We are a group of Christians who try to live as the Bible tells us to live and to worship as the Bible tells us to worship. We accept the Bible as our only authority. On this channel, you will find many sermons and Bible classes to help you search out what God expects of you.
This is pure nonsense. Now, I do attend a church that only sings acapella. Nothing wrong with that. However, no scripture can be used to oppose musical instruments. Yes, it was in the OT, but while the law of moses is gone, not the entire OT is. Ironically, the CoC attempts to justify killing people in self defense and divorce/remarriage, which were allowed under Moses, but opposed by Christ! Yes, the OT law is gone, but is it a sin to keep it? No, as long as no one tries to be justified by it (Galatians 5:4). Am I sinning by not eating pork? Certainly not.
The CoC claims not to be a denomination, but they all believe the same thing. I’ve never seen a CoC church with musical instruments. Isn’t that what a denomination is?
This man is EXTREMELY confused about the supernatural. His question "how are we not Emmanuel" shows utter confusion about the nature of God and man. His comment regarding the age of miracles has not ended would make the denominations mock him. Christians throughout history believe in the literal indwelling. Very few believe in the miraculous. I pity this preacher. He doesn't understand the supernatural or the God He claims to serve at all.
You people are destroying your own church with your ignorance, bigotry and discrimination. You claim moral superiority yet behave like scumbags because you think that you can get full forgiveness by praying to jesus instead of accepting your wrongdoings and making it right with the people you have effected. These religious fantasies warp your ability to see evil for what it really is. Evil is this guy, lying to you for tithings, messing with your mind, your decency and your Intellectual faculties. There is a proper method for finding truth and this charlatan wouldn't know truth if it kicked him up the butt. This stuff is ancient myth not a way of life.
2 Chronicles isn’t “the law of Moses.” The law of Moses is found in Exodus-Deuteronomy. If it’s not in one of those 4 books, it’s not “the law.” You could say that was in the old covenant, but any commandment outside of the first 5 books of the Bible is not what the NT is referring to as “the law.” The NT also specifies what parts of the old covenant are “done away.” God didn’t “do away” with thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, etc etc. those standards were not “done away with.” We are still obliged to not murder, commit adultery, and steal. The law being “taken out of the way” is not a permission for us to completely disregard EVERY commandment gave in the Old Testament. You can’t preach against ANY sin if that’s the case.
*EDIT: I listened to the video the whole way through after I sent the below message. Friends, with all due respect, this man is severely twisting the Scriptures, and what he's saying is full of hypocrisy. Why does this church condemn instruments in worship, but allow livestreaming technology, mics, and artwork (the picture hanging on the wall behind him)? He asked the question, "if you allow instruments because of talent, where do you stop?" I offer that question back to you. If you disallow instruments, where do you stop? What other things should you be disallowing? He also says he loves using instruments, just not for worship, and that, in his own house, he gets to decide what he does with instruments. Does God not have jurisdiction over his house too? Does this man only play secular music with his guitar to avoid playing a worship song with it? What kind of nonsense is this!? He also says there will be nothing physical in heaven, only spiritual. I don't know how much attention he's actually paid to the New Testament. Christ rose with a physical (yet incorruptibly spiritual) body, and He proved it to His disciples before ascending into heaven by eating food with them and allowing Thomas to touch His scars, yet appearing and disappearing. So it's true that our bodies in heaven will not be like our bodies now, but saying nothing is physical in heaven is like saying nothing spiritual exists on earth. If anything the spiritual may be like a more real version of the physical, but now I'm speculating. Like I said, this man is twisting the Scriptures, and if you're reading this and attend this church, you may want to consider prayerfully and thoughtfully leaving this church. I say that with much trepidation knowing that I don't have the full picture of this church. * Here's some New Testament mentions of instruments being used to worship God: Revelation 5:8 - And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them HARPS, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. Revelation 14:2 - And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers HARPING with their harps: According to this church's logic, they should at least allow harps. If instruments are wrong now to use in worship in church at the present time, then pray tell WHY are they used, even if only as symbolism, as something good and worshipful in Revelation? I would've thought the mention of instruments in the Psalms would be convincing enough, but some people disregard the Old Testament as if the New Testament completely overrides and makes void the Old Testament. It's more nuanced than that. But this church does need to follow its convictions, and I applaud them for that, for "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Romans 14:23. However, "To the pure, all things are pure..." Titus 1:15. All things probably includes musical instruments if they are used out of a pure heart to worship God.
