So my lesson tonight, The Glory of Singing in Worship. This is lesson number
four in the series, In Spirit and in Truth, The Glory of Singing in Worship. I want
to show you a picture here, there it is. For many years before we bought a new
building, the church in Montreal - this is a picture of the church in Montreal, many
of you have been there to see this. The church in Montreal was located right
next door to a Pentecostal church. So on your left, you see the entrance with the
red door? That was the, at the time, the Verdun Church of Christ. And then, you see
the other door to the right there, with the column that goes up, there
was another entrance, that was the Verdun Pentecostal church. And this whole unit
here used to be, many, many years ago, the Verdun Presbyterian Church. And
so we bought the back half of it back, I think, in 1985 or something
like that. And that other side, the right-hand side there, was empty for
many, many years. And then this Pentecostal group bought it. Now the
reason I mentioned this and I show this picture here, is that they had their
service at about the same time we had our service on Sunday morning, and we
could hear their band playing piano, guitar, drums, bass, sometimes horns,
whatever, we could hear the band, especially the bass and the drums,
through the walls. And so, it made us sing louder. What was strange is that at times
they would happen to pick a song that we were singing and it was
like they were - anyways, we won't go there.
Now their minister, I knew him. His name was Billy English. He was a nice guy and
we used to visit from time to time, because we'd see each
other on Sundays. He even came to the inaugural service for
our new building when we moved it to another part of the city and we invited
him. And he was very gracious and he came to that. Now, there are a lot of
differences between our respective churches' teachings.
They had no Bible class, just one long service. They believed in miraculous gifts:
speaking in tongues and prophecy in the modern age. And of course, we didn't
believe that the Bible taught that. They used all kinds of musical instruments
and performers in their public worship, but when Billy and I got together and we
talked about church matters, the only thing that piqued his curiosity about us
was why we only sang at our worship service. That's the only question he ever
had. He understood the rest of it. He understood why we had Bible classes and
why we didn't believe in modern miracles. He understood that, but he didn't get why
we didn't use instruments. He said that this was the most distinct feature about
our group, and it really separated us from the others. He told me, you are more
different in this way than any - I've never met any other
church group that does what you do, as far as music is concerned, in the public
assembly. So it seems a shame that so many in our brotherhood, I say all of this to
say, it seems a shame that so many in our brotherhood are toying with the idea of
adding instruments to worship, and in doing so, removing one of the most unique
features of our identity. Of course, as curious as Billy was, he never really
gave me a chance to clearly explain why we only use singing in our praise and
adoration of God in public worship. So it seems to me that there are a lot of
people out there, even in the church, who are not quite sure why we have this
practice in the churches of Christ. And so, for this reason, and with the hope
that maybe Billy, one day, will stumble across this video online, let me simply
give you the three basic reasons why the church of Christ does not use
instruments in public worship. Reason number one, there is no command in the
New Testament to do so. One of the most important elements of faith in God is
worship. The very first commandment in the Old
Testament is the prohibition against worshipping any other God but the Lord.
In the Old Testament God was very specific about how He wanted the Jews to
worship Him. The building of the tabernacle, for example, in the desert as
well as the Temple in Jerusalem, was all done according to God's detailed
instructions. There are at least five chapters of instructions in the book of
Exodus telling the Jews how God wanted the tabernacle built. Five chapters devoted
to exactly how this tabernacle, this tent, was to be built in the desert.
The manner in which the Jews worship, the manner in which they offered the
sacrifice, the dressing of the priests, all explained down to the smallest
detail, even the musical instruments to be used, who and when to play them were
laid out by God to Moses and David and the prophets. For example, in Numbers, I'll
get there, Numbers chapter 10, verse one and two. Let me read that, it says, "The Lord
spoke further to Moses saying, 'Make yourself two trumpets of silver of
hammered work, you shall make them and you shall use them for summoning the
congregation and for having the camps set out." So God, here, they're using a
musical instrument for a certain purpose, but God specifies which instrument and
and how it's supposed to be made and when it's supposed to be used. Another
passage in chapter 10, verse eight, it says, "The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover,
shall blow the trumpets and this shall be for you a perpetual statute
throughout your generation." So here he specifies who is - not anybody can
play the trumpets. He specifies who can play these trumpets. And then in Numbers
10:10 it says, "Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointment feasts,
and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt
offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and
they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God."
