This past week I was watching a denominational preacher on one of the various religion channels available on cable and satellite. What interested me in this particular lesson was how he addressed the use of the Old Testament. He acknowledged how he had been accused of taking Old Testament Scripture out of context to prove a point. As he tried to explain how the Old Testament fit into his New Testament theology, he explained, “We only make use of those teachings from the Old Testament that are repeated in the New Testament.” This got my attention. He seemed to be saying that if there is no authority for it expressed in the New Testament, they did not use the Old Testament for doctrine.
What I wondered, then, was why does his group appeal to the Old Testament in their use of instrumental music in worship? Yes, it was used in the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 25:1-7). However, there is no command, example or implication of its use in the church. Some would point to the book of Revelation where harps are mentioned (Revelation 5:8), but Revelation is a book of figures and symbols. As the bowls of incense mentioned in this passage are to be understood as the prayers of the saints, most likely the harps are symbolic of praise. However, what transpires before the throne of God in Heaven (Revelation 4:2) is not the same as what God has ordained for the worship of the church on earth.
In all the references to music by the Lord’s church in the New Testament, the term is to sing, and there is no mention of instrumental accompaniment. This pattern was true not just in the first century, but well beyond that time. As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, we are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, “making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). There is so much more that could be said, but suffice it to say, there is no authority in the pages of the New Testament for instrumental music. Obviously, while not appealing to the Old Testament to offer animal sacrifices today, to keep the dietary regulations it prescribed or to observe the feast days it commanded, many religious people use it to justify a practice that is not found in the covenant of Christ.
New Testament Scripture is clear that the death of Christ ended the covenant of the Law of Moses, establishing the Law of Jesus Christ in its place. Paul reminded the Ephesians of how Christ abolished “the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:15). The writer of Hebrews specifically said, “He then says, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He takes away the first to establish the second. By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time” (Hebrews 10:9-10).
It is an issue of authority, isn’t it? Peter said, “If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words” (1 Peter 4:11) or to speak with the authority of Scripture. Paul said the same thing to the church at Colossae. “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Everything must be done with His authority. We must be faithful to what Scripture teaches, the message of the Gospel, without adding to or taking from it (Matthew 16:19; Revelation 22:18-19). It’s one thing to say Scripture is our authority for all we say and do, but what if Scripture gets in the way of what we want to say or do? What if one doesn’t want to be immersed for the forgiveness of sin? What if one doesn’t want to give as he has prospered? What if one doesn’t want to assemble with the saints? What if one doesn’t want to be active in the work of the church? Jesus pointed out that it is not the one who claims Him to be Lord who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of the Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 7:21). Only Scripture is able to make us complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
May we truly seek to fully understand the will of God so that our lives will be blessed by Him and be acceptable to Him. May we have the honesty to examine ourselves to make sure we truly are living in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). We can know whether we’re pleasing Him or not. The question is whether we accept His authority in our lives, whether we submit to Him as Lord and whether we honesty and humbly seek His grace as He reveals in His word. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
