How to Interpret the Bible (part 12) - Worship - Singing with Musical Instruments
Introduction. There should be only one purpose for our worship: to honor, glorify and praise God! God is at the center of everything. He created our world, our soul, our body, and everything good and pleasant in our lives. Our past, present and future are in His mighty hands. Forgiveness, mercy and salvation are all freely given to those who believe and trust Him. At its core, worship reveals our reverence and respect as we sanctify Him. These are the emotions Jesus revealed must be present for worship to be genuine. “The Father is seeking” only “true worshipers.” If we want our worship to be accepted we “must worship in spirit and truth!” In this way the worshipers are “sanctified” by “the truth” of “His word.” (Jn. 4:23-24; 17:17).
Every time we worship we face the same choice as Cain and Abel in their manner of worship. As Abel, true worshipers worship God by faith. As Abel, we too must trust God completely to tell us what is necessary to worship and glorify Him. It was by the “faith that comes from hearing” that “Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Heb. 11:4; Rom. 10:17). Because of this, “the Lord respected Abel and his offering” (Gen. 4:4). Even to this day, “through it he being dead still speaks,” if we are listening we will never err from that path.
While we are initially only told that God “did not respect Cain and his offering,” it was later revealed that “his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1Jn. 3:12). It is imperative that we assess our worship lest we stray. Cain created a path in the wrong direction and woe be to all who stray into that path: “Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain.” (Jude 11)
God’s word is the foundation of worship. For worship to be genuine we must know exactly what God has said. Then by faith and trust we submit to Him and do it exactly as He asked. God made this clear when He said, “in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mt. 15:9). After God revealed how to worship, He carefully watches for the faith that will joyfully submit. If it is not there, then worship is vain. This is why He struck down Nadab and Abihu. Knowing what God had asked, they “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” (Lev. 10:1-3). By doing what they chose instead of what God said, they failed to “sanctify” and “glorify” Him.
Thus every worship assembly by every disciple in all the world and for all time can never vary. When a church departs from this divine pattern, they stray into the “way of Cain.” It is a sign of great evil when a church changes its worship and no longer follows the path of submission.
One of the clearest changes that has taken place in worship is seen in singing. The vast majority of churches today use musical instruments while disciples sing. This is so much a part of our culture it seems very odd to enter a church that doesn’t have one. But before we allow this fact to influence us too strongly, we need a history lesson. For many centuries the disciples of Jesus worshiped with singing alone. There is not a shred of evidence in the Scriptures or in the history that followed that those in the early church ever used musical instruments in worship.
This fact removes all prejudice and brings us back to common ground. For nearly 700 years the church did not use any musical instruments in their worship. When we look at the commands God gave regarding singing it becomes obvious why.
The truth is simple, God commanded us to sing. We are to “sing with grace in your hearts,” and “sing and make melody in your hearts.” There is nothing difficult or complicated here. If it were not for the influence of Jewish worship in the temple or the use of instruments in worldly music, there would never have been any question. All who want to “walk by faith and not by sight,” and “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” do not use instruments because God did not command or permit them. Any use of musical instruments in the church during worship assemblies is a command of men entering “the way of Cain.”
What reasons do those who use them today give? The strongest reason is the affirmation that God commanded and allowed the use of musical instruments under the Law of Moses (2 Chron. 29:25–28). While there is no question that this is the truth, it has no bearing on the singing commanded by Jesus. Animal sacrifice, feast days, the Sabbath day, circumcision, the temple, and Levitical priesthood were all a part of the worship of Israel under the Law of Moses, but none of them were retained in New Testament worship. When we remember Paul telling the Galatians that those who use the Law of Moses to justify or modify the commands of Jesus are “severed from Christ and fall from grace.” (Gal. 5:1-4).
Some also claim that the Greek word “psallo” In Eph. 5:19 ("making melody") demands the use of musical instruments. But how can this be possible when the early church did not use them and they were never used while Greek was the common language of the people? Even today, the Greek Orthodox church still doesn’t use them.
“The Greek word ‘psallo’ is applied among the Greeks of modern times exclusively to sacred music, which in the Eastern Church has never been any other than vocal, instrumental music being unknown in that church, as it was in the primitive church.” (McClintock & Strong, Vol. 8, p. 739).
If “psallo” demanded instrumental music, why was it not practiced for centuries by those who spoke the language and knew the meaning of the word? If “psallo” demanded the use of instruments, why doesn’t the Greek Orthodox church use them? These are simple questions with a simple answer. The word “psallo” doesn’t authorize the use of musical instruments. Besides, Eph. 5:19 specifies where/how the melody is to be made - "in your heart".
Conclusion. Genuine worship comes from knowing the truth and trusting, loving, and respecting God enough to do it exactly as He commanded. This is what made Abel’s sacrifice more excellent than Cain’s and it is why Cain’s sacrifice and works were evil. When we come together on the first day of the week, we are present at God’s command and must worship exactly as He has asked us to do. Singing with grace in our hearts and singing and making melody in our hearts are what God has asked us to do. Those who follow Cain, see no problem with adding a musical instrument. But those who learn the lessons of history and seek to worship in spirit and truth will never accept them.