He even explains when to blow them and why to blow them. So to say that God
doesn't care, just do what you want, is not really understanding what
the Bible teaches concerning music. God does care about music in worship, if we
look here in the Old Testament. And then in Second Chronicles chapter 29, verse 25,
it says, "He then stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with
harps, and with lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad, the king's
seer, and of Nathan the Prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His
prophets. The Levites stood with the musical instruments of David and the
priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah gave the order to offer the burnt
offering on the altar. When the burnt offering began, the song to the Lord also
began with the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David, king of Israel." The reason
that I read this is the following: God, through the prophets Gad and Nathan, gave
instructions to David, at first, as to which instruments and how they were to
be used in Temple worship. David did not invent this. A lot of
people say, well, David invented the use of instruments. No, David didn't invent
the use of instruments, David didn't introduce the use of instruments in
the temple worship. God gave to the prophets the information and the
prophets told David what he was to do concerning this matter. The Jews never
added or changed around these commands. So you're wondering, what's this passage
in Second Chronicles? Well, in this passage, the writers described Hezekiah's
restoration of Temple worship after a long period of neglect. And note that
when it came to music, what did he do? He reinstated what had been originally
commanded before by God, nothing more, nothing different, nothing less.
My point here is that in the Old Testament God was very specific in His
instructions concerning the type of music used in the temple, probably
because the Jews were easily drawn into pagan worship and if left to themselves
would wander all over the place. Now, this same idea carries over into the
New Testament. God, through the Apostles, still gives us the information we need
about our worship to Him. I mean, aside from the Lord's Supper and prayer and
teaching and preaching of God's Word and caring for the church, the only
instruction and command that we have about music in public worship is to sing.
For example, in First Corinthians chapter 14, verse 15, it says, "What is the outcome," Paul
says, "what is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray
with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind
also." Note Paul here is giving instructions about proper conduct in
public worship of the church, because the Corinthians were having some problems in
this area. Another passage of scripture, Ephesians five, verse 18 and 19, it says,
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the
Spirit," and so, what is being filled with the spirit? What does that consist of?
Well, Paul continues by explaining, "speaking to one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the
Lord." Here, not only does Paul repeat the idea
that singing is the proper and acceptable manner of musical praise to
God, the word he uses means to sing without an instrument. Now in English we
use the term a cappella. If you're going to a concert, let's say, and you're saying,
yeah there's an a cappella group playing at the theater or
there's an acapella concert. That means that this group of musicians
will be singing without instruments. The term a cappella is an Italian term
meaning chapel style. When we want to refer to singing without an instrument,
we say, well, that's a cappella style. In the Greek language, the language of
the New Testament, the word for singing without instruments is the word Psallo,
which is exactly the word that Paul uses here. Another example of this in
Colossians chapter three, verse 16, Paul writes, "Let the word of Christ
richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with thanks thankfulness
in your hearts to God." Again, to a third group of churches, Paul repeats the exact
same inspired instruction in reference to musical praise, using the word psallo,
meaning to sing only. So whenever Paul is talking about offering praise in music
or song praise to God, he always uses this term, to sing without an instrument.
Now what makes us think that the God who gave very specific commands to His
people in the Old Testament about worship, would let His people in the New
Testament do whatever they wanted when it came to praise and music? Do we have,
like, a different God operating here? Here's a God that gives these people
chapter after chapter of instruction on how to do everything,
everything. Do you think that in the New Testament He says, You know what, I don't
care anymore. Just do whatever you want. You want drama? Fine. You want a parade?
Great. You want bands? Terrific. You want to jump up and down and whatever? As
long as you're sincere. Is that what it says? Can we find anywhere in the Bible
where God specifies the rightness of something by saying, as long as you're
sincere? If we ask the question, what command from God do we have as far as
musical praise and worship is concerned? The answer from the New Testament is
very clear: sing. Sing. Only sing. Another reason why we do not use instruments of
music in our public worship? There is no example. You know what is interesting
about the Old Testament and the use of instruments in praise, is that there are
many examples of their use. I mean, the Old Testament clearly describes in
detail the use of instruments and choirs and parades. To use the argument,
well, they were wrong when they did that and God corrected that in the
New Testament - it's to argue for the right purpose, but it's to use the
wrong argument. God knew exactly what they were doing when they were doing that. He
gave them the commands to do that. He gave them the instructions to do it. So
there's no attempt to downplay the use of instruments in the Old Testament. It's
not a gray area. They were commanded, they were used, we confirmed their use by
God's command and the many examples of people obeying God's command by using
them. Now, this same pattern is seen in the New Testament as well. God, through
the Apostle, commands the practice of singing without instruments in public
worship. We see examples of this throughout the New Testament.
The point about instruments is made by the fact that there isn't a
single example of them being used or spoken of or referred to or debated over in
all the New Testament. Today we debate about this. I mean, I've
seen public debates, I've actually gone and filmed public debates over the use
of instruments. Today we debate about that, but there was never any debate
about this in the first century. They didn't debate it because
it was clear to them. A question, why are there no examples of the use of
instruments of music in the New Testament? Well, the easy answer is, well,
they weren't used. That's why. We can't find them well because they
weren't there. And then the next question is, well, why weren't they there? Well,
because the command was to sing. Have you ever wondered, have you ever
wondered why the Greek Orthodox Church, you know the Greek Orthodox Church, have
you ever wondered why they don't use instruments in their worship? Greek.
