I’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong with the Christian church these days. Some of my friends see back-biting, infighting, inter-church animosity. Others see a lack of church growth. I suspect they are mostly concerned with the lack of growth in numbers, which I agree is serious. But that is a sign of the lack of inner growth, which is my main concern.
Here are some trends that get me riled up. Why do churches reject glorious old hymns, preferring anything written less than one year ago if it features drums and syncopation? Why are we so quick to jettison 2,000 years of Christian culture and embrace the latest fashions and trends of the world?
Why do Christian publishers rewrite the great old books with less actual thought and content?
Why is so much programming on Christian television and radio so specious, shallow and melodramatic?
Why do we make our services flashy and slick but muzzle the preachers, restricting them to a secondary role, like a quick half-time show?
Why do people not really do the work of the church, but content themselves with talking about it and analyzing it and writing about it ad nauseum? (Perhaps I’m shooting myself in the foot here. But I am also learning that this problem we see from various angles is nothing new. It has a diagnosis. Bear with me.)
In short, “Where’s the beef?” What we have is a deluge of milk. Even in my own church—which I regard with special fondness for its depth of Bible study—many sermons are written not to provide rich nourishment for hungry souls, but seemingly to entertain them, to make them laugh.
I think this is simply a lack of maturity. We are remaining as children. Here is what Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes in The Basis of Christian Unity. He is discussing Ephesians 4 regarding what leads to spiritual maturity (and thus to unity) within the church. He comes to Paul’s words in verses 14-15:
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him that is the Head, that is, Christ.
Here is what Lloyd-Jones writes:
The apostle says that we must “be no more children.” It is interesting to notice what he says about children. What are their characteristics? They are unstable, fickle, ignorant. They like novelty, dislike work, but like play. They dislike being made to think and to reason; they like entertainment and excitement. Children, unfortunately, are very susceptible to showmanship and to that which is plausible and meretricious. These are their obvious characteristics. But, above all, they are liable to be deceived by that which is false.
When I look at young (and some older) Christians, many of them are about showmanship, not content. They want to play more than work. They want to rock and roll, not worship or lead others to worship. Reasoning and study are as foreign to them as hard labor. In short, the church as a whole seems to be getting younger, not maturing. And why shouldn’t this be so? It is their expressed goal to draw the young and focus on the young, to supplant the old with the new. They jettison anything that smacks of maturity. It reminds me of the angry mobs who devastated old churches during the Reformation, smashing anything that was carved or decorative, just because it was the trend.
Youth has almost become an idol. We kneel before the young people as “the next generation” and are even willing, it seems, to compromise the gospel itself to draw and hold the attention of the young. Instead of promoting maturity, we dumb down our worship and sermons to the point of providing only what infant Christians can accept.
Although serving our youth is a noble goal, such over-emphasis—giving young people exactly what they desire—is a common parental mistake which promotes selfishness and narcissism. It may cause the mature to regress or seek another church.
I’m not saying that “old wine is better” just because it’s old. In the Christian life, we need a healthy respect for both the old and the new. We need both milk and meat. Or do we want to remain as children? Peter says that pure spiritual milk helps us grow up in our salvation [1Peter 2:2]. But Jesus didn’t just serve milk. He offered his flesh and his blood, the bread and wine which symbolize our sanctification, worship and spiritual sustenance [Jn 6]. And Paul made it clear that we need to introduce solid food into our spiritual diets. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4:
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
That was the situation in first-century Corinth. And it also seems to describe us today. We are worldly, not mature. We want to enjoy, to play, to compete with the next guy (or gal) or the next church. We collect toys and spend our days in fantasies rather than in mature work. As someone once told me, “The church is so worldly and the world is so churchy that you can’t tell the difference anymore.”
Growing up, like being born, is never easy or painless. For the mother, it is sheer agony. And some babies (especially boys) almost resist being born. They want to stay someplace cozy and warm. After being born, some resist being weaned from milk to solid food (again, we noticed this in our boys).
Like the boys in Peter Pan, we resist the discipline and self-denial of growing up. It seems that our whole Christian culture is stuck in Neverland.
