Greetings to you, friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s “In Search of the Lord’s Way.” Oh say, we’re so pleased to have you join us. Phil Sanders’ messages about worship are very enlightening and exciting, aren’t they? He’s titled today’s program: “Worship in Song.” Have you ever seriously considered why we sing in our worship assemblies? Stay tuned.
Hello, I’m Phil Sanders. Thank you, Mack. We’re here to search God’s Word for the Lord’s Way. Because the Bible is inspired of God, we can trust it to lead us into what’s right. God’s Word is a light to our paths and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119, verses 1 to 5). And that’s why we go to it again and again. Thanks for spending this time with us. We love to hear from you and want to be a part of your life each week.
I love to sing hymns. I have my favorites, and I’m sure you do, too. I can’t remember a time when songs like “Amazing Grace” or “The Old Rugged Cross” were not a part of my life. Jackie and I had the song “Be With Me, Lord” sung at our wedding, only we changed the words to “Be With Us, Lord.” Jackie and I sang spiritual songs with our four children, because we wanted to instill in our daughters the love that we had for God. Now our girls are old enough to sing hymns and spiritual songs with their daughters and grandson.
Hymns and spiritual songs praise God; they teach valuable lessons; and they stir the heart. Singing involves the heart, and the mind, and the lips to praise God and to build up one another. The Lord blessed us greatly when He instructed us to sing from our hearts. Some of the happiest moments of my life have been spent worshiping God in song.
The music of the church provides a great blessing, but it also has challenges. Many focus on what they like in songs and lose sight of what the Lord desires. Others go beyond what the Lord asks. Since the Lord seeks for those who worship Him, to worship Him in spirit and truth, it’s needful for us to ask what is the will of the Lord. What is the Lord’s way for us to worship Him in song?
We’re offering the information of this program free in this wonderful little booklet of all five programs for the month of October. And if you’d like a copy, a CD or tape of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or you can e-mail us at searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free number. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We also stream this program on our website, www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand will lead the Edmond church in song, and then we’ll read from the Bible, from Ephesians 5, verses 17 to 21.
Our reading today from God’s Holy Word comes from the book of Ephesians chapter 5, verses 17 to 21. “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” That’s from God’s Holy Word. Let’s pray to the Father. O Father, may our hearts and our voices always praise You and give You the honor that is due Your name. In Jesus we pray, in His name. Amen!
To learn the truth about Christian worship in song, we must go to the New Testament. So let’s review the relevant passages pertaining to musical worship among Christians. The first mention of singing a hymn in the New Testament is found in Matthew 26, verse 30 and Mark 14:26; two passages very much alike. The Bible says that the Lord instituted that night the Lord’s Supper; “And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
In Acts chapter 16 and verse 25, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison with their feet in stocks for healing a servant girl. And the Bible says, “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Now, so far all we have is just simple statements of people singing.
In Romans 15 and verse 9 Paul speaks of the Gentiles glorifying God; as it is written, "Therefore I will give praise to thee among the gentiles, and I will sing to thy name." Well, this quotation emphasizes how a congregation in one accord and with one voice should glorify God (Romans 15, verse 6).
Later in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, there are two references to singing. Verse 15 says, “What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also.” Here the emphasis in singing is on the mind and the spirit. Verse 26 says, “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” The early church edified each other by teaching songs.
In Psalm, in the book of Ephesians rather, Ephesians 5, verses 18 and 19 as we read, the Bible says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, (that is moral looseness) but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” The emphasis in this passage is on speaking to one another and in making melody with the heart to the Lord. The idea of having concerts or of playing instruments in worship is absent. There were no choirs, because everyone was to sing.
Colossians 3 and verse 16 is a similar passage: “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.” The emphasis again is on singing words that teach and admonish. Now, these were activities that require the heart, the mind, and the lips.
The writer of the book of Hebrews twice mentions praising God in song. First in Hebrews 2, verse 12 he quotes from Psalm 22, verse 22. He says, “I will proclaim Thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise." Again the idea is verbal, proclaiming and singing. Second comes from Hebrews 13, verse 15 which says, “Through Him (that is through Jesus) then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” Now, the last mention of Christian worship in song is found in James 5 and verse 13, which says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.”
