Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nI think the use of musical instruments in our assemblies is a worthwhile subject for a couple of different reasons. First, it\u2019s something that stands out about our services as compared to church services elsewhere. Visitors to our assemblies are nearly guaranteed to notice that we only sing together, that a praise band or a piano is nowhere in sight. It\u2019s useful to offer them an explanation of why we do things this way.<\/p>\n
Second, if we want to continue our tradition of a-cappella singing, we have to continue to teach on that tradition, to explain why it\u2019s an important aspect of our obedience to God. It\u2019s easy to assume that everybody here gets it, but too often, that assumption is unjustified. With these things in mind, let\u2019s examine instrumental music in worship.<\/p>\n
From a Biblical perspective, I see four main problems with the practice. The first is that it doesn’t follow the pattern<\/strong>. For evidence of why this is important, look at II Timothy 1:13. Here, Paul tells us that his instructions to Christians aren\u2019t random and unique to each individual. Instead, when we put them all together, they constitute a pattern, a coherent system of worship and service that Timothy, and indeed all Christians, are supposed to follow.<\/p>\nBecause this is so, whenever we want to know if something is acceptable to God or not, all we have to do is look at the pattern. If it\u2019s part of what we see in the New Testament, we should do it. If it isn\u2019t part of what we see in the New Testament, we shouldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n
Within the New Testament, there are about half a dozen passages that talk about singing praise to God as part of worship. Some of them we\u2019ll look at this morning; some we won\u2019t. However, they\u2019re there, and they make it clear that a-cappella worship is part of the divinely ordained pattern.<\/p>\n
By contrast, when we search through the New Testament, we never find anything said about Christians using musical instruments in worship. The instrument isn\u2019t part of God\u2019s pattern for us. Of course, there are plenty of churches that pay no heed to this and use instruments in worship anyway, but that isn\u2019t for us. In this congregation, we don\u2019t want to follow ourselves. We want to follow God. We want to be Christians simply, and to be simply Christians. That means that we leave the instrument to others.<\/p>\n
Second, instrumental worship is problematic because it doesn’t teach and admonish<\/strong>. Here, consider Colossians 3:16. According to this text, one of the main reasons that we are to sing to one another is because we learn from our song worship. It builds us up in the faith. In fact, it\u2019s possible for someone to be taught the gospel merely by listening to our singing. On the other hand, no one ever learned the gospel from an instrument.<\/p>\nLet me give you an example. Back when I was in law school, I was leaving my apartment one day when I heard somebody playing a flute. I listened for a moment, and I recognized the melody as the tune for the hymn \u201cSomething for Jesus\u201d. The flutist was very good. They did a beautiful job. However, if somebody who didn\u2019t know Jesus had heard them playing, that beautiful melody would have taught them nothing.<\/p>\n
When we sing, we\u2019re supposed to listen to the words. We\u2019re supposed to take the meaning to heart. A-cappella singing is perfectly suited to accomplishing this goal. By contrast, no instrument ever created can add to the meaning of a hymn. It can only be a distraction from it.<\/p>\n
The third problem with using instruments in worship is that it undermines “one another”<\/strong>. Let\u2019s spend some time reflecting on the words of Ephesians 5:18-19. Notice that as described here, the biblical model of worship isn\u2019t a bunch of Christians passively listening to a performance. It\u2019s ordinary Christians singing to one another.<\/p>\nIn many ways, this resembles the Bible\u2019s teaching on ordinary Christians studying the word and figuring out God\u2019s will for themselves. This teaching is so important because most of the religious world believe that ordinary Christians can\u2019t do it themselves. They say that we can\u2019t figure the Bible for ourselves, so we need a priest or a pastor to tell us what it says. Similarly, the practice of instrumental worship implies that the singing of ordinary Christians isn\u2019t good enough, that we need an organist or a praise band to do it right.<\/p>\n
Brethren, I don\u2019t believe either one of those things! When I\u2019m in one of our Bible classes, what I hear is ordinary Christians figuring out the word for themselves. Maybe we aren\u2019t great Bible students by ourselves, but when we come together, the class\u2019s comments reveal great wisdom and insight into the Scriptures. We don\u2019t have clergy here because we don\u2019t need clergy. God\u2019s word is our birthright.<\/p>\n
In the same way, during our song worship, I hear God\u2019s people doing a great job of praising and glorifying Him. Maybe by ourselves, we aren\u2019t great singers. I\u2019m sure not! However, when we come together, our combined singing is beautiful and edifying.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s God\u2019s plan for us. He wants us to be a people of song. His worship is our birthright too. Whether they realize it or not, people who want to bring in the instrument want to take that birthright away. They want us to sit quietly and let the professionals do it for us because the professionals do a better job. I think that would be a terrible shame.<\/p>\n
