Over a period of time, one Frenchman is reported to have eaten the entire engine of a small plane piece by piece. How can someone accomplish such a feat? He ate it by cutting it into small pieces and wrapping them in lots of bread. It did not kill him. That's right, eating the engine of a Cessna won't kill you!
So are you now eager to go out and eat the engine of a small plane just because it won't kill you? Of course not. People do things for positive reasons, not negative justifications. People are not motivated to do something just because it will not kill them, will not hurt them or they will not lose any money. There is always another motivation providing the real reason for taking the risk or engaging in the behavior. Although someone might raise the smoke screen question "why can't I do this since it won't hurt me," such a question is an attempt to misdirect the attention from the real question which needs to be addressed, which is "what is your motivation for wanting to do this in the first place?"
So why would someone eat the engine of a small plane? There are many possible reasons: A person might do it to prove that it can be done or that "I can do it." Someone might pull such a stunt to gain notoriety or to enter the "believe it or not" world of Ripley's. And, if such a prank ever becomes a fad, some might even do it just "to fit in" or "be somebody."
And so when someone says something like "but this won't hurt me," a rationalization has been provided to justify the feasibility of an action, but the more important issue of the true motivation has been obscured. For someone who wants to engage in a particular action, it is much more comfortable to throw up a smoke screen justification that "it won't kill me" or "I can't see why this is so bad," rather than to deal with the real motivations. To discover the real reason behind someone's behavior there is the need to probe into the values which are driving the behavior.
How Authority Figures Might Respond ... and be Despised
A teenager slyly points out to her parents "why can't I do this since nobody will get hurt?" A member of the congregation asks an elder, "why can't we do this, you don't believe that this would actually nullify Christ's saving blood do you?"I suspect that in such situations many a good parent, a close friend and perhaps even a few elders have found themselves feeling rather flat-footed. Rather than knowing how to work with a person to help them grow, authority figures sometimes appeal to their authority with statements like, "because I said so," or "as long as I am your parent," etc. Having evoked one's authority, an authority figure could then feel vindicated that "I've done my job."
God has given certain people positions of responsibility and hence authority. Unfortunately in today's world, many people reject that legitimate authority and therefore merely appealing to one's authority will not help the other person grow. Especially with older children, if the only response which a parent offers is "because I said so," then those children might feel dissatisfied with having receiving "a cop out" answer. Worse yet, those teenagers may feel vindicated that "what I want to do really is OK, but they just won't want to admit it." Such a conclusion could lead to despising the authority figure.
If parents, friends and shepherds are going to encourage people to grow into the image of Christ, we need to have the tools for lovingly interacting and guiding others. So how do we lovingly respond from a biblical perspective to such smokescreen questions and statements?
*A case study on how this style of argument has commonly been used to defend instrumental music within the worship assembly follows the section "Tools for Responding in Love"*
Tools for Responding in Love
The following principles can provide a road map helping the counselor understand not only what is really going on, but also how to approach the problem.
1. Understand what makes people tick: their beliefs and values. People act in various ways because of what they value. Everyone's behavior ultimately is a manifestation of the values within their own heart. Matthew 12:33-35; Luke 6:43-45 Therefore people are constantly making decisions based upon what they think is important (values), what they love more (values) and what they believe will make them feel good (values).Why do people love/value/desire what they do? Because they believe something to be true. These beliefs can range from: "if I don't do this I will lose all of my friends," to "this ice cream will make me feel better," to "my job makes me important," to "the church won't grow unless we do this." Although different people may be convinced that a plethora of different ideas are true, the Bible claims to present what is really and ultimately true.
2. Know the battle and the goal: God (not Self) should rule in our hearts There is a tremendous battle being waged for the allegiance of our hearts. Satan would have a person enthrone "Self" to seek his or her own desires and goals. If a person's life is lived for Self, then a person will be devoted to whatever he believes will take care of his life (e.g. work, education, social contacts, money, reputation, etc.) Whenever a person lives for Self, that individual will use the resources at his disposal according to his belief system to "lay up treasure on earth."
