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 whys
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. Thats 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. Doesnt 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 Gods 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 thats 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, its a fake. Its a
counterfeit money.
(a) You dont want to stand before God on the judgment day
holding up a knock-Off, a
counterfeit and saying, Heres my ticket to get into
heaven. He will answer,
Sorry, you got Scalped. This ticket is not genuine, its
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. Its called that because
Christ built it, its 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 acapella 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.
Well look at that next week. Acts 20:32.
Spur - 06/02/2002 am
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