Eighteen years ago today, Dr. Thrasher and I debated each other for the first time on the issue of Instrumental Music in the Church. Today I present Dr. Thrasher's First Affirmative in our 2012 written debate on the same subject.
Thomas Thrasher First Affirmative
My
friend Jason and I, along with all who read this discussion, are blessed with
the privilege to study what the Bible
teaches. This is especially significant in view of the Bible’s warning: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ
does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father
and the Son” (2 John 9, NKJV).
As I begin my affirmation of the proposition (“The
Bible teaches that the use of mechanical instruments of music in New Testament
worship is without Divine authority.”), it is my duty to identify the issue so
that we all understand the point of contention. The standard for evaluating the
arguments offered by Jason and me is the Bible, God’s inspired truth—especially
the New Testament of Jesus Christ (Matthew
26:28; Hebrews 9:15; 12:24). The Old Testament Law has been “nailed
… to the cross” (Colossians 2:14); it
“is taken away in Christ” (2 Corinthians
3:14); those “who attempt
to be justified by” it “have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4). There has been a “change of the law” by God’s
design (Hebrews 7:12).
Consequently, I will demonstrate that
the New Testament teaches God’s people are to sing praises to Him (e.g., Ephesians
5:19; Colossians 3:16; Acts 16:25), and nowhere authorizes us to use “mechanical
instruments of music in New Testament worship”! To clarify, “mechanical instruments” include such
things as a piano, organ, guitar, trumpet, violin, harp, or other devices that
produce music. “Music” is defined as “the art and science of combining vocal or
instrumental sounds or tones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre,
especially so as to form structurally complete and emotionally expressive
compositions” (Webster’s New Twentieth
Century Dictionary of the English Language, 1976, p. 1184).
The New Testament establishes the principle
that we should practice only those things that are authorized. 1 Peter
4:11, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God….” Colossians 3:17, “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.”
New Testament authority is complete!
We have all truth (John 16:13; 14:26). We have all that
pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter
1:3). We are to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude
3).
Furthermore, we are limited to what has been revealed! We must not accept the preaching of a so-called
apostle or angel in place of it (Galatians
1:6-9). We must not exalt any man
above it (1 Corinthians 4:6). We must
not transgress it (2 John 9). We must not add to or take away from it (Revelation 22:18-19).
To illustrate this idea, let us examine New
Testament authority as it relates to the elements in the Lord’s Supper
Where Is N.T. Authority?
Bread & Fruit of the Vine Roast Lamb
Matthew 26:26-29 Where
Mark 14:22-25 Is
Luke 22:17-20 The
1 Corinthians
10:16
Scripture
1 Corinthians
11:23-28 ???
In The Lord’s Supper
Remembering the Lord’s death in the
manner He commanded requires eating the bread
and drinking the fruit of the vine:
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord
Jesus on the same night in
which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it
and said, ‘Take,
eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after
supper, saying, ‘This
cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Every passage
mentioning the elements of the Lord’s Supper specifies the bread and the cup (that
is, the fruit of the vine).
I contend, therefore, that we are
limited to these elements specified by the Lord. We would not be authorized to add or substitute roast lamb or some other
element. Jason accepts this principle. In Question #4 I asked, “What elements are authorized for use in
the Lord's Supper?” Jason answered, “Unleavened
bread (Matt. 26:17, 26) and fruit of the vine (Matt. 26:27-29).”
However, when we apply the same principle to music in
worship, what do we find?
Singing is the only kind of
music God has authorized in New Testament worship!
Where Is N.T. Authority?
Singing
Mechanical
Instruments
Acts 16:25 Where
Romans 15:9 Is
1 Corinthians 14:15 The
Ephesians 5:19 Scripture
Colossians
3:16
???
Hebrews 2:12
James 5:13
In New Testament Worship
Acts
16:25, “Paul
and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God.” Romans 15:9, “I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.” 1
Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing with the spirit,
and I will also sing with the
understanding.” Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16, “Teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord.” Hebrews 2:12, “In the midst of the assembly [church] I will sing praise to You.” James
5:13, “Is
anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” In each case we find the first century
Christians sang, but we never read that they played on mechanical instruments
in worship.