Every time we worship we face the same choice as Cain and Abel in their manner of worship. As Abel, true worshipers worship God by faith. As Abel, we too must trust God completely to tell us what is necessary to worship and glorify Him. It was by the “faith that comes from hearing” that “Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Heb. 11:4; Rom. 10:17). Because of this, “the Lord respected Abel and his offering” (Gen. 4:4). Even to this day, “through it he being dead still speaks,” if we are listening we will never err from that path.
While we are initially only told that God “did not respect Cain and his offering,” it was later revealed that “his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1Jn. 3:12). It is imperative that we assess our worship lest we stray. Cain created a path in the wrong direction and woe be to all who stray into that path: “Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain.” (Jude 11)
God’s word is the foundation of worship. For worship to be genuine we must know exactly what God has said. Then by faith and trust we submit to Him and do it exactly as He asked. God made this clear when He said, “in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mt. 15:9). After God revealed how to worship, He carefully watches for the faith that will joyfully submit. If it is not there, then worship is vain. This is why He struck down Nadab and Abihu. Knowing what God had asked, they “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” (Lev. 10:1-3). By doing what they chose instead of what God said, they failed to “sanctify” and “glorify” Him.
Thus every worship assembly by every disciple in all the world and for all time can never vary. When a church departs from this divine pattern, they stray into the “way of Cain.” It is a sign of great evil when a church changes its worship and no longer follows the path of submission.
One of the clearest changes that has taken place in worship is seen in singing. The vast majority of churches today use musical instruments while disciples sing. This is so much a part of our culture it seems very odd to enter a church that doesn’t have one. But before we allow this fact to influence us too strongly, we need a history lesson. For many centuries the disciples of Jesus worshiped with singing alone. There is not a shred of evidence in the Scriptures or in the history that followed that those in the early church ever used musical instruments in worship.
- “The first organ certainly known to exist and be used in a church was put in the cathedral at Aix-la-chapel by the German emperor, Charlemange, who came to the throne in 768AD. It met with great opposition among the Romanists, especially among the monks, and that it made its way but slowly into common use. So great was the opposition even as late as the 16th century that it would have been abolished by the council of Trent but for the influence of the Emperor Ferdinand…. In the Greek church the organ never came into use...” (Shaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol 2, p. 1702)
This fact removes all prejudice and brings us back to common ground. For nearly 700 years the church did not use any musical instruments in their worship. When we look at the commands God gave regarding singing it becomes obvious why.
- “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col 3:16)
- "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord," (Eph. 5:19)
The truth is simple, God commanded us to sing. We are to “sing with grace in your hearts,” and “sing and make melody in your hearts.” There is nothing difficult or complicated here. If it were not for the influence of Jewish worship in the temple or the use of instruments in worldly music, there would never have been any question. All who want to “walk by faith and not by sight,” and “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” do not use instruments because God did not command or permit them. Any use of musical instruments in the church during worship assemblies is a command of men entering “the way of Cain.”
What reasons do those who use them today give? The strongest reason is the affirmation that God commanded and allowed the use of musical instruments under the Law of Moses (2 Chron. 29:25–28). While there is no question that this is the truth, it has no bearing on the singing commanded by Jesus. Animal sacrifice, feast days, the Sabbath day, circumcision, the temple, and Levitical priesthood were all a part of the worship of Israel under the Law of Moses, but none of them were retained in New Testament worship. When we remember Paul telling the Galatians that those who use the Law of Moses to justify or modify the commands of Jesus are “severed from Christ and fall from grace.” (Gal. 5:1-4).
Some also claim that the Greek word “psallo” In Eph. 5:19 ("making melody") demands the use of musical instruments. But how can this be possible when the early church did not use them and they were never used while Greek was the common language of the people? Even today, the Greek Orthodox church still doesn’t use them.
“The Greek word ‘psallo’ is applied among the Greeks of modern times exclusively to sacred music, which in the Eastern Church has never been any other than vocal, instrumental music being unknown in that church, as it was in the primitive church.” (McClintock & Strong, Vol. 8, p. 739).
If “psallo” demanded instrumental music, why was it not practiced for centuries by those who spoke the language and knew the meaning of the word? If “psallo” demanded the use of instruments, why doesn’t the Greek Orthodox church use them? These are simple questions with a simple answer. The word “psallo” doesn’t authorize the use of musical instruments. Besides, Eph. 5:19 specifies where/how the melody is to be made - "in your heart".
Conclusion. Genuine worship comes from knowing the truth and trusting, loving, and respecting God enough to do it exactly as He commanded. This is what made Abel’s sacrifice more excellent than Cain’s and it is why Cain’s sacrifice and works were evil. When we come together on the first day of the week, we are present at God’s command and must worship exactly as He has asked us to do. Singing with grace in our hearts and singing and making melody in our hearts are what God has asked us to do. Those who follow Cain, see no problem with adding a musical instrument. But those who learn the lessons of history and seek to worship in spirit and truth will never accept them.