Implications of Non-Instrumental Music - Hebrews 10:1-5

I. THE LOGIC OF ACAPPELLA SINGING

A. The New Testament teaches that the silence of the Bible on a matter prohibits rather than allows the thing under consideration (Hebrews 7:11-14).

1. Even Jesus could not have been a priest while on earth because the Law of Moses did not give Him authorization.

2. Just because the Law did not say “no priests from the tribe of Judah” still did not allow Jesus to be a priest during His stay on earth.

3. Silence, by its very nature, cannot authorize anything.

B. The Bible gives authorization either by what it directly states in so many words (explicit teaching, i.e., baptism in Matthew 28:18-20), or by what it would take to facilitate or aid the doing of a command (implicit teaching, i.e., a place of assembly to facilitate Hebrews 10:25’s command to assemble).

C. The Old Testament directly authorized instrumental music in worship (II Chronicles 29:25) while the New Testament mentions only vocal music in worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

D. Instruments, unlike a true aid, actually produce a type of music themselves and are thus not acceptable as an aid (i.e., a microphone, speakers, and song books do not make music themselves—by themselves there is no music).

E. Even a tuning fork or pitch pipe does not make music (an orderly progression of tones), they merely set a tone from which to begin vocal music.

F. These technical points, logically sound as I believe them to be, nevertheless are the bare bones of the bigger argument and, therefore, not the most attractive part to most people.

G. We need also to understand the reasons behind the change from the music of the Old Testament to that of the New Testament.

II. THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE LOGIC

A. The outward forms of Old Testament were pointing forward to a superior way of approaching God in the Messiah (Hebrews 8:1-13; 10:1-18).

B. The Old Covenant had much associated with it that was outward in focus, things that prefigured the Messianic Era.

1. The temple represented the idea of Gods presence and was fulfilled in Christ and in His relationship to the church (John 2:19-22; I Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19).

2. The animal sacrifices found fulfillment primarily in the sacrifice of Christ and secondarily in the living sacrifice of Christians (Hebrews 9:11-15; Romans 12:1-2).

3. The Passover prefigured both Jesus as God’s perfect sacrificial Lamb and the Lord’s Supper in memory of His death (John 1:29; I Corinthians 5:7; Matthew 26:17-29).

C. Jewish institutions and observances are said to be mere shadows of the substance found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

D. Instruments are characterized as but inferior and lifeless makers of sound in I Corinthians 14:6-7, where also, by implication, they were clearly no part of church worship.

E. The nature of New Testament life and worship is clearly distinguished from Jewish worship by its center of attention being Jesus, and the expression of its worship being emphasized overwhelmingly as coming from the heart (Colossians 3:1-3, 17; I Corinthians 13:1-3; 11:27-28; II Corinthians 8:5; 9:7; James 1:6, 21).

F. Therefore, the acappella music of the church (Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16) is well fitted into the emphasis of a Christ-centered, heartfelt new worship.

Conclusion.

1. The nuts and bolts of our rejection of instrumental music in our worship is eminently logical and defensible.

2. However, when we join that skeleton to the beautiful body of spiritual thought it supports, the wisdom of God fully shines through.

3. The Christian worship is much better than the types and shadows of the Mosaic worship. After all, Jesus is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:3).

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Hebrews 10:1-5

Introduction.

1. Our belief in a New Testament call for acappella music in the worship of the church has certain implications we would do well to understand.

2. Our acappella convictions are well grounded the New Testament.

Body.

I. THE LOGIC OF ACAPPELLA SINGING

A. The New Testament teaches that the silence of the Bible on a matter prohibits rather than allows the thing under consideration (Hebrews 7:11-14).

1. Even Jesus could not have been a priest while on earth because the Law of Moses did not give Him authorization.

2. Just because the Law did not say “no priests from the tribe of Judah” still did not allow Jesus to be a priest during His stay on earth.

3. Silence, by its very nature, cannot authorize anything.

C. The Old Testament directly authorized instrumental music in worship (II Chronicles 29:25) while the New Testament mentions only vocal music in worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

D. Instruments, unlike a true aid, actually produce a type of music themselves and are thus not acceptable as an aid (i.e., a microphone, speakers, and song books do not make music themselves—by themselves there is no music).

E. Even a tuning fork or pitch pipe does not make music (an orderly progression of tones), they merely set a tone from which to begin vocal music.

F. These technical points, logically sound as I believe them to be, nevertheless are the bare bones of the bigger argument and, therefore, not the most attractive part to most people.

G. We need also to understand the reasons behind the change from the music of the Old Testament to that of the New Testament.

II. THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE LOGIC

A. The outward forms of Old Testament were pointing forward to a superior way of approaching God in the Messiah (Hebrews 8:1-13; 10:1-18).

B. The Old Covenant had much associated with it that was outward in focus, things that prefigured the Messianic Era.

1. The temple represented the idea of Gods presence and was fulfilled in Christ and in His relationship to the church (John 2:19-22; I Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19).

2. The animal sacrifices found fulfillment primarily in the sacrifice of Christ and secondarily in the living sacrifice of Christians (Hebrews 9:11-15; Romans 12:1-2).

3. The Passover prefigured both Jesus as God’s perfect sacrificial Lamb and the Lord’s Supper in memory of His death (John 1:29; I Corinthians 5:7; Matthew 26:17-29).

C. Jewish institutions and observances are said to be mere shadows of the substance found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

D. Instruments are characterized as but inferior and lifeless makers of sound in I Corinthians 14:6-7, where also, by implication, they were clearly no part of church worship.

F. Therefore, the acappella music of the church (Ephesians 5:18-20; Colossians 3:16) is well fitted into the emphasis of a Christ-centered, heartfelt new worship.

Conclusion.

1. The nuts and bolts of our rejection of instrumental music in our worship is eminently logical and defensible.

2. However, when we join that skeleton to the beautiful body of spiritual thought it supports, the wisdom of God fully shines through.

3. The Christian worship is much better than the types and shadows of the Mosaic worship. After all, Jesus is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:3).