{"id":90633,"date":"2025-09-17T13:45:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T18:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=90633"},"modified":"2025-09-17T13:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T18:45:47","slug":"instrumental-music-to-worship-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/instrumental-music-to-worship-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Instrumental Music to Worship of God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

by Gary Colley<\/p>\n

The following reasons, concerning why churches of Christ do not use mechanical instruments of music in worship to God, were given recently in our Denominational Doctrines class. It has been requested that they be in our bulletin for the help of all.<\/p>\nIt can be stated without fear of successful contradiction that there is no command, approved example, or necessary inference in the New Testament (which is the way to establish Truth), for churches of Christ ever, with authority, to use instrumental music in worship. We are not desiring just to be different, nor are we financially unable to have mechanical instruments, nor is our reason for not using this in worship simply that we do not like musical instruments. The basic Scriptural reason for not placing an instrument in the Lord’s church is simply that we have no authority from Heaven.
\nIn the nine Scriptures which mention the kind of music to be used in New Testament worship, there is no mention of any kind of music except singing (Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; I Corinthians 14:15; 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13).\n

Hence, we do not presumptuously place mechanical instruments in worship because:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Jesus never taught it (Acts 1:1).<\/li>\n
  2. The Disciples of Christ never practiced nor taught it (Matthew 28:18-20).<\/li>\n
  3. Peter and the other apostles, who had the keys of the kingdom, did not authorize it (Matthew 16:19; 18:18).<\/li>\n
  4. The Holy Spirit never instructed it (John 16:13).<\/li>\n
  5. One cannot speak as the oracles of God and teach their use in worship (I Peter 4:11).<\/li>\n
  6. Instrumental music is not “in truth” (John 4:24; 17:17).<\/li>\n
  7. It does not pertain to life in Christ and godliness (II Peter 1:3).<\/li>\n
  8. It is not a “good work” in God’s eyes (II Timothy 3:16-17).<\/li>\n
  9. To preach its use is to teach another Gospel (Galatians 1:8-9).<\/li>\n
  10. By admission of most, such teaching is an effort to please the ears of men (Galatians 1:10).<\/li>\n
  11. It did not come by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).<\/li>\n
  12. It is no part of the counsel of God (Acts 20:27).<\/li>\n
  13. It is not according to sound words (II Timothy 1:13).<\/li>\n
  14. It is not in the better covenant (Hebrews 8:6).<\/li>\n
  15. It is not of faith (Romans 10:17; II Corinthians 5:7). Where there is no testimony, there can be no faith!<\/li>\n
  16. It is not a blood-sealed practice (Hebrews 10:28-29).<\/li>\n
  17. Instrumental music in worship is a doctrine of men (Matthew 15:9).<\/li>\n
  18. It is an addition to the worship prescribed in the Word of God (Revelation 22:18).<\/li>\n
  19. It is offering “strange fire” in worship unto God (Leviticus 10:1; I Timothy 3:14-15).<\/li>\n
  20. To use such is not to abide in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9-11).<\/li>\n
  21. It is will worship (Colossians 2:20-23).<\/li>\n
  22. It is a substitute for the God-given system of religion (Acts 2:42).<\/li>\n
  23. It cannot be done in the name of the Lord (Colossians 3:16-17).<\/li>\n
  24. Preaching the use of it is not preaching the word faithfully (II Timothy 4:2). It should not be contended for by the faithful (Jude 3).<\/li>\n
  25. One cannot walk in the light and support its use in worship (I John 1:7).<\/li>\n
  26. The practice of such departs from the simplicity that is in Christ (II Corinthians 11:3).<\/li>\n
  27. Introduction of it causes division (John 17:20-21; I Kings 18:18).<\/li>\n
  28. Its addition constitutes the sin of presumption (Deuteronomy 18:20; Psalms 19:13).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Gary Colley The following reasons, concerning why churches of Christ do not use mechanical instruments of music in worship to God, were given recently in our Denominational Doctrines class. It has been requested that they be in our bulletin for the help of all. It can be stated without fear of successful contradiction that…<\/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,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[292,84],"class_list":["post-90633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-instrumental-music","tag-worship"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-in-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":0},"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":56426,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/give-me-that-good-odd-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":1},"title":"Give Me that Good ODD Religion!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Klein Churches of Christ are typically viewed as \"odd\" by denominational folk. Two of the main reasons for this view are that churches of Christ don't use instruments of music in worship and they don't celebrate December 25th as the birth of Christ. While these things seem odd\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":41407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-piece-on-the-use-of-mechanical-instruments-in-worship-was-confusing\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":2},"title":"Your piece on the use of mechanical instruments in worship was confusing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your piece and reasoning on the use of mechanical instruments in worship and could not make any sense of what you were trying to talk about. It sounded like it was written by a Jehovah's Witness. To say it was confusing would be an understatement and we\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":[]},{"id":94676,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-must-you-use-instrumental-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":3},"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":33858,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/music-in-worship-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":4},"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":36613,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-didnt-reverse-his-position-on-using-instrumental-music-so-why-cant-we-use-them-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":90633,"position":5},"title":"God didn’t reverse His position on using instrumental music, so why can’t we use them today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: It is funny that in your condemnation of musical instruments in \"worship\" you fail to address that while the use of them was clearly permitted in the Old Testament, there is no clear reversal of this in the New Testament. If I was going to change my position it\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":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90633","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=90633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}