A. How are we to instruct the young? Or teach our neighbors?
A. Saving Faith comes FROM God’ word (Romans 10:17) “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (2 Peter 1:2-3) “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
B. Our religious practice MUST be according to God’s word (Colossians 3:17) “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Romans 14:23) “And he that doubeth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
C. SOME go beyond God’s word (Romans 10:2-3) “For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” 1 LAW OF SPECIFICITY
A. Gopher wood used for Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:14) “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”
1. God SPECIFIED Gopher wood. This EXCLUDED all other kings of wood.
a. Would another type of wood been acceptable?
B. Naaman dipped in the Jordon River 7 times (2 Kings 5:1-14) “Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
1. God SPECIFIED the JORDON RIVER and dipping SEVEN times
a. Would another river worked?
b. Would dipping SIX times have worked?
C. Nadab and Abihu offered “strange fire” in worship that God had NOT specified (Leviticus 9:23-10:3)
1. “Keil and Delitzsch” had this comment….”The fire of the holy God…which had just sanctified the service of Aaron as well-pleasing to God, brought destruction upon his two eldest sons, because they had not sanctified Jehovah in their hearts, but had taken upon themselves a self-willed service; ”
2. God had NOT commanded the fire they used
a. Therefore, they were NOT free to use it with God’s approval 2
D. SILENCE DOES NOT MEAN PERMISSION, OR AUTHORITY (Hebrews 7:11-14)
1. Priesthood under Law of Moses was from tribe of LEVI
2. NOW, Jesus is our high priest, BUT he was of the tribe of Judah
a. Law of Moses did not allow this, so law had to change. It would VIOLATE the old law for there to be a different priesthood, NOT because God said those of Judea could NOT be priests, but because he said NOTHING.
3. The doctrine: “What God does not expressly FORBID is ALLOWED”, is a VIOLATION of Scripture. To use this argument for instrumental music in worship, is to argue for that which God has already disallowed.
A. In the New Testament, the example AND command is ALWAYS to sing (Acts 16:25) “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise unto God…” (Romans 15:9) “…for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name.” (1 Corinthians 14:15) “…I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” (Ephesians 5:19) “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the lord.” (Colossians 3:16) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (James 5:13) “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.” 3
A. “Psallo” is not about mechanical instruments (Ephesians 5:19) “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
1. “Making melody” is Greek word “Psallo” a. Strong defines Psallo as, “to twitch or twang, that is to play on a stringed instrument.”
2. The problem with arguing that this verse authorizes instrumental music in worship * The thing “played” in context is the “heart” of the worshipper, NOT an insturment.
B. We are WARNED not to go beyond what is revealed (2 John 9-11) “Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds”
A. The only authority in Christianity is GOD’s WORD, we MUST return to it for our practice of worship
B. ANYTHING added to God’s word NULLIFIES it, and causes our worship, and religion, to be VAIN 4