…how you would respond to one who says that mechanical instruments can have meaning according to 1 Corinthians 14:7-8? This passage was used by one who was responding to a brother who said that mechanical instruments don’t have meaning (the implication really was that mechanical instruments can’t teach or express a message according to what’s required in Ephesians 5:19-20 and Colossians 3:16). …Also, …commenting on whether a mechanical instrument, which conveyed a certain sound (whether rhythmic or not) that all understood as conveying the message of Ephesians 5:19-20 and Colossians 3:16, whether this would be an argument a person could use for justifying mechanical instruments of music in worship.
First Corinthians 14:7-8 reads, “Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?” (NKJV). The context in which these two verses appear addresses the necessity of teaching and preaching using words that can be understood by their auditors, rather than speaking in “tongues” or “languages” (Acts 2:5-11) that are unfamiliar to an audience. The references to instruments of music, that they make different sounds and that they could signal such things as “Charge!” or “Retreat!” are an illustration to teach that comprehension of divine instruction is necessary. Put as charitably as possible, lifting this illustration from its intended purpose by proponents of instrumental music in Christian worship is grasping at proverbial straws in their determined opposition to the clear teaching of Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.
Notice these two passages. “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).
Bear with me while I use an illustration. When driving my car, if I turn on my right turning signal, flashing lights on the exterior of my vehicle convey a message. The message expressed to all around me who may observe my automobile is that it is about to turn right. However, my turning signal, though it conveys a message, is incapable of “speaking” to anyone about the grandeur of heaven, the holiness of God or the Divine scheme for human redemption. Furthermore, my turning signal is not “singing,” and it is powerless for “teaching” or “admonishing” about prophecy and fulfillment, Christian living, and Christian service. My turning signal is extremely limited in what message it can relate to others in the vicinity of my car. Likewise, instruments of music fail in all of these areas: unable to speak, to sing, to teach and to admonish – unable to pass divine instruction along about any of the myriads of biblical subjects contained in God’s Word. Neither my turning signal nor instruments of music are able to express the details of God-given religion. That job is the exclusive responsibility of words.