What is the solution? Just grow up. This answer is not likely to be popular. But it’s what Peter and Paul both said. The job of parents is to ensure that this happens. Spiritually, we are all children of God, if indeed we have been born again. That means we have to grow up.
Preachers, teachers, Christian leaders and parents: Let’s stop pretending that to remain as children is okay. Jesus didn’t denounce Pharisees as “old wineskins” because they were mature. He did so because they thought they were spiritual when they were not.
Let us, therefore, forget what is behind and press on toward the goal: that we may become like Christ, and that we may finish the race, win the prize, and win our world for His kingdom. This isn’t a matter of more education or sophistry. One doesn’t become strong by reading muscle magazines, but by hitting the gym, exercising, sometimes getting really sore or even injured. We can’t win a race by analyzing it from the sidelines, but by long hours of training and sweating and not giving up.
Spiritual maturity doesn’t come to Huck Finns who live for themselves and the next adventure. It comes to those who deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Jesus.
Tags: Church Trends
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Chris,
Thanks for sharing this with us. To me, one interesting aspect of this article was the idea that “youth has almost become an idol.” Youth is certainly an idol in the popular culture, but I hadn’t thought much about this trend in the church. It would be great if all Christians, young and old, could get together and worship in mutual love and respect. But that is clearly not happening, and the trend is to separate ourselves by musical taste and worship style. Yet musical taste is not the issue. All of us, regardless of our age, need to be growing up. Yet the way we do church is often antithetical to discipleship. In many cases, we have actually institutionalized the assumption that most Christians will remain immature and uncommitted. I hope that you will write more in the future about what can be done about it because, if church members are not ready or willing to be discipled, what is a pastor to do? -
Interesting article. Practically speaking, how can we proactively pursue maturity as a church while evangelizing and inviting new people?
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Hello Chris Kelly
Appreciate your observations of what lacks in many Churches in the area and around the country…
Many people do not know what is the acceptable way to worship God because they grew up in Churches that have abandoned Biblical worship…
“But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture. REF: Chapter XXI – Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/Today it is about being entertained or conjuring up some type of neoplatonic experiences or people. Many of the pastors in the State College, PA area are more concerned about building up their empire of followers and personal wealth. Many have their own outside interests – antiques, real estate, etc. They recruit and place in “leadership” roles the people whom have deep pockets. After all, “success” and spiritual maturity is measured in the size of your bank account isn’t it?
You touched on a very good subject and that is worship…
Do you believe that we should worship God in a manner that obeys the Second Commandment?
Do you think we should have the imagination and ideas of men dictate how we should worship?
This is exactly what the Church started doing back in the 5th century when instruments and “inspired” hymns were first introduced.
Now we see exactly how far it has gone…
Today it is an all out circus where anything goes!
The Church needs to repent from idolatrous worship and return to singing the Psalms A capella.
But we know better than what God’s word tells us right?
Though the Psalms were good enough for Jesus to sing in the synagogue and for His disciples and the early Church to sing but we know better… Right? After all, it is the 20th century…
Hogwash!Here is some good references on the regulative principle and Biblical worship…
http://www.covenanter.org/Worship/Psalmody/psalmody.htm
http://www.apuritansmind.com/PuritanWorship/ExclusivePsalmody.htm
http://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/psalms.htm
http://www.fpcr.org/blue_banner_articles/exclusive_psalmody_faq.htm
http://www.apuritansmind.com/PuritanWorship/McMahonRegulativePrinciple.htm
http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/sola.htmThere are only a few denominations that actually follow Biblical worship. The Presbyterian Reformed sings the psalms. Unfortunately there is not a congregation in the State College area. The “Reformed Presbyterian Church” in State College does but this Church is decaying because of an unjustified excommunication of a member and the Lord not blessing the Church for acting in the flesh as it did when the excommunicated member was asking for the Church to help. Instead it wanted a good ole burning at the stake. They not only excommunicated the member but then abandoned the family afterwards… Even the Amish treat their shunned better than this Church its own… God will not bless and grow any Church that does this and this one in State College is reaping what they have sown as a result…
If you are interested in starting up a group to worship in a Biblical manner, contact me and I would be happy to work with anyone who is serious about wanting to worship in a manner that pleases the Lord… I have a Psalter and the accompanying melody to learn how to sing them…
This reason along alone with others is why it so hard to find a good Church home in the State College and/or Centre County area.