If you know the nature of God (and actually read the Psalms) , you’ll understand that instruments are permissible in a church. However I do believe all music should be directed upwards for his praise and glory and should not be a performance for the congregants.
We can worship Jesus....as we feel comfortable...with or without music....true worship in spirit and truth jn. 4:23 Music used in biblical times 1) Home coming of prodical son ..luke 15:25 2) banquets and feast ...isa.5:12; 24:8-9 3) laments......Mt. 9:23 4) coronation of kings....2chron. 23:11-13 5) temple ceremonies......1 chron. 16:4-6; 2chron.29:25 6) Pilgrimages.....2sam.6:5 7) trance...2ki. 3:15 8) military victory.....ex. 15:1; 2chron.20:27-28
Your'e incorrect for sure, sing doesn't me what you are clearly implying, sing means express!! whether it's via a voice only doing the expressing or a musical instrument only or combined....you are being a bit of a rule-monkey legalist about the matter, there are several pieces by classical composers that are titled by their composers themselves clearly reflecting who the music was composed in honour of and for....and they are classically composed and titled without voice accompaniment
Thank you so much for this Biblical presentation of God’s plan for marriage, and for treating such a large number of aspects of the relationship and roles within it 🙏🏽
Jesus says, "I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law for not one title, or stroke of the law shall disappear heaven and earth shall disappear but not any part of the law shall disappear' In another place Jesus refers to "for all that was said of me in the books of Moses, Prophets and Psalms. Psalms is loaded with instrumental music. Also, Revelation Trumpets, Harps, so according to you the New Testament Church can't use what is provided in Heaven to worship God and The Lamb. The Hymns you sing where written by people who used instruments to write the music and songs so did David
Ephesians 5.19 and the Psalms: Let's take Ephesians 5.19 as today’s example. For years we have gone to battle over the meaning of ψάλλω. It is an inconvenient truth that all admit the word “at one time” included instruments. But the argument is, that, when Paul used the word it had changed and no longer included it. Debaters will say that in TODAY’S Greek the word does not include instruments. But there is a two thousand year leap. What did the word mean to the Jew and Christian whose Bible was the LXX (Septuagint)? And then there is Josephus, a contemporary of Paul, who uses the word multiple times to describe Levites singing and playing on harps in the temple. But the claim is that Josephus is imitating classical Greek rather than koine. It really is quite complex in fact (and then you have those folks that say you don’t have to have a PhD to read and understand the Bible but then they mark arguments on ψάλλω that are so complex that many PhDs cannot follow them!). All lexicons will tell you the word means to play in the LXX which is also koine Greek but debaters will not tell you that! Standard lexicons like Liddel and Scott will say the word includes instruments. Finding evidence for ψάλλω including instruments is not difficult to do. But while we fought over ψάλλω, I missed something vitally important, largely because we did not know the “Old Testament” like Paul and the first century church. We know that Paul told the believers to sing … Psalms. This is why in the Church Fathers we find such devotion to the Psalter. Paul did not direct that disciples just sing. Paul commanded that we sing the PSALMS. Down through the history of the church there are numerous examples of believers holding the opinion that the only “authorized” words to give back to God in praise was the book of Psalms itself. The Regulative Principle forbade the use of “humanly made words” in the worship of God. Most have not taken this position but it is not a rare one (many in the Reformed tradition have held this position especially, they rejected humanly authored songs just as they rejected instrumental music). What we missed for a long time, was that Paul’s entire directive comes from the Psalter itself. That is Paul literally quotes the Book of Psalms. Paul does not say just sing Psalms. Paul says, “sing and make melody to the Lord in your heart …” “sing and make melody [to the Lord]” is a directive that occurs in the Psalter no less than five times. The exact Greek phrase, “sing and make melody to …” occurs no less than three. Here they are. “I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, I will sing and make melody to the LORD {ᾄσομαι καὶ ψαλῶ τῷ κυρίῳ}” (Psalm 27.6 = 26.6, LXX) “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Praise the LORD with the lyre; make melody {ψαλῶ} to him [the Lord] with the harp of ten strings” (Psalm 33.1-2) “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody {ψαλῶ} to our God on the lyre” (Psalm 147.7, we recall that Paul mentions thanksgiving as well in 5.20) Other parallel texts but not the exact Greek but very close … “O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make melody … (Psalm 57.7) “My heart is steadfast; I will sing and make melody …” (Psalm 108.1) What is noticeable is how closely associated the word ψάλλω is to the phrase Paul quotes and its use in the Psalter. Is there any indication that Paul uses ψάλλω in a manner differently than in source material he quotes?? It clearly, and unambiguously, can quite naturally include playing instruments in these texts. These last two texts, Psalm 57.7 and 108.1, also mention Paul’s other debt to the Psalter, “the heart.” The “heart” is one of the most common words in the Psalms occurring a whopping 105 times. It is beat out by “hesed” (steadfast love in NRSV). “You have put gladness in my heart” (Ps 4.7) “God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart” (Ps 7.10) “Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his [Yahweh’s] face!” (Ps 27.8) “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Ps 28.7) “My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my verses to the king” (Ps 45.1) “I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart and I will glorify your name forever.” (Psalm 86.12) “I will praise you with an upright heart” (Psalm 119.7) We can multiply these quotations but this is sufficient to make the point. Paul is not giving the Ephesian congregation some new “spiritual” directives for worship of God. Paul is literally channeling the Book of Psalms. The Psalms proclaim loudly, and clearly, that the values of a human being, the loves, the desires, the grateful worship with thanksgiving comes from the heart and are expressed in singing joyfully with music to the Lord. So some conclusions: When Paul instructs believers to sing the Psalms he uses language from the Psalms themselves to do it. This testifies to how deeply ingrained they are in his own heart. When Paul tells us to “make melody to the Lord” he is quoting the Psalter itself. We “make melody to the Lord” (Psalm 27.6/Eph 5.19) Making melody, as we have seen, is the sound of “thanksgiving” being offered to the Lord as we see Paul say the next verse in Ephesians 5.20, this too comes from the Psalms. That sound included instruments in the very texts Paul quotes to the “Ephesians.” When the apostle conceived of a life of song, a life of praise, a life of thanksgiving, a life of worship, he framed it according to the Hebrew Bible and specifically the Book of Psalms. The “Old Testament” taught the “New Testament” church how to worship the God of Israel. This is also why all the words that the New Testament uses for “worship” come straight out of the Septuagint … there are no exception to this. The apostle that wrote these words in Ephesians 5.19-20, and the manner in which he did, is exactly why we can see this very same apostle going to the temple in the book of Acts to “worship” (Acts 24.11, cf 21.26-27) and declares to the anti-Semitic Roman believers that “the worship” belongs to the Israelites (Romans 9.4, a passage that is routinely silenced in Protestant churches). We know that Paul mentioned singing Psalms in Ephesians 5.19. The significance of that never sunk into our consciousness however. But what we did not know for many years, was that Paul quotes the Psalms, when he tells us to sing the Psalms from the heart and given thanksgiving. The reason we did not know was because we had not studied one of the most important books in the first century church, the Psalms.
The Spirit is a SALVATION gift, received through the indwelling Holy Spirit as given for the first time on Pentecost in Christian baptism (Acts 2:38). This was a new thing (Isa. 43:19), not given to OT saints. But now, since Pentecost, every sinner who believes and obeys the gospel receives from the indwelling Spirit the saving gifts of regeneration (new birth) and sanctification. The beginning of this saving work of the Spirit was one of the main purposes of Pentecost. The miracle of tongues (a sign gift) was given solely as divine proof that this was the day when the Spirit was beginning to give salvation gifts. Thus we see that on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2, three different kinds of the Spirit’s work were present: sign gifts (vv. 1-13), truth gifts (vv. 14-36), and salvation gifts (vv. 37-42). Now this will tie all of this back into Acts 1. Acts 1:8 probably refers to the truth gifts and sign gifts, in that it promises the apostles that the Holy Spirit will give them power to witness for Jesus. This power is seen especially in the tongues, and the witness is seen mainly in Peter’s sermon. But what about Acts 1:5, where Jesus says John the Baptist’s promise that “you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit” was going to occur “not many days from now”? Here is a point many have misunderstood: baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a sign gift, and it does not produce miraculous powers such as speaking in tongues. I.e., baptism in the Spirit is not what occurred in Acts 2:1-13. Rather, baptism in the Holy Spirit is another way of describing