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Where In The Bible Will I Find... Instrumental Music Is Acceptable To God?
Gary Colley |
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To Israel, Isaiah said, “Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read...” (Isa. 34:16). The seeker is one who is searching for a desired object and realizes he must seek in the right place. The book of the Lord enters into our hearts by reading or hearing, and is the means of establishing saving faith (Rom. 10:17; Jn. 20:30-31). Paul urged Timothy to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Since the Bible is our only infallible standard of right and wrong, and since it is the only accurate source of information on how to please God, how important it is that we fully consider its contents! This is especially true in the worship we offer. Jesus declared that the true object of acceptable worship is God the Father, and that He must be worshipped “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). To worship Him “in truth” means to worship Him according to His revealed will which is truth (John 17:17). It is always in order to examine our practices in worship to be sure they are acceptable to the Lord. Most modern religions incorporate instrumental music into their worship. Is this authorized by and acceptable to God? We are not asking, “Is it pleasing to our ears? Do we like it? Does it entertain us? Does it allow us or our children to show our talents?” But, rather, we are asking, “Is this commanded by God in the truth? Are we authorized by Heaven’s Word to use instrumental music? Where in the New Testament can we find the Lord’s church, under inspired men, using instrumental music?” There’s no need for us to go to the Old Testament to “prove” we can use instrumental music in New Testament worship, since we are not under the Law of Moses today (Rom. 6:14; Col. 2:14-17). Instead of a New Testament command to “play,” we have a specific command to “sing” (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). These verses also make it clear that every worshipper is to “sing” in worship. That excludes solos, choruses, quartets, whistling, humming, etc. If instrumental music is being used where you attend, would you please ask your preacher for New Testament authority for the practice? |