You never know, maybe the Lord will use this to bring about a revival of Biblical worship among other things… -
Hello Skip,
Some readers may be unfamiliar with the terms you are using or the context of the issues you raise, so I will try to explain it. (Please correct me if I’m wrong.) There are two theological principles that hav been used to guide Christian worship. A few conservative churches follow the regulative principle which says that unless a specific act of worship has been commanded in the Bible, we should not do it; it is prohibited. But most churches follow a normative principle, which says that unless a form of worship is specifically prohibited in the Bible, it ought to be allowed.
In the Old Testament, the regulative principle seems to apply at first (e.g. Leviticus 10). But by the time of David and Solomon, musical instruments were introduced, and I don’t see any evidence that God was displeased by it. The Psalms themselves mention instruments. And the New Testament is a very different era as well. Can you make a clear cut case from the Bible (not simply from historical confessions) that Christians are required to follow a strict regulative principle?
I’m not trying to give you a hard time. This is an honest question; I want to know what you think.
Personally, I think that the Holy Spirit moves Christians to worship in many different ways. But that does not mean that anything goes. No matter what cultural forms we use when we worship, we must worship God in a spirit of humble obedience. Not outward obedience to the written code (part of the old covenant), but inward obedience to the Spirit of God living in us. I think that’s the essence of what Jesus meant when he said that we must worship God in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24).
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Susan asked: “Interesting article. Practically speaking, how can we proactively pursue maturity as a church while evangelizing and inviting new people?”
Perhaps, by having two services, one for newcomers, and one for everybody, where there would be no “simplification” of the message?
Or, we can just stop thinking about focus group – youth – and always deliver serious sermons which show the glory of God. Those sermons when they expound God’s truth clearly and seriously can be understood even by little children. And we should not think that young people do not need a deep and real message.
One of the serious living preachers for me is Sinclair B. Ferguson (his audio files can easily be found). Martyn Lloyd-Jones had also been known for delivering things a 12-year-old girl could understand. But nobody can say he delivered simplified and entertaining messages.
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Timothy, I’m very fond of MLJ. In his day, a Sunday evening service that was very evangelistic was held for new Christians (what we would call “seekers”), while his a.m. service had a very “meaty” message for growing believers. This is the pattern I intend to follow with my ministry here in Virginia.
We do not have separate services based on a particular taste in music, nor services geared for children or teens. It just seems that unity as a body cannot be maintained by trying to please this or that segment. The worship service has to be centered on the Word of God. This is the true “bread” that really IS the body of Jesus. [John 6:63] And it is paramount.
Now I can say I know a lot about music and its importance in worship. What I have come to realize is that it’s secondary or even tertiary compared to the ministry of the word, but immature Christians make it the primary consideration. I learned this from Keith Green, who once harshly rebuked all the people at his concert for being faithful and commited in music while totally ignoring missions.
Joe, in answer to your question, “if church members are not willing to be discipled, then what’s a pastor to do?” I can only say this: they need to be rebuked. The pastor’s work consists of “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. [2 Tim 3:16] Examples of such rebukes can be found throughout the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, Wesley, and in practically every paragraph Oswald Chambers ever wrote. Our preaching has to stir and spur on even the most righteous, as well as the unsaved.
I have often recommended the book “Preaching and Preachers” by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. You will find many of the answers to the questions raised here in his book. Were I to write the abstract for his book, it would go like this:
A preacher who is repenting, studying, growing and deepening his walk with the Lord will lead his congregation to do the same. The same holds if he is pursuing the world—status, recognition, fame, glory, wealth or pleasure. How to preach is understood naturally by those who love God and his flock. To the hired hand, preaching is merely a religious form of show business.
