Musical Instruments In Church? Why Not?

Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His powerful acts; praise Him for His abundant greatness. Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah! (Psalm 150) (HCSB)

Two or three years ago, I was looking at some different websites studying about worship when I came across an interesting Bible study about worship and music in the church. It was a well-organized website divided into several studies on worship, and I really enjoyed reading through it until I realized that there was an emphasis on musical instruments--that is, that instruments should not be used in church worship services. In fact, the site went as far as to state that if you played instruments in worship services that you were in danger of hell fire! You can imagine how that went over with me since I've been playing piano and saxophone in church since about age 12! At that point I realized that the site was sponsored by the Church of Christ or someone proclaiming to be a member of the Church of Christ. I emailed the guy a couple of times and tried to express my concerns, but he just seemed to reply back with an attitude of "who gave you the authority to play instruments in church? How dare you!, etc." Now, let me make it clear that I have some good Christian friends that are members of the Church of Christ, and I respect their beliefs. I don't mean to condemn them, but only to express why I believe the way that I do. Most of them will say that they don't use musical instruments in church because there's no mention of them in the New Testament, and since we're no longer under the Law and the old covenant, that the scripture in the Old Testament, which specifically speaks of instruments in worship, doesn't apply to us today.


There's just one problem with that: I ain't buying it. I guess it's a good thing that I'm a Baptist! I believe that Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and in that sense we are no longer under the old covenant, because Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the old sacrificial worship system which was in place in Jerusalem once and for all. But that doesn't mean that we should throw out all the old testament scripture about worship!


I know that most of the references to worship in the New Testament speak of singing, for example(Eph. 5:19, Mk. 14:26), but I don't believe that means we are only to use our voices in worship. I think that the N.T. writers had more pressing and important things to write about than whether we should use instruments are not. They may have just assumed that everyone knew that instruments were acceptable for worship because of what the Old Testament says about them. I think that if it was really that important (important enough that you might be in danger of hellfire) that God would have made it plain and clear. For example, I think that we would have several passages explaining that instruments are forbidden. Instead, what I find is that the O.T. has many references to instruments being used in worship and nowhere in the N.T. does it say that we shouldn't use them. Besides that, I believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb. 13:8) It would be a contradiction to say that God permitted instruments in worship in the O.T. and prohibits them in the N.T.! The Bible also says that God is not like man; He doesn't dhange His mind. (1 Sam. 15:29)

Let's take a glimpse at a few of the old testament passages regarding musical instruments and the instruments named or implied in the New American Standard Bible:

• Ex. 15:20--timbrel
• Lev. 25:9--horn
• Numbers 10:1-10--trumpets
• Judges 7:16-22--300 trumpets
• 2 Sam. 6:5--all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals
• 2 Sam. 6:15--trumpet
• 1 Kings 10:12--lyres and harps
• 1 Chron. 15:16--harps, lyres and cymbals
• 1 Chron. 15:19--cymbals
• 1 Chron. 15:20--harps
• 1 Chron. 15:21--lyres
• 1 Chron. 15:24--trumpets
• 1 Chron. 15:28--horn, trumpet, cymbals, harps and lyres
• 1 Chron. 16:42--trumpet and cymbals, instruments for the songs of God
• 1 Chron. 23:5--4,000 Levites praising the Lord with the instruments David made for giving praise
• 1 Chron. 25:1-- lyres, harps and cymbals
• 1 Chron. 25:3--harp
• 1 Chron. 25:6--cymbals, harps and lyres
• 2 Chron. 5:12--cymbals, harps, lyres and trumpets
• 2 Chron. 5:13--trumpet, cymbals and instruments of music
• 2 Chron. 7:6--instruments of music, trumpets
• 2 Chron. 9:11--lyres and harps
• 2 Chron. 15:14-trumpets, horns
• 2 Chron. 23:13--trumpets, musical instruments
• 2 Chron. 29:25--cymbals, harps and lyres
• 2 Chron. 29:26--musical instruments of David, trumpets
• 2 Chron. 29:27--trumpets, instruments of David
• 2 Chron. 29:28--trumpets
• Ezra 3:10--trumpets and cymbals
• Neh. 12:27--cymbals, harps and lyres
• Neh. 12:35--trumpets
• Neh. 12:36--instruments of David
• Ps. 33:2--lyre, a harp of ten strings
• Ps. 33:3--play skillfully
• Ps. 47:5--trumpet
• Ps. 57:8--harp and lyre
• Ps. 68:25--the musicians went after the singers
• Ps. 81:2--tambourine, lyre, harp
• Ps. 81:3--horn
• Ps. 92:3--ten-stringed lute, harp, lyre
• Ps. 98:5--lyre
• Ps. 98:6--trumpets, horn
• Ps. 108:2--harp and lyre
• Ps. 147:7--lyre
• Ps. 148:3--timbrel and lyre
• Ps. 150:3-5--trumpet, harp, lyre, timbrel, stringed instruments, pipe, cymbals
• Amos 6:5--harp

