Is it a “sin” to worship with mechanical
instruments? This is a loaded question comparable to, “Have you stopped beating
your wife?” It can’t be answered with impunity with a simple “yes” or “no.” If
one were to say, “Yes, it’s a sin to worship with mechanical instruments,” the
inquirer could quickly respond: “Where does the Bible explicitly label it a
‘sin’? If you can’t produce a direct biblical statement, you’re binding what
God hasn’t bound!” But to answer with a simple “no” would evoke the response:
“If it’s not sinful, it must be okay and you shouldn’t make a big deal out of
it.” Either way, the discussion comes to an abrupt halt. This article is an
attempt to avert common misunderstandings that result from oversimplification
and to address the issue thoughtfully, practically, and biblically.
The Bible is our
complete guide in all spiritual matters, repeatedly admonishing its readers to
handle the word of truth accurately and to evade, reject, and denounce its
misuse (1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:2, 15, 24-26; 3:14-17; 2 Pet. 1:3;
3:14-18; etc.). Here is every text in the New Testament that
relates to musical praise in Christian worship: Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Acts
16:25; Romans 15:9; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16;
Hebrews 2:12; 13:15; James 5:13.1 Each verse specifies
vocal and verbal praise, depicting that which instructs, admonishes,
and facilitates understanding.
Now some might object, claiming that at
least some of these verses are taken out of context, to which the following
threefold response is offered. First, would it be reasonable to suppose that if
any of these passages had mentioned a harp or a trumpet, it would be included
in the discussion? Second, even if the dismissal of some of these verses could
be rationalized, they cannot all be rejected and the conclusion is still the
same. Finally, if all the pertinent information is to be considered, then all
the pertinent information ought to be considered.
Scripture
|
Vocal/Verbal
|
Instrumental
|
Both
|
Matt. 26:30
|
✔
|
||
Mark 14:26
|
✔
|
||
Acts 16:25
|
✔
|
||
Romans 15:9
|
✔
|
||
1 Cor. 14:15
|
✔
|
||
Eph. 5:19
|
✔
|
||
Col. 3:16
|
✔
|
||
Hebrews 2:12
|
✔
|
||
Hebrews 13:15
|
✔
|
||
James 5:13
|
✔
|
The Principle of Silence
To illustrate the
biblical principle of silence, consider Acts 15. Certain Jewish
Christians were advocating mandatory circumcision (vv. 1, 5). After all, they
had plenty of scriptural support for their position in the Old Testament, and
neither Jesus nor any of his apostolic representatives had directly discounted
this doctrine. How were these teachers and those they taught supposed to know
this wasn't right? The Spirit-guided response was simply, “we gave no such
commandment” (v. 24 NKJV). In other words, divine
silence = no divine sanction.
This is further illustrated
in Hebrews 7:11-16. How did the Israelites know the divine will
concerning the appointment of priests? Quite simply, God explicitly revealed
this information: “This is what the LORD commanded to be done …”
(Lev. 8:5 ff.), specifying the tribe of Levi as the priestly tribe
(cf. Num. 18:1-2; Deut. 33:8-11; Heb. 7:5). God did not (and did not need to)
provide a list of other Israelite tribes in order to directly forbid the
appointment of priests from any of them. By specifying Levi, all other tribes
were implicitly excluded.
In view of God’s silence
concerning the other tribes, would it have been according to his revealed will
to appoint priests from the tribe of Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Zebulun, or
Issachar? What about Dan, Gad, Naphtali, or Benjamin? The Lord never said not
to. What if some from the other tribes were capable of performing priestly
duties just as well as or even better than the Levites? And who better than the
Lord Jesus to function as priest? Would it have been according to God’s
revealed will for Jesus to have served as a Jewish priest while he was living
on earth, even though he was not a descendent of Levi?
“For He [Jesus] of whom
these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has
officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah,
of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood” (Heb. 7:13-14,
emp. added). Why would Jesus not have been permitted to
serve as an Israelite priest on earth? It had nothing to do with whether or not
he was capable of doing the job, or whether he or others may have desired it.
It had nothing to do with God having directly forbidden it (because he didn’t).
It had everything to do with the silence of scripture. Moses “spoke
nothing” concerning it; i.e., there was no divine sanction for a person from
the tribe of Judah (even Jesus!) to serve as priest.
Generic and Specific Instructions2
What
if the injunction was, “Appoint priests from among the Israelites”?
Accordingly, anyone from any of the tribes would be allowed; but the
requirement was not this generic. The law directed the appointment of priests
from among the Israelite tribe of Levi. Therefore, anyone from Reuben, Simeon,
Judah, Zebulun, etc., would necessarily be excluded.
What if the Bible said,
“Commemorate the Lord’s death with food and drink”? Accordingly, any type of
food and drink (brownies, carrots, water, coffee) would be permissible; but the
stipulated elements of the Lord’s Supper are not this generic. The Lord’s death is to be commemorated with unleavened bread and fruit of the vine
(cf. Matt. 26:17, 26-29). Therefore, any other elements are automatically
eliminated.
