Churches of Christ with or without instruments, which is the right way to worship?

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Mar 3, 2014
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#1
As a member of the Church of Christ I cannot believe what has happened in the last twenty years in which some Churches of Christ have decided to add instruments to their worshipping, which I feel is a sin. If you are a member of a Church of Christ who has instruments in your church, tell me where you got your authorization to do this? What has changed in the last twenty years to change how you have decided to worship with instruments when the Churches of Christ prior to the last twenty years were always instrument free .
 

Agricola

Senior Member
Dec 10, 2012
2,638
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#2
SHow me in the Bible where it says using instruments to worship God is a sin.
 
J

Jda016

Guest
#3
Can you show me the scriptures where instruments are wrong?

Because, many of the psalms are directed to the "chief musician" who set them to music.
 
K

Karraster

Guest
#4
The right way to worship is read Torah. That's what Messiah did.
 
R

RachelBibleStudent

Guest
#5
psalm 150:3-5..."Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals."

any other questions?
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
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#6
psalm 150:3-5..."Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals."

any other questions?
Touche and good response although he will reject it tooth and nail!
 
Dec 26, 2012
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#7
HMMM What does the Bible say?

2 Chronicles 5:11-13

11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:
“He is good;
his love endures forever.”

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,

Psalm 150

1 Praise the Lord.[a]

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.


6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.


Psalm 98

4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.


7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.


Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

There are more verses about praising God with instruments.
 
1

1still_waters

Guest
#8
Ok. CoC folks are going to dismiss Psalm references because it's old testament. You're talking to a brick wall by simply quoting psalms.
They can't find a new testament reference that approves of musical instruments. So you have to deal with their frame of reference and view of things in order to address them.

Someone gave this awesome answer in another thread, and I think it's a good step in the right direction for answering the CoC on this issue.

First establish that the NT approves of the use of Psalms.

Eph 5:19
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
Colossians 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
1 Cor 14
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
Then we have to establish that psalms have musical instruments.

Psalm 57

7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.

So the NT approves of Psalms, and Psalms had musical instruments.
 
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Mar 3, 2014
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#9
SHow me in the Bible where it says using instruments to worship God is a sin.
What if I give you some commands on singing only, then you wouldn't need for God to tell you that instruments are not allowed. If you're told to do something one way and you choose not to do it the way God commands, that would be a sin. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 1 Corinthians 14:15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
 
Mar 3, 2014
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#10
Ok. CoC folks are going to dismiss Psalm references because it's old testament.
They can't find a new testament reference that approves of it.

Someone gave this awesome answer in another thread, and I think it's a good step in the right direction for answering the CoC on this issue.

First establish that the NT approves of the use of Psalms.







Then we have to establish that psalms have musical instruments.



So the NT approves of Psalms, and Psalms had musical instruments.
Who told you that you had? to establish psalms have musical instruments? I don't think God told you to do this. Just because Psalms are permitted it doesn't say that God wants instruments with them in N.T. times. What was done in O.T. is one thing but this is N.T. times and God has a different plan in N.T. worship, which is singing only. Revelation says instruments in heaven, doesn't have nothing to do with now, just like O.T. doesn't either on this.
 
Dec 18, 2013
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#11
Not familiar with the CoC denomination or their doctrines. As for instruments in churches, I suppose this is not a sin as many people have pointed to some goodly Biblical examples. Though personally I will say one thing that always turned me off to churches of stone was how much emphasis they put on singing ridiculous songs and pretty much only playing music. I personally would prefer a church that simply be like a group Bible discussion (kinda like what we got going on here at CC.com.) Not that there is anything wrong with you if you do enjoy the music moreso. Just different strokes for different folks I guess.
 
J

Jda016

Guest
#12
What if I give you some commands on singing only, then you wouldn't need for God to tell you that instruments are not allowed. If you're told to do something one way and you choose not to do it the way God commands, that would be a sin. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 14:15 1 Corinthians 14:15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
I still don't see the problem. Each of those scriptures say to sing to The Lord, but they DO NOT say that using instruments is wrong.
 
1

1still_waters

Guest
#13
Another explanation I came up with is this..

Jesus guides us to pray that his will would be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
How do they worship in heaven?

Rev 5:8
[ Worthy Is the Lamb ] Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having aharp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Rev 14:2
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

So they have musical instruments for worship in heaven. We're to pray his will on Earth as in heaven.
As my previous post showed, the NT approves of Psalms, and Psalms had musical instruments.

There were musical instruments in the OT.
There are musical instruments in heaven.
The NT approves of Psalms.

How in the world can we think that we're somehow the time period where music isn't allowed?
 
Dec 26, 2012
5,853
137
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#14
Ok. CoC folks are going to dismiss Psalm references because it's old testament. You're talking to a brick wall by simply quoting psalms.
They can't find a new testament reference that approves of musical instruments. So you have to deal with their frame of reference and view of things in order to address them.

Someone gave this awesome answer in another thread, and I think it's a good step in the right direction for answering the CoC on this issue.

First establish that the NT approves of the use of Psalms.







Then we have to establish that psalms have musical instruments.



So the NT approves of Psalms, and Psalms had musical instruments.
AHHH Legalism. Got it.
 
1

1still_waters

Guest
#15
Who told you that you had? to establish psalms have musical instruments? I don't think God told you to do this. Just because Psalms are permitted it doesn't say that God wants instruments with them in N.T. times. What was done in O.T. is one thing but this is N.T. times and God has a different plan in N.T. worship, which is singing only. Revelation says instruments in heaven, doesn't have nothing to do with now, just like O.T. doesn't either on this.
Who told you that NT psalms don't have musical instruments.
The examples we have in the Bible of psalms have musical instruments.
The NT says three times to use Psalms.
The burden of proof to say music never goes with Psalms rests on you.
 
Mar 3, 2014
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#16
Can you show me the scriptures where instruments are wrong?

Because, many of the psalms are directed to the "chief musician" who set them to music.
It may be, but the fact is in worship in N.T. times he has decided to go with singing. Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19 are commands to sing, and yes some have misinterpreted this not to mean singing only, what else is new.
 
J

Jda016

Guest
#18
Who told you that you had? to establish psalms have musical instruments? I don't think God told you to do this. Just because Psalms are permitted it doesn't say that God wants instruments with them in N.T. times. What was done in O.T. is one thing but this is N.T. times and God has a different plan in N.T. worship, which is singing only. Revelation says instruments in heaven, doesn't have nothing to do with now, just like O.T. doesn't either on this.
so Old Testament has Instruments, Heaven will have instruments, but we can't have instruments now simply based on several scriptures that say sing to The Lord? Those scriptures admonish us to sing to God, but no where does it state that the singing can not be accompanied by instruments.

this is not a scriptural doctrine, it is a man made one, based on faulty conclusion.
 
C

ChristianGirlLivingLife

Guest
#19
Living in Christ is about living in joy and peace with Him! It should be okay that they use musical instruments.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Romans 15:13
 
Mar 3, 2014
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#20
Who told you that NT psalms don't have musical instruments.
The examples we have in the Bible of psalms have musical instruments.
The NT says three times to use Psalms.
The burden of proof to say music never goes with Psalms rests on you.
I never said they didn't have instruments, so where are you getting that from. Psalms also have singing. The N.T. says three times to use psalms, we are, in singing. Again I haven't a clue where you got that I said instruments didn't go with psalms, but did you forget that singing also goes with psalms.
 
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