Instrumental
Music – Is It Much
I am sure there are millions of those who lay claim
to being Christians who have never given the subject of instrumental music in
worship a thought. It is just taken
for granted that it is a part of acceptable worship to God. I suspect even most of us who were
raised in a religious setting where instruments were never used in worship
wondered about it at one point in time or another. Was it really wrong to use them in
worship and if so why? Perhaps we
were troubled to the point of studying the subject. If so we were to be commended. Our religion should never be just a
matter of inheritance from one generation to another.
In studying the subject of instrumental music no man
alive today can remember when there was a time when instruments were not in
common use and generally accepted across what is called Christendom. However, it was over 600 years after
Christ before instrumental music was introduced into worship. Pope Vitalian, it is said, was the first
to add the instrument to the worship with the date being a little uncertain but
it was somewhere between 658 and 670 AD.
While the Roman Catholic church came to accept it the Greek Catholic
church never did although that may now be changing some.
This historical fact is immensely important. It proves the introduction of
instrumental music into the worship was done by man rather than God. If of God rather than man why did they
not use the instrument from the beginning?
If it was of man who gave man the authority to bring
it into the worship?
Remember when Jesus was confronted by the chief
priests and elders who wanted to know by what authority he was doing the things
he was doing? He said he would
answer when they answered his question which was “The baptism of John, where was
it from? From heaven or from men?”
(Matt.
A man then has to ask himself some questions as he
considers whether or not he wants to worship with those who use
instruments. Do I want as my
authority for worship what men gave or what God gave? They say it doesn’t matter; God doesn’t
care. How can we know this? I repeat, how can we know this? How can you be sure? Do you just know it because your heart
tells you so?
Jeremiah said, (Jer. 17:9 NKJV), “The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Again the Lord says, “For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isa.
55:8 NKJV) Just how can a person
know that a thing that clearly came from man, not God, is a matter of little or
no consequence with him?
The Bible is full of examples of men who thought it
was a little thing to deviate a little from what God had said with regards to
the worship of him - that it would not matter. One thinks of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s
sons, who “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. And fire came out from before the Lord
and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” (Lev 10:1-2
Uzziah was one of the kings of Judah whom you can
read about in 2 Chron. 26. The
Bible says “he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of
the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” (2 Chron. 26:16 NKJV) Azariah the priest along with 80 other
priests went in after him and withstood him to the face for only the priests,
the sons of Aaron, had God authorized to perform this service. Uzziah became very angry with them at
which time leprosy broke out on his forehead from God. He remained a leper until the day of his
death living in isolation. Do you
think Uzziah thought it would matter with God if he entered the temple and
burned incense? Do you think he
would have done it had he thought so?
Other examples could be given for in reality much of
the problem with God’s people in the Old Testament can be traced back to the
idea that they did not think who they worshipped or how they worshipped made
much difference. One sees some of
the same tendencies in the New Testament.
What is Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 11 all about if it is
not about the corruption of the worship in how the Lord’s supper is to be
partaken of? Does it matter to
God? Some are still saying today it
does not matter. We can do this or
that with it. How can one say that
in light of history? Why does Paul
place restrictions on women in the public worship if things like that do not
matter?
Those who say the instrument does not matter know
more than any man can possibly know.
No man can know a thing with certainty about which God has said
nothing. I once read a sermon whose
message in the title has stuck in my memory now for decades. The sermon was by a preacher named
Benjamin Franklin, some distant relation to the Benjamin Franklin of historical
fame, in a book entitled The Gospel
Preacher, Vol. 1. The name of
the sermon was “The Course to Pursue to be Infallibly Safe”. That sermon had nothing to do with
instrumental music but it seems to me the title is exceedingly applicable to the
subject.
Is there an infallibly safe way where a man can be
right beyond any question and in which all men would agree there is safety with
regards to the subject of instrumental music in the worship? Yes there is. No person who calls himself a Christian
has ever questioned the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with the
voice only and without the use of musical instruments. All agree this is pleasing to God
without question or doubt of any kind.
Paul says we are to speak to one another “in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord” (Eph.
However, if a person chooses to be reckless, if a
person desires to be a gambler, if a person wants to take a chance he must also
be prepared to take the consequences if his heart misleads him on the matter and
he finds out that God does not think as he thinks on the last day. Consequences are in this case
eternal. It is quite a gamble. Of course, if you ask the man or woman
who is involved in the worship where the instrument is used they will tell you
they are not gambling, they know it is okay. Ask them how they know and they are not
able to give a satisfactory answer only that their heart tells them
so.
G. K. Wallace wrote a tract on the subject of
instrumental music years ago that took an unusual slant but one that also left a
lasting impression with me because it seemed so reasonable, much the same as
what we have just talked about. His
thesis was that we have to decide what we will be guided by. Will it be by what the Bible says or by
what the Bible does not say? The
New Testament is the new covenant of Christ under which we live today, not the
Old Testament. If a man desired to
live under the law of Moses today he could not be saved. Much of the books of Romans, Galatians,
and Hebrews discuss this very issue.
That said and understood what does the law of Christ
teach in the New Testament about instrumental music? Not one thing. Where is there a single passage found
that gives any support whatsoever, any command, any example of instrumental
music in the worship of Christians?
The passage cannot be found.
One might go to the book of Revelation and find it
there one says. But, the book of
Revelation is a symbolic book. Do
we think spiritual beings play literal instruments? Besides, if they are found in heaven
what has that to do with the here and now?
