A dedicated teacher, in a Sunday morning Bible class of high school students, was emphasizing that Paul’s phrase "sound doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:3), among other things, prohibits instrumental music in Christian worship. A student spoke up, "I don’t see any harm in instrumental music." He is honest, and is to be commended for expressing his belief.

But honest people can be wrong: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is death" (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). A wise person turns to "the Scriptures" to find what is "true" (Acts 17:11, NIV).

I. "NO HARM IN INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC"

1. In the days of Jesus, the Jews washed their hands before eating a meal, not for cleanliness, but as a religious ceremony. An honest person could truly say, "I don’t see any harm in handwashing," but God said, "in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9, NKJV), or "They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men" (Matthew 15:9, NIV).

2. When a worshiper enters a church building, and walks up to a basin of "holy water" (hydrant water plus olive oil and salt), and dips his finger into it, and makes the sign of the cross by touching his forehead and then each of his breasts, a passerby could say, "I don’t see any harm in the holy water ceremony." But someone should ask, "Is the holy water ceremony among the ‘commandments’ or ‘rules taught by men’ or by God?"

3. When a worshiper holds a string of beads (called a "rosary") in his hands as he prays, one could say, "I don’t see any harm in holding a string of beads in praying." But someone should ask, "Is the use of a rosary among the ‘commandments’ or ‘rules taught by men’ or by God?"

4. The lighting of prayer candles in church services or at funerals is done by sincere people. One could say, "I don’t see any harm in lighting prayer candles." But someone should ask, "Is lighting prayer candles among the ‘commandments’ or ‘rules taught by men’ or by God?"

5. Kneeling in a church building before an image of Jesus or of Mary or of Joseph is done by sincere people. One could say, "I don’t see any harm in kneeling before an image." But should someone ask, "Is kneeling before an image among the ‘commandments’ or ‘rules taught by men’ or by God?"

6. Millions of dedicated parents make sure that their babies are sprinkled with water by a priest. One could say, "I don’t see any harm in sprinkling water on babies." Butshould someone ask, "Is sprinkling water on babies among the ‘commandments’ or ‘rules taught by men’ or by God?"

7. At Jesus’ last Passover meal on the table was a lamb "roasted in fire, with unleavened bread," and, as a beverage, "the fruit of the vine" (Exodus 12:8; Matthew 26:29). If Christians today add to the "unleavened bread" and "the fruit of the vine" a leg of roasted lamb as part of the Lord’s Supper, one could say, "I see no harm in adding roasted lamb." Would such a service be among the "commandments" or "rules taught by men" or by God?

8. The aroma from burning incense is pleasant, and in the home is certainly harmless. As an act of worship is incense burning among the "commandments" or "rules taught by men" or by God?

9. But, someone says, "Instrumental music is such a natural accompaniment to singing, no harm can be in it." Similarly, one could say that "roasted lamb is such a natural accompaniment to bread and drink, no harm can be in adding it to the Lord’s Supper."

10. But, someone says, "To object to instrumental music is such a little matter no harm can be in it." Similarly, one could say that "handwashing is such a little matter no harm can be in it."

11. But, someone says, "Instrumental music is only an aid to the singing, and so no harm is in its use." In the Old Testament instrumental music was not looked upon as an aid, but as part of the worship:

Moreover, in today’s worship services, instrumental music is often heard, not as an aid to singing, but all by itself. And, when it accompanies singing, instead of being an aid, John Calvin wrote that it takes the "thought of the congregation from the words of the hymn."

12. But, someone says, "If instrumental music is a sinful addition to Christian worship, so is the use of a tuning fork or a pitch pipe." On the contrary, a tuning fork or a pitch pipe is truly an aid to the singing: singing cannot be done until the song leader gets the right pitch.Furthermore, the tuning fork or pitch pipe is not a musical instrument. It cannot make music, and it stops before the worship in song begins. Someone has said that the tuning fork or pitch pipe has such respect for the worship as God wants it that it gets quiet and stays quiet while the song is being sung.

13. But, someone says, "If instrumental music is a sinful addition to Christian worship, so are church buildings, carpets, pews, lights, pulpits, baptisteries, etc." None of those things adds anything to God’s teaching about worship, but only assist in doing what he has ordered.

14. But, someone says, "Where is any verse of Scripture that prohibits instrumental music?" Similarly, one could say, "Where is any verse of Scripture that prohibits holy water, a rosary, prayer candles, kneeling before an image, sprinkling a baby, burning incense, lamb in the Lord’s Supper.

15. But, someone says, "Instrumental music was commanded by God in the Old Testament." True (2 Chronicles 29:25), and so were animal sacrifices (Leviticus 16:1-19) and dancing (Psalm 150:4), but the Old Testament has been "nailed" to "the cross" (Colossians 2:14), and Christians are "dead to the law" (Romans 7:4).

