The Old Testament and Instrumental Music

Question:

Under "Our Practice" I was reading what the church of Christ thinks of singing. I attend a "non-denominational" church that is run just like a church of Christ. This is what is written in that section. Singing. One of the most unique items of our worship is our singing. It is done in A cappella. In other words, our singing is without instrumental accompaniment. Simply stated, this is why. We find no scriptural authority for the use of instrumental music in worship to God. We do however, find authority for singing; Ephesians 5: 19; Colossians 3:26,27. First off, there is no Colossians 3:26,27, and that leaves Ephesians 5:19. in Ephesians 5:19 it says to "speak to one another"-not God-"with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Well, if we go to the Psalms (27:6) "I will sing and make music to the Lord." This is David, a man after God's own heart saying this. Yet, there is supposedly no scriptural authority for the use of instruments. And now here is my question. Should we forget about the entire old testament or admit that we do things according to human creed as it says we won't in the "Our Doctrine" section? 

Submitted by DM on July 15, 1999..

Answer: (Given by Bro. Brian Tipton)

Thank you so much for pointing out the typographical error concerning the book of Colossians. That should have read Colossians 3:16, 17 and has been corrected. I would like to say that we use NO HUMAN CREEDS. We simply want to do what the Bible says because it is the revealed will of God to mankind.

It is very true that under the Old Testament, especially with David, instruments were used to worship God. The questions we must ask ourselves are: Are we under the Old Law today? Can we use it for our doctrine and religious practices today? If not, does the New Testament authorize the use of instrumental music? The Old Law Let's examine the relationship of the Old Law to the Christian. I will state my case this way (all scripture taken from NIV unless otherwise stated):

1) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Tim 3:16) - This includes all scripture.

2) Christ said that "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED." (Matt. 5:18 - KJV)

From the above 2 references we understand that all scripture is given by God. We also learn that Christ taught that no minute part of the law would pass until ALL WAS FULFILLED. The question is this: Does the New Testament indicate that ALL was fulfilled, and if so, does it indicate that the law is now obsolete to the Christian?

3) In Galatians Chapter 3, while Paul was condemning the Galatians for going back to the law, "trying to attain their goal by human effort" (Galatians 3:3 - NIV), he stated the following in verse 19: "What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise [see verse 16 for a discussion of the promised "seed" -bjt] referred had come." Paul gives the purpose of the law as 1) Added because of transgressions 2) Until the Seed of the Promise had come. Christ was the seed of that promise.

Paul continues in verses 23-25 "Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to LEAD US TO CHRIST that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Paul says that we were held prisoner by the law "UNTIL FAITH SHOULD BE REVEALED" (verse 23). Verse 25 says that that faith has come (not the tense of the verb, past tense) and that we ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAW.

Paul clearly teaches that:

a) The law was given because of transgressions. (Gal. 3:19) b) It was to lead us to Christ. (Gal. 3:24) c) It was added until the Seed had come. (Gal. 3:19) d) That seed was Christ and he has already come. (Gal. 3:25) e) The Law was added until faith should be revealed. (Gal 3:24) f) That faith has been revealed. (Gal. 3:25) g) We are no longer under the law. (Gal. 3:25)

4) The Book of Hebrews is a beautiful and wonderful book. If you have not taken the time to read it, I hope you will do so. The writers purpose was to show that Christ has become our eternal high priest. However, it brings out some interesting points concerning the Old Law.

In Chapter 7, the writer compares Christ to Melchizedek, the priest of God most High during Abraham's time. The Bible does not record Melchizedek's birth or death, and because of this, he is a timeless symbol (Heb. 7:3). In verse 18 and 19 of chapter 7, the writer says, "The former regulation [referring to the Old Law - see verse 11] is set aside because it was weak and useless. (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." Here, the Bible says that the FORMER REGULATION IS SET ASIDE (verse 18).

Beginning in Chapter 8, the writer talks about Christ being the mediator of a New Covenant. "But the Ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises." The Bible says that 1) The New Covenant that Christ mediates is "superior to the old one." 2) The New covenant is founded on better promises. (verse 6 for both 1&2) In verse 7 of the same chapter, the Bible says, "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another." The writer then quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34 which discusses the establishment of a New Covenant that God will establish (verse 10). At the end of the quote in verse 13, the writer says, "By calling this covenant 'new', he has MADE THE FIRST ONE OBSOLETE;"

In Chapter 9, verse 15 we learn that "Christ is the mediator of a new covenant". In verse 16, speaking of the new covenant, the Bible says, "In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died." Christ's new Covenant of which he is a mediator, went into force only after he died.

In 10:9b, the Bible says, "He sets aside the first [Old Law - Heb. 10:1] to establish the second." Clearly the FIRST WAS SET ASIDE TO ESTABLISH [the Greek word histemi is used for 'to establish', the word literally means, 'to cause to stand' ] The writer is saying that in order to establish the new covenant, to cause the new covenant to stand, the first was set aside.

