God Said "Sing"

by Warren E. Berkley
www.cvillechurch.com

When people visit our assembly and express their curiosity about our vocal music, I reply with this simple expression of our conviction: God said "sing." I make it clear that the absence of the man-made instruments is not a matter of economics (cannot afford one) or preference (we just like to sing). It goes much deeper than any "church of Christ" or "restoration" heritage or tradition. It has to do with faith and our desire to follow God's instructions. We are convinced He said "sing."

When a man offers a gift to his wife, the considerate thing to do is to offer a gift that will please her. She is the recipient of the gift. I may want a rifle, a new computer or a truck. But if I'm going to give something to her that she will appreciate, I will select something I believe will please her not me. I will take into consideration all I know of her, in particular, what she has said she likes and wants. My gift will be based on her will not mine.

As God's people, we want to offer worship to Him in response to His greatness and grace to us. In offering that worship, what's important? What I want, or what He wants? You will agree, the most important thing is what God wants. The right course to take is to offer that worship to God that I know will please Him.

How can I find out what pleases Him? I can consult His Word! I don't need to even consider human preferences, denominational practices, historical precedence or majority desire. I do not need to bother myself with a "market study" or poll of human opinion. If I want to know what pleases God I can read what He has said about worship, determined to worship Him in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24; 2 Jn 9).

This quest takes me to the New Testament. I want to know what the apostles of Christ did, since these were the men through whom the will of God was conveyed (1 Cor 1:1; 1 Cor 2:10-12). The apostles -- in their practice and instruction -- endorsed only one kind of music in worship to God, vocal. If any instrument is involved at all it is only in the figurative sense, the heart (Eph 5:19).

Paul and Silas, "at midnight...were praying and singing hymns to God" (Acts 16:25). To the church at Corinth Paul said, "sing with the understanding" (1 Cor 14:15). He instructed the saints at Ephesus: "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Eph. 5:19). In another place he wrote: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Col. 3:16). Is anyone cheerful? "Let him sing psalms" (Jas 5:13). (See also: Mt 26:30; Mark 14:26; Rom 15:9 & Heb 2:12.)

This clear and simple evidence demands the kind of admission you will read in the Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (p. 1163): "There is no record in the N.T. of the use of instruments in the musical worship of the church." Or in A History Of The Christian Church (p. 112): "Singing formed an essential part of the Christian worship, but it was in unison and without musical accompaniment" (Lars P. Qualben). Other early historians and writers agree: "Simply singing is not agreeable to children (Jews), but singing with lifeless instruments and with dancing and clapping is. On this account the use of this kind of instruments and of others agreeable to children is removed from the songs of the churches, and there is left remaining simply singing" (Justin Martyr, 139 AD). Augustine describes the singing at Alexandria in 354 AD by saying "musical instruments were not used. The pipe, tabret, and harp here associate so intimately with the sensual heathen cults...it is easy to understand the prejudices against their use in the worship."

Strange isn't it? All the years of controversy; all the debates, disputes and division. Then you open your Bible and focus on what God said. There it is: God said "sing." Don't you think this is what He wants us to do?

Why did Noah use gopher wood in building the ark? God said "gopher wood." Why did Abraham leave his homeland and venture into Canaan? God said "go." Why did Joshua instruct the Israelites to march around Jericho? Because God said to do that. Why did the apostles wait in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended into heaven? That's what Jesus told them to do. Why do Christians today partake of the Lord's Supper on the first day of every week? God has communicated His will regarding this memorial in the New Testament.

So, why do we sing? God said "sing." This is serious because, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son" (2 Jn 9).

Dial-A-Bible-Study (Recorded Messages)
(434) 975-7373
Free Bible Study Materials
Call Anytime!
www.cvillechurch.com
E-Mail: larryrouse@cvillechurch.com

You Must Go to War To Find Peace

by Larry Rouse
www.cvillechurch.com

The simplest description of a Christian is one who is an imitator of God. This transformation of the spirit of a Christian into “the image of His Son” is God’s eternal plan for every man that comes to Him (Rom 8:29-30). When we honestly look at the nature of man and then that of God, we must marvel at the great power that God has used to bring about that transformation.
Just as a blacksmith hammers out the lump of metal into a useful instrument, our God uses the fires of conflict, guided by His written word and providential care to mold us into His image (James 1:2-4; Rom 5:3-5). Without this process there can be no change.

