as the Pastor tries to claim, then every member would need to be playing some sort of instrument. That is just ridiculous to even imagine and should be even more clear that singing from the heart is what is required by the entire congregation.

I apologize for the length of my response, but hope that what I presented to you is helpful and easy to understand. There is so much more I could present and if you have any further questions, I will do my best to answer.

I am not sure how to word things in a way that expresses your love and concern for the Pastor and his family, but I believe you can take the information I provided and put it in your own words which will probably help you to express love, respect, and concern for him. Do not expect to convince this "Pastor" of his error. It is not easy to change the mind of someone who thinks they are right. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. If you would like to join my yahoo Bible study group, I will give you the link.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narrow_way/

In Christ, Joe Norman


Hi Sharron,

I wanted to correct some information I shared with you. I stated that the first instance of musical instruments being used in "Christian" worship was around 1000 AD. This was not correct. The first occurrence we know of was about 700 AD, but it was rejected by the Pope and there were no musical instruments allowed in worship again until about 1100 AD.

Also, I did more research on the meaning of psallo and psalmos. Here is what I found.

Everett Ferguson (An expert in Koine Greek and respected scholar of church history) wrote this about the different terms found in Ephesians and Colossians. They refer to "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" "Since these words have different etymological backgrounds - Psalms of the Old Testament, formal praise, and general song - efforts have been made to identify different types of songs from these words. These efforts, however, are misguided. Usage in the Septuagint and other Greek Jewish writings near the New Testament times show that the terms were used interchangeably. No precise distinctions can be made between the words. The combination had its precedent in these contemporary sources, and the full manner of expression was intended to give comprehensiveness to the statement.

His footnote reference for this statement is the following:

H.Schlier, "Ado," and G.Delling, "Hymnos et al., "Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964 and 1972), Vol. 1, p. 164 and Vol. 8, p. 499; A.A.R. Bastiaesen, "Psalmi, hymni, and cantica in Early Jewish-Christian Tradition," Sudia Patristica 21 (1989): 15-26.

Then I came across the writing of Hugo McCord (another scholar and minister of the churches of Christ) who wrote:

"Paul commanded Christians to do two things: aido and psallo (Ephesians 5:19). If in Paul's time psallo meant " 'sing' exclusively, . . . with no reference to instrumental accompaniment (Bauer-Gingrich-Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament, p. 891, 2nd edition, 1979), and aido meant the same thing, then Paul was commanding "singing [aidontes] and singing [psallontes]." Apparently, Paul was commanding both singing and playing.

But on what was the playing to be done? He did not command it to be done on a harp or psaltery or a timbrel, as the LXX (translated 285-247 B.C.) commanded in Psalm 32:2-3; 67:26; and 70:22, nor as the NASB (translated 1971 A.D.) commanded in Psalm 33:2-3; 68:25; 71:22), but "with your heart" (Ephesians 5:19).

If the instrument specified was a harp or a psaltery or a timbrel, the playing necessarily had to be literal, with each Christian at Ephesus having his own harp or psaltery or timbrel (as the Hebrew and the Greek and the English versions of the Book of Psalms specify). But the instruments specified for the Ephesian Christians were their hearts, on which literal playing was impossible.

Therefore, psallo in Ephesians 5:19 cannot mean "singing," but only "playing," and the playing has to be figurative, that is, "plucking the strings of the heart," "with no reference to instrumental accompaniment" (B-G-D, p. 891, second edition, 1979). The NASB has "making melody with your heart."

Thus two things are commanded: (1) singing, external, "the fruit of the lips" (Hebrews 13:15) and (2) playing, internal, "with your heart" (Ephesians 5:19). Since the earliest meaning of psallo (strengthened from psao, to touch) is to strike, pull, twang, or pluck, the translation of Ephesians 5:19 becomes: speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing [aido] and plucking [psallo] the strings of your heart to the Lord."

The way the Greek is worded in Ephesians and Colossians, IF musical instruments were indeed commanded as your former "pastor" claims, then EVERY INDIVIDUAL of the local church would be required to play musical instruments. Yet, we know that is not possible. Also, Paul did name the instrument to accompany our voices when he said "with your hearts", and "make melody in your hearts". I do hope this helps you in your study and in your response to your former "pastor".

      God bless you!

         In Christ, Joe Norman

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Joe for the followup response and the correction.  I am studying this information, as it is a very important matter and at the same time interesting.  I wanted to ask a couple more questions:

1.  Do you know if the Greek Orthodox church use musical instruments during their worship?

2.  Is there a place online where I can study hermeneutics?

Again, thank you and may God truly bless you!

Sincerely,

Sharron

Answer
Hi Sharron,

I am more than happy to answer any and all questions you might have and am so thankful that you truly hunger and thirst after righteousness. I seek only to bring glory and honor to God and to provide Bible answers to Bible questions. As always, study for yourself to determine if anything taught by anyone is true.

To answer your first question, the Greek Orthodox church has never used musical instruments in their worship, but the singing is all done by the priest and or a church choir. The congregation is merely listening. There are very few differences between the Greek Orthodox church and the Catholic church. Music is but one difference.

I do not know of a place online where you can study hermeneutics, but I can recommend one book that I think is excellent. Granted, it is old and so the writing style is not as familiar. But the content is excellent. The principles of hermeneutics are a great help to our goal of achieving the unity that Jesus and the apostles desired and prayed for often.

The book is titled HERMENEUTICS and was written by a man named, D.R. Dungan. It was originally published by Gospel Light Publishing out of Arkansas. I looked it up on Amazon and it is still available there. You can get it in paperback for about 5 dollars and hardcover costs about 12 to 20 dollars.

A red flag should be visible any time the concern seems to be what pleases us rather that what pleases God. Worship is not about us. Yes, we are to encourage and uplift each other when we come together in worship to God. Yes, we teach through the songs we sing. But the focus is supposed to be on God. Everything else is a side-effect.

People today seem to desire entertainment rather than truly worshiping God. I think that is very sad. There was a time when I was a young adult that I felt like I was just going through the motions and I was not getting anything out of worship services. But I realized that I was not putting myself INTO the worship of God.

President Kennedy said in one of his most famous speeches, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather, what you can do for your country." I think this should be our attitude toward our worship to God. God has done so much for us. He blesses us daily and it is because of the sacrifice Jesus made that we have the hope of salvation. We do need to serve Him in all we do... not to earn our salvation, but to express our love, trust in His promises, and our commitment to Him.

In regard to studying the Bible, we see that the Word guides us through direct commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences. The commands and examples are easy to see and most everyone has no problem with them. Yet, some question the use of necessary inferences to guide us.

Did the churches of Christ invent this aspect of guidance? No. We see it in the Bible itself.

Matt.22:31, 32
31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."

Do you see Jesus' use of what we call necessary inference? Here is another example.

Matt.22:41-46
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David."
43 He said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44 "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet'? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

A necessary inference is not just an assumption purely from our own imagination or preconceived ideas. It is an inference guided by what is stated in the passage itself. Our goal is to let the Bible interpret itself.

It helps to learn all we can of the culture that existed when the scripture was written. It also helps to know historical Geology. But the Word of God is our primary guide.

When we study a passage, we need to understand who is speaking and who is being spoken to as well as the overall context of the passage. It is very easy to take one verse or even a few verses by themselves and completely misunderstand the meaning of them because we ignored the surrounding verses and the overall context.

You are welcome to join my yahoo Bible study group as well and ask more questions and study lessons that people post there when you have the time. There is no pressure.

God bless you in your study of His Holy Word.

         In Christ, Joe Norman