In each and every instance, the music described in Christian worship emphasizes verbal communication: singing, speaking, teaching, admonishing, making melody with your hearts, confessing, giving thanks, proclaiming, and the fruit of lips. The clear instruction of the New Testament is that we should sing from our hearts praise to God. Now, instruments of music cannot speak, teach, admonish, give thanks, praise, proclaim, confess, or make melody in your heart. Instruments of music fail to do any of these. And this is why they become additions; they go beyond the instructions of the New Testament.
Now, no reference to instrumental music is startling to me! Neither Jesus nor the apostles commanded them. The New Testament gives no example of churches using them in worship. You see God desires music of the mind and the spirit. God purposely did not include them.
You might wonder why we’re discussing instruments of music in Christian worship at all, because most people think churches have always used instruments of music in worship. And they’re surprised to find out that some churches today have never used instruments of music, and they begin to think that peculiar. Churches, however, didn’t always use instruments; and some churches, like the Orthodox churches, have never used instruments. The word a cappella is a reference to singing unaccompanied and what it means in Latin is “in the manner of the church.”
Early Christians actually rejected the use of instruments in worship. In fact, for several centuries they were adamantly opposed to using instruments of music in worship. Not until the thirteenth century did churches widely begin using instruments of music. Both Jews and Greeks used instruments in worship. And converts to Christianity surely knew this, but still Christians didn’t use harps or organs or anything else in their worship for centuries. They consciously said no, because they had no God-given reason to use them.
Dr. Everett Ferguson, who is an authority in the early church, said, “It’s quite late before there is evidence of instrumental music, first the organ, employed in the public worship of the church. And recent studies put the introduction of instrumental music even later than the dates found in reference books. It was perhaps as late as the tenth century when the organ was played as part of the service. This makes instrumental music one of the late innovations of the medieval Catholic Church.”
As late as 1250 AD, Thomas Aquinas said, “Our church does not use instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.” You see, he understood that harps were for Jews not for Christians. Instruments of music came along as an innovation brought in because people liked them, not because the New Testament gave instructions for them.
God has spoken to us in His Word. The Lord promised the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all the truth in John 16, verse 13. Well, “all the truth” means the New Testament teaches us everything God wanted us to know to have eternal life and to live the Christian life. Well, nothing is missing. And we shouldn’t imagine that God has forgotten something.
When God revealed all the truth, He intentionally stopped. Since God has revealed all the truth, He didn’t need to say any more. To add more or to pursue additional practices says to God that His teaching was not sufficient. So, how is God honored when men are not content and then decide to add practices to their worship? To start new practices, going beyond God’s teaching, is presumptuous. It fails to listen to God and does what it wishes.
The Lord said in John chapter 8, verses 31 and 32 that, “If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Christ here reveals one of the marks of a true disciple. A true disciple abides in the Word. He doesn’t add to it, take away from it, reinvent it, or change it. He stays in the boundaries of the teaching and instructions of the Word. The person who stays with the Word will know the truth, and the truth will set him free. When you leave the Word, you begin to tamper with the truth. You buy into half-truths and man-made religion.
Someone says, “Phil, don’t you know that David played the harp?” Yes, I am aware of passages like Psalm 150 and 2 Chronicles 29, verse 25. I also know that David lived a thousand years before Jesus Christ. David was not a Christian, and we’re exploring how Christians worshiped, not how the Israelites a thousand years before Jesus worshiped. We don’t offer animal sacrifices as David did. You see, David lived under the old covenant, while we live under the new covenant. According to 2 Chronicles 29:25, God approved of harps in the worship of the temple under the old covenant; but the New Testament never speaks of the use of instruments of music in Christian worship.
Some say the word “psalm” and the Greek word psallo, used in Ephesians 5:19 for “making music in the heart,” permits us to play instruments. And while it’s true that many years before the time of the New Testament the Greek word psallo meant to pluck on a string or play a harp, the word changed in its meaning over time. Well, how did this happen?
The Jews sang psalms with instruments in the temple but sang without them in the synagogue. Musical worship in the temple was limited to the Levites who had choirs and many instruments, but the worship of the synagogue had no musical instruments. From day to day, and Sabbath to Sabbath, in their homes and in the synagogues Jews regularly sang psalms for hundreds of years without any use of the harp.
So when the word psallo or the word psalm was used, they normally thought of singing the words of the song unaccompanied. It never occurred to early Christians, who know Greek better than we do, that these words psallo or psalmos meant that we should or could use instruments of music in our worship. If those words had pointed to instruments, why didn’t the early church use them? Why did the early church refuse to use them? Why did it take many centuries before someone started using them?
