The question of the use of instruments of music (other than the human voice) in worship to God continues to plague sincere seekers of spiritual maturity in Christ. On the one hand, these students of the Word are cognizant that the Lord deplores unnecessary division in His body, the church (1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:1-16). They, wanting to be good neighbors and friends to other religious seekers, do not wish to be divisive but as tolerant and as accepting as God will allow. On the other hand, they know the need to submit willfully and fully to God’s authority. If division then comes, so be it (Romans 16:17-18; Luke 12:51-53; 1 Timothy 6:3-5).
The question of instrumental music then pits the conscientious between a love of friends and a love of God. If he accepts instrumental music in order to keep peace in the religious community, is he doing so with or without God’s approval? If he rejects it, is he binding the doctrines of men as commandments of God (Matthew 15:7-9)? The question of the instruments, then, is ultimately determined by the authority of God. Once the question of how God authorizes is understood, the question of instruments is understood as well.
God authorizes by general (generic) commands. When God says to do something but does not specify limitations, men are free to make choices. God commanded men to “Go” into the world to preach. He did not specify how. Men are thus free to go by boat, car, airplane or foot. The principle of respecting God’s silence forbids us to add any specifications that God did not provide Himself.
God also authorizes by specificity. When He said, “preach the Gospel,” He limited what should be preached (Mark 16:15-16). The philosophies of men are excluded by God’s silence on the matter. Angelology, astrology, evolutionism, humanism and atheism are never specifically mentioned (i.e., God did not say, “Do not preach…” all these things). Yet, when He said what to preach, He automatically excluded everything else. Common sense is the instructor in this principle of interpretation, often referred to as the “Law of Silence.”
The Law of Silence is biblically illustrated in Hebrews 7:14. Moses “spoke nothing” concerning the tribe of Judah in relationship to the priesthood. However, He had spoken that only Levites could be priests (Exodus 29; Numbers 8). Therefore, Judah, and all the other tribes were automatically excluded. If someone should object, “But God never said men from Judah could not be priests!” their objection would immediately be seen as childish and lacking basic logical prowess.
God authorizes certain practices in worship to Him, that such worship might be “in truth” (John 4:24). God has specified that praying and preaching are to be a part of worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 14:15, et al.). On Sundays, He authorized the Lord’s Supper and giving (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). So, what about music? God specified singing and making melody in the heart (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Such specificity leaves out, does it not, all other kinds of music. The music of God is to teach and admonish (Colossians 3:16). Nowhere in all the references to singing within the context of the New Testament church is any instrument other than the voice mentioned. Some object that the Old Testament and Revelation show examples of instrumental music. Neither of these encompasses the covenant under which Christians now live. The old law was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18; Galatians 3:24-25; Hebrews 8:6-13). Revelation depicts the future, glorified state of the church, not that on earth. Respect for common sense hermeneutical principles and the authority of the silence of God demands that only singing – verbal and volitional (1 Corinthians 14:15) be done in worship to God.
