Worshiping God in Song
Ephesians 5:19
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19)
So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. (1 Corinthians 14:15)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)
1st Century
"There is no record in the NT of the use of instruments in the musical worship of the Christian church" (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, p. 1163).
"Whatever evidence is forthcoming, is to the effect that the early Christians did not use musical instruments" (William Smith & Samuel Cheetham, A Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, London: John Murray, 1880, II, p. 1365).
2nd 3rd & 4th Centuries
Tertullian (c. A.D. 150-222) spoke of those who contended that "the thing which is not forbidden is freely permitted." He replied: "I should rather say that what has not been freely allowed is forbidden" (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995, Vol. III, p. 94).
Chrysostom ( 380 AD) had to disclaim against the secularization of church music. More lasting was the opposition to the introduction of instrumental accompaniment." (John Kurtz, Church Music)
5th - 8th Centuries
Lyman Coleman, an outstanding Presbyterian scholar, wrote, "Both the Jews in their temple service and the Greeks in their idol worship were accustomed to sing with the accompaniment of instrumental music. The converts to Christianity must have been familiar with this mode of singing, but it is generally admitted that the primitive Christians employed no instrumental music in their religious worship."
The American Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, p. 688 says, "Pope Vitalian is related to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of Western Europe about 670; but the earliest trustworthy account is that of one sent as a present to the Greek Emperor Constantine Copronymous to Pepin, king of the Franks, in 755."
9th - 14th Centuries
The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, in an article by J. M. Brown, page 852, adds, "That instrumental music was not practiced by primitive Christians is evident from church history. The organ was first introduced into the church service by Marianus Sanatus in the year 920; and the first that we know in the West was one sent to Pepin by Constantine Copronymous about the middle of the eighth century."
Archaeologists are generally agreed that instrumental music was not used widely in churches till a much later date; for Thomas Aquinas, A.D. 1250, has these remarkable words: "Our Church does not use musical instruments. . ."
History Speaks
The several general periods of religious history, from the close of the New Testament until the present, have been searched many times from many viewpoints. These searches yield one significant fact, which is clear and unassailable: Instrumental music in worship within the church professing did not emerge until hundreds of years after the close of the New Testament.
John Calvin, the founder of a significant strain of the reformed churches, in his Commentary on the Twenty-Third Psalm, said, "Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law."
John Wesley, founder of Methodism, puts it this way, "I have no objection to the organ in our chapel, provided that it is neither seen nor heard."
The "Little" Word that Means So Much
Psallo
"The word psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, or to sing with the accompaniment of a harp. Later, however, and in the New Testament, it came to signify simply to praise without the accompaniment of an instrument" (Vine)
In his popular work, Word Meanings in the New Testament, Ralph Earle comments on psallo in Ephesians 5:19. "Making melody" is one word in Greek, psallontes. The verb psallo meant first to strike the strings of a harp or lyre. Then it meant to "strike up a tune." Finally it was used in the sense "to sing" (p. 333).
Word Meanings
The meaning of certain words can and do change over time. One example from modern English will suffice as an example of this, gay. The Greeks experienced this with psallo. The first meaning of the word psallo was used as an archery term meaning to pluck the string of a bow. Later this word was used in reference to plucking the strings of an instrument. But sometime around the first century the meaning changed to simply sing without accompaniment.
Another word of interest is acappella. This word came into use in the late centuries to describe singing without accompaniment. The actual definition of acappella is "in the manner of the church."
Silence
One of the major debates in religion concerns the issue of silence. What do we do when the bible is silent concerning an issue? Some say, "Whatever is not authorized if forbidden." Others say, "Whatever is not forbidden is authorized." The two sides have never given in and the debate continues. Fact: No scripture in the New Testament authorizes the use of instruments in worship. Fact: No scripture in the New Testament directly forbids the use of instruments in worship. Man has tried and failed to rectify the issue of instrumental music in worship using word studies and the silence issue. They often fall on deaf ears leaving us right back where we started. However, Jesus has left us with teachings that help us clear up this issue.
Tradition
Mark 7:1-13
1The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and 2saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. 3(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. 5So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with "unclean" hands? 6He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. 8You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. 9And he said to them: You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. 11But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.
Here, Jesus spoke against tradition that set "aside" or "nullified" the word of God. Traditions are those things we do or practice for which we do not have express commands or precedent in the New Testament. Tradition, in the confines of the church, and its practices have been and will continue to be a focal point of concern for all who profess the call to restore the church to its original form according to the New Testament scripture. While having traditions is not wrong, we must always be careful that we do not fall into the trap of binding these traditions where God has not bound.
Jesus was saying traditions are wrong if they contradict Scripture, or we bind them as an article of faith or practice as a spiritual obligation or standard. Jesus prayed for the unity of believers. Any tradition that makes void this unity is inherently wrong.
Toward Unity
Christians will have a variety of beliefs and practices, but the church may require, as articles of faith and practice, only those items as old as the New Testament. Honest scholarship and study shows that instrumental music played no part in 1st Century worship. Instrumental music in worship is a tradition instituted by man and is not of divine origin. Arguments from the scripture as to the commands to sing and make melody in your heart often fall on deaf ears. The reply being "I do sing and make melody in my heart the instrument only enhances it." Where we end up is evident. Everyone believes he is right in his activity. However, let’s remember our precept: Traditions are wrong if they: 1. Contradict Scripture, or 2. Bind as an article of faith or practice a tradition as a spiritual obligation or standard. Instrumental music is a tradition that man has added to worship, no one can deny this fact. It is also a fact that man must worship God on the first day of the week as commanded in the scripture. Therefore to follow the tradition of having instruments of music in worship binds as an article of practice a tradition as a spiritual obligation. If one enters a church building to worship and finds instrumental music being used he has only one of two options, he can either leave and forsake the command of God to worship Him or stay and be forced to partake in a tradition in order to fulfill his spiritual obligation. Thomas Campbell writes, "Nothing ought to be received into the faith or worship of the Church, or be made a term of communion among Christians, that is not as old as the New Testament."
Unity
Can God’s people not get along? Where God has commanded let us follow. Where God is silent let us not bind our opinions on others. Is it too much to ask that for one day a week we all forget our opinions and traditions and worship God together in the way he has revealed. Instrumental music in worship has caused disunity among believers for far to long. Why can God’s people not decide to get along for one, two or three hours a week and lay aside their instruments? We can worship God acceptably without them and Jesus prayer for unity would be fulfilled.
Toward Unity,
Mitchell Skelton
Minister, Midway church of Christ
http://www.TheLordsWay.com/Midway
email: mskelton@tds.net