In stark contrast to this way of living life, Jesus taught that if someone is going to be his disciple, Self has to die on a cross. Our devotion must not be to ourselves but to God. The disciple is to use worldly resources to "lay up treasure in heaven" by bringing glory to God through His life. By going to the cross, Jesus exemplified the goal of "not my will, but your will be done." Luke 9:23-25; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Matthew 6:19-21, 33; 22:36-38; 27:39; Luke 12:21, 32-34; Romans 2:8; Galatians 2:20
3. Look for the real reason. The focus needs to be upon "why is this discouraged" and "why do you want to do this?" Such questions can be threatening to everyone. But if there exists a loving relationship and if there is the desire to serve God, examining the "whys" can be the key toward a real solution. As Christians, our behavior needs to be motivated by our submission to God that we might bring Him glory.
Unfortunately, as people work at discovering the underlying motivations empowering their actions, often a heart problem of Self may be uncovered. Although the behavior is often the focus of any discussion, this behavior is pouring forth from the heart. Accordingly, it is this heart problem which first needs to be addressed. The naked truth is often ugly. Ultimately it can boil down to something along these lines:
• Everybody else is doing it and I want to fit in not stick out (My identity and self-worth will be threatened if I am not accepted by my peers)• I want to do it my way (People who are "somebody" can do whatever they want)
• I like the way this makes me feel (Chances are the pleasure which the individual wants to receive is ultimately rooted in what he or she believes will provide security and self-worth. For example, "This relationship makes me feel important and everything will be OK," or "this drug will make be forget that I believe I'm a nobody," etc.)
• I believe that this will provide the results I want. (Such a belief could come from both noble and ignoble motivations. I will argue that IF the person is living for self then the root motivation will ultimately be security and the attempt to "be somebody." In this case for example, a person who proposes changes to worship style or the company's business policies believes that such changes will inspire some form of measurable growth. IF Self is the object of devotion, then the reasons why this growth is desired will be something along the lines of: "I want to be a part of a dynamic congregation" [this means I am somebody] or "I want to be known as the person who brought about effective and real growth" [my reputation means I am somebody and will provide me security], etc.)
Instead of such arrogance and self-worship, the Christian life is to be molded by a heart which says, "speak Lord your servant is listening." A disciple's beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior should all reflect what our Lord and Savior desires. What does God want from us? Scripture provides us with many descriptions of the godly life. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 5:16-18
Questions which each one of us must answer when considering what our motives are include:
• Does this (whatever it is) teach people to pick up their cross and follow Jesus by submitting their desires to God's will, or is it another case of serving their own will? 2 Corinthians 5:15• Everything is to be done to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 If God has not told me to do this, would insisting on doing this actually exemplify Selfishness or does it reveal a broken and contrite heart seeking to love, honor and obey God?
• Does this encourage and exemplify worshiping in truth and in spirit? John 4:23
• Yes, Jesus has set us free from the demands of the Mosaical Law, and so there is freedom in Christ. But this does not negate the reality that God might characterize some teachings and practices of certain Christians as "straw, hay and stubble" which will burn up when tested while God will affirm other teachings to be as valuable as "gold, silver and precious stones." 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Paul even described the possibility that some teachers might go so far as to destroy God's people through their teachings and thus find themselves condemned. Romans 14:22; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Each one of us should remember that since we are not the judge who will decide what is good and what is wrong, the question should be: "based upon God's Word, how do I think the Lord will judge this behavior, practice or teaching?" If I perceive it to be frowned upon, I had better stay away. Romans 14:23 If I think the Lord would smile upon it, this does not guarantee that it is acceptable to the Lord. Just because I have a clear conscience on the matter does not make me innocent; it is the Lord who will judge. 1 Corinthians 4:4 For this reason, Paul encouraged us to not exceed or to go beyond what has been written. 1 Corinthians 4:6
If you have felt defensive when someone has said, "but what's wrong with this?" Hopefully, these tools will be helpful in guiding you to proactively prepare. Honestly examine not only your own motives, but also help others identify the driving force behind their behavior.
Just as many parents might be distracted from the real issues by a teenager's reasoning, so too I believe many people have been distracted from the real issues and persuaded that instrumental music in the worship assembly is validated by scripture. Because I see such strong parallels between the two, I believe there is value in examining what I assume are commonly known arguments for instrumental music. Let's attempt to peer behind the common smoke screen arguments in order to try to discover the real motivation.