From these verses and passages from the book of Hebrews we learn that:

a) The Law was "set aside because it was weak and useless" (Heb 7:18) b) The New Covenant is superior to the Old one. (Heb 8:6) c) The New Covenant is founded on better promises (Heb 8:6) d) The First Covenant was not perfect (Heb 8:7) e) The First covenant needed to be replaced (Heb 8:7) f) God would establish a New Covenant (Heb 8:10, Jer. 31:31-34) g) God called the New Covenant, 'new' (Heb 8:13) h) By calling it 'new', he has made the Old Law OBSOLETE (Heb 8:13) i) Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb 9:15) j) New Covenant went into affect after Christ's death (Heb. 9:16) k) The Old Law was set aside to establish the New Covenant (Heb 10:9)

5) In Colossians chapter 2, starting at the end of verse 13 and going on with verse 14, Paul says, "He [speaking of Jesus Christ] forgave us all our sins, having CANCELED THE WRITTEN CODE, with its regulations, that was against us and stood opposed to us; he TOOK IT AWAY, NAILING IT TO THE CROSS" Paul says that Christ took the law out of the way. When you nail something to the cross, it dies. Just as the Hebrew writer and the Galatian writer taught, the law is dead to us today because Christ nailed it to the cross in the sacrifice he made for us.

So then, what Law are we under? If we are not under the law of Moses, we must be under the law of Christ! (Gal. 6:2) We are not bound by a law or commandments from a law that has been made obsolete. We know that the law of Moses provided patterns for Man's behavior How men atoned for sin How men worshipped God. We are not under that law of Moses, but the law of Christ. The law of Christ also contains Patterns for our behavior Patterns on how our sins can be forgiven How we are to worship God. The law of Christ, that New Covenant, sets aside the law of Moses (Heb. 10:9) and ESTABLISHES a new covenant (Heb. 8:10).

If we, then, are not under the law of Moses, but under the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2), why then do some turn to the behavior of men who lived under the law of Moses to justify behavior patterns for those who live under the law of Christ? David was a good man, who sought after God's own heart. We must remember though that David lived under the law of Moses. We live under the law of Christ. It would, therefore, be no more appropriate to justify the behavior of Christians today by David's actions than to justify the burning of incense, the keeping of the Passover, the sacrificing of animals, or any other relic of the obsolete law of Moses (Hebrews 8:13).

I do not disavow passages of the Old Testament. They are holy and they were given to serve a purpose. They have done so. They are still helpful in bringing others to a full knowledge of who Christ is because of the prophecy concerning him and the establishment of Christ's kingdom, the church, on the day of Pentecost in AD 34. But the OT as law has been done away with, Christ himself blotting it out and nailing it to His cross. (Col. 2:14-16). Everything God has ever inspired to be written, we know is faithful and true. Remember, this admonition of God's inspiration even applies to the verses, written under divine guidance of the Holy Spirit, that make the law of Moses obsolete (Heb. 8:13) and places us solely under the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

Therefore, we know that the law would pass away when all was fulfilled. We know that one of the signs that 'all was fulfilled' would be that the jots and tittles would start to pass away. (Matt. 5:17-19). We also know that Paul taught that we are no longer under the law and that it was set aside because it was weak and useless (Heb. 7:18). Therefore, since even more than jots and tittles have fallen, we can rightly conclude that all was fulfilled. We are not under the law of Moses, but under the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Just as we, as citizens of the USA, cannot justify our civil behavior based on the laws of Mexico or Canada, as citizens of Christ's kingdom, we cannot justify our religious behavior based on the law of Moses when we are under the jurisdiction of the law of Christ.

Instrumental Music

So, since we cannot use the Old Testament to justify our current day worship practices and must use the New Covenant and the teachings of Christ to do so, let's look at four basic ideas that stem from the New Testament.

Let me give four, logical arguments for your consideration:

Argument 1:

1. Every scripture is given that the man of God may be furnished unto every good work. (II Timothy 3:16)
2. No scripture authorizes instrumental music in the worship today. (cannot be found)
3. Therefore, instrumental music in the worship today is not a good work.

Argument 2:

1. It is a violation of the Lord's will to go beyond the things that are written (I Cor. 4:6) 
2. Musical Instruments in New Testament worship have not be written. (cannot be found) 
3. Therefore, those who use instruments in worship today have violated the Lord's will by going beyond what was written.

Argument 3:

1. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
2. The word of Christ does not give us instrumental music in worship (cannot be found)
3. Therefore, instrumental music in worship is not an act of faith.

Argument 4:

1. God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)
2. What God has given does not mention instrumental music in New Testament worship. (cannot be found) 
3. Therefore, instrumental music in the worship today does not pertain to life and godliness.

As Christians, we must follow God's law and do things His way. He has given us all that pertains to life and Godliness. (2 Peter 1:3). We, therefore, do not need to add instruments to enhance our worship. In fact, adding instruments to our worship goes beyond what is written, is a sin.

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