Finally, instrumental worship doesn’t help the church grow<\/strong>. I want to explore this topic by way of analogy, using Psalm 33:16-17. This passage highlights another way in which the Israelites wanted to be like the nations around them. Those nations won their wars with warhorses and chariots, so the Israelites wanted warhorses too.<\/p>\nThe psalmist warns, though, that warhorses were false hope for victory. The Israelites couldn\u2019t succeed by imitating their neighbors. They needed to succeed by being different and trusting in God.<\/p>\n
Sadly, there are many Christians today who look at things like the ancient Israelites did. They look at these big denominational churches that use the instrument, and they argue that if we start using instrumental music, we\u2019ll grow and become big like them.<\/p>\n
However, that way of thinking is false hope. If you\u2019ve got horses, that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to win the war. After all, the other guy has horses too! In the same way, if we were to adopt the instrument, that doesn\u2019t mean that our church would get super-big. After all, many other churches in town have the instrument too. It only would put us on the same footing as them.<\/p>\n
In fact, it would put us on a worse footing. Those other congregations are bigger, so they can afford a better band and a more impressive show. They have decades of experience in the spectacle of instrumental worship that we don\u2019t have. How in the world are we going to grow by doing the same thing they\u2019re doing, only worse?<\/p>\n
Like the Israelites, we don\u2019t succeed by becoming like those around us. We succeed by continuing to be different and trusting in God. We show that trust by obeying His word, by worshiping Him with our voices and nothing else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Matthew W. Bassford I think the use of musical instruments in our assemblies is a worthwhile subject for a couple of different reasons. First, it\u2019s something that stands out about our services as compared to church services elsewhere. Visitors to our assemblies are nearly guaranteed to notice that we only sing together, that a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[292],"class_list":["post-18047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-instrumental-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60775,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-arent-instruments-part-of-the-pattern\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":0},"title":"Why Aren\u2019t Instruments Part of the Pattern?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Sometimes I fear we have become a people of rules for rules' sake. No doubt, God has given us a law (I Corinthians 9:21). Certainly, there are rules we should follow. But our God is not a capricious and arbitrary God. He has not established a pattern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":1},"title":"Music in Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As we look at the denominations around us, we find that the vast majority use musical instruments in their worship services. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Oddly, we don\u2019t. Why not? What harm would there be in using them? Why can\u2019t we be like those around us? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I heard a similar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-he-say-that-john-calvin-on-instrumental-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":2},"title":"Did He Say That? John Calvin on Instrumental Music","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Why is it that those who want to identify with Calvinism are quick to quote Calvin on matters like predestination, but don't appear to want to quote Calvin on instrumental music in the assemblies? Here are a couple of pieces of Calvinism that modern Calvinists seem to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33945,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-guardian-of-the-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":3},"title":"The Guardian of the Law","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford When visitors from denominational backgrounds come to our assemblies, they are often puzzled by our tradition of a-cappella singing. \"Why don't they use instruments?\" they wonder. If we explain that the Scriptures do not authorize the use of instruments in worship, they may be Biblically savvy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Crossing-Guard-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":94676,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-must-you-use-instrumental-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":4},"title":"Why Must You Use Instrumental Music?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Author Unknown Recently, a congregation in the city where I preach decided to start using instruments in their worship assembly. Apparently, even the community realizes that among churches of Christ, this is a big deal because the local news and newspaper have done stories on it. Obviously, I love\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41554,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instrumental-music-was-not-replaced-so-it-must-continue\/","url_meta":{"origin":18047,"position":5},"title":"Instrumental music was not replaced, so it must continue","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I came across your answer to instrumental music quite by accident and I found it revealing. I wouldn't call blunt rude, but it was near the line. I hope to be treated in your response less close to the line, but I have a different take on this issue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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