Among some people the subject of instrumental music has been a highly emotional topic. I have no desire to stir up heated feelings. Accordingly, perhaps the best place to start is with the observation that scripture is silent on the inclusion of instrumental music within the Christian's worship assembly. To claim either that "God condemns the use of instrumental music within Christian worship" or to say that "this does not matter to God" is to sit in God's judgment seat where scripture has been silent.
Since the New Testament is silent about including instrumental music within the worship of disciples, what reasons are given to justify this practice? In my experience, most often justification comes through the form of questions, such as:
Does not being under grace mean that it is OK?Why would God command something in the Old Testament which would be wrong for His people to do today?
If all of my life is worship to God and if it is OK to play an instrument, then what would be wrong in playing an instrument within the worship assembly?
Reasons Based Upon Scripture Which Some Have Given For Including Instruments Within Worship
Those who defend instrumental music within the worship assembly often say something like: "God commanded it in the Old Testament, surely He would not disapprove of it today." Or perhaps they will point out that "heaven is described as having harps, what could possibly be wrong with musical instruments in our earthly worship?" Such arguments are usually followed with the observation, "the New Testament does not specifically prohibit them today."
Let's begin by examining the various reasons for using instruments within Christian worship . My goal at this point is to try to determine whether these are real reasons for including instruments or whether they are smoke screens concealing the real motive.
1) In the Old Testament instruments constituted acceptable worship to God.
The force of this argument consists of recognizing that since God through His prophets commanded their usage back then (2 Chronicles. 29:25), they must also be acceptable to God now. Why would God command something back then which He would not desire from us today?
Note - Based upon Amos 5:23 and 6:5, some Christians have mistakenly claimed that God did not approve of instrumental music within Temple worship. They believe that through Amos, God condemned David for improvising musical instruments in worship (6:5). In Amos 6:5, Amos is not condemning them for worshiping wrong, but identifying various characteristics of the lifestyle of the complacent rich who are to be the first to go into exile for their social sins. Similarly Amos 5:23 does not condemn the use of instruments in worship, but reveals that God rejected the people's worship (which included their instruments) because their hearts were not right with God and their fellow person. This verse contains the same type of message as Isaiah 1:12-17 which was also delivered to God's people in the 8th century B.C.
It is true that in Temple worship, instruments were not only an accompaniment to the animal sacrificial system, they were even a commanded means by which God was to be worshiped (1 Chronicles 23:5; 2 Chronicles 29:20-36; Numbers 10:10; Psalms 81:2-5). Accordingly, it is right that instruments were used in Temple worship. How were instruments used at the Temple? At times instruments were even used as one means of offering up praise to God! Psalm 150
The positive form of the argument (If valid, this would constitute a real reason for including them today!)
What relationship does all of this have to Christian worship? In order for the example of instruments being used within Temple worship to actually provide a real reason why they should be included today, someone would need to assert that Christian worship is not only modeled after Temple worship but the elements of Temple worship are to be the elements of Christian worship. Unless someone makes this argument, the appeal to instrumental worship at the Temple does not rise above the claim of a negative justification, "but it won't kill you."
As far as I know, no one is claiming that Christian worship is a continuation of Temple worship. If someone did take this position they would need to claim that instruments should be included as one of our means of praising God as a direct response to obeying God's command in the Old Testament regarding Temple worship. Such a position would also demand the use of incense, etc. as also being a necessary part of Christian worship.
If someone were to claim that Christian worship is a continuation of temple worship practices, then multiple problems arise. Not only are we told that the Temple worship practices would be replaced (John 4:21-24), but there were many legitimate practices of Temple worship (incense, altars, priests serving at the altar, animal sacrifices, etc.) which have no place in Christian worship assemblies. Why is this true? Temple worship which had many external regulations centered around approaching God through the Levitical priesthood and this has been replaced by Christ's sacrifice and priesthood. Hebrews 9:1; 10:1; 7:11-12
The negative justification form of the argument
Since no Christian group claims that Christian's ought to adopt Temple worship, any appeal to Old Testament worship as being justification for including instruments in Christian worship is a smoke screen. Their use in the Old Testament does not tell us why they should be included today. Rather this argument is really just a way of claiming "if God commanded them in Temple worship, then surely they should not hurt you today." Such a statement appeals to cherry picked verses to lead an individual to sit in the seat of judgment and conclude, "there must be nothing wrong with this in worship." But this does not answer our question, "what is the reason for including them?" People do not do something just because it will not kill them.