Orthodox. Greek Orthodox. They're Greek. They understand the Greek language. When they read the
New Testament in the Greek, they understand what it says and they follow
through to this day. So just as the Jews obeyed God's command to use instruments
in certain ways in the Old Testament, Christians in the New Testament obeyed
God's command to only sing. And the fact that there are no mentions of
instruments in the New Testament shows that the early Christians were faithful
in this regard. Third reason, the proof of history. Now one of the major arguments
used by folks who use instruments in worship is that, well, the early church
didn't use instruments because they worshipped underground and they were in
hiding because of the Roman persecution, they had to be quiet. A couple of
problems with this argument. First of all, Christian worship is
largely based on the Jewish synagogue worship, which did not use instruments
either. And the persecution of Christians by Rome began some thirty years after
the church was established in 60. The persecution started later
on in the first century, but the church didn't use instruments during this time.
Long after the Roman persecution and even Rome itself fell, the Christian
church did not use instruments in worship. Historians estimate, historians, not
theologians. Historians estimate that for at least the first thousand years
church history, the worship of the church, was without instruments. A thousand years.
Church historian, leaders, theologians, as far back as Justin Martyr who was a
leader in the church around 150 AD and defended Christianity in face of Roman
persecution while led to his execution. This man, Justin Martyr, said and
wrote, "The use of singing with instrumental music was not received in
the Christian churches as it was among the Jews." Even Augustine, the Catholic
monk, in the 4th century saw the use of instruments and worship as fleshly.
That's how he described it. And it's interesting to note that Catholic
theologian Thomas Aquinas wrote in 1260 AD, "The church does not use musical
instruments when praising God, for musical instruments usually move the
soul more to pleasure than create inner moral goodness." Of course, they're not
arguing from the scripture here, but we get a glimpse into history as to what
was taking place as far as this phenomenon is concerned. Even early
Protestant reformers were against the use of instruments in public worship.
In 1571 the French Protestant church formed under the influence of John Calvin or
Jean Cauvin, he was French, had 2,100, think about it, 2,100 congregations, some of
which numbered over 10,000 members, and all used a cappella music in their
public worship. This business of using instruments and drama and all this kind
of stuff in public worship is a very recent thing. Of course, this historical
stuff, it's not biblical proof, but its historical proof. It supports the Bible.
Now, I mentioned it to underscore the idea that the use of instruments and
drama and orchestras and choirs and bands and praise teams, all of these
things are relatively recent innovations that depart from what was practiced by
the church for centuries. And so, we use a cappella music because we believe the
Bible instructs us to do so by command and example. But we also have the bulk of
church history to confirm that this was the correct way to worship for centuries.
And isn't this what we're about as a New Testament church? We want to be the
church that God describes in the New Testament. Of course, not just in the way
we worship, but in the way we preach the gospel and conduct our lives and we love
one another and the way we prepare for the return of Jesus, of course. Worship is
only one element, but it's an important one if we are truly to restore the
practice of biblical Christianity in our generation. Okay, one other thing about
music I'd like to share and that is how just singing is a glorious act
in worship. We place a lot of importance on how we sing as opposed to
the fact that we only sing in worship. Of course, we want to do our best and offer
God songs that sound sweet and pleasant, but the fact that we only sing
without instruments, according to His command, has greater significance in the
spiritual context of worship. John Price, in his great book, Old Light on New
Worship - let me give you a little background. John Price is not a, quote,
church of Christ author. I believe he's an evangelical, he's a Baptist. And he, in his study,
he decided to begin studying this business of music in public
worship. And very much like the author who tried to debunk
the idea of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of Jesus and the more he
studied it, found out that it was true. Well, in the same way, John Price, in his
study and his research of history and carefully examining all the
passages of scripture, came to the conclusion, well, that we have come to for
several centuries now in the churches of Christ: that public
worship, according to the Bible, is to be a cappella style. And he is
one who is kind of admonishing his evangelical people, that they
should do away with instruments and go back to the Bible and the practice of
the Bible. He has an unusual point of view, anyways, John Price, in his book,
Old Light on New Worship, lists several ways which Christ has lifted up the practice
of singing in worship as a glorious thing. Jesus has made singing in
worship glorious, first of all, by His own example. Jesus anoints singing as a
glorious manner to praise God, because He, Himself, sang praises with His apostles
in the upper room on the night before He died. In Matthew 26:30, Matthew says that
they sang a hymn, as was the custom of the Jews at Passover. The traditional hymn
was the Hallel, which comprised of Psalms 1:13 to 1:18, either all of those Psalms
or several of those Psalms. Hallel, Hebrew word for praise. Before His
suffering and death, Jesus sang songs of praise and trust and thanksgiving. It is
only fitting that when we worship, we follow the example of our Lord who
exalts this practice by doing it Himself. Don't you want to worship in the way
that Jesus Himself worshipped? Isn't that the key argument for all of this?
