Louis, Let me say that we do not sing during communion here in Williamsburg, so I am not trying to justify an ongoing practice. Having said that I am not sure your statement about a prohibition of doing two acts of worship at the same time is correct. Can we not sing and pray at the same time? What of songs such as “Lord, We Come Before Thee Now,” and other songs that are obvious prayers to the God of heaven? I am not jumping stiff-legged into the air over this, but I am not sure that such a strong prohibition can be made. We do many things that are not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, do we not? I know we have allowed for such things by the “necessary inference” part of an accepted hermeneutic, but there could be flaws when one is trying to make an “inference,” right? I really do appreciate your online GG and read it carefully during the course of the month. For Him, Bill Butterfield, Williamsburg, Virginia
Your kind words respecting Gospel Gazette Online are appreciated very much. I assure you that I do not intend to be contentious, especially beyond what sound exegesis of God’s Word warrants. Perhaps the following observations will clarify matters somewhat.
Singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” according to Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, is to be directed both to fellow Christians and to God. That fact hardly confuses the biblical distinction between prayers and singing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” There is still such a thing as prayer though songs are likewise directed to God; there is still such a thing as singing though prayer is directed to God. The lyrics of the “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” that are sung neither direct them more nor direct them less to God.
The biblical hermeneutic (or the fundamental feature of any communication) is correctly commands (or direct statements), approved examples and implications (which require necessary inferences). Each of these (CEI) equally manifests divine authority in religion. It is possible, of course, for one to draw invalid inferences from implications, though valid inferences from divine implications are desirable and possible.
What sets first century Christianity apart from whatever else tries to pass for Christianity has to do with authority in religion. Christians must ever be concerned with what is authorized in Scripture (Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11). We must content ourselves with not going beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus has all authority in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18 ASV), and he delegated authority to his apostles (Matthew 18:18) and other divinely inspired, first century persons (Luke 9:49-50; 17) who penned the New Testament (Luke, James, Jude).