I find it interesting that several references are found about the instruments of David. Now I'm not sure exactly what these instruments were, but David apparently thought that instruments played an important role in our worship of God. It's also recorded that King Solomon, David's son, made instruments for worship. (1 Kings 10:12, 2 Chron. 9:11) You know, Samuel spoke of David as a "man after God's own heart"! (1 Sam. 13:14)(NIV) He obviously played the harp (1 Sam. 16:23) and even made or at least supervised the making of 4,000 musical instruments for use in worship. (1 Chron. 23:5) That's alot of instruments! How many symphony orchestras could you make with that?


This same website I mentioned also referred to church choirs being not biblical. While I agree that worship should not be a performance or just entertainment for the congregation, I believe that choirs can be "instrumental" (please pardon the pun) in leading a congregation into worship, and in exalting the Savior. As a matter of fact, you know the voice is a musical instrument in itself. And I found evidence in God's Word that choirs or singers are indeed important and can be a powerful weapon in worship:


Singers accompanied by musical instruments:

(1 Chron. 15:16)(HCSB) Then David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers and to have them raise their voices with joy accompanied by musical instruments--harps, lyres, and cymbals.

(2 Chron. 23:13)(HCSB) As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by thi king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise.

2 Great Choirs leading worship procession at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem:

(Neh. 12:27,31)(NASB) Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres. ---Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, ...


A Choir leading Israel into battle:

(2 Chron. 20:21-22)(NASB) And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.

In the book of Revelation we have a scene from heaven, and amidst all the glorious sights, what do we find but mention of a musical instrument! (Rev. 15:2)(NASB) And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. So it would appear that instruments are used for worship in heaven.


So to sum it all up, to put it in a nutshell as my pastor likes to say; I don't believe there is any evidence in the Bible to support the idea that if you play a musical instrument or sing in the choir in church, that you're committing some kind of unpardonable sin. In fact, I believe that God created music and musical instruments, and that He smiles down on His children who sing and play music for His glory and in worship of Him. I think it's a shame that many fine instrumentalists that I've known and grown up with belong to a denomination that won't allow them to use those musical gifts for God's glory! And I don't know about you, but I would rather be a "man after God's own heart" than someone who thinks you're going to hell for playing your trumpet or saxophone or whatever for God in church! If musical instruments were OK with King David, and they're OK with God, then they're OK with me! How about you?


Joey C.

Benefits Of A Forgiving God

(Ps 103:1-2)(HCSB) My soul, praise the Lord, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits.

Because of God's great goodness to us, and because of His unimaginable forgiveness, we can have so many wonderful benefits. I know that some of you who are reading this may have things in your life or things that you've done in the past that you think God could never forgive you for. You may feel that you're too far gone or too bad to ever be accepted by God. That's exactly what the devil wants you to think. He loves telling you lies like that because after all he is the father of lies. But I'm here to let you know that you're dead wrong, because I've experienced His forgiveness---it's real! He will forgive you if you confess and repent because He's faithful and just. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9)(HCSB)
In fact the Bible teaches us that God forgives and forgets. For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin. (Jer. 31:34)(HCSB) So let's take a look at some of the benefits we have from our forgiving God that we find in Psalm 103:3-18.

1. He forgives all your sin. (v.3a)
2. He heals all your diseases. (v.3b)
3. He redeems your life from the Pit. (v.4a)
4. He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. (v.4b)
5. He satisfies you with goodness. (v.5a)
6. Your youth is renewed like the eagle. (v.5b)
7. The Lord executes acts of righteousness. (v.6)
8. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and full of faithful love. (v.8)
9. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. (v.9)
10. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses. (v.10)
11. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. (v.11)
12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (v.12)
13. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. (v.13)
14. But from eternity to eternity the Lord's faithful love is toward those who fear Him, and His righteousness toward the grandchildren of those who keep His covenant, who remember to observe His instructions. (v.17-18)

Our great God is so loving and forgiving that we gain many extraordinary benefits that those who don't know the Lord will unfortunately never have. Just some more reasons to worship and praise His name!
Joey C.