Music can improve mood, decrease pain and anxiety, and facilitate opportunities for emotional expression. Research suggests that music can benefit our physical and mental health in numerous ways. Music therapy is used by hospice and palliative care board-certified music therapist Max Lerman to enhance conventional treatment for a variety of illnesses and disease processes – from anxiety, depression and stress, to the management of pain and enhancement of functioning after degenerative neurologic disorders.
It’s heart healthy. Research has shown that blood flows more easily when music is played. It can also reduce heart rate, and lower blood pressure,
It elevates mood. Music can boost the brain’s production of the hormone dopamine. This helps relieve feelings of anxiety and depression.
It reduces stress. Research has found that listening to music can relieve stress by triggering biochemical stress reducers.
It relieves symptoms of depression. When you’re feeling down in the dumps, music can help pick you up - much like exercise.
It stimulates memories. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia but music therapy has been shown to relieve some of its symptoms.
It manages pain. By reducing stress levels and providing a strong competing stimulus to the pain signals that enter the brain, music therapy can assist in pain management. (https://www.northshore.org/healthy-you/9-health-benefits-of-music/)
Music has often been called the universal language. We have music in our homes, cars, stores, restaurants because it has the ability to inspire and motivate us.
Have you ever sang the star spangled banner or God bless America it inspires us to a greater sense of patriotism. Have you ever caught yourself humming a jingle? Have you ever loved to be an Oscar Mayer wiener?
The influence music has on our lives is powerful; we celebrate with song, and we mourn with song. We relax and entertain with a song.
We Worship with a song and one of the things that sets the church of Christ apart from denominations is the absence of musical instruments in the worship assemblies. WHY?
There is no Bible authority for them! There is nowhere in the New Testament Worship that we are authorized to use instruments of music during our worship to God!
The absence of Musical instruments goes back to what we talked about when we talked about the Lord’s Supper “Bible Authority” The law of inclusion
Matthew 26:26-29-NKJV
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
Bread representing the body and fruit of the vine representing the blood. The same applies with the law of exclusion. This fundamental principle asks us to respect both the authority and the sufficiency of a commandment given by God that we not add to or take away from God’s word.
Revelation 22:18-19-NKJV
18 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; 19 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.
So an argument remains it doesn’t say anywhere that we can’t use instruments of music. But doesn’t Christ leaving instrumental music out of the worship settle the matter. If the New Testament is silent on the matter it should be evident that there is no scriptural authority for it.
2 Timothy 3:16-NKJV
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
Is this not a time for correction and instruction? God has specified what we are to do!
Ephesians 5:19-NKJV
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-NKJV
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Singing is the way of getting the word of Christ into our hearts! The thoughts contained in the words do the teaching and admonishing.
Instrumental accompaniment does not aid in conveying the thoughts and feelings to the heart. It would hinder rather than help. If it aids at all it aides in the execution of a performance of entertainment and not New Testament worship! “Making melody in your heart to the Lord” “Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”It looks to me like the Lord has authorized an instrument to use THE HEART!
Open your song books to page 532 Praise Him Praise Him sing with me the 1st verse.
“Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense” John Calvin (Presbyterian founder)
Also, when asked why not to use musical instruments in worship, Charles H Spurgeon recognized as a great Baptist preacher quoted 1st Corinthians 14:15. “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” He then declared: “I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”
I quote these men not to prove that instrumental music is wrong, the fact that there is no Bible authority for it proves that, I use their quotes to further help with the fact that man introduced this as an addition to worship services.
Colossians 2:8-NKJV
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
There are two kinds of commands specific and generic. When God told Noah in
Genesis 6:14-16-New King James Version
14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
That is a specific command! What do you suppose would have happened if Noah did it his way and maybe added a few more windows? We don’t know because he obeyed what God told him to do and all was well.
Did the New Testament merely say Make music to the Lord? If so we could see this as a generic command and used what we thought best, but it says Sing!
This is clear and specific in its command. Furthermore you cannot find any example in the New Testament church worship where they use musical instruments.
Therefore musical instruments used in worship are added to therefore violating God’s will.
A characteristic of the church of Christ is the distinctive nature of her worship. Most would concur that worship incorporates the act of singing. This is a physical action that provides worshippers to express what is in their heart.
Perhaps the most special thing about singing is the ability for a group of people to verbalize their worship in unison. It is through acapella singing as a congregation that we can show thanksgiving, gratitude and praise, everyone can at the same time communicate to God. Singing can provide the worshipper with a greater ability to use emotions.
There was a woman who spent some months serving as a missionary in South Africa. On her final visit to a remote township she attended a medical clinic. As the Zulu women there began to sing together, she found herself deeply moved by their hauntingly beautiful harmonies. She wanted to always remember this moment and try to share it with friends when she arrived home. With tears flowing down her cheeks, she turned to her friend and asked, "Can you please tell me the translation of the words to this song?"
Her friend looked at her and solemnly replied . . . "If you boil the water, you won't get dysentery."
How many times have we been guilty of the same thing in a worship service? Not being aware of the meaning of the words we were singing.
Paul said: 1 Corinthians 14:15- NKV
15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
Singing is specified for Christian worship, and God will receive all the Glory He wants from us to give Him without instrumental music. The Lord’s church can receive all the spiritual edification God wants us to receive without instrumental music. We can make all the melody we want with our hearts, void of any instrumental music.
Psalm 100-KJV
100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Mary died and went to heaven. At the pearly gates, St Peter was quizzing all the new arrivals. Before you enter can you tell me what God’s first name is? He asked.
Andy she said, I heard Him called that my whole life Andy Peter said where did you get that? We sang it all the time in our worship service….Andy walks with me, Andy talks with, Andy tells me I am His own.