Secondly, He glorifies this form of praise by making it a teaching ministry.
I return to Colossians 3:16 where Paul says, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell
within you with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." When
our singing is based on the Word of God with songs taken directly from the
Psalms or derived from the scripture, we're literally teaching and encouraging
one another through songs. We don't get the feel for that as much in our modern
buildings because they're laid out in this way, and sometimes they may
be circular, but we know in the synagogues they faced each other. Rows,
like the rows were this way and this way, and they faced each other. So
getting the idea of singing to one another, it was a little easier to kind
of grasp that concept, because you were literally singing to one another across
the aisle. We kind of lose that here because we're kind of one on
one, in front of one another. When we sing, up from the grave He arose, are we
not proclaiming the gospel to one another and any unbeliever who might be
present? Aside from offering our love and praise
to God, congregational singing serves as a teaching ministry for the building up
of the church. No instrument, no matter how beautifully played or numerous, can
bless the church like the human voice declaring the truths of God in a
spiritual song. It doesn't matter if you have a croaking voice or you're off-key or
you can't sing very loud. Whatever comes out of your heart through your mouth in
spiritual song is more beautiful than a thousand harps or a thousand pianos. Why?
Because it comes from the human heart, that's why. As I said before, some put way
too much emphasis on the musicality of our singing, judging it by its tone or
its pleasure to the ear, but God lifts up singing as an exalted method of praise
because it is the direct link to a person's heart and faith. With the heart
we believe and with the mouth we proclaim in song that Jesus Christ is
Lord. I mean, this is primal Christianity. It doesn't get more basic than that. Then,
finally, Jesus glorifies singing by making it a foretaste of heaven. John,
his vision of heaven, in the book of Revelation, says, "And they sang the song
of Moses, the bond servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great
and marvelous, are Your works O Lord God the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your
ways, King of the nations!" Revelation 15:3. Our singing here on earth in the church
is the beginning and a hint of the experience of heaven.
We only know vaguely what heaven will be like, in negative terms. Like, we know well,
there's no death, there's no sin there, there's no suffering there.
It's hard to imagine, because we have all these things here on earth and
we've always had them. So to experience the complete absence of
these things is difficult. How difficult is it to to understand what it
is like to have no sin? Well, it's hard because there's always been sin, you see
what I'm saying? There's always been death. It's hard for us to imagine no sin,
no death. But singing, and singing joyfully with faith, this is something we
do know, something we actually do. God has given us this experience, among others, to
help us actually feel in a very real sense what heaven will be like. As a
matter of fact, John Price says, in his book, that singing is the only ordinance
of the church that shall continue in heaven, when we see Him face to face.
Preaching, prayer, communion, baptism, they shall all be done away with. The only
thing left that we do here, that we will continue to do there, is to sing and to
rejoice. All of these were means to call and unite people to Christ, build their
faith, and to remember His sacrifice. In heaven, none of these things will be
necessary, except to celebrate our everlasting relationship in a perfect
spiritual union. And God has chosen singing as the way to do this, in both
heaven and here on earth. So when we gather to worship and when we gather to
worship in song, let's remember, shall we, that what we do is ordained by
God, and pleasing to Him because of our obedience, not our ability. God is pleased
because we obey Him in this thing, not because we have
perfect pitch, we have a lovely alto voice or soprano voice, that's
wonderful, that's a gift from God, but the thing that pleases Him is our
obedience in this matter. Secondly, that a cappella singing is a glorious thing,
because Jesus has raised it above any other form of worship by His own example
and also the teaching of the Apostles. And then finally, that when we are two or
more who gather in His name to worship God, Jesus is not only with us, but also
sings with us as well. In Romans chapter 15, verse nine, Paul quotes several verses
from Psalms showing that Christ Himself was speaking through David concerning
the eventual salvation of the Gentiles. In Psalm 18:49 Christ declares through
David His Prophet the following, he says, "Therefore, I will give thanks to You
among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to Your name." So stand and sing,
knowing that you sing to God and with God when you lift your voices in song.
So tonight as we sing our invitation song, let's sing it with hearts calling out to
those who need forgiveness or spiritual help to come forward and calling out to
God to bless and to encourage the people who sing, in order to worship Him and to
please Him and to honor Him. And so, if you are subject to the invitation
tonight, please respond to the calling that we make in song as we stand
and as we sing the song of encouragement that Harold has chosen for us tonight.
Shall we stand?