the SALVATION work of the Spirit which happens to all sinners in the moment of water baptism (see 1 Cor. 6:11; 12:13). When Jesus made this promise in Acts 1:5 he was not referring to the events of Acts 2:1-13, but to the new thing in Acts 2:38-39. This is the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit (2:33, 39); this is what the Day of Pentecost was all about. How does this relate, then, to the experience of Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-48), especially as explained by Peter in 11:15-16? First, in verse 15 Peter reports that “the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.” Here, “at the beginning” obviously refers to Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13). Also, “upon us” refers to the apostles. The phrase “just as” means that the Spirit came upon them in the very same way he came upon the apostles on Pentecost, namely, by a direct outpouring, rather than through any human mediator (such as through the laying on of hands). That puts these two events in a category by themselves. The whole point of Cornelius’ display of tongue speaking was that the Spirit was giving a SIGN gift in order to divinely demonstrate that God did indeed want the Gentiles to be saved, i.e., to receive the SALVATION gifts included in Holy Spirit baptism. This leads Peter to say what he did in Acts 11:16, “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” Most have assumed that Peter is here identifying baptism in the Holy Spirit with the tongue-speaking he had witnessed in Cornelius’ house. I disagree. In Acts 10:47 we see that the first thing Peter concluded upon hearing the tongues was this: “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” (Acts 10:47). Acts 11:16 is Peter’s own commentary on this, and as I see it, this is what he is saying in Acts 11:16: “As soon as I saw and heard what was happening, I was absolutely convinced that God wants these Gentiles to be saved, i.e., that he wants them to receive the baptism in the Spirit also. Thus I immediately said, ‘Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, can they?’ After all, they received the miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit just as we did on Pentecost. God is surely trying to tell us something, and it is that he wants these and other Gentiles to be saved. So let’s get them to the water so they can be baptized in the Holy Spirit! We cannot stand in the way of God and refuse them this gift!” In other words, Peter’s statement in Acts 11:16 is not backward looking, referring to the tongue-speaking that had just happened; it is forward looking, referring to what must happen next. The sign gift was proof that the Gentiles were supposed to receive the salvation gift of the Spirit.
I'm sorry but singing is not the "only" way we can praise the Lord, I'm a drummer and have played drums/perc' for 50+ yrs in Church,I couldn't sing to save my life but playing the drums in service for Him is my way of praising and giving glory to God.
That's fine. I wouldn't fall out with a brother who thought it isn't literal, because they aren't my brother. All Christians have the literal indwelling. Those who reject it are lost. They are not Christians.
You never mentioned psalm 150. Praise God in his Sanctuary, with instruments. Let all that has breath praise the Lord. Also every sermon should have the Gospel message .. Jesus died for our sins. Praise God for the wonderful undeserved gift of salvation. You are preaching legalism not gospel. Shame on you.
Jesus once said "let us reason together", so using your head is permitted. David is a central figure of the old testament. God put Jesus in David's ancestral line. David was an adulterer, murderer, and breaker of Mosaic law, yet God honored him above others. David made worship a state affair with music a 24/7 operation. Roughly 1/10th of the nation's gross national product went into worship costs. All priests were required to be musicians that could conduct musically assissted worship. All Jews would have been so familiar with this music they wouldnt give it a second thought-unless it was weak or poorly performed. What were the apostles? Jews. There was a temple active at their time. Grand music would have been as expected as seeing someone chew their food. Is it necessary for Jesus to command chewing food a specific number of times? Jesus didnt command us to not jump off cliffs cause someone else did, or to not give Roman soldiers a hotfoot to see them dance? C of C thinks you can throw the Old Testament away. Its like throwing away your birth certificate, old land deeds, family pictures, etc. C of C is too busy scheduling debates to look at and correct their own doctrines.
@rickvaught244 Obviously any man can't understand it, because Paul is not talking about losing your salvation. Read the verse in its context. They have fallen away from grace. They are adding works to salvation. Circumcision. His can you fall from grace??? Grace is always there, and grace is always grace. The only way to gak from grace is to add works to it.
