Last week I began a bulletin series on contemporary questions. We began with the authority of Scripture. This was foundational to all the rest that we will discuss. These topics tend to be controversial in some places and they will remain controversial until we all commit ourselves to submit to the authority of God found in the Scriptures. I will confess that 650 words is way too brief an article to fully discuss this crucially important anchor of Christian truth, but I hope that we can all nevertheless agree that the Bible is God’s inspired word and the “last word” on all things pertaining to life and godliness.
That being said, let’s address a topic of considerable controversy these days, instrumental music in the worship of the Lord. Historically speaking, from the first days of the church (Pentecost) through about AD 1000 churches DID NOT use musical instruments in worship. This is why the phrase a cappella means to sing unaccompanied; it is really Latin for “in the manner of the church”.
The early church used NO instruments in their worship, not because of fear of persecution, not because no one knew how to play a harp, and not because instruments were too hard to carry from house to house. They chose to sing a cappella, because the teachings of the apostles was to do so. So when Paul instructs the Ephesians (5:19) and the Colossians (3:16) to sing, he used a specific Greek word that is never used with instruments (ado). In other places (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:15) where he teaches them to sing, he uses a Greek word that only means to use instruments, if the instrument is mentioned (psallo). Greek reading Christians from the first through the tenth centuries understood the words this way and obediently practiced them that way until church leaders decided they liked the sound of organs. Even so, the Greek speaking eastern churches continued to worship a cappella down the present day.
Instruments were used by the Roman church from about AD 1000 to the present, but the Reformers like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, the Wesleys, and others all rejected the instrument — being readers of the Greek language. My favor quotes from these protestant reformers include…
John Wesley (founder of the Methodist Church) said, “I have no objections to instruments of music in our chapels provided they are neither heard nor seen.”
John Calvin (theologian behind much Baptist and Presbyterian doctrine) said, “Musical instruments, in celebrating the praises 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.”
It wasn’t until the early 1800s that Protestant churches began to use pianos and organs.
But someone may ask, “What about the instruments in the Old Testament? Don’t they show that God accepts them?” The answer in a nutshell is this, instruments were part of the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant and (like Calvin said above) are no more suitable for worshipping God than animal sacrifice and the rest of tabernacle worship.
Someone else might say, “But what about harps in Heaven in the book of Revelation?” These are mere symbols of musical praise; the context shows that even here the Greek word for singing is ado, the Greek version of a cappella.
Others might object by pointing out that God didn’t specifically forbid it. Actually, however, He did; by commanding a specific form of singing, ado, a cappella, He automatically eliminated other forms of musical worship.
Still another might point out that singing in worship without instruments sounds simply awful. But this misses the point of worship. Our worship is offered to the Lord, who doesn’t care about the quality of singing from a human standpoint; He cares about the heart of the worshipper (John 4:24). It is not for human audiences
The question of whether or not to use instruments in worship isn’t really new; it is actually an old one that was decisively answered long ago. Unfortunately, many have never been taught the answer and others have forgotten it. The Biblical answer is that God desires the voices of His worshippers accompanied only by the love of their hearts (Ephesians 5:19). Let’s worship God God’s way.
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Current Questions — The Role of Women
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve dedicated this blog space to a few of the doctrinal questions of our day. The questions have arisen not from some new evidence that someone has discovered calling into question long-settled Biblical doctrines, but because of 1) social pressures to “relax” God’s commands, and 2) an alarming lack of Bible knowledge among both young and old. Today, let’s talk about the roles of men and women, especially in the church
God made men and women different. Men and women both certainly bear the image of God. In that sense there is no difference. But in many other ways they are very different starting from their genes (XX or XY) onward. There are a differences in physique (we look different), in physical abilities (strength), in brain structures, in natural motor skills, and in what our bodies can do (have babies or not). God Himself created these differences and assigned men and women roles appropriately fitted to these differences in the family and in the spiritual community of the church.
However, despite the obvious and natural differences between men and women, there seems to be in secular society an ongoing competition between the sexes. Fueled by feminist philosophy there is a pervasive gender battle captured in the phrase “Anything you can do, I can do better”.
This gender battle has unfortunately found its way into the Lord’s church. Specifically, some want to bring women into the church’s assembly as leaders. But as our first article in this series pointed out, the first question the church must always ask is what God through the Bible says about it.
One matter that should be easy to settle Biblically is that women may lead other women, when men are not available to do so. Biblical examples of prophesying among women, praying among women, serving among women, and teaching among women can be easily found in the New Testament with apostolic approval and authority (1 Cor. 11:3-16; 1 Tim. 5:9,10; Titus 2:4)
However, the New Testament teaching is clearly different, when men are part of the assembly.
(1 Timothy 2:11, 12) A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
(1 Corinthians 14:34, 35) The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.
The common response is that these are old fashioned rules that were determined more by culture and male-centered custom than the Lord Himself. However, these responses ignore both the context of these verses and the actual customs of the 1st century. Paul ties his teachings to the original eternal principles set down in Eden, in which the roles of men and women are clearly set down by God Himself, (Genesis 3:16) “To the woman He [God] said, ‘I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.’” We should also notice that, culturally speaking, the pagan world was full of priestesses; if ever there was a time for a change in leadership roles, the first century would have been that time. Instead, the eternal principle of roles for men and women, given by God, was preached and practiced.
Others will argue that one passage of the New Testament proclaims equality of roles between the sexes, (Galatians 3:28) “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Once again, however, the problem with this argument is that the next verse is left out: (Galatians 3:29) “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” Paul’s teaching was not about gender role equality but rather about inheritance equality — that both men and women will considered “sons” in great inheritance of Heaven (sons were the only ones who received inheritances in that culture).
The teaching of Scripture may not be popular or cool in the modern age, but it is right nevertheless. Men and women are both made in the image of God, but there are differences. Among the differences are roles that God has assigned. Let us acknowledge the differences and obey the Lord, who always knows best.