From the earliest days, music has played an important element in the worship of God. In both the Old and New Testaments, one can read of the use of music in worship. During the last 1600-1700 years, there has been much controversy as to the nature of acceptable music in Christian worship. The controversy simply entails determining whether or not instrumental music is acceptable worship in the Lord‘s Church.
We believe that an honest examination of the Scriptures can resolve the controversy for all those who wish to submit themselves to the Lord’s wishes rather than bow to personal preference or popular demand.
The first point to be understood is that the New Testament is without any command to use instrumental music and does not provide any example of the early Church employing musical instruments in worship. If instrumental music was desired by the Lord, one would certainly find references to it within the teachings and examples of Christ Jesus and His apostles. In stead, the only references to music in Christian worship are purely vocal.
Romans 15:9, “For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.”
1 Corinthians 14:15, 26, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also….What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up. ”
Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
Colossians 3:16, “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.”
Hebrews 2:12, “In the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.”
James 5:13, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
One may search the New Testament in vain for either command or example for the use of musical instruments in worship services. Since instrumental music cannot be found in the New Testament Scriptures, we must conclude that such music -
1. Violates the law of faith. Where there is not a divine revelation, there can be no authentic faith (Romans 10:17). Without authentic faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
2. Violates the law of worship. The Lord taught that we must worship God in truth (John 4:24). God’s word is truth (John 17:17). We must only worship in a manner consistent with the truth of God’s word.
Meanings of Greek Terms
Some modern religionists have claimed that instrumental music is inferred by the New Testament’s usage of the Greek verb psallo and its noun form psalmos. They claim that psallo means to sing a psalm or hymn with the accompaniment of musical instruments, and that psalmos refers to a composition to be sung in such manner.
These certainly were correct definitions in earlier (i.e., late classical) forms of Greek, but they were not the primary definitions in the common (koine) Greek of New Testament times. Greek scholars affirm that the intimate connection to musical instrumentation had been dropped in the New Testament period, so that the word psallo simply meant ‘to sing praises’ or ‘to sing a hymn’ and psalmos simply referred to a sacred hymn or ode to be sung -
Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: psallo -"Abs. sing praise, James 5:13.”
Bagster’s Analytical Greek Lexicon - psallo - "in N.T. to sing praises."
Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament: "In the New Testament, the literal sense ‘by or with the playing of strings’ still found in the LXX, is now employed figuratively. There is nothing to suggest that psalmos and humnos relate to texts of different genres. In 1 Corinthians 14:26, psalmos means a Christian song in general. There is no distinction [of adein] from psallein in Ephesians 5:19. In the LXX what is meant by "song" (ode) is almost always, though not fundamentally, a ’religious song’ . Hence the very free alternation between ode, psalmos, and humnos. In the NT, there is still no precise differentiation between ode, psalmos, and humnos, e.g., in Col.3:16 or Eph.5:19.
A.T. Robertson’s A Grammar of the Greek New Testament - 1 Corinthians 14:15 - “psallo: to sing without regard to an instrument.”
Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament - “psallo - in the NT, as in Jas. 5:13, ’sing a hymn’. Modern Greek psallo, pselno, ‘sing’.” psalmos - "In N.T. a sacred song, psalm, 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19 et al."
Abbott Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament - psallo - "in the N.T., to sing a hymn, sing praises."
E. A. Sophocles, Greek Lexicon of Roman and Byzantine Periods from BC 146 to 1100 AD - "psallo - to chant, sing religious hymn.”
Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament - "psallo - in the N.T. to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song." “psalmos - a pious song, a psalm, Eph. v. 19; Col. iii.16; the phrase is used of one who has it in his heart to sing or recite a song of the sort, 1 Cor. xiv. 26.”
Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament - Comments on 1Corinthians 14:15 - “The verb [psallo] is used here in the general sense of singing praise. Then concerning the noun psalmos as used in Colossians 3:16, "A psalm was originally a song accompanied by a stringed instrument. The idea of accompaniment passed away in usage.”
W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words - under "Melody": "psallo, denotes, in the N.T. to sing a hymn, sing praise."
It is interesting that of the scholars who worked on translating the English/American versions of the Bible, all translated the word ’psallo’ without the instrument of music. If the instrument is inherent in the word, why did they not translate it as such?
(For the sake of argument, just suppose these Greek words still did include the idea of mechanical instruments of music. If that is the case, then the instrument is no longer a matter of expediency or choice, but is a command. And not only that, but it would not be one instrument for the entire congregation, but each one of us would have to have an instrument, or else, we could not all psallo. It would not be acceptable to say, ‘If you want to sing praises to God with the accompaniment of musical instruments, fine, but if you do not, that is also okay.’ Because the Bible commands us - “speaking to yourselves in psalms…singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” All of these things are things that we all MUST do. Who must do all of these? Not just one Christian, but rather every member of the church. Thus, even those modern churches who assert a Scriptural right to use instrumentation, based on the supposed meaning of psallo and psalmos, are not completely obeying the very teaching that they support! From a purely rational perspective, psallo and psalmos cannot refer to singing with musical accompaniment because the grammar used by the New Testament writers requires each and every Christian to actively psallo.)