Susan, thanks for your question. I will make it the subject for my next contribution. For now, read “Preaching and Preachers”. There are lots of practical ways to pursue maturity, but the ones that work begin with: “Deny yourself…” [Lk 9:23] So if it seems unreasonable to read a whole book to find the answers, go back one sentence. I don’t mean to sound facetious. I know you are a leader in your church. But for all of us, especially leaders, that is the one and only practical first step. The next step is a very big one that takes a long time and doesn’t necessarily have any immediate good fruit: “take up the cross daily”. Here, as leaders, we must shake off complacency and grow.
Goethe said, “Everybody wants to be somebody: Nobody wants to grow.” This is the essence of immaturity. How does one get out of that rut? You already know the answer. “Forget what is behind; count everything a loss; press on in the way of Jesus Christ.” In other words, “Take up the cross daily and follow Jesus.”
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Hi Chris,
I appreciate what you said about clarity in preaching, where rebuke and correction are often required. You mentioned some of the great preachers of centuries past. We can learn a lot from them. They faithfully preached the Word, and God used them.
At the same time, I wonder what kind of preaching is really going to be used by God in this century. There are many pastors who are faithfully preaching the word right now. God is using them to varying degrees. If people are not hearing the message, I wouldn’t necessarily fault the messenger, because one can find fault with any messenger, including all of the great ones that you mentioned.
Consider Jonathan Edwards and his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It paints a vivid picture of God’s judgment. But I wouldn’t call it a balanced presentation of the gospel. Some of Edwards’ contemporaries (e.g. Isaac Watts) said that, in terms of content, the sermon really wasn’t superb. And Edwards knew it wasn’t.
In fact, he preached that sermon in 1739 and 1740 with little effect.
But when he preached it in Enfield, CT in 1741, something new
happened; a spark was lit and people responded. It was a genuine
revival, a work of the Holy Spirit. Faithful preaching of the Wordis
a central part of every revival, but it does not guarantee revival. Nor
does intense prayer. Nor does a return to sound doctrine.
Nor does anything else that we can do. Yes, pastors
and church leaders and church members need to do a better job. People need to grow up. But at the end of the day, all of our best efforts at growing up are still going to fall immeasurably short and we will
need the anointing of the Holy Spirit for lives to be changed.Certainly pastors can rebuke church members more than they do. Perhaps they ought to. But how to do this correctly and wisely in 21st century culture is a challenge. How we communicate really does matter. (I know that you know this as well, and I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m preaching to you here, because I don’t mean to). We can rebuke all we want, but here we quickly reach a point of diminishing returns. Today, frank presentations of truth seem toi be effective only after relationships of trust and open communication have been established.
I like what you said to Susan. Church members can grow when their leaders are growing in highly visible ways.
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Okay so there is a lot (!) of text on this page. I read (kinda skimmed
) it all. I’m actually not going to agree or disagree with anyone entirely. I think everybody has valid points (yay legit discussion). My two cents are that there are many ways on how worship is to be carried out. I don’t think that Biblical worship in the form of praise songs consists of singing only “the Psalms A capella.” I find nothing wrong with a guitar or drums or a full-out band. The issue with singing praise songs today isn’t with the praise bands, it’s with the people praising. It isn’t the bands’ faults that people praise their music and voices instead of God. If the bands changed to singing only Psalms A capella, then only the few actual Christians (that attended before the change to Psalms A capella) would remain. But the thing with “amazing” praise bands is that they can pique the interest of non-Christians.
My next point: there are two two parts (at least) that make a church whole. I feel a big problem with many churches today is that they only have one part. They focus solely on getting the non-Christians (that claim/think they are Christian or know they are not) to come to church and to get everyone attending church to keep attending church (with humor, good praise music, telling the people what they want to hear, etc.). But many churches don’t have the second part: to nurture the people they have amassed so that they grow.
A church I attended when I was younger is still stuck at the first step. They succeeded in getting my mom, me, and my older sister to attend their church service. However, what’s the point in getting me to come to church if you’re never going to introduce me to God? Sunday was the worst day of the week for me. It was the day when I was forced to go to church and waste my time sitting there doing nothing. I was bored because I was excluded from the church cliques and I didn’t get any answers from the sermons. All I got out of it were some laughs because the pastor was funny. My sister and I did what any person with common sense would do: we stopped going. And thus, my first church failed as a church. It succeeded in getting me to come to church but it didn’t have the second part. People who get swayed to go to that church either make good friends and stick around or make no friends and leave. It has nothing to do with God.