Others ask, “Well, Phil, aren’t people playing harps in heaven?” Yes, John’s visions found in the highly figurative book of Revelation speak of harps in heaven. Saints in heaven also wear crowns and cast them before the throne of God. Angels and people in heaven say many things in heaven that we’re not allowed to say on earth (2 Corinthians 12, verse 4). Heaven and earth are very different.
Our task is not to imitate what’s done in heaven but to be obedient to Jesus and His teachings in the New Testament. If harps in heaven means the church ought to play harps, why didn’t the apostles and the early church understand that they were supposed to play them? Why did they refuse to play them for centuries?
Someone says, “The Bible doesn't condemn playing an organ!” That’s true; it doesn’t say that. But neither does the Bible specifically condemn burning incense, or praying to Mary, or using roast lamb in the Lord’s Supper, or offering animal sacrifices today, or substituting sprinkling for immersion in baptism, or baptizing infants. My friend, just because the Bible doesn’t specifically condemn something doesn’t mean that God approves of it.
All of these things I’ve mentioned, just like using the instrument of music in worship, come not from God but were innovations of men. The right question is not “Where does the Bible condemn an instrument in worship?” but “Where does the Word of God authorize using instruments of music in Christian worship?” To act without God’s permission or instruction is presumptuous.
If the Bible were to include everything that God condemned, why it would be too large to carry. The Lord has chosen to instruct us in positive terms what His will is for our lives and our worship. He has shown us the way, which rules out all other ways. There is “one baptism” (Ephesians 4, verse 5); and that means there cannot be another approved baptism. The Bible says there is “one gospel” in Galatians 1, verses 6 to 9. Well, that means that all other gospels are condemned. The Bible says there is “one body” or church in Ephesians 4 and verse 4; and also we also know that from Ephesians 1:22 to 23. That means there cannot be other approved churches.
The specific instruction to sing means that one should sing. There’s no authority for us to add other forms of music. When God instructs us through His Word, He tells us what He wants. We shouldn’t expect God to exclude all other possibilities with a series of “don’ts.”
If I ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes at my favorite restaurant, I expect the waitress to bring just what I ordered. If she brought me liver and onions, I’d say to her, “Well, this is not what I ordered; I ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes.” Telling her what I specifically want excludes everything else. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if I had to go down the whole menu at the restaurant and tell her everything I don’t want? My friend, we should hear and do what God wants. Let’s pray. Father, may our worship to You always be acceptable and may we always listen to You in the context of what You want for Christian worship. This is our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen!
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24 to 27, the Lord told this story: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Wisdom is hearing God’s Word and doing it. Foolishness is hearing God’s Word but doing something else that you want to do. I can read clearly in the New Testament the Lord’s instructions about singing in worship. Not one word is said about using instruments of music in worship. They weren’t used in any church for hundreds of years. Now, let’s put singing in worship on one side and singing with instruments on the other. They’re different, aren’t they? Which one is wise and follows the Lord’s teaching and which one is foolish? Which is wise and which is foolish? Which does the Lord’s will and which is an innovation of man?
In the same way, we should come to God in faith and obedience. If there’s sin in your life and you’re not yet a Christian, a child of God, why not become one today. You can do so by believing Jesus is the Christ, by repenting of your sins, by confessing Jesus as the Son of God, and by being baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2 and verse 38). That’s how people became Christians according to the Scriptures, and how you can become one, too.
We hope that you’ve been blessed by today’s study of God’s Word. If you want to get into it a little more detail, we’re offering this free book of transcripts for the whole month of October. You can get one free. Just write to us to In Search of the Lord’s Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083; or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, you can call the Search office, and you can do it toll-free at 1-800-321-8633. Now, all of our programs also appear on our website; that’s www.searchtv.org. You can access them or download them in a printed, audio, or video format. We also now offer free study sheets to go along with our programs. And you can download them free from our website or call and request them. Ah, these study sheets will help you study God’s Word with us even more effectively.
Please attend worship at one of the churches of Christ in the area that’s served by this station. They love guests, and you’ll be glad that you visited. Maybe you want someone to come by and visit with you. Let us know and we will be glad to send somebody. We’re always happy to hear that people are watching the program. Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing; so keep searching the Word of God with us. God bless you and we love you from all of us at In Search of the Lord’s Way.
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