I've studied many religions and only found the Church of Christ to be biblically accurate. The naysayers will tell you it was created by Alexander Campbell, which is not true. He noticed the church was getting off track and restored it back to the original church Christ established and purchased with His blood, before all the branch-off churches started- like catholicism which started by appointing elders over several congregations instead of elders at each congregation.
The church of Christ has originated with men, namely THOMAS CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, WALTER SCOTT, and BARTON W. STONE. Did these men actually "restore" the gospel, the church, and true New Testament worship, as they claim, or did they simply create another sect bent on a more dogmatic sectarianism than others they renounced?
http://www.faithfacts.org/world-religions-and-theology/church-of-christ
They will tell you not having musical instruments is wrong, mainly because that would admit their religion is wrong. But the bible says to rightly divide the word- old testament and new testament. You can not bring old testament practices into the new testament church. Such as taking adulterers outside the city and stoning them to death, sacrificing a physically perfect lamb, paying for certain things with certain animals, and so on. You see, God's laws were obeyed physically in the old testament, but are now obeyed spiritually in the new testament. Just read Ephesians 6:10-17, and Romans 7:1-4. They physically praised God (instruments), we spiritually praise God (fruit of our lips).
Musical instruments when used with care, can enhance the singing of praise to the Lord. That was seen by the Christian church that split from the church of Christ. Musical instruments were obviously considered a help to praise in the Old Testament. It seems strange to say that something God thought was a blessing in the Old Testament and is now an evil in the New Testament church.
Since instrumental music has the Old Testament precedent of being approved of God ("musical instruments of God" 1 Chronicles 16:42), and there is no evidence that there was a time when this approval ceased, we have biblical authority for its validity.
We are authorized to use
“psalms” in the NT (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Ephesians 5:19 says "..speaking to one another with
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.." and correspondingly Colossians 3:16 says to, "..admonish one another with
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." The word "psalm" in the Greek dictionary, definition (#5568): "A set piece of music, i.e. a sacred ode (accompanied with the voice,
harp, or other instrument)." The root word of psalm means
"to twitch, twang or pluck," such as pluck a string of a musical instrument."
Strong's Concordance
psalmos: a striking (of musical strings), a psalm
Original Word: ψαλμός, οῦ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: psalmos
Phonetic Spelling: (psal-mos')
Short Definition: a psalm
Definition: a psalm, song of praise, the Hebrew book of Psalms.
HELPS Word-studies
5568 psalmós – a psalm ("Scripture set to music"). Originally, a psalm (5568 /psalmós) was
sung and accompanied by a plucked musical instrument (typically a harp), especially the OT Psalms.
[The Psalms of the OT were often sung and were accompanied by sophisticated musical arrangements].
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from psalló
Definition
a striking (of musical strings), a psalm
NASB Translation
Psalm (1), psalm (1), Psalms (3), psalms (2).
The words "making
melody" are used in Ephesians 5:19, but "how" this is done is found in Isaiah 23:16, and it is with a
musical instrument:" Take an
harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered."
Also, Amos 5:23 speaks of
"the melody of thy viols," which is also reference to a
musical instrument. So if "the Bible interprets itself," these passages show "how" to
make melody – with musical instruments.
*If the church of Christ (or any other church) wants to leave out musical instruments in their worship, that is their prerogative. But I don't believe that it's right for them to judge and condemn everyone else who chooses to use musical instruments like David did and as the apostle Paul instructed.
What we all must do is make certain our worship matches the doctrine of Christ (the new testament, not man-made writings). For the bible says "They worship Me in vain, their doctrine is merely human rules." In vain! That means it does not result in salvation! Listen, we cannot open the phone book and choose from a buffet of churches. There is only one Lord, one Faith, one baptism. We must make certain our church matches the first church in the book of Acts.
Teaching salvation by faith + works and forbidding instrumental music in worship and turning it into a legalistic prescription for members of the church does not match the first church in the book of Acts. I at one time had temporarily attended the CoC so I understand how they try to "shoe horn" works "into" salvation through faith. Works salvation is no salvation at all!
Acts 16:30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said,
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Ephesians 2:8 For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God, 9
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
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