Before moving on, we might even want to raise the question is this even a valid negative justification?The mere fact that something was a part of temple worship does not provide justification for including it in Christian worship. It may be that God will not negatively assess a Christian's use of incense or instruments in worship (remember God is the Judge not us). Even if this is true, if someone's goal is to submit to God's will (what God has revealed that He wants from us as revealed through scripture), then before that individual includes instruments within his worship to God he would want to find some positive reason for using them. At this point the question still remains "why should anyone want to include them in Christian worship?"
2) Originally, "Psalms" and the Greek word "psallo" (sing) were closely associated with instruments and so their usage in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 approves instruments.
Like the previous argument this reasoning can also be presented as either a real reason why they should be included (positive form) or in the weaker form of a negative smoke screen to attempt to justify the use of instruments which are being used for some other reason.
The positive form of the argument
The positive form would involve claiming that the use of Psalms and psallo (sing) are actually teaching us that instruments should be included in Christian worship. To claim this would not only constitute a real reason for including them, but it would also imply that worshiping without them would involve disobedience to God!
There are at least two reasons why people are not making this argument. First, if Paul's writings had demanded an instrumental accompaniment, then the problem is raised in trying to explain why the apostolic church sang without instruments thus directly disobeying God's teaching. Second, to claim that psallo and the Psalms demanded instrumental accompaniment in the first century would be anachronistic and would require infusing a meaning into these words which they did not carry during the first century A.D. I am not aware of anybody making this argument.
The negative justification form of the argument
People who make an argument from Greek etymology are presenting a negative justification to claim that the use of instruments "won't condemn you." The reasoning is that because these words originally had instrumental connotations their definitions are broad enough to approve their use. So what about this?
First of all, it is necessary to recognize the truth of the principle that what a word means at any one time is dependent upon its immediate context and the author's intention, not upon connotations or meanings which it may have possessed hundreds of years earlier. Whenever someone communicates a message, the meaning of those words is not dependent upon each word's etymology or how people may have used them 100 years ago. The meaning of each word is dependent upon current usage and the immediate context. For example, if I were to say, "Oh that is awful" it would be anachronistic to claim that I am saying something is "full of awe." Everyone today recognizes I would be affirming that something is bad or perhaps sad.So too, the significance of the words psallo (sing) and "Psalms" have also experienced an evolution in their meaning. Although it is true that at one stage in their history these words were associated with instruments, this is not true "of late Jewish and Christian usage, where a vocal expression is all that can be affirmed (so clearly in 1 Corinthians. 14:15; James 5:13)." [Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today, (Eerdmans, 1996): p. 273]
If a person's goal is to honor God by offering the worship God desires, the question still remains "why should I want to include instruments in worship?"
3) In the book of Revelation, John describes the heavenly worship as including the use of instruments.
Consider Ferguson's succinct description of the evidence: "in the book of Revelation, where, drawing on the imagery of the temple, the voices of the heavenly singers are compared to stringed instruments (Rev. 14:2-3); the instruments symbolize singing (cf. Rev. 15:2-3) in the same way that incense does prayer (Rev. 5:8-9)." (Ferguson, p. 272) Many commentators not associated with our particular religious tradition also recognize that Revelation is not teaching that there are literal instruments in heaven, but rather these are "fit emblems of the melody of their hearts." John Wesley's commentary on Revelation 5:8
To argue for the inclusion of instruments within the worship assembly based upon Revelation's imagery of heavenly worship can be presented in either a positive form demanding their usage in our worship or as merely a smokescreen justification ("how can it be wrong if heaven has instruments") masking the real reason for their use.
