by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
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 simply to see how well we can follow a pattern. He is not simply testing our ability to follow directions. God has a reason for His pattern. I believe Colossians 2:20-23 demonstrates this. There are no rules just for the sake of rules. God is interested in helping us overcome the indulgences of the flesh. If God were actually telling us not to touch, taste, or handle something, He would have a reason for it. So, why aren’t instruments of music part of God’s pattern? I fear sometimes we treat this in a vacuum today. We have devised our means of establishing authority and have simply determined that instruments violate the rules. So, we shouldn’t have them. Is that why they aren’t part of the pattern? Simply to see if we can follow some instructions? I don’t think so.<\/p>\n
First, we do recognize that instruments are not part of the New Testament pattern. All we ever see in the New Testament is singing. In Ephesians 5:19, we are commanded to sing. In Colossians 3:16, we are commanded to sing. We see examples of singing (e.g., Acts 16:25), but we never once see examples of playing instruments to worship God or edify one another.<\/p>\n
But is the point simply to figure out a rule and see how well we can follow it? Or is there a deeper purpose behind this pattern? I can’t help but notice that when we enter the second century of Christianity and see the arguments made by those Christians against instrumental music as worship and edification, they actually offer a reason, not just a rule.<\/p>\n
Clement of Alexandria, who lived from 153 A.D. to 217 A.D., wrote on the subject of instruments. In one place, he wrote:<\/p>\n
“Therefore He cried to humanity, ‘Let every breath praise the Lord,’ because He cares for every breathing thing which He hath made. For man is truly a pacific instrument; while other instruments, if you investigate, you will find to be warlike, inflaming to lusts, or kindling up amours, or rousing wrath. In their wars, therefore, the Etruscans use the trumpet, the Arcadians the pipe, the Sicilians the pectides, the Cretans the lyre, the Lacedaemonians the flute, the Thracians the horn, the Egyptians the drum, and the Arabians the cymbal. the one instrument of peace, the Word alone by which we honor God, is what we employ. We no longer employ the ancient psaltery, the trumpet, timbrel, and flute, which those experts in war and contemners of the fear of God were wont to make use of also in the choruses at their festive assemblies; that by such strains they might raise their dejected minds” [Ante-Nicene Fathers<\/em>, Hendrickson Publishers, 1995, pp 248-249].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Now, I admit that I don’t agree with Clement’s approach to the instrument question at every point. Further, Clement’s writings are not our authority and guide. But I thought Clement’s reason for no instruments was profound. Did you see it? The instruments are means of arousing flesh. They are “warlike, inflaming to lusts, or kindling up amours, or rousing wrath.” The pagans used them in their festive assemblies so that “they might raise their dejected minds.” For Clement, the lack of instruments was not just a matter of keeping some rules. There was a real reason. We are spiritual people. Our worship is spiritual. Those who worship God are to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Worshipping God and edifying one another is not to be about our flesh. It is not about making us feel good, arousing our passions, or satisfying our flesh. It is about connecting our spirits to God. So, Clement explained, we don’t use instruments in our assemblies like the pagans do because what we are doing is not about fleshly passions.<\/p>\n
Go back to Colossians 2:20-23. Paul didn’t want us simply submitting to rules for the sake of rules that had nothing to do with protecting against the indulgences of the flesh. But Clement argues this issue of God’s pattern for New Testament worship very much has to do with protecting against the flesh.<\/p>\n
God doesn’t always have to spell out His reasons for His pattern. But we can rest assured there are reasons. Why aren’t instruments part of the pattern? Because we worship in spirit, not in the flesh.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 simply to see how well…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","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":[78,292],"class_list":["post-60775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-instrumental-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instruments-of-music-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":60775,"position":0},"title":"Instruments of Music in Worship","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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\/2020\/01\/organ-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33858,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-in-worship-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":60775,"position":1},"title":"Music in Worship (Hart)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dave Hart When people visit churches of Christ for the first time, they are often surprised to hear only singing. There are no instruments of music such as pianos, organs, drums, or guitars. Neither do they hear choirs, quartets, or solos. Every member of the congregation is encouraged to\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\/singingCongregation2-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":70940,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/revisiting-bible-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":60775,"position":2},"title":"Revisiting Bible Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor via Plain Bible Teaching It is good and necessary to revisit certain topics from time to time. We do not want to \"drift away\" from what we have previously learned (Hebrews 2:1). Some topics are so foundational that they affect what we believe, teach, and practice -\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":57882,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-establish-biblical-authority\/","url_meta":{"origin":60775,"position":3},"title":"How to Establish Biblical Authority","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers God is the proper source of authority in religious matters. Our authority must come from heaven and not from men (Matthew 21:25). God has given authority to His Son, Who gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles. These and other inspired men have written the New Testament.\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":67342,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-give-us-a-pattern-to-follow\/","url_meta":{"origin":60775,"position":4},"title":"Does God Give Us a Pattern to Follow?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The total evidence of scripture is that God is a God of order and expects us to follow the pattern of sound words in everything we do (II Timothy 1:13; Colossians 3:17; ICorinthians 14:33ff). 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