What if the New
Testament said, “Offer music to God as Christian worship”? Accordingly, any
type of music (singing, electric guitar, saxophone, etc.) would be permissible;
but the musical praise specified in the New Testament is not this generic. The
New Testament affirms, “… singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”
(Eph. 5:19 + nine other verses). Therefore, any other type of music would
necessarily be excluded.
Is Silence Permissive or Prohibitive?
The injunction to
appoint priests from among the Israelite tribe of Levi would permit
anyone within the stated category, including tall Levites, short Levites,
brown-haired Levites, black-haired Levites, dark-complected Levites,
light-complected Levites, etc. None of these options deviates from the
specified command. But the injunction to appoint priests from among the
Israelite tribe of Levi would prohibit Egyptians, Assyrians, Reubenites,
Simeonites, etc. (even serving alongside the Levites), because these options exceed
the parameters of the specified command.
The directive to
commemorate the Lord’s death with unleavened bread and fruit of the vine would permit
plates or trays or baskets or containers for the specified elements, none of
which adds to or deviates from the stated instructions. But the directive to
commemorate the Lord’s death with unleavened bread and fruit of the vine
does prohibit brownies, carrots, water, coffee, etc. (even if
consumed along with the specified elements), because they are unauthorized additions
to what scripture teaches.
The New Testament directive
to sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord would permit song
books or overheads (for words), a tuning fork (for pitch), a song leader (for
tempo), none of which deviates from the specified instructions. But there is no
New Testament authorization for playing and making melody on a piano in worship
(even to accompany the singing), or beating drums, or juggling Bibles, or
dancing with hula hoops, etc. All humanly-devised additions to the specified
instructions are implicitly prohibited
if the Lord has given no such directive.
Respecting God’s Authority
Whatever is not
communicated in the sacred writings (specifically or generically) is
necessarily excluded from God’s revealed will. If the principle of
biblical authority is rejected, anything that is not explicitly forbidden in
scripture must therefore be permissible, including a universal pope, praying to
Mary, praying to angels, praying to departed saints, prayers for the dead,
baptizing infants, sprinkling as a mode of baptism, baptizing with rose petals
instead of water, sale of indulgences, polygamy, smoking marijuana to heighten
the worship experience, et al.
Even though the New
Testament is silent on all of the above and does not explicitly forbid any of
them, each must be rejected simply because none is biblically sanctioned.
Mechanical instruments of music in Christian worship are to be opposed, not
because they are expressly forbidden by the scriptural directive to sing but
because there is no New Testament authorization for their use.
What is our purpose for
worshiping? If our primary aim is to please the Lord,3 the only way
to be certain about what pleases him is according to what he has chosen to
reveal to us. We know what the will of God is by what is revealed
in the Bible (Eph. 3:3-5; 5:17), not by what is left unsaid. The heavenly
Father presently communicates through his Son Jesus Christ, and the new
covenant of God’s Son has superseded the old covenant of Moses and the Jews
(Heb. 1:1-2; 8:6-13). If the Lord has not ordered drum beating or trumpet
blowing or guitar strumming to replace or accompany singing from the heart as
Christian worship, who is presumptuous enough to offer it to him anyway, and by
whose authority?
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 All scripture references in
the New Testament to man-made musical instruments (Matt. 11:17; Luke 7:32;
15:25; 1 Cor. 13:1; 14:7-8; Rev. 5:8; 14:2; 15:2) involve figurative imagery
illustrating things other than Christian worship. For a
Presbyterian perspective with insightful historical observations, see G. I.
Williamson’s “Instrumental Music in Worship: Commanded or Not Commanded?” in The
Westminster Presbyterian (2001),
<Link>. Scripture quotations are from the NKJV.
2
Examples are numerous. The Lord’s
expectation for Christians assembling together (1 Cor. 14:26; Heb. 10:25) does
not stipulate a specific gathering place, therefore rental halls and church
buildings are sanctioned under this generic prescription. The necessity of
hearing and understanding the communication of God’s message (Mark 7:14; Jas.
1:21) justifies sound systems and microphones. The universal proclamation of
the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15) authorizes a variety of transportation
modes.
3 Please read Matt.
5:16; John 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:9; Gal. 1:10; Col. 1:9-10; 1 Thess. 2:4; 4:1; 2 Tim.
2:15; Heb. 13:16; 1 John 3:22.
Related Posts: What Are You Getting Out of Worship?;
Proof that Instrumental Music is Acceptable?; Acceptability of What Appears to Be Unauthorized
Related articles: Wes McAdams’ Why Must You Use Instruments to Worship?, Argument from Silence, Is it Wrong?; Allen Webster’s Why Do Churches of Christ Not Use Instruments?; Wayne Jackson's Silence of the Scriptures; Patrick Swayne's Silence in the Scriptures