I agree that many churches give sermons lacking beef. They give watered down versions of the Gospel, or a deluge of milk as Chris called it. Churches need to get rid of the mindset that there purpose is solely to get as many people as possible inside the church on Sundays. They need the second part in order to be whole. A huge church with shallow sermons results in little to none true Christians (why would a true Christian stick around if he/she isn’t growing in Christ there?). But, a small church with Scripture-rich sermons results in more true Christians than the huge church. However, I’m not saying that small churches are better than large churches. I went to the second largest church in South Korea this past summer and that pastor gave one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard. But I doubt that all the attendees are Christians. And so what else can pastors do other than preach the Gospel fully and truthfully? I don’t really know. To be honest, God never said in the Bible that He would save everyone. If everyone is to be saved, then grace is no longer grace, a gift. It becomes required of Him to save every one. “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14).
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Hello Joe
Appreciate the dialogue.
Sorry to take so long to respond. I just happened to check to see if there was anything new this evening – Dec. 5.You are correct in that there are a few Bible believing and following Churches today that understand the purpose and correct way to worship God. There are many that have complete disregard for the second commandment and its principles.
This sin is quite common and it parallels that of what led to the fall. It all begins like it did in Genesis 3. First, by questioning the authority and principles of God’s word. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? REF: Genesis 3:1
For surely we get “moved” in many different ways and think that it is the Holy Spirit. After all the outward obedience to God’s written word does not matter. The principles of the Second Commandment and the Reformation – Sola Scriptura (Only Scripture) and Tota Scriptura (All of Scripture) do not apply to us. Who needs to follow these principles? It is all that “Old Testament” stuff anyway. Right? The excuses and justification for sin is endless… People get “moved” and it just has to be the Holy Spirit and because we feel it and it is pleasing to our senses it surely must be of God. It can’t be satan deceiving us. The most difficult people to ever reach with any truth from God’s Word are those who have any type of experience that involves their senses and emotions. From the Mormon and their burning in the bosom to the Pentecostal being deceived to think that their “tongues” are the Biblical gift of tongues according to the context and use of the gift in scripture. Surely it is not satan masquerading as an angel of light attempting to deceive even the elect right? Ref. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15Then comes the lie, “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
After all, worshiping how we think and feel is all good right?
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”Regarding the Worship of God…
Now let us look at the scripture proofs concerning the worship of God.
“But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.” REF: WCF Ch XXI – Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day.
Scripture proofs as follows:
DEU 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. MAT 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. ACT 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. MAT 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (see also DEU 15:-19) EXO 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
http://reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/To address your comments about the regulative principle in the Old Covenant.
You state, “In the Old Testament, the regulative principle seems to apply at first (e.g. Leviticus 10). But by the time of David and Solomon, musical instruments were introduced, and I don’t see any evidence that God was displeased by it. The Psalms themselves mention instruments. And the New Testament is a very different era as well. Can you make a clear cut case from the Bible (not simply from historical confessions) that Christians are required to follow a strict regulative principle?”
I want to get anyone who follows this discourse to follow the context.
Regarding the Old Covenant…Let’s look at worship – when it began and when instruments were introduced and why and what for?
Adam walking with God in the garden before the fall in the cool of the day expressed his adoration and praise in God’s presence. No mention of instruments is ever made when there was a perfect fellowship between God and man. No mention of the use of instruments to create the proper “mood” or need to find something to help “express” praise due the creator.
Moving forward from the Adamic Epoch we do not see any mention of instruments in scripture until the account of Cain’s descendents named Jubal. Ref Genesis 4:20-21. The point being made was giving mention to and listing the arts and crafts that the descendents of Cain developed. Nowhere is it ever mentioned that these were ever used in any kind of worship. We are also not given any liberty to even infer this as well.Onward in Genesis the references made regarding instruments were not regarding worship but in the same expression of the art of instrumental music. Again, reference is NOT regarding worship but a going away party in Genesis 31:27.
