If your church only sings accapella, no instruments...?

Question

Do you know why they do that? I'm not bashing, I'm genuinely curious.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but the Old Testament is just as much a part of the Bible as the New Testament. Why would instruments sudenly be discredited or harmful in worship?

There are over 30 references to instruments being used in worship. Here are some:

1 Chronicles 16:42 Heman and Jeduthun were responsible for the sounding of the trumpets and cymbals and for the playing of the other instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.

1 Chron 25:6 All these men were under the supervision of their father for the music of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king.

Psalm 33:2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Psalm 92:1-3 It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.

Psalm 98:4-6 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn—shout for joy before the LORD.

1 Chron 15:16 David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.

1 Chron 23:5 "4000 are to be gatekeepers and 4000 are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose."

2 Chron 5:13 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, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Answer 1

Our church doesn't do accapella but i know we limit the kinds of instruments used during sacrament service. Want to keep the quiet stillness/ reverence level that allows a person to feel the peace offered by Heavenly Father and not be overpowered by the music. I would think those congregations are trying to do the same.
Our church uses most instruments (if not all) for activities that don't require that quiet spiritualness.

Answer 2

Yes, I do. We do it because the Bible does not mention instruments in New Testament worship. (Yes I realize in Old Testament worship they had instruments) And we are to follow the New Testament pattern for worship. It's basically the law of exclusion. If God had wanted instruments in our worship, He would have specified it. Instead He specified "sing" not play. Ephesians 5:9 is an example. We believe that if God did not specify, then we are not allowed to put it in ourselves.

Hope that helps


Note:

The question was if we knew why we don't use instrumental music. I do and I wrote why we believe that way. I applaud your question. I think there are too many people who go through the rituals of their religion and don't know why they do things a certain way. I do believe that its important to know why you do what you do. The Bible tells us that we are to be ready to give an answer when we are questioned about our faith.

Answer 3

Christ says he has "all authority" and the disciples were to teach the things He had commanded.(Matthew 28:18-20) No where in the New Testament did the apostles teach or show an example of the use of instrumental music in worship of the church.

ALL of the verses in the New Testament that talk about music in the church the music is singing. To use another type of music can not be done from authority found in the New Testament because the New Testament no where authorizes its use. The authority to use instruments in the Christian church therefore does not come from God. If used it must be authorized by men. If we follow a man's authority (teaching), does Christ have "all authority"?

One of the verses that teaches about music is Col. 3:16. This verse specifically tells us to sing. The very next verse (verse 17) says, "Whatever you do in word or deed, DO ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS." "In the name of" means by the authority of, or according to the instructions. Jesus and the apostles did not authorize the use of mechanical instruments in the New Testament church. The New Testament did specify "singing" as the type of music we are to use in worship.

To do anything else is to follow the commandments of men rather than God. Such makes worship vain. (Matt. 15:9)

Why not be satisfied to worship in the way God's word has authorized?

When God told Noah to use "gopher wood", other types of wood were excluded. When Naaman was told to dip in the Jordan River, he knew other rivers were excluded (2 Kings 5). God has been specific about the music in the church, singing. Why add to his word?

Interesting, many of the founding fathers of denominations that now use instruments were opposed to their introduction. Among those against instrumental music were John Wesley, Adam Clark, John Calvin, and Martin Luthur.

So one should not question why we don't use them, the question should be "By what authority do you add them to your worship"? Why not be satisfied to simply worship as God's word instructs?

As for David’s harp, He lived under the Law of Moses (Old Testament). We are now under the Law of Christ (New Testament).

If you bind one part of the Old Law today, you are subject to keep the whole law. In Galatians 5:3, some were trying to bind circumcision, an Old Testament commandment. Paul said if they bound this one item, they were “debtor to keep the whole law”. In James 2:10, if you keep the whole law, but miss one point, you are guilty of all.

If you try to bring over authority for David’s harp from the Old Testament, you must with the same authority bring over all of the animal sacrifices, feasts, Passover, the Sabbath day observance, yearly trips to Jerusalem, and the allowance of polygamy. We must keep the whole law if we keep any part.

If we try to justify ourselves by the Law of Moses, we have “fallen from grace!” (Galatians 5:4)

Answer 4

Maybe they're unable to afford a piano? Is it a young church, or is this just their preferred way to sing?

Answer 5

Most singers at my church sing karaoke.