The positive form of the argument
The positive form would require someone to claim that the imagery used for heavenly worship serves as a model for our Christian worship AND that those symbolic images must all be understood literally. Among other things, this would imply that Christian worship should include the use of golden bowls full of incense as a means of prayer, the use of harps, etc. Obviously, if the imagery of John's Revelation is taken as the theological model for Christian worship, then those who failed to comply would be guilty of not worshiping according to truth to whatever degree they failed to conform. I am not aware of anyone making this argument.
The negative justification form of the argument
Once again, when someone refers to the symbols of heavenly worship in Revelation as justification of using instruments today it takes the form of a negative justification. Essentially it is expressed as "If such imagery is used to describe heavenly worship, surely God won't condemn us for using actual instruments on earth." In other words, "it won't kill you." But this is just my point. Such an argument fails to tell us why they should be used in the first place. People do not do something just because it won't hurt them.
4) Using instruments in daily living for God (service) is not wrong, so neither are they wrong in assembled worship (service)
From texts such as Romans 12:1-2, the New Testament teaches that a Christian's service (worship) to God is not confined to cultic acts such as temple sacrifices, but encompasses their moral life and acts of service toward others. To put this another way, "Since the one sacrifice of Christ has been offered once and for all (Heb. 7:27; 9:12; 10:10), all the ancient cultic language, permeated with the language of sacrifice, was in early Christian usage 'spiritualized' and shifted to the horizon of the Christian's moral life." (Ferguson, p. 211)
Since the language of worship is extended to embrace Christian living and service, some have reasoned that since there is nothing inherently wrong about using an instrument, therefore what difference could it possibly make to incorporate them within corporate worship? This line of reasoning depends upon insisting that there is no difference between private service and corporate service to God through the assembly.
However, the New Testament reveals that there is a difference between private and corporate worship and that special considerations govern when disciples assemble to worship God. For example, Paul distinguished between the appropriateness of satisfying hunger at home verses satisfying one's hunger when the saints were gathering together to eat the Lord's supper. 1 Corinthians 11:20, 22, 33-34 Likewise, Paul only imposed silence upon women within the assembly, not when they were at home or in the market, etc. 1 Corinthians 14:34 Outside of the assembly women taught and prophesied. Acts 18:26; 21:9 In fact, Paul himself outlined the guidelines for women prophesying. 1 Corinthians 11:5
Note - the context of 1 Corinthians 11 is divided into two sections: "praise" and "no praise." 1 Corinthians 11:2,17 In the first section Paul simply provided general guidelines for praying and prophesying without specifying anything about the occasion. Wherever a man or woman might be, these were the guidelines. In the second section of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul introduced some problems affecting their worship assemblies. To interpret 1 Cor. 11:2-16 as specifically describing worship assembly practices involves reading something into the text which is not there. Regarding his teachings about the woman's role within the worship assembly, we should not look to 1 Corinthians 11:2-26 but 1 Corinthians 14:34. Paul did not contradict himself within the space of three chapters in the same letter!!
While a disciple's moral life and service to others is part of his worship to God, this does not justify claiming that no distinction exists between personal service to God and corporate worship. As the New Testament reveals, corporate worship is guided by its specific purposes and there are activities of everyday life which are not appropriate in the worship assembly. The question still remains "why should I want to include instruments in worship?"
Piggybacking An Explanation Upon One of the Previous Arguments
Their absence in the early church was due to instruments being culturally associated with pagan worship.
This argument makes an assertion as to why they were not included back then. The implication is that since the reason why they were excluded from the early church no longer exists, it is now appropriate to include them. Once again, this does not really tell us why they should be included in the first place. If this argument is going to present a real case for why they should be included, it must be used in conjunction with some other reason why they should be included. For unless a scriptural argument outlines why instruments should be used in Christian worship, then this line of reasoning is irrelevant. But as we have already seen, the previously cited "scriptural arguments" do not provide either a positive reason.
Is this an accurate explanation for why they were not used?
