I am a member of a Church of Christ. I’ve been a member since November 11, 1981, when I was baptized in a Church of Christ in Tallahassee, Florida. That was over 40 years ago.
Since then, I’ve learned about the traditions and practices of the Church of Christ. One is a cappella singing.
“A cappella” is a musical term meaning “of the chapel”. These days, it refers to any form of singing unaccompanied by musical instruments.
In general, Churches of Christ tend to believe that any worship practice must be specifically authorized by the New Testament in order to be used in a worship service. Ephesians 5:18-19 refer to singing and making music in your heart to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 also urges Christians to “teach and admonish each other with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Since there is no mention of using instruments in these verses, there are those who believe that all instrumental music in worship is prohibited.
Others believe that because there is no “thou shalt not use instruments in worship” command in the New Testament, we are allowed to use them.
If you want to stir up a hornet’s nest in a Church of Christ discussion group, just post about the topic of instrumental music. Then grab your popcorn, sit back, and watch the fur fly.
After seeing my umpteenth “we don’t use instruments because the New Testament doesn’t authorize us to use them!” in a particular Church of Christ discussion group, I asked, let’s say a person hears the Word, believes it, repents of their sin, confesses Jesus as Lord, and is baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. (In Churches of Christ, this is known as the “five-step plan of salvation”.) They go to worship, listen to a sermon, give to the church, and fellowship with other believers. But they use instruments in their worship service. Hell, yes or no?
Two people said, yes; one wrote it in capital letters with an exclamation point.
I hit “leave group”.
It’s one thing to say, I prefer/enjoy a cappella singing in worship. A cappella singing is beautiful when it’s done well. I’ve heard a cappella singing that sent chills through me. I don’t see anything in the Bible that prohibits a cappella at all.
It’s one thing to say, I believe the Bible teaches that we must sing without instruments in worship and I can’t/won’t attend a Church of Christ that uses instruments. Okay. For me, I group that belief into a “matter of conscience” belief, and while there’s nothing I see specifically prohibiting a particular musical style of worship, Paul talks plenty in I Corinthians and Romans about respecting another person’s conscience. I have no right to demand that someone believe as I do.
But it is entirely another thing to say that someone else is going to hell because of your interpretation of a specific Scripture supposedly mandating a particular worship style.
To me, that is a very dangerous thing.
I cannot believe that God would give someone the talent to sing, play an instrument, and/or write music . . . and then He says, you can’t use this talent to worship me.
I’ve heard the concerns about “turning the worship service into a performance.” Okay. Fair concern. I don’t think church should be a rock concert. Smoke machines and fancy costumes belong at the Verizon Ampitheatre or Philips Arena in Atlanta, where I live. (Or in wherever you go to see a rock concert.)
I also don’t think church should be a place where we just simply stand and sing, or sit down and sing, staring at songbooks or at lyrics shown on a screen. Some songs deserve quiet reverence. Others call out for clapping hands and singing loudly (and there are some in Churches of Christ that believe that hand clapping during a song is a sin because it’s the same as a “percussive instrument”.)
And I have seen at least one song leader walking around and “performing” while leading singing. So if you’re going to criticize “performing” on stage, there are song leaders that fall into that category as well.
In John 4:24, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman at the well, God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
One can worship God in spirit and truth by singing without instruments.
One can worship God in spirit and truth by singing with instruments.
One can sing without instruments and not worship God in spirit and in truth.
One can sing with instruments and not worship God in spirit and in truth.
One should not condemn a person if they choose one way or the other to worship God.
Rather, the question is, am I worshiping God in spirit and in truth?
I think the answer to that runs deeper than having or not having instruments in worship.
Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.
Fantastic! ❤️ I pray many open their eyes to this in the Coc
I agree with you completely. No one can say that instruments in worship are a ticket to hell. If they're against one's conscience, as you said, that's another thing. I never thought that but I went along with the CoC because it's all I had at the time.