One important distinction that people
often fail to make is between generic
and specific authority.
Generic or Specific?
Command Generic Specific
Build Ark Wood
Gopher
Genesis 6:14
Wash Water Jordan
2 Kings 5:10-14
Go Wash Water Siloam
John 9:7
Sing Music Sing
Colossians 3:16
Ephesians 5:19
When God commanded Noah to build the
ark, He did not give him a general command to make the ark out of wood. If He had done that, then Noah
would have been authorized to use any
kind of wood (e.g., oak, cedar, redwood, gopher, etc.). However, what God commanded
was “make yourself an ark of gopher wood”
(Genesis 6:14). God’s command was specific as to the kind of wood to be
used. Therefore, Noah was not authorized
to use oak, cedar, redwood, or any other kind of wood besides “gopher wood”! A generic (or general)
command authorizes any kind within the category (“wood”), but a specific
command authorizes only the
particular kind indicated (“gopher wood”). When Noah followed God’s directions
(including using gopher wood as opposed to some other kind of wood), the Bible
states: “Thus Noah did; according to all
that God commanded him, so he did” (Genesis
6:22; cf. 7:5).
Similarly, God’s prophet Elisha told Naaman
the leper, “Go and wash in the Jordan
seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean” (2 Kings 5:10). The place to wash was specific (the Jordan River), not
generic (water). This is confirmed when Naaman proposed washing in some other
water (the Abanah or the Pharpar). These were not authorized in Elisha’s
command. If the command had been simply “go wash in water” (a generic command:
“water”), the Abanah or Pharpar would have been authorized. However, the command
specified “Jordan,” so no other water was authorized for this washing. It was
not until Naaman “went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to
the saying of the man of God” (5:14)
that his leprosy was cleansed. Naaman had no right to generalize what God’s messenger had specified!
Likewise, with regard to N.T.
worship, God has authorized us to “sing”
(Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; etc.), as we have already seen. Singing is specific with respect to the kind of
music; playing upon a mechanical instrument is another kind of music. If God had only said, “Make music [generic] in NT worship,” then a piano, organ, or guitar
would have been included in the generic command. However, when God specified singing in NT worship, then playing
upon mechanical instruments was excluded as an addition to God’s word (2 John
9; Revelation 22:18).
The Lord observed concerning the
worship that some people offer, “And
in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew
15:9). The Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, has repeatedly condemned
the practice of adding to God’s law.
Deuteronomy 4:2, “You
shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may
keep the commandments of the Lord your God
which I command you.” Numbers
22:18, “Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of
Balak, ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could
not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to
do less or more.’” Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every
word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their
trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a
liar.” Revelation 22:18-19, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of
this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that
are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book
of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the
holy city, and from the things
which are written in this book.” Consequently, we must not add pianos, organs,
guitars, trumpets, and other mechanical instruments of music to the singing authorized in New Testament
worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Acts 16:25)! To transgress the
doctrine of Christ is sin! 2 John 9,
“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not
have God.” 1 John 3:4, “Sin is the
transgression of the law.”
Lest some think that adding
mechanical instruments (without NT authority!) is a minor matter, let me remind
us of a few Bible events that overthrow this notion. “Nadab and Abihu, the sons
of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and
offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1-2). Violating God’s command was punished severely!
Disobedience was not a little matter! When the ark of the covenant was being
transported on a cart instead of the manner that God had commanded, the Bible
records, “When they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it [contrary to God’s
instructions!], for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God
struck him there for his error;
and he died there by the ark of God”
(2 Samuel 6:6-7). God’s response
demonstrates Uzzah’s violation was a serious matter!
Singing is the Only Kind of Music
God Has Authorized in N.T. Worship!
Acts
16:25 Singing
Romans
15:9 Sing
1
Corinthians 14:15 Sing
Ephesians
5:19 Singing
Colossians
3:16 Singing
Hebrews
2:12 Sing
James
5:13 Sing
“Therefore by Him let us continually
offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His
name.”—Hebrews 13:15
Consequently, if we are conscientious
about serving the Lord acceptably and worshipping Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), we should sing in our worship to God and not play upon mechanical instruments of
music that have been added without His authority.
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