On the one hand, the assertion that they were rejected because of their pagan association is based upon circumstantial evidence and lacks the compelling proof necessary to support the claim that this was the real reason why the early church did not use them. (Ferguson, p. 273 and E. Ferguson, "A Cappella Music" 2nd Edition (ACU Press: 1988): pp. 79-81)
On the other hand, this explanation does not account for all of the evidence. Both pagan worship and Temple worship included both singing and instrumental music. If the motivation for rejecting instruments was simply based upon their association with pagan worship, then why was not this same principle used by the early Christians to reject singing? Similarly, if the church's worship policies were determined by a rejection of their surrounding pagan culture, then we would also expect the early church to have rejected women singing within the worship assembly since female singing had a very immoral connotation within pagan religion. However, one finds numerous early Christian texts which speak of women singing within the assembly setting. (Ferguson, "A Capella Music," p. 52, 81).
The evidence suggests that the early church rejected instrumental worship for a reason other than its pagan association.
Taking A Step Back From This Case Study
I believe that when we consider carefully what has been put forward as scriptural arguments for including instruments within the assembled worship of the saints, what we find are not really reasons for why they should be included, but rather they are all attempts to rationalize that "this won't hurt me because ... ." When spouses, teenagers or other loved ones use this type of reasoning, they are diverting the attention away from their real motivation. In love, there is the need to help them to come face to face with the real issues so that godly decisions can deliberately be made. To move forward requires the anchor of knowing what the goal should be.
So what is the goal? Scripture points us to loving and serving God with all of our being. From this overarching priority all of the rest of life's decisions and priorities hang in godly balance and perspective. Although this love is subjective in the sense that "I" must love God, it is not subjective in the other sense that I determine how to love and serve God. To love and serve God requires submission of Self in order to obey Him. John 14:15, 21; 1 John 5:3 If those we love will agree that this goal truly needs to shape his or her decisions, then by building a scriptural portrait of what God desires and applying that to his or her situation, the path which should be chosen becomes clear.
Unfortunately, sometimes a person will have fooled himself about the real reason or be defensively dishonest about their true motivation. Depending upon the timing and their willingness to listen, we need to enable our loved ones to face the truth about their real motivation. Then the path they should be taking can be a blessing to everyone.
If we were to apply this to our case study of instrumental music, what seems to be the real reasons why many people include instruments in Christian worship assemblies?
The Apparent Real Reasons Why Some Include Musical Instruments In Worship Assemblies
The following statments probably account for most of the real motivations for why some have chosen to include instruments in Christian worship today.
1) "I believe it aids singing."
This claim is often not accurate because it is common for their use to discourage singing, to drown out those who are singing, or to even replace congregational singing. But more than this, what is meant by "aid?"
What does someone mean by "aid"?
I am aware of two possibilities. First, someone might claim that instruments aid in helping the singers hit the right notes. If this is what is meant by aiding singing then what is the purpose of hitting the right notes? Is God worshipped better when people sing in tune or is this simply to provide greater aesthetic appeal for humans? Unless someone is willing to argue that sounding better actually creates a better quality of worship to God, the motivation for sounding better is nothing more than a human-centered desire. Careful! Not only does the concept nowhere appear that sounding better constitutes better worship, but this also ignores the theological goal stated in Ephesians 5:19 to sing so that we make melody in our hearts. Furthermore, this also would imply that the tone deaf person can never worship with the same quality as the musically talented. If creating a more aesthetic quality to our ears is what is meant by aiding singing, then the motive for including instruments is strictly to serve human interests and is not actually contributing toward worshiping God.
The second way in which instruments might be said to "aid singing" is that they can evoke deeper emotions and feelings of praise for God. This raises another question. What is God's standard for evaluating worship? Is God's criteria for worship how high someone's heart may be lifted in praising Him?
It is true that God wants the music to come from the melody of our heart. Ephesians 5:19 It is also true that people often feel deeply moved by instruments. Yes, God wants us to worship in spirit, but God has never accepted worship simply upon the basis of how deeply moved someone might be. Even in the Old Testament where instruments were commanded, God's message was very clear that the worship God desired must first issue forth from a transformed heart that loves and obeys God. Even those external qualities of worship which God had commanded (e.g. instruments - 2 Chronicles. 29:25) were rejected (Amos 5:23) if the heart was not first molded by love and obedience. Psalms 51:15-19; Isaiah 1:11-17 Just because the worshiper "loves to worship" and is "lifted high" does not mean that God is pleased. Amos 4:4-5
Although Saul would have undoubtedly prepared a great victory celebration to praise the Lord for the defeat of the Amalekites, Samuel told him "to obey is better than sacrifice ... for rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry." 1 Samuel 15:22, 23 In essence Samuel told Saul, that deep outpourings of gratitude and worship to God can not be substituted for obedience to God. Worship is first of all a matter of our submitting our life to God; it is not simply a matter of how much I might enjoy praising God and how jubilant I may feel in worshiping Him.
