Are Mechanical Instruments Authorized in Worship?

Text: Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16
Series: Sermons 2001 Rewritten
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how biblical authority is established by what God commands, authorizes, and reveals.
2. Show from Genesis 6 and Leviticus 10 that God expects His people to respect what He specifies.
3. Demonstrate from the New Testament that the authorized music of Christian worship is singing.
4. Answer the argument that instruments are acceptable because the New Testament does not explicitly say, “Do not use them.”
5. Call the church to worship God according to apostolic doctrine, not preference, entertainment, or tradition.

Thesis

Mechanical instruments are not authorized in New Testament worship because Christ authorized singing, and faithful worship respects what God has specified instead of adding what He has not commanded.

Introduction.

1. The question is not whether mechanical instruments sound good. a. Many instruments can sound beautiful. b. Many sincere people enjoy them. c. The issue is not taste, talent, culture, or emotion.
2. The question is not whether instruments existed in the Old Testament. a. They did. b. They were used in temple worship under the Law of Moses. c. The church is not under the temple system, Levitical priesthood, or Mosaic worship order.
3. The real question is authority. a. Has Christ authorized mechanical instruments in the worship of the church? b. Has the New Testament instructed the church to use them? c. Can the church add them and still claim to be abiding in the doctrine of Christ?
4. If Scripture authorizes singing, then singing is what faith offers. a. Faith does not improve God’s command. b. Faith does not substitute man’s preference for Christ’s authority. c. Faith asks, “What has the Lord said?”

I. Biblical Authority Requires Respect for What God Specifies.

A. Noah teaches us that God’s command controls the work.

1. Genesis 6:14 says, “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood.” a. God specified the kind of structure. b. God specified the material. c. Noah was not free to build a raft, a tower, or an ark of another wood.
2. Genesis 6:15–16 gives measurements, a window, a door, and decks. a. God gave more than a general feeling. b. He gave instruction that limited Noah’s choices. c. Obedience meant doing what God said in the way God said it.
3. Genesis 6:22 gives the conclusion. a. “Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.” b. Noah did not ask whether another wood might float. c. Noah did not argue that God had never said, “Do not use pine.”

B. The Old Testament repeatedly warns against adding to God’s word.

1. Deuteronomy 4:2 says not to add to or take away from what God commanded. a. Israel was not free to edit revelation. b. God’s word was sufficient to govern obedience. c. Adding and subtracting were both violations.
2. Proverbs 30:6 says, “Do not add to His words or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.” a. Religious additions are not harmless. b. God does not need man to decorate His command. c. When man adds to God’s word, man becomes the problem.
3. Second John 9 applies the same principle under Christ. a. “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.” b. Going beyond Christ’s teaching is not spiritual maturity. c. It is loss of fellowship with God.

C. Leviticus 10 shows that unauthorized worship is serious.

1. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the LORD. a. Leviticus 10:1 says it was fire “which He had not commanded them.” b. The text does not say they offered it with open hatred. c. The text says they offered what God had not commanded.
2. God judged them. a. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD. b. They died before the LORD. c. God showed that worship is not governed by human creativity.
3. The lesson is not hard to see. a. God did not have to list every forbidden fire. b. He had already revealed what He required. c. When God specifies the act, faith does not add another act of the same class.

II. The New Testament Authorizes Singing in Christian Worship.

A. Jesus and the apostles sang.

1. Matthew 26:30 says, “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” a. The text says they sang. b. It does not say they played. c. The action named is vocal praise.
2. Acts 16:25 says Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. a. They were in prison. b. The prisoners were listening. c. Again, the action named is singing.
3. These passages show the simplicity of vocal praise. a. They are not the full congregational instruction passages. b. But they harmonize with the later commands. c. The New Testament pattern consistently names singing.

B. Ephesians 5:19 gives the church an authorized act.

1. The text says, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” a. Singing is not merely vertical expression to God. b. It also teaches and admonishes the church. c. The congregation participates with words that instruct.
2. The text says, “singing.” a. Singing is the act commanded. b. Mechanical playing is not the act named. c. Faith must respect the act the Spirit gave.
3. The text says, “making melody with your heart to the Lord.” a. The melody named in the text is made with the heart. b. The heart is the instrument God identifies in this passage. c. The command is spiritual, vocal, congregational worship.

C. Colossians 3:16 gives the same instruction.

1. The text says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” a. New Testament singing is word-filled. b. The content must be governed by Christ’s word. c. Worship is not measured by emotional impact alone.
2. The text says Christians teach and admonish one another. a. Singing teaches. b. Singing warns. c. Singing presses truth into the hearts of the saints.
3. The text says “singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” a. Again, the authorized action is singing. b. Again, the heart is named. c. Again, mechanical instruments are absent from the instruction.