Why do want to get mad just because we believe differently than you. We as far as everyone I know don’t get mad at churches that use instruments. We are all trying to get to the same place we just see it differently
One of the first things people notice is that we do not use mechanical instruments of music in our worship. This seems strange because they are commonly used in other churches. So, people wonder why we do not use them. When I preached in Houston a visitor met me in the foyer after worship and offered to buy the church a piano. He thought we just could not afford one. But it is not because we cannot afford musical instruments or that we don’t have anyone to play them or that we do not like music or that we are just trying to be different. The reason we do not use mechanical instruments of music in worship is because we do not have authority from God to do so. What surprises many people is that no where does the Bible authorize the church to worship God with a mechanical instrument of music. You can search through out the Bible and you will not find even one verse that authorizes the church of Christ to worship God with a mechanical instrument of music. There is no example or even a hint that the church of Christ you read about in the Bible ever worshiped God with mechanical instruments of music. The idea of the church worshiping God with a mechanical instrument of music was entirely unheard of! It is a matter of historic record that the church of Christ did not use instrumental music in worship. “Let the pipe be resigned to the shepherds, and the flute to the superstitious who are engrossed in idolatry. For, in truth, such instruments are to be banished from the banquet [worship - RD]…the one instrument of peace, the Word alone by which we honor God is what we employ. We no longer employ the ancient psaltery, and trumpet, and timbrel, and flute” (Clement of Alexandria, died 215 A. D.). The American Encyclopedia, volume 12, page 688 states, “Pope Vitalian is related to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of Western Europe, about 670 A. D., but the earliest trustworthy account is that of the one sent as a present by the Greek emperor Constantine Copronymus to Pepin, King of the Franks in 775.” The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, volume 2, page 1702 states, “In the Greek Church, the organ never came into use. But after the eighth century, it became more and more common in the Latin Church; not, however, without opposition from the side of the Monks. The Reformed Church discarded it; and though the Church of Basel very early introduced it; it was in other places admitted only sparingly, and after long hesitation.” “For almost a thousand years Gregorian chants, without any instrumental or harmonic addition, was the only music used” (Catholic Encyclopedia, volume X, page 657). It may also surprise many to know that when the various religious denominations were formed, many of their leaders opposed the use of mechanical instruments in worship. “The organ in the worship of God is an ensign of Baal” (Martin Luther, reformer and founder of the Lutheran Church). “Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews” (John Calvin, founder of the Presbyterian Church). “I have no objections to the instrument in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen” (John Wesley, founder of the Methodists Church). “I am an old man and a minister; and I declare that I have never knew them [musical instruments - RD] productive of any good in the worship of God; and I have reason to believe that they were productive of much evil. Music as a science I admire and esteem, but instruments of music in the house of God, I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music; and here I register my protest against all such corruptions in the worship of the Author of Christianity who requires his followers to worship him in spirit and in truth” (Adam Clarke, Methodist scholar and commentator). “Staunch old Baptists in former times would as soon have tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries, and yet the instrument has gradually found its way among them with nothing like the jars and difficulties that arose of old concerning the bass viol and smaller instruments of music” (David Benedict, foremost Baptist historian). Charles Spurgeon, one the greatest Baptist preachers ever, quoted 1 Corinthians 14:15 and added, “I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.” It can be readily seen that the church of Christ is not alone in its opposition to the use of mechanical instruments in worship to God, and that history shows without a doubt that instrumental music is an addition to the worship of God. Church fathers, encyclopedias, scholars, commentators, reformers and historians all agree. All of the passages that deal with music in the worship of the church use the words “singing”, “sing”, or “fruit of our lips”, except for Ephesians 5:19 which reads, “making melody”. This is a translation of the Greek word psallo. It was synonymous with the word “sing” and is translated so in all of the other passages where it is used. If there be any argument about this word, Paul tells us what instrument to psallo with: “the heart”. Since Paul is giving a command, if he had reference to playing a mechanical instrument of music we would all be obligated to do so. It would not be optional, but mandatory for every Christian. The early church did not understand it this way, as they never worshiped God with a mechanical instrument. Therefore, instrumental music in worship is an addition to the word of God. From passages such as Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32 and Revelation 22:18-19 we learn that God would not have us to add to His word. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:6, “Learn not to go beyond the things which are written” (ASV). In 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul admonishes, “teach no other doctrine”. Remember, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God” (ASV). Instrumental music in the worship of the church is: Not taught by Christ (Mat. 28:18; Col. 3:17; 2 John 9). Not taught by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; 14:26; Rom. 8:14). Not taught by the Apostles (Mat. 28:19-20; Acts 2:42; Gal. 1:6-9; 1 Tim. 6:3-4). Not in the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Not helpful (Acts 20:20). Not a good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Not of faith (Rom. 10:17; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:7). Not of truth (John 4:24; 17:17). Not of righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17; 1 John 5:17). Not as the oracles of God (2 Tim. 1:13; 1 Pet. 4:11). Not bound in heaven (Mat. 16:19). Not pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). It is clear that there is no authority from God for the church to worship with a mechanical instrument of music. Such worship would be based upon the teachings of men and not the teachings of God. Jesus warned, “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mat. 15:9). God made it abundantly clear to Israel just how He feels about such unauthorized worship in Leviticus 10:1-3. Nadab and Abihu took their censers to burn incense in worship to God, but on this occasion they offered “profane fire” before the Lord. What was profane about it? Just this, God had not commanded it! They had no authority to do what they were doing! There are some today who offer profane music to the Lord. What is profane about it? God has not commanded it! God’s command is to sing! We have no authority to worship God with any other kind of music! If God killed Nabab and Abihu for presumptuously offering profane fire in the tabernacle of old, what will He do to those who presumptuously offer profane music in His church today? In an effort to please God, churches of Christ seek to follow His word without addition or subtraction. We call all men to give up their human traditions and innovations, to come out of man-made churches and simply be Christians, members of Christ’s church you read about in the Bible. According to Acts 2, it began when about 3,000 souls having heard the gospel of Christ, repented and were baptized for the remission sins. When we hear that same gospel and respond in that same way we are added to that same church. According to Acts 20:28, Jesus redeemed this church with His own blood. This is the reason. We simply believe in following God’s instructions. In every instance in the Bible where people did not follow his instructions and added or took away from his instructions, they were punished severely
So much focus on sing sing sing, and we forget the context of the rest of those passages. Including one of the scripture that was read: Ephesians 5:19 of the mention of psalms, that’s your authority to use instruments. In the early church, if they heard the inspired speakers and writers state that, they would know that would be a reference to the worship that they knew of, with implementation of instruments in worship.
Because the so called Old Testament played such a minimal role in church of Christ theology, they typically did not look to that source for the meaning of Paul’s terms. Further because we read the “Old Testament” in English translation we were even further removed from the important information. Yet Paul’s readers in Asia Minor did not read English. Nor did they read a Protestant translation of the Hebrew Bible (like the KJV or NIV). They read, their Bible was, the Septuagint ( =LXX) It was the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT scriptures. In fact, the LXX was their only Bible. They in fact had the Septuagint read to them orally because Paul had told their preacher to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4.13) and these are the same Scriptures Timothy had known since he was a child that Paul said to that congregation was “good for doctrine” and “equipped” the people of God for “every good work” (2 Timothy 3.15-17). In (Eph 5.19) Paul makes two references to the “Old Testament” as it is represented in the LXX. These two references are significant and show Paul believed the Hebrew Scriptures taught the fellowship of the Messiah how to worship God. The first reference to the “Old Testament” is when he quotes the phrase “sing and make melody to the Lord…” In quoting this Paul points the readers of Ephesians back to the Scriptures he told them made them wise and equipped them to properly serving God. “Sing and make melody to the Lord” occurs repeatedly in the Book of Psalms. The exact phrase comes from Psalm 27 (in English) “I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, I will sing and make melody to the Lord {ᾄσομαι καὶ ψαλῶ τῷ κυρίῳ}” (Psalm 27.6 = 26.6, LXX) “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody {ψαλῶ} to him [the Lord] with the harp of ten strings” (Psalm 33.1-2) “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody {ψαλῶ} to our God on the lyre” (Psalm 147.7, we recall that Paul mentions thanksgiving as well in 5.20)
I am becoming alarmed that so few Christians seem aware or concerned with the Three Doors Problem. Most Christians believe that accepting that Jesus is the son of God is how you obtain salvation. Next of course is what does that mean. Then we are presented with the Three Doors. The first door is in the Gospel of Mark. Mark has no interest in Jesus's birth. He is an ordinary man beloved by God like Moses or King David was. He becomes the adoptive son of God when God sends his dove to anoint him. This was the Jewish conception of a Messiah. The Second Door is in the Gospels of Mathew and Luke. Jesus here is the son of God because Mary gives birth to a child fathered by God. This seems to be the favoured choice among Christians. Finally the Third Door is in the Gospel of John who believes Jesus was with God since the beginning. Before the Creation. Three Doors but only one gains you entrance to Paradise. It seems harsh but Christians often ignore the fact that Jesus did not want many to be saved. In the Gospel of Mark when Jesus was alone with the Apostles they ask him why when he speaks to the crowds he uses parables. His answer is so they will not understand and will not be saved. We all know our Gospels and are at least nominally aware of the doors but not totally realising the implications. To not see the doors is doom and woe to Clergy who keep it from us.