Since there is no biblical indication that Christians should worship with instruments, why would they? If their goal is to obey God, why do something He has not asked of them? If a person's only real reason for including instruments is to satisfy his own human desires and feelings, then it would appear that someone has a misunderstanding of what it means to worship God. It does not appear that musical instruments are an aid to Christian worship.
2) "The use of instruments can increase church attendance."
Some will argue that the use of instruments have been effective in swelling the numbers of those in attendance. While it may be true that a superb band playing uplifting music can attract a crowd, does not accommodating to the selfish entertainment desires of a culture fail to achieve God's purpose to transform human hearts and bring Him glory? Is not increasing a body count at a church assembly at the expense of enthroning the desires of Self a retreat from worshiping God &endash; not an advance in worship or in God's reign over human lives? Such a method teaches the principle of Self rules, not Jesus is Lord. The goal of increasing attendance through pandering to the desires of people neither justifies the means (instrumental music), nor does it direct us toward learning to submit our will to His so that God might truly be glorified through our lives.
3) "I think that it does not make any difference."
Perhaps this is the core reason for why many people use the instrument in worship. Having transformed the biblical teaching of grace from being God's gift of salvation to become a magic wand to justify whatever we want and having ignored the scriptural teaching to not go beyond what scripture teaches, a person simply announces his personal judgment, "I don't think it makes any difference. Besides, I like it. I feel like it helps me worship God better. So I want to do it. You can not show me where the New Testament says I can not."
When Self is exposed it is ugly. IF this be the case, is there not the need to learn what worshiping God truly entails? Would there not be a need to learn to value what God is seeking, namely those who will worship Him in spirit AND in truth? John 4:23-24 Furthermore, I would suggest a serious study of what scripture means by grace would be appropriate.
Conclusion
As we interact with others, at times we will encounter people misdirecting our attention from their heart motivation with the rationalization "this won't hurt me, so why can't I?" When we find ourselves in such a situation, there is the need to address the real heart issue and not be lead astray by the smoke screen justification. The need exists to gently point the person to the highest goal in life and how this goal should impact other decisions. May you be helpful to others in being a tool God can use to shaping hearts for Him.
The following questions can be helpful in a great many situations.
• Does this (whatever it is) teach people to pick up their cross and follow Jesus by submitting their desires to God's will, or is it another case of serving their own will? 2 Corinthians 5:15• Everything is to be done to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 If God has not told me to do this, would insisting on doing this actually exemplify Selfishness or does it reveal a broken and contrite heart seeking to love, honor and obey God?
• Does this encourage and exemplify worshiping in truth and in spirit? John 4:23
Regarding our case study example, as far as I can determine, the "scriptural reasons" which are commonly put forward for including instruments in worship are a classic case study in not addressing the real heart motive, but rather constitute the smoke screen "there is nothing wrong with this." As far as I can see, the real reasons for including musical instruments are not biblical nor are they logical extensions of theological concepts such as grace, rather the motives center around matters of personal taste and perhaps practicality. While there is nothing inherently wrong with personal taste and practicality, these nor any other agendas should be allowed to compete with the higher priority of loving and obeying God.
"If the goal of my life is to enthrone God in my heart by serving and worshiping Him, what motive is there for me to alter the nature of our worship assemblies from what God has requested?"
Whenever people begin to justify their actions on the grounds that "but this won't hurt me," they may be trying to hide a heart problem of "Self rules" which someone needs to lovingly confront. Similarly, if Christians ever base their decisions about how they will live or worship God upon human-centered goals, the necessity of Self dying and being crucified to this world in order to serve God's will often become lost in the shuffle.
Barry Newton, Copyright © 2000, Revised 2003
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