God Demands that We Know His Character

Jesus plainly showed His followers that all motives and actions on our part must be based on our understanding of how God Himself thinks and acts. How do we deal with an enemy, an angry, bitter man who has hurt us? “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:43-45).

God Proclaims That He is a God of Peace

We should listen carefully when God describes Himself. Paul twice used peace to describe the Father’s basic character to the Romans. “Now the God of peace be with you all” (Rom 15:33). “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom 16:20). Paul wrote other churches describing the blessing of having “the God of peace” be “with you” (1 Cor 13:11; Phil 4:9). Later in the New Testament the power of “the God of peace” is displayed by showing His ability to “sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:23).

What is Peace?

Bible lexicons define the Greek word translated as “peace” as meaning: 1) a state of national tranquility 1a) exemption from the rage and havoc of war 2) peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord 3) security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous) - Thayer’s Lexicon. Peace is an absence of conflict, whether it is between warring parties or between the warring thoughts and purposes in our hearts. God has the power to bring real peace!

What kind of Peace is at the Foundation of God’s Character?

When Jesus was born into the world, the angels declared His mission to bring “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! (Lk 2:14)” How could Jesus bring peace between sinful men and a holy God? This peace would only come as a result of a bitter war that resulted in the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross and the resulting crushing of Satan (Heb 2:14-15; Rom 16:20). Sinful men needed a savior, one that could provid a perfect sacrifice for sin and provide the great power to mold men into a life of repentance and change (Heb 4:12-13, Phil 4:9).

Please understand that peace with God must be placed above any other kind of peace. I must not let the threats of men or even the desire for peace with men cause me to lose peace with God. Satan has always used social relationships to entice the Christian to find “peace” with the world. “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

God Expects Us to Find Peace between Christians

Jesus came to set us with war with some and with peace with some. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Mt 10:34-36). When it comes to a relationship with Christians, those who have found peace with God, then God demands that we remove all obstacles that would create conflict among His people (2 Cor 13:11, James 4:13-18).

Our War for Peace

The battle for peace begins in the heart. We must have a heart that has been crushed and then healed by God in our conversion. Only then can we become “peacemakers” (Mt 5:3-9). Those Christians who are not of this tender, penitent heart cannot be a part of God’s peace. On the contrary, they will attack God’s way of peace and be responsible for an ongoing turmoil against those who seek to serve the Lord (James 4:1-6). Even among the churches of God, there must come a separation between those who repent and seek God and those who Paul described as making their “god ... their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things (Phil 3:18-19, 1 Cor 11:19). Are you teachable? If not, then you need to go to war with your own heart to find the repentance that will allow Jesus to be in control. (Rev 3:20).

Peace in Local Churches

As God’s peacemaker, I must go to war to maintain the right relationships in a local flock. Because we are people, we will constantly be tempted to fight, look down on and discard our brethren. When I become like God, then I will put the needs of others above my own (Phil 2:3-4). I will also have a genuine love for every soul “for whom Christ died” (Rom 14:15). I will know that the only path to peace will come from that which is pure, that is, God’s word received into a pure heart (2 Tim 2:22, Jas 1:21). Teaching will be at the heart of all who find peace.

Local churches must have brave leaders that will confront and defeat those problems that disrupt peace. When anger and bitterness exist between Christians, then it is urgent that brave men confront this with God’s solution (Mt 5:23-24; 18:15-18, 35). When false teaching arises men must be quick to confront it and challenge it (Titus 1:10-11). If these and other problems are ignored, rest assured they will not “go away.” How many churches have been turned into a sea of turmoil because of bitterness between two people was allowed to linger and spread? “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:14-15).

We have a great need today for brave men who will go to war for peace! Rather than seeking a compromise of God’s plan of salvation for peace with the denominations, we must fight for God’s peace. Rather than sitting on our hands while watching a local church descend into worldliness, bitterness and pride, we must fight for God’s peace. If you have found that blessed peace that brings brethren together with God and with one another, then you must fight to keep it!

“May the God of peace be with you.”

Dial-A-Bible-Study (Recorded Messages)
(434) 975-7373
Free Bible Study Materials
Call Anytime!

www.cvillechurch.com
E-Mail: larryrouse@cvillechurch.com