Testimony of History
The number of historians attesting to the fact that music in the early church was exclusively vocal, and that musical instruments were prohibited, is practically endless. The following is but a sample:
"Both the Jews in their temple service, and the Greeks in their idol worship, were accustomed to sing with the accompaniment of instrumental music. The converts to Christianity, accordingly, must have been familiar with this mode of singing but it is generally admitted, that the primitive Christians employed no instrumental music in their religious worship...Such musical accompaniments were gradually introduced; but can hardly be assigned to a period earlier than the fifth and sixth centuries." (Lyman Coleman, The Primitive Church, page 370-371, 376-377)
“There can be no doubt that originally the music of the divine service was every where entirely of a vocal nature.” (Emil Nauman, The History of Music, Vol. 1, p. 177)
“In view of the controversies over the use of instrumental music in worship, which have been so violent in the British and American Protestant churches, it is an interesting question whether instruments were employed by the primitive Christians. We know that instruments performed an important function in the Hebrew temple service and in the ceremonies of the Greeks. At this point, however, a break was made with all previous practice, and although the lyre and flute were sometimes employed by the Greek converts, as a general rule the use of instruments in worship was condemned. St. Ambrose expresses his scorn for those who would play the lyre and psaltery instead of singing hymns and psalms; and St. Augustine adjures believers not to turn their hearts to theatrical instruments. The religious guides of the early Christians felt that there would be an incongruity, and even profanity, in the use of the sensuous nerve-exciting effects of instrumental sound in their mystical, spiritual worship. Their high, religious and moral enthusiasm needed no aid from external stimulus; the pure vocal utterance was the more proper expression of their faith.” (Edward Dickinson, Music in the History of the Western Church, p. 54, 55)
“Both sexes joined in singing, but instruments of every kind were prohibited for a long time.” (Thomas Tapper, Essentials of Music History, p. 34)
“Church music, which at the outset consisted mainly of the singing of psalms, flourished especially in Syria and at Alexandria. The music was very simple in its character...The primitive church music was choral and congregational.” (George Park Fisher, History of the Christian Church, pp. 66, 121.)
“The early Christians discouraged all outward signs of excitement, and from the very beginning, in the music they used, reproduced the spirit of their religion - an inward quietude. All the music employed in their early services was vocal.” (Frank Landon Humphreys, Evolution of Church Music, p. 42)
“At first church music was simple, artless, recitative. But the rivalry of heretics forced the orthodox church to pay great attention to the requirements of art. Chrysostom [AD 380] had to disclaim against the secularization of church music. More lasting was the opposition to the introduction of instrumental accompaniment.” (John Kurtz, Church Music, Vol. 1, pg. 376)
“We have no real knowledge of the exact character of the music which formed a part of the religious devotion of the first Christian congregations. It was, however, purely vocal.” (Frederic Louis Ritter, History of Music from the Christian Era to the Present Time, p. 28)
"The Pope Vitalian is regarded to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of Western Europe about 670; but the earliest trustworthy account is that of one sent as a present by the Greek emperor Constantine Copronymus to Pepin, King of Franks in 755." (The American Encyclopedia, Vol. 7, page 688.)
Students of ecclesiastical archaeology are generally agreed that instrumental music was not used widely in churches till a much later date; for Thomas Aquinas, A.D. 1250, has these remarkable words: ’Our Church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize.’ From this passage we are surely warranted in concluding that there was no ecclesiastically approved use of instruments in the time of Aquinas.
The Testimony of Religious Leaders
Most of the founders of the Protestant denominations taught against the use of instrumental music in Christian worship and, therefore, most Protestant churches rejected instruments in their early life. However, by the middle of the eighteenth century, the use of the instrument in worship gradually made inroads.
Martin Luther called the organ “an ensign of baal."
John Calvin: "Musical instruments in celebrating the praise of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews." John Calvin’s Commentary, Psalm 33.
John Wesley: "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen."
Conybeare & Howe: “Let your songs be, not the drinking songs of heathen feasts, but psalms and hymns; and their accompaniment, not the music of the lyre, but the melody of the heart.” Life and Epistles of St. Paul, Vol. 2, pg. 408
Adam Clarke: "I am an old man, and an old minister; and I here declare that I never knew them [musical instruments] productive of any good in the worship of God; and have had reason to believe that they were productive of much evil. Music, as a science, I esteem and admire; but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music; and here I register my protest against all such corruptions in the worship of the Author of Christianity." Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 4, page 684.
Concluding Remarks
God has always expressed His preferences as to how He wishes to be worshipped. He has made it know that music is a form of worship that pleases Him. Under the Jewish Covenant, God commanded singing with the accompaniment of instrumental music (Psalm 81:1-4; 2 Chronicles 29:25-28). However, God’s will for this Age is revealed by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus relayed the requirements of the New Covenant to and through His Apostles (John 16:7, 13; Matthew 28:18-20). The Apostles instructed the Church to worship God with vocal music. That the Apostles did not instruct the Church to use instrumental music in worship means that the use of instrumental music is not the Lord’s Will. Christian worship that includes instrumental music is, therefore, vain worship (Matthew 15:9).