If they are there I will be glad to play them with you if we both get
there. Right now you and I are
living in the here and now under the law of Christ.
Brother Wallace was correct beyond any doubt. How can a man argue with his
reasoning? It would be unreasonable
to do so. If I use the instrument
in worship I am not being guided by what the Bible says but by what the Bible
does not say. The Bible does not
say not to use them. I am guided by
what the Bible does not say. Is
this the way we are to live?
If I sing the Bible does say I am to sing and I am
thus being guided by what the Bible says.
If this is how I derive Bible authority for what is
right, the silence of the Bible, then we are free to bring into the worship
anything not specifically prohibited by direct command. We can again burn incense as did the
Jews of old, perform Christian (?) dramas, eat hamburgers for Jesus, and just
about anything else we want to do that the heart can
imagine.
In fact, we all know this is exactly what is and has
happened in the so called Christian world of today. You name it and someone is doing
it. However, ask the question
whether it is of God or man and you easily come up with the answer. No, not because they will tell you but
you are a reasonable person and can figure out that if God gave it you ought to
be able to find the book, chapter, and verse. Happy hunting.
Of course if your guide is what the Bible does not
say then really who needs the Bible?
If a man does not need the Bible as a guide then of what value is it?
The final thing that needs to be discussed is the
subject of what it means to walk by faith.
It is my personal belief that the single most devastating piece of
writing that was ever done in America in opposition to the use of instrumental
music in worship was a 32 page pamphlet by a man of the name of M. C. Kurfees
entitled, “Walking by Faith: Origin
of Instrumental Music in Christian Worship”. This was originally a sermon that was
later put into print. You can find
it online at the url I list here: http://www.biblebanner.com/ga_art/kurfees1.htm If by chance over time you find it no
longer available there then just do a Google search on “Walking by Faith”
+Kurfees and you are likely to find it elsewhere.
Paul tells us, “we walk by faith, not by sight” (2
Cor. 5:7 NKJV). The whole teaching
of the Bible is that a man is to hear the word of God, believe it, and obey
it. In fact, this is the bedrock of
gospel obedience. You cannot obey
the gospel any other way. This is
the only way a man can walk by faith – hear, believe, and
obey.
Well, how does faith come? The Bible says by hearing the word of
God, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom.
But, many will say I believe with all my heart that
it is perfectly okay to play instrumental music in Christian worship even though
there is no Bible passage on it or mentioning it in the New Testament. I have faith in it.
The problem is your definition of faith does not
accord with what the Bible teaches about faith. When the word of God is silent on a
subject no matter how much you may believe what you really have is opinion, not
Bible faith. If there is no word of
God on a subject there can be no faith, only opinion. To have faith you must first hear the
word of God (Rom.
If one can have Christian faith without the word of
God then of what value is the word of God?
Why is it needed?
A foundational principle of the Christian faith is
that “without faith it is impossible to please Him (God – DS)”. (Heb. 11:6
NKJV) Faith is always dependent on
evidence. We don’t believe in
little green men, pink elephants, nor ten foot tall mushrooms because there is
no evidence of their existence. We
do not actually have to see a thing to believe it but we do have to have
reasonable evidence.
When it comes to instrumental music the problem is that evidence is lacking. Not a single word about it’s usage is found in the New Testament. It is hard to have faith in a thing that is not even mentioned or hinted at. Is silence reasonable evidence?
There is plenty of evidence, however, in the pages of the Bible about changing worship to God. All the evidence points towards the idea that it is a very dangerous thing for man to change the worship of God.
In Matt. 15:9 Jesus quotes Isaiah and applies it to those with whom he was speaking as follows: “And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (NKJV) I want you to look at some things. These people were worshipping God, not idols. Yet, it was all in vain. Why? They were “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Those who use instruments of music in worship teach their acceptability. Is this teaching of God or man? If of God where does the New Testament so teach the thing?
In closing I want to make a few remarks. There are people who if they read this will become very angry with me. Why? Because I have pointed out a few things from the Bible that would seem to condemn their practice. If the things I have said are sound then the only conclusion one could come to is that they have been engaged in wrong and ought to repent and change their ways. This is very hard for any man to do. It is humiliating. It is hard for any man to acknowledge wrong doing in his life and repent and let it be known.
Yet, the Bible teaches the only way up is down. Only when we become as children can we be saved.
“Assuredly I say to you,
unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.” (Jesus, Matt. 18:3-4 NKJV)
We must humble ourselves before God, and that often means before man as well for men will laugh and ridicule, if we are to be saved. As long as we want to be “the Man” there is not much hope for us. A big problem we adults have is that we feel we must be right and thus cannot admit error in our life. The humiliation is too great for us.
There is an infallibly safe way with regards to music in the worship. If you want to travel that road of safety there is no road block in your way save those you place there yourself. If on the other hand you desire to play the lottery in the matter then I know of no one who will stop you. I hope you choose the path of wisdom.
Addendum: This is a subject that has been settled with me for years and one I personally have little interest in for the very reason that it is settled. Why play with fire? That is not for me.
At my age I am only personally interested in what must I do from here on out to be saved? That means a lot of things of interest to others in the realm of religion holds little interest to me.
Why did I write on the topic then? Because there are always others coming up of younger years who need to develop settled beliefs on the subject and of course some of those will be not only my children but their children and their children’s children after them and on down through the ages to come. It needed to be written for those to come afterwards whether of my family or yours.