| CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: Creative or Traditional? |
| Does your church have an organ? Or a piano? Or a modern band with electric guitars? It is common these days to hear arguments about which instruments should be used in worship. Experienced Christians may argue for the "traditional" pipe organ, while the young believers want creative worship with a band. Who is right in this debate? Are there any solid Biblical principles that will resolve the rift? The answer may suprise you. Throughout Scripture, there is one principle of worship: whatever God has not commanded for His worship is implicitly forbidden. God commanded blood sacrefice, so Cain was rejected when he got creative and brought fruit instead (Genesis 3:21-4:7). God commanded specific incense in His Tabernacle, so Nadab and Abihu were executed by God when they offered innovative "strange fire" (Leviticus 10:1-7). At the time of Moses, trumpets were specifically commanded for the heralding of certain holy days. Musical accompaniment, however, was not added to the Temple service until the time of Hezekiah - and at that time God directly commanded it (2 Chronicles 29:20-36). When we come to the Book of Psalms, we find the principle of pure worship clearly stated: "From thee comes my praise in the great assembly..." (22:25a). The Psalms and the Temple instrumentation were given by God through inspired prophets and musicians like King David and Asaph. The Israelites were to be like Abel and Hezekiah - bringing back to God the praises He had given. In the New Testament, the violation of the "regulative principle" is called "will-worship" or "self-made religion" (Colossians 2:23). When we add man-made decorations, hymns or rock bands to the worship service, we are guilty of idolatry in the second degree. We are worshipping the True God, but in a false way. We have then elevated our creativity above God and His ordinances. Jesus is the reality of which the Old Covenant Temple was a mere shadow (Colossians 2:17). His coming put an end to the elementary ceremonies and began a new, purely spiritual pattern for worship (John 4:19-24). We do not use stone altars, candlesticks, incense or musical instruments. In fact, to re-introduce such copies of heavenly realities into New Testament worship is the error of Judaizing (Hebrews 8:1-9:28). |
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| Now isn't the biblical solution suprising? Under the New Covenant, it is idolatry to bring electric guitars into worship. God has simply not told us to use them. Neither keyboards nor drum sets have His approval. But then, of course, neither the pipe organ nor the piano are the praise God has supplied! God commands gospel believers to offer Him the "fruit of the lips" acompanied by "making melody with the heart" (Hebrews 13:15, Ephesians 5:19). When God's entire people - both young and old, both rich and poor - all sing His Psalms acapella, then is God truly glorified and His law respected indeed. (By the way, "acapella" is simply Latin for "as in chapel" - all Church singing was originally unaccompanied. There is one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, and one Father God (Ephesians 4:5&6). There is no room for a rhythm-and-blues church, a First Church of the Pipe Organ, or a Heavy Metal denomination. We should be striving for Biblical unity, not causing schism over trivialities like musical styles. When we sing to God acapella, we are joining with Christ, the Apostles, Augustine, Aquinas and John Calvin. Let us hold unity with the historic Church, not with the most recent fad! Charles Spurgeon said: "That the great Lord cares to be praised by bellows we very greatly question; we cannot see any connection between the glory of God and sounds produced by machinery. One broken note from a grateful heart must have more real acceptable praise in it than all the wind which swept through whistling pipes... We might as well pray by machinery as praise by it." Organs and guitars should not be fought over - they should be repented of! |
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