Instrumental Music

By: Shawn Daniels, evangelist

One of the benefits of being a child of God, a Christian, is that we have the privilege to worship God.  Jesus says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” ( John 4:23-24 ) The Father seeks such worshippers.  Throughout all history God has wanted us to worship him by the way he commands.  We can just look to Cain and Abel to see the first recorded example of false worship.  The record tells us, “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering : But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” ( Gen 4:3-7 )  To understand what happened in this situation, we need to ask the question, “Why did God have respect unto Abel and to his offering?  Why did he not have respect to Cain and his offering?”  Perhaps it is because God just liked Abel more than Cain?  No, because we know that Peter tells us, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”( Acts 10:34-35 ) Why then?  We can find the answer in ( Heb 11:4 ) “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.”  The reason God had respect unto Abel and his sacrifice is because Abel worshiped by faith .  What does it mean to do something by faith?  Paul tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ( Rom 10:17 )  Therefore, doing something by faith means to do something by what you have heard through the word of God.  The only way that we can have true faith in something is if God tells us it's true.  So, when Cain offered up grain, he did it even though God never commanded it.  When Abel offered up the firstlings of his flock, he did it because God commanded it.  That's how we worship by faith.  Paul tells us, “For whatsoever is not of faith is sin .” ( Rom 14:23 )  We now understand that Paul is telling us that if we do something that is not commanded by God in his word, it is sinful.  That's why God told Cain that because he didn't do well (obey), sin lieth at the door.

This same principle applies for his worshippers today.  We must worship God in spirit and in truth.  That is to say we worship God without regards of our race, Jew or Gentile, because we are born again in a spiritual birth, and we worship God in truth, or by his commands.  What does God's word teach us about the use of instrumental music in the worship to God?  The truth is God is silent on the subject.  God's word tells us absolutely nothing about the use of instrumental music in the Christian worship.   The question is then, “Is it okay to worship God in a way that he hasn't approved of?”   We've already seen the answer to that question.  Cain did something other than what God approved of.  So the answer to that question is no!  God will tell those the same that he told Cain.  “If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”

What does God approve in regards to music in worship to him?  Paul tells us, “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.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus , giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” ( Col 3:16-17 )  In a parallel verse he says, “But be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs , singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” ( Eph 5:18-20 ) Paul here tells us the kind and type of music that God wants from us as worship.  The kind of music is psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  In other words, you wouldn't try to use a rock love ballad in the worship to God.  You would use appropriate music, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  The type of music that Paul uses is vocal music.  He says, “Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”, and “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Some in an effort to show justification for instrumental music will use the argument that the phrase “making melody” is translated from the Greek word ‘Psallo' which means to twitch, pluck, or twang.  While it's true that the word Psallo means this, it in no ways shows that Paul included the use of mechanical instruments in the worship to God.  Notice what Paul tells us to pluck.  The phrase is, “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”  We are to sing and our accompaniment is the instrument of our heart.  We are to use our heart as an instrument.  Paul used this phrase to teach that our singing is to be accompanied by the chords of our heart.  This phrase is parallel to the one in Colossians 3:16 when he said, “singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.”  In designating this instrument, he excludes all others.  This is a basic fact of God's commands.  For an example of this fact, look at Noah.  God commanded Noah to use gopher wood to build the ark.  In God designating gopher wood, he excludes all other types of wood.  In God designating vocal singing played on the heart, he excludes all other types of music.

The fact of the matter is that the New Testament authorizes only vocal music in the worship to God, but what about David in the Old Testament.  David says, “Praise the Lord with harp : sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings .  Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.” ( Ps 33:2-3 ) Here we see David plainly instructs those that worship God to do it with the accompaniment of an instrument.  The question we need to ask is this, “Who is David talking to, and in what era?”  David was speaking to Hebrews, those under the Law of Moses.  Are you a physical Jew under the Law of Moses?  If not, then why would we think this would apply to us?  There are many commands in the Old Law that don't apply to us.  For example, Noah was commanded to build an ark.  Does that apply to any one today?  No it doesn't, but at one time that was the way to salvation.  Moses commanded the children of Israel, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy .  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work , thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:” ( Ex 20:8-10 ) This is a direct command.  Why is it that this command doesn't apply to us anymore?  Because, under the New Testament this was changed, we now worship God on the first day of the week by the example of Apostles.  ( Acts 20:7 ) ( 1 Cor 16:2 ) This same principle applies to us in accordance to music.  Our only command for music in the New Testament is vocal music.

Paul tells us, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” ( Gal 3:19 )  The Law of Moses was in effect up until the promise came through Jesus Christ, hence why we are Christians.  He goes on to tell us, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But after that faith is come , we are no longer under a schoolmaster .” ( Gal 3:24-25 ) The Law of Moses was our vehicle that brought us up to Christ.  It was what prepared us for the coming of the Messiah.  Paul says that when “that faith is come”, which is to say when the Gospel of Christ (New Testament) came we are no longer under the Old Law.  The New takes the Old out of the way.  Paul also says, “ Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace .” ( Gal 5:4 ) If we justify ourselves by the Law of Moses we have fallen from grace.  Why is this?  This is for the simple reason we can't pick and choose what we want in our religion.  We must either be Jews under the Old Law, or we are Christians under the New.  If we try to justify ourselves by going to the Old Law, such as using mechanical instruments in worship, we must take all that goes with the law.  That would mean that we must bring in the incenses, candles, tithes, circumcision, and last of all we must go back to the old sacrificial ordinances.  What does that mean to us that are Christians?  That would mean that we must replace the sacrifice of the only-begotten Son of God with the sacrifice of bulls and goats of the Old Law.  That is why one falls from grace if they try to justify themselves by the old law.  The Law is great for us as a schoolmaster, to bring us up to Christ, to teach us life lessons, but it is not were we get our authority.  God told Peter, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” ( Matt 17:5 )  We must hear Christ today.  He is our authority.

Another statement we need to examine is since God allowed the use of mechanical instruments for worship in the days of David, he surely wouldn't care now.  Is this a true statement?  Let's look to an example of Moses for the answer.  ( Ex 17:5-6 ) “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock , and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”  Moses received a command from God to strike the rock and water will come out.  Moses obeyed his command.  ( Num 20:7-12 ) “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.  And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.  And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice : and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.  And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not , to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”  God gave Moses the command to speak ye to the rock.  This was a new command that superseded the previous event.  Moses didn't do as God commanded; he did as God previously commanded and struck the rock.  This was not what God wanted.  There was actually two sins committed here and God explains both.  First, Moses didn't believe God.  He didn't do ‘by faith' what God commanded.  Second He took credit for God's work.  He didn't sanctify God in the eyes of the children of Israel.  Moses punishment was that he would never enter into the promise land of Canaan.  This example shows that just because something was commanded in a previous case doesn't mean that God approves of it now.  God approves of doing things by faith.  He wants you to obey him.

We must worship God in the way that he commands, and he has commanded his children today to use vocal music.  The truth is there and it's usually easier to agree on what God says.  Now, can we agree on what God doesn't say?  Mechanical instruments in worship is not authorized or commanded by God or his Apostles to us today.  Are we going to do something that is not of faith like Cain?  Let us be as Abel, and be respected by God for our form of worship, by doing all things by faith!

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