THOSE FOLKS DON'T HAVE A PIANO

INTRODUCTION

1. I have heard people identify us as "The Folks Who Don't Have A Piano.” We could be noted for being --

   1. People who love one another.

   2. People who go to great lengths to do good for others . . . especially in times of great need.

   3. Or as people who are dedicated to open-minded study of the Scriptures to learn the truth.

   4. But that is not the way most outsiders know us. People know us as the people who don't have pianos.

2. In the January 2004 issue of The Spiritual Sword, Alan Highers has a 23 page article titled "Why Churches of Christ Do Not Use Instrumental Music in Worship."

WE ARE NOT THE ONES WHO HAVE CHANGED.

1. As recently as the late 1800s, most denominational churches opposed the use of instrumental music.

2. The Presbyterian church follows the theology of John Calvin.

   1. In John Calvin's commentary on Calvin wrote, "The name of God, no doubt, can, properly speaking, be celebrated only by the articulate voice . . . ." He went on to say that "when [believers] frequent their sacred assemblies, musical instruments in celebrating the praises of god would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostle is far more pleasing to him. The voice of man . . . excels all inanimate instruments of music." Calvin went on to admit that music had power to move the hearts of men, but cautioned, "we should always take care that no corruption creep in, which might both defile the pure worship of God and involve men in superstition. Moreover, since the Holy Spirit expressly warns us of this danger by the mouth of Paul, to proceed beyond what we are there warranted by him is not only, I must say, unadvised zeal, but wicked and peverse obstinancy." [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom08.xxxix.i.html ]

3. The Methodist church once opposed instrumental music.

   1. The noted 18th century Methodist commentator Adam Clarke wrote -- "Moses had not appointed any musical instruments to be used in the divine worship; there was nothing of the kind under the first tabernacle." Clarke thought David was wrong to use instrumental music in Old Testament worship. However, he goes on to say that even if some Divine authority could be found for musical instruments under the Law of Moses, they still ought not be used in Christian worship. Clarke wrote "...the whole spirit, soul and genius of the Christ religion are against this [use of instrumental music]: and those who know the Church of God best, and what constitutes its genuine spiritual state, know that these things have been introduced as a substitute for the life and power of religion; and that where they prevail most, there is least of the power of Christianity. Away with such portentous baubles from the worship of that infinite Spirit who requires his followers to worship him in spirit and in truth, for to no such worship are those instruments friendly." At Amos 6:5, Clarke wrote "the use of such instruments of music, in the Christian Church, is without the sanction and against the will of God; . . . they are subversive of the spirit of true devotion, and . . . they are sinful." "...instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music; and here I register my protest against all such corruptions in the worship of the Author of Christianity."

   2. Clarke quoted John Wesley (founder of the Methodist church) "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen."

4. The largest denomination today; Baptists.

   1. Let me tell you about a Baptist preacher named Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon could be called the "Billy Graham of the 19th century." In his Treasury of David books, Spurgeon commented, "What a degradation to supplant the intelligent song of the whole congregation by the theatrical prettiness of a quartet, the refined niceties of a choir, or the blowing off of wind from inanimate bellows and pipes! We might as well pray by machinery as praise by it."

   2. Let me tell you also about one of the noted Baptist historians of the 19th century. David Benedict wrote in 1860, "In my earliest intercourse among this people congregational singing prevailed among them." (Fifty Years Among the Baptists, 281). He went on to explain how small instruments of music were gradually accepted in Baptist congregations. "Staunch old Baptists in former times would as soon have tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries"

5. Let's go farther back in history. What did the early church fathers say about instrumental music?

   1. James McKinnon is a Catholic scholar who wrote a Ph.D. dissertation in music history at Columbia University in 1965. His topic was "The Church Fathers and Musical Instruments." McKinnon says simply that musical instruments "were not used in the patristic period." The church in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th centuries didn't use instrumental music in worship.

   2. In his book A Cappella Music In the Public Worship of the Church, Everett Ferguson provides a large number of quotations from these early church fathers. "The conclusion that the early church did not employ instrumental music in worship does not rest, however, on inferences from silence. There are explicit statements from early Christian writers to the effect that Christians did not use instrumental music."

   3. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, c. 400 "It is not simple singing that belongs to the childish state, but singing with lifeless instruments, with dancing, and with clappers. Hence the use of such instruments and the others that belong to the childish state is excluded from the singing in the churches, and simple singing is left...."

   4. Niceta, Bishop of Remesiana (Serbia), "So, too, the trumpets, harps, cymbals and timbrels [have been rejected along with other observances of the Old Law]. For the sound of these we now have a better substitute in the music from the mouths of men."

   5. John Chrysotom, "I would say this, that in olden times they were thus led by these instruments because of the dullness of their understanding and their recent deliverance from idols. Just as God allowed animal sacrifices, so also he let them have these instruments, condescending to help their weakness."

   6. Eusebius, "We render our hymn with a living psalterion and a living kithara, with spiritual songs. The unison voices of Christians would be more acceptable to God than any musical instrument. Accordingly in all the churches of God, united in soul and attitude, with one mind and in agreement of faith and piety, we send up a unison melody in the words of the Psalms."

6. Again, McKinnon wrote an article titled "The Meaning of the Patristic Polemic Against Musical Instruments" in a 1955 issue of the journal Current Musicology. He wrote, "The attitude of opposition to instruments was virtually monolithic even though it was shared by men of diverse temperaments and different regional backgrounds, and even though it extended over a span of at least two centuries of changing fortunes for the Church. That there were not widespread exceptions to the general position defies credibility."

History Proves Nothing

We can document when it came into widespread use. We can say with certainty that it was not used by the first century church. There is no record of it having been used in the second, third, or fourth century church. Instruments were not accepted by most denominations until late1800s.

1. Churches of Christ (along with Greek Orthodox churches, Primitive Baptist churches, and perhaps a few other groups) are the traditionalists. Our worship has not changed regarding the use of musical instruments.

2. But what does tradition and history matter? Shouldn't we be more concerned with whether or not the Bible teaches us to worship with musical instruments?

THREE BIBLE PRINCIPLES

1. The Authority Principle

   1. Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

   2. In the name of the Lord Jesus = by the authority of Christ [cf. Matthew 28:18]

   3. How can one have instrumental music in worship in the name of the Lord Jesus? It can't be done because we must provide evidence of Him having authorized that practice. Silence does not authorize! [Hebrews 7:12-14 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.]

2. The Pattern Principle

   1. 2 Timothy 1:13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

   2. Some argue today that Jesus is the only pattern for us to follow. But how can we know Jesus and His pattern apart from the teachings of the word of Christ? We must follow the doctrine or teachings of Christ.

   3. Is the issue of instrumental music part of the pattern -- the "doctrine of Christ"? The Bible teaches us how to worship -- in spirit and in truth [John 4:24]. It offers instruction about how Christ wants us to worship. Part of that is singing [Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16].

3. The Restoration Principle

   1. The New Testament prophesied a time of apostasy when men would fall away from God's truth [1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,] History confirms that such a departure took place just as Paul said that it would.

   2. That departure requires that there be a restoration.

      1. If people have gone away from the truth, they can return to the truth.

      2. The teaching and practice of what God has authorized must be restored.

      3. We can restore singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to our worship.

   3. The only ones who can logically stand behind instrumental music are the ones who say "It doesn't matter what the Bible says because we aren't bound by it anyway." If you believe that the Bible is the word of God that we ought to be following today, you need to see the importance of worshiping the Lord in the way the New Testament authorizes us to worship.

Preached by John Gaines at Leonard Street Church of Christ