Moving on thru the Old Covenant. In the Mosaic Epoch we were given the law. Many commands were given regarding the many spheres of life and these commands include the specific reference to instruments. In Numbers 10:1 God commands the creation of trumpets for calling the community together. God also gave the specific purpose for the use of the instruments. This instrument also was used to give signal to go to battle in Numbers 10:9.
The very first specific reference in God’s Word for the use of instruments in worship is in Numbers 10:10 regarding appointed feasts, new moon festivals, fellowship & burnt offerings and as a memorial. Please take notice that the use of instruments is very specific.Moving ahead to the time of the Davidic Epoch. Here we see the most development that was made regarding the use of instrumental music in the worship of God. Ref. 1Chronicles 15:16. Here notice that David gives the directive for the Levites. No specific mention of a command from God was given to do this. We can find positive proof that God gave this command from 2Chronicles 29:25. As with Moses, we see that the specific appointment of instruments in the worship of God came from the direct command of God. Please note that it is very specific how the instruments were used. Ref. 2Chronicles 29:26-28. The record continues to show the distinction between the offering of sacrifice and the other part of their worship. Ref. 2Chronicles 29:29-30 – “When the offerings were finished, the king and everyone present with him knelt down and worshiped. King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshiped.” In the second part of the worship no indication or reference was made to the use of instruments. The text makes it clear that when the offerings were finished so was the use of the instruments. Now notice the most significant point to be made is that the use of instruments throughout the Old Covenant is that they are related directly to the temple service. This is also pointed to the coming of Christ, the Lamb of God who would lay down His life for those whom the Father had given him to save.
The scriptures referenced indicate that the use of instruments was introduced to the worship of God first thru Moses and then in greater detail by David. All instrumental use in the worship of God was all done at the specific command of God and it all related directly to the temple worship and it was ceremonial in nature.
New Covenant Worshp…
Looking forward to the New Covenant we know that the ceremonial system came to an end. We now can see from God’s Word that the use of instruments also ceased along with the ceremonial system of worship. Nowhere in the New Covenant do we ever read of the use of instruments in the Church or in the worship of the Apostles. If God intended the practice of the use of instruments as specific as it was in the Old Covenant we certainly would have specific reference regarding His use in the New Covenant. The accounts of when Christ Himself worshiped, no indication is even inferred that instruments were used. The evidence that instruments ceased is from Church history. The early Church was similar to the worship in the synagogue. It was simple and instruments were not used and the Psalms were sung. Even as early as 150 AD, Justin Martyr made comment that the plain singing of the Psalms is what is the norm. 400 AD Chrysostom commented about the Jews still using instruments in their sacrifice and how that Christians only worshiped with plain singing. History gives no evidence of the use of instruments until the 7th century. Pope Vitalian introduced organ to the Latin singing of the psalms in worship. This was the first instruments were ever used in worship since the ceremonial ritual of the Old Covenant. The practice of the use of instruments in the worship of God continued until the Reformation when the Church went back to the original way of worshiping God.Lets look at the primary reason for the removal instruments in the worship of God. Jesus made the perfect sacrifice for the sins of His people. Christ did away with the ceremonial ritual. Ref. Hebrews 9 & 10.
There is no need to follow the Mosaic forms and symbols because Christ has provided a new and living way to God. The early Christians left behind the ceremonial rituals and everything, instruments and all that went with that system to follow the living Christ. Jesus made it clear that our joy is not to be expressed symbolically because he said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” – John 15:11. Jesus gives us now the fullness of what the forms and symbols of the Old Covenant couldn’t.Another reason why instruments ceased in worship is that the joy and praise that fills the hearts of Christians is to be expressed from our heart by our lips. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.” Hebrews 13:15
Let us get more specific. As Christians, we are to “make music in our hearts” – Ref. Ephesians 5:19. The greek word is psallo which means to pluck the strings of an instrument. The word psallo can not be separated and isolated from the word heart in context. This literally means that we are to be plucking the strings of our heart to the Lord. This music is expressed through our lips that confess the name of Jesus where we do not need any supporting instruments to do so.Now please note that I’m not stating that instruments do not have their place in the life of a believer. Is it not wonderful to be entertained with music composed by other believers? Just as in Genesis when the reference is made to a going away party and the use of instruments for entertainment purposes we today can enjoy the use of instruments. However, when it comes to the worship of God, His Word is very specific in how He wishes for His people to ascribe themselves unto Him.