III. The Common Arguments for Instruments Fail the Authority Test.

A. The argument from silence fails.

1. Some say, “The New Testament does not say we cannot use instruments.” a. That question starts in the wrong place. b. The faithful question is not, “Where did God forbid my preference?” c. The faithful question is, “Where did God authorize this act?”
2. Noah answers the silence argument. a. God did not say, “Do not use pine.” b. God did not say, “Do not build five decks.” c. God specified gopher wood and the structure He wanted.
3. Nadab and Abihu answer the silence argument. a. God did not have to name every unauthorized fire. b. The danger was offering what He had not commanded. c. Silence did not create permission.

B. The argument from Old Testament instruments fails.

1. David and the temple worship used instruments. a. That is true. b. It happened under the Mosaic system. c. The question is whether that authorizes the church under Christ.
2. The Old Testament also had animal sacrifices, incense, Levitical priests, and temple ritual. a. We do not bring those into the church simply because they existed before Christ. b. The Law has been fulfilled. c. The church must be governed by the doctrine of Christ and His apostles.
3. Hebrews 7:12 says a change of priesthood brings a change of law. a. Christ is not a Levitical priest. b. Christian worship is not temple worship restored. c. We must not lift one old covenant feature and ignore the covenant change.

C. The argument from preference fails.

1. Some argue instruments improve the singing. a. God did not ask whether man could improve His worship. b. The church has no right to replace authority with appeal. c. Worship is not authorized because it feels powerful.
2. Some argue instruments attract people. a. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. b. Entertainment may gather a crowd without converting a soul. c. The church must not bait people with unauthorized worship.
3. Some argue instruments are merely aids. a. A songbook aids singing without adding another kind of music. b. A pitch pipe may help begin singing without becoming the worship music offered. c. A mechanical instrument adds another kind of music to the worship action.

IV. Faithful Worship Must Abide in the Doctrine of Christ.

A. The faith has been delivered.

1. Jude 3 says the faith was “once for all delivered to the saints.” a. The church is not waiting for new doctrine. b. The church is not free to update worship by preference. c. The delivered faith must be defended.
2. Second John 9 says abiding in Christ’s teaching determines fellowship with God. a. The one who abides has both the Father and the Son. b. The one who goes beyond does not have God. c. That is too serious to treat worship as a playground for innovation.
3. Apostolic teaching governs the church. a. Acts 2:42 says the first Christians continued in the apostles’ teaching. b. They did not continue in entertainment. c. They did not continue in human additions.

B. Singing fits the spiritual nature of New Testament worship.

1. John 4:23–24 says true worshipers worship in spirit and truth. a. Worship must be sincere. b. Worship must also be governed by truth. c. Spirit without truth becomes emotional invention.
2. First Corinthians 14:15 says, “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” a. Singing involves the inner man. b. Singing involves understanding. c. Singing is not performance but spiritual participation.
3. Hebrews 13:15 speaks of the sacrifice of praise. a. It is “the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” b. The New Testament sacrifice of praise is verbal. c. The fruit of lips fits the command to sing.

C. The church must teach the next generation why we sing.

1. Children must not be told only, “We do not use instruments.” a. They need to know why. b. They need to understand authority. c. They need to see that worship belongs to God.
2. The issue is bigger than instruments. a. It is the same issue behind every unauthorized addition. b. Will the church let Christ rule? c. Will the church stay with apostolic doctrine?
3. Congregations drift when conviction is not taught. a. Habit without conviction dies quickly. b. Tradition without Scripture becomes fragile. c. Faithfulness requires teaching the text, the principle, and the application.

Application.

1. For the worshiper. a. Ask whether your worship is ruled by Scripture or by preference. b. Do not measure worship by what pleases you first. c. Worship is offered to God and must be authorized by God.
2. For the congregation. a. Keep singing congregational, spiritual, and word-filled. b. Do not turn worship into performance. c. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among the saints.
3. For teachers and parents. a. Teach authority from Genesis 6, Leviticus 10, Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3. b. Do not hand children a rule without the Scripture behind it. c. Build conviction before the world pressures them to compromise.
4. For anyone defending instruments. a. Show the New Testament authority. b. Do not appeal to silence, preference, or Old Testament temple practice. c. If Christ authorized singing, stay with singing.

Conclusion.

1. God specified what Noah was to build. a. Noah obeyed according to all God commanded. b. He did not add his own improvements. c. His faith respected God’s specification.
2. Nadab and Abihu offered what God had not commanded. a. Their worship was unauthorized. b. God judged it. c. Their example warns every generation.
3. The New Testament authorizes singing. a. Ephesians 5:19 commands singing and making melody in the heart. b. Colossians 3:16 commands singing with thankfulness in the heart. c. The church has no authority to add mechanical instruments to the worship God specified.
4. Faithful worship abides in the doctrine of Christ. a. Do not go beyond. b. Do not subtract. c. Do what the Lord commanded.

Invitation.

1. Hear the word. a. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
2. Believe Christ. a. John 8:24 warns that unless you believe that Jesus is He, you will die in your sins.
3. Repent. a. Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.
4. Confess Christ. a. Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.
5. Be baptized for the remission of sins. a. Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
6. Live faithfully. a. Revelation 2:10 calls the Christian to be faithful until death.

Word Study.

Scripture Interlock Table.