Frank wrote,
***2. You have not supported your claim of using mechanical instruments in worship to God with scripture. Therefore,it is an unsubstantiated assertion on your part. However, the bible does say that VOICES were heard harping in heaven. ( Rev. 14:2) .***
Look up 15:2, where the saints have the harps of God.
Frank wrote,
***3. I do not use the Old Testament as authority because Jesus has all power. ( Mat. 28:18-20) . The law of Christ, not Moses, commands us to sing. If one keeps the old law, he is bound to keep all of it. ( Gal. 5:3) .**
First of all, I notice that you quote from Leviticus later to try to back up your point, so you do use the law, apparently, in your arguments. Also, keeping the law does not bind one to the law. Paul says “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit….” Those who tried to be justified by the law were obligated to keep all of it.
** Therefore, he must also burn incense, go to Jerusalem three times a year, offer the blood of bulls and goats, wash in a basin and in case you have not noticed, only the levites could serve in the temple. Are you a Levite? And, how do you know? The inspired Peter says all Christians are to serve as priests. ( I Pet. 2:9) . I am thankful the old law and temple worship have been removed from me under the law of the savior. ( Hebrews 10:1-5, Romans 6:17,18, Col. 2:14, I Cor. 9:21) .**
First of all, as a Gentile who lives in Indonesia currently residing in the United States, if I had lived in either of these places 2,500 years ago, the Law of Moses would not have required me to go to Jerusalem three times a year, etc. It did imply that Gentiles should abstain from blood, from things strangled, from meat offered to idols, and from fornication.
Btw, I don’t go to the Jerusalem temple. I go to church meetings, which are not the same thing. The temple in Jerusalem is related spiritually and conceptually to the temple which is Christ’s body. I don’t consider church buildings to be like the Jerusalem temple. Those who do need to consider the Old Testament warnings against setting up high places.
Secondly, Christians are not forbidden from doing things in the Law, particularly Jewish believers. Paul told those who were called as circumcised not to seek to become uncircumcised. I doubt he was talking about a reversal operation for circumcision. It seems more likely he was encouraging Jews to continue living as Jews.
Early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem continued to participate in temple activities, like giving offerings. Priests had many duties like offering animals sacrifices in the temple. Many of the priests, Acts tells us, became obedient to the faith. These people were saints of God, justified by faith in Christ. No doubt the participated in the temple activities that included instrumentally accompanied singing. It is likely that Solomon’s porch, an early meeting place for believers according to Acts, was filled with the sound of instrumental praises of God at times. Paul even participated in temple ceremonies. He was probably on his way to offer some kind of animal sacrifice when he was arrested. He was going to do this to demonstrate, among other things, that he wasn’t teaching the Jewish believers not to circumcise their children.
**God never grants permission to act by SILENCE. In fact, he condemns such practice. ( Leviticus 10:1-5, I Samuel 15:1-3, 15-24) . God never breaks his law because of silence. God did not specifically say Jesus and Judah could not serve as high priest on earth. However, he did authorize Aaron and his sons to serve on earth in this capacity. ( Exodus 28:42, Hebrews 7:14; 8:4) . Where has Christ authorized the use of instruments in the worship of the church?***
Here you are not being silent where scripture is silent. You are making a law where scripture is silent, forbidding what scripture is silent about.
To address the specific scriptural points you mentioned, the sons of Aaron used fire they were not commanded to use. It is likely some fire was prescribed for them to use. I have no idea what your point is from I Samuel, since Saul sinned by not utterly destroying the Amalekites as commanded. Verse 3 specifically shows that God commanded that the livestock be killed as well.
It is interesting, here, that you rely on the Old Testament law. _ Liberty_ is one of the characteristics of New Testament Christianity. I don’t see that in your interpretation of scripture that if something is not specifically allowed, it is forbidden.
My experience with many ‘Restoration Movement’ people that oppose the use of instruments is that they are completely inconsistent on this principle of interpretation they use that that if something is not specifically allowed it is forbidden. Some of the issues have already been mentioned.
For example, I Corinthians 14:26 teaches us that when we come together, the saints are to sing psalms, give teachings, speak in tongues interpret, and share revelations in an orderly manner. The passage goes on to instruct the congregation to let the prophets speak two or three, and gives other instructions, including ‘for ye may all prophesy one by one.’
But what do you see when you go to your typical Restoration Movement church? Often the congregation sings a few hymns, the ‘pulpit minister’ ( ‘evangelist’, or ‘pastor’, for example) will give a sermon, holy communion will be served with tiny portions, and after some songs, with some prayers thrown in here or there, the participants go home. In this respect, the RM usually follows Protestant tradition rather than scripture. In the Bible, we see ‘regular believers’ speaking in meetings, using their gifts to edify one another. We see the command “Let the prophets speak two or three.” These are direct commands of scripture, and as Paul points out, what he taught about church meetings were commandments of the Lord.
What is strange to me is that many anti-instrumental RM people will make a mountain out of a molehill, arguing that instruments are forbidden simply because the NT doesn’t specify whether they are to be used in church meetings, but they think nothing of the fact that the meetings follow the ‘one-man show’ tradition of Protestantism, rather than scriptural commands. I realize this isn’t true of all people in the RM, as I have run across some who recognize some of these Biblical truths about meetings.
**There is no sanction by God for the practice of using them in true worship to God.**
Since the words most often translated ‘worship’ in the NT and OT refer to bowing down, then I would think it unlikely that most people would use instruments while ‘worshipping.’ It would be more difficult to prostrate toward the ark of the covenant holding a harp.
In the other sense of ‘worship,’ the Old Testament commanded the use of instruments in worship, and there is no reason for us to suspect that the worship of David or Christ, or Peter and Paul after their conversions in the tabernacle or temple was not true ‘worship.’ One of the words translated ‘worship