Are we going to follow His revealed will or are we going to worship according to the desires and imaginations of men? Will people be idolatrous in the way they worship by breaking the Second Commandment or will they seek to obey the principles of the Second Commandment?Lets look at the excuses people give today…
Instruments and worshiping according to the imaginations and devices of men helps with a “mood” of worship. Back to the temptation in Genesis, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Is not the organ, guitar, orchestra, drums, rock band, etc. pleasing to the eye, pleasing to and tickling the ear, desirable for gaining wisdom and producing an “experience” that we should go ahead and be innovative regardless if it is unauthorized in scripture and disobey the principles of God’s word?How much more so interesting that those who want to give all the excuses for the use instruments in the creation and act of idolatrous worship are also the ones who say that the use of statues, pictures, crosses, symbols and ornaments are not acceptable in the worship of God to be placed in the church…
What excuses will you give?
The Principles of God’s Word for worship are as follows:
- God who is the object of worship has revealed in His Word how we are to worship Him.
- Whatever is not commanded by God’s Word in the worship of God is forbidden.The regulative principle made simple from both Old and New Covenants…
Old Covenant Reference: “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded You.” Deuteronomy 4:2.
“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.” Deuteronomy 12:32.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
This principle applies to the entirety of the life of the Believer.Jesus gives warning that people will teach as doctrines the precepts of men setting aside the commandment of God in order to hold the tradition of men. REF: Mark 7:6-9.
Paul warns of self-made religion or will-worship and how the unregenerate try to determine how to come to God through the ideas and teachings of men and that those who are Christ’s have died with Him and have risen with Him and that the believer will have a dependence upon God’s Word growing to maturity where they will not submit to the deceptive wisdom and freedom of do-it-yourself religion and worship. Ref. Colossians 2:22-23.Will you continue to go along with the sensual indulgence which is what is considered now the norm within the professing evangelical Church today?
To worship in Spirit and in Truth one MUST understand what this means? This is NOT a solicitation for indulgence in self-worship and idolatry. One can’t worship in Spirit and Truth without the Word of the Spirit, which is God’s Word, which is truth. The two go hand in hand together. Ref Psalm 119:142 & John 17:17. Worship that is invented by man is NOT Spiritual and NOT of God. Worship according to God’s Word with His perfect and inerrant Word is worshiping in Spirit and in truth…
If the Psalms are good enough for Jesus (Matthew 26:30) and the Apostles (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16 & James 5:13) and all the examples from God’s Word refer to the singing of the Psalms without instruments in the public worship of God why is that not the norm and the standard for us today? The answer is obvious and is with one three letter word: SIN!
Joe, I trust that you would not want me to cite all the places where God’s Word tells us that He is NOT pleased when we disobey His word. I’ll only cite a few in reference to this topic. Probably the most obvious and specific example from the Old Covenant of how jealous God is to be worshiped according to His Word and not according to the imaginations, inventions and devices of men is Leviticus 10:1-2. In the New Covenant warnings are given throughout about being obedient to His commands and following the precepts and directives of His Word. Ref Matthew 28:20; Mark 7:6-9; Colossians 2:22-23
God did not leave room for the imaginations and inventions of men for the breathing of His word (Ref. 2 Peter 1:20-21 & 2 Timothy 3:16) or the obedience He requires (Ref. Proverbs 3:5-7; Matthew 4:4, 5:19-20; Mark 7:7-8 & John 14:24)I hope I have touched on the most essential aspects of the subject and answered your question regarding the worship of God. I trust that this all would lead you and many others to worship according to what God’s Word commands with the perfect and inerrant hymnal God gave us of which Christ Himself sung and not according to your own self-imposed worship according to your own or the imaginations and devices of others…
Wishing you all the best of providence.
Skip Dreibelbis
http://www.TrueBlueAuctions.com
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