16. But, someone says, "Instrumental music will be in heaven, and so why not in the church here on earth?" Even if literal, earthly "harps and golden bowls full of incense" and "a sea of glass" and a physical "Lamb" and a "street" of "pure gold" (Revelation 5:8; 14:1-2; 15:2; 21:21) will be in heaven, should we in the church here on earth install "harps and golden bowls full of incense"?

II. A CERTAIN GREEK WORD

But someone says, "A certain Greek word, psallo, demands instrumental accompaniment to the singing." Alas! Does one have to know Greek in order to worship God acceptably?

Furthermore, if "a certain Greek word, psallo, demands instrumental accompaniment to the singing," one wonders why the Greek Catholic Church (100 million members) does not use instrumental music in its worship services. One of their members (a graduate student at Harvard University, talking to Everett Ferguson) gave two reasons why "we do not use instrumental music": "it is not in the New Testament and it is contrary to the nature of Christian worship."

Thus one who knows the Greek language says that there "is not in the New Testament" a certain word that demands instrumental accompaniment to singing. Furthermore, if there were a word in the Greek New Testament that demands instrumental accompaniment to singing, one wonders why all the popular English translations have omitted it. One reads through the New Testament (260 chapters, 7,959 verses, 181,253 words in the KJV) and finds no reference to instrumental accompaniment to singing.

Furthermore, those who have said that psallo demands an instrumental accompaniment to singing themselves will tell you that they can worship acceptably without the accompaniment. Such is a strange position to take if the New Testament demands the accompaniment. A demand is not optional.

In addition, if psallo demands instrumental accompaniment, then each worshiper must play on his individual instrument as well as do his own singing. Worship is an individual action between a human being and his God. No one can worship God by proxy, having a choir to do his singing and a piano player to do his playing. If that certain Greek word has two actions wrapped up in it, singing and playing, each Christian is commanded to do both.

The second reason the Greek Orthodox graduate student gave for his church’s excluding instrumental music is because "it is contrary to the nature of Christian worship." That Christian worship forbids anything mechanical was well brought out by two Episcopalian scholars, whose church uses instrumental music, Conybeare and Howson, in their comments on Ephesians 5:18-19. They saw a fourfold contrast between "the heathen and the Christian practice":

Also, that instrumental music "is contrary to the nature of Christian worship" was emphasized by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) as he wrote:

As one checks on psallo, that Greek word said to demand instrumental accompaniment to the singing, one finds it occurs five times in the New Testament. In four of the occurrences the word "means ‘sing’ exclusively ... with no reference to instrumental accompaniment" (B-G-D, 891):

In the fifth occurrence of psallo (Ephesians 5:19), the context forbids the meaning "sing," for it would have Paul commanding "singing [aido] and singing [psallo]." Since the earliest meaning of psallo (strengthened from pso, to touch) is to strike, pull, twang, pluck, it is easy to see that Paul was commanding "singing and playing."

But what kind of playing did he mean? He did not command that it be done on a harp (as David did, 1 Samuel 16:23; Psalm 33:3), but on the "heart." If the instrument is a harp, then the playing necessarily is literal, with each worshiper having his own harp (as David). But the apostle specified a non-physical instrument, the human heart (the mind, Genesis 6:5; Acts 8:22), on which literal playing (striking, pulling, twanging, plucking) is impossible. The context therefore demands this kind of translation of Ephesians 5:19:

III. A VIOLATION OF FOUR DIVINE LAWS

Four principles in the New Testament are rejected when one introduces worship by machinery:

1. The Law of Faith. "Faith comes by hearing" the "word of Christ" (Romans 10:17), by which word we sing, pray, read the Scriptures, contribute, and partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:26; 16:1-2; Colossians 3:16; 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:1-2). The law of faith forbids Christians from going "beyond the things that are written" (1 Corinthians 4:6, ASV). "Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God" (2 John 9, NIV).

2. The Law of Worship. Acceptable worship must be (1) with the right attitude in one’s heart (John 4:24), and (2) in harmony with the truth (that is, his divine word, John 4:24; 16:13; 17:17; Colossians 3:17), and (3) free of "the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).

3. The Law of Unity. Prior to "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3) is purity ("first pure, then peaceful," James 3:17) in "the doctrine of Christ" (2 John 9; John 12:48). But when the doctrine of Christ is not at issue, the law of unity calls upon every Christian to do his best to keep a congregation together, knowing that "strife, ... dissensions, factions" are the "works of the flesh" (1 Corinthians 1:10; Galatians 5:19-20).

4. The Law of Love. "Let brotherly love continue" (Hebrews 13:1). When unselfish love takes over, then a Christian has "regard, each of you, not for your own things, but each one for the things of others" (Philippians 2:4). But brotherly love was non-existent at Midway, Kentucky, in 1859, when a melodeon was brought into the auditorium and used in the worship, forcing some Christians to leave. The leaders loved the sound of a machine more than the fellowship of other Christians. In a glass case now in the library of Midway College is a melodeon "in a place of honor," in remembrance actually of a violation of the law of love (SPIRITUAL SWORD, October, 1978, p. 20).