Identifying the New Testament Church #6

A. We continue our series this morning helping you understand why we do not use instrumental music in
worship to God. You need to understand, in detail, the why’s of what you do as a Christian who
strives to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Our sole desire in life is to believe in, and live by, the same Word of God, the Bible, that those First Century Christians believed in and lived by. Christ established His church and then He and the Holy Spirit gave inspired instructions about how to become Christians and how to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, as Christians.
a. Our belief is that God gave and has preserved and protected that Word for all people who
would come after those first Christians. That’s why God had the New Testament apostles and
prophets write down what the Holy Spirit taught them. When we read what they wrote we
can understand what they understood about becoming Christians and do it exactly the same
way they did. And then we can become what they became and worship God in exactly the
same way they worshiped God. Doesn’t that make sense?
(A) This is how God, in His wisdom, chose to establish the Church and then keep it the
same from generation to generation. By following God’s written word we can become
New Testament Christians exactly the way they became Christians. But, when you depart
from that New Testament pattern you become something other than a New Testament
Christian. And that’s exactly what Satan wants you to do. He wants you to be lost.
(1) You become a hybrid, an evolved look-a-like Christian. You become a “Knock-Off.” In
the music business a “Knock-Off” is something that looks like and sounds like the original
but it is not. It is different, it’s a fake. It’s a counterfeit money.
(a) You don’t want to stand before God on the judgment day holding up a knock-Off, a
counterfeit and saying, “Here’s my ticket to get into heaven.” He will answer,
“Sorry, you got Scalped. This ticket is not genuine, it’s not the real thing.”
Did you know that there is a scripture that warns us about that? Matt. 7:21?23.
We are studying this truth in relation to the kind of music God asks for in worship from His New Testament, New Covenant people, who are called the Church of Christ. It’s called that because Christ built it, it’s His Church. He gave it the pattern of worship He wants and we have no right to change that pattern. Last week we saw this pattern from the standpoint of Historical Witness and Christian Scholarship. The Historical Witness comes from the ancient church leaders who lived between A.D. 100 - 407. The Founders of the denominations and their scholars. They all, with one voice, say the Original New Testament Church sang hymns and praises to God without the aid of man-made instruments. That was the pattern given for their worship. We believe God never intended for that pattern to change. Today we want to add to our study the Witness of the Original Language. Does the original language in which the New Testament was written permit the use of instrumental music in worship to God?
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament God's people are commanded to sing. No one can deny that truth. Notice those scriptures, in the New Testament, that tell us how to worship God in song.
I CORINTHIANS 14:15, "I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall SING with the spirit and I shall SING with mind also."
KOINE GREEK, "psalo tw pneumati psalo de kai to noi."
sing with the spirit sing but also to understanding
COLOSSIANS 3:16, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, SINGING with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
KOINE GREEK, "en te chariti adontes en tais karoiais umon to Theo"
with grace singing in the hearts of you to God

ROMANS 15:9, "I will give praise to you among the gentiles, and I will sing to your name." = When you sing praise to God you do it PSALO. Unaccompanied.
KOINE GREEK, "kai to onomati sou psalo"
and to name our sing praise
EPHESIANS 5:19, "...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual SONGS, SINGING and making melody with your heart to the Lord."
KOINE GREEK "adontes kai psallontes en te kardia"
singing and making melody in the heart
The verb PSALO or PSALLONTES which is translated as "making melody." It means to pick, pluck or twang. It designates the instrument to be used when singing praises to God. What is the instrument you are told to pick, pluck, twang? You pluck the strings of the heart (emotion)---You accompany your vocalization with heart felt joy and adoration. The point is this. God commands us to sing. But, God never commands us to play a man-made instrument as we sing.
Isn't it interesting that of all the versions, of the New Testament, that have been translated from the original Koine Greek language, not a single one translated SING as play, or SING TO THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT. They all, without exception, translate God's command as SING. There is a difference between singing and playing. World-wide, the music industry, recognizes the
difference between a’capella and singing with accompaniment of an instrument.
For New Testament Christians the entire controversy stems from one Greek verb---"PSALLO" which means to play, to pluck. What do you pluck? Do you pluck your hair, eyebrows, teeth, a harp, a musical saw, a banjo? No! Psallo is a verb that designates the instrument to be used, to be plucked. It designates the instrument to be used when you sing songs of praise to God. That instrument is your heart.
2. What do the recognized Greek Scholars of the world say on this matter? Lets look at a few.
(1) W.E. VINE, "Melody, primarily to twitch, twang. Thus to play a stringed instrument with the fingers and hence, in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) to sing with a harp, sing psalms. In the New Testament, to sing a hymn, sing praise, making melody, sing, let him sing praise, let him sing psalms."
NOTE: Vine gives two uses of the word:
Old Testament - To sing with the accompaniment of a harp.
New Testament - To sing a hymn of praise unaccompanied.
(1) HENRY JOSEPH THAYER, "To cause to vibrate by touching or plucking. Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) to sing to the music of the harp. In the New Testament to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song."
NOTE: Thayer gives two uses of the word:
Old Testament - To sing with the accompaniment of a harp.
New Testament - To sing a hymn of praise unaccompanied.
(1) HARPER'S ANALYTICAL LEXICON, "To move by a touch, strike the strings or chords of an instrument. In the New Testament, a sacred song, psalm."
NOTE: Harper's gives two uses of the word:
Old Testament - Play on a stringed instrument, to sing to music."
New Testament - Sing praises unaccompanied.
(2) Why do the major Greek Scholars make a distinction between accompanied and
a’ cappella music? Because there is a difference between what God asked for in the
Old Testament and what God specified in the New Testament.
(3) One more authority yet to speak and that is Scriptural Authority. We’ll look at that next week. Acts 20:32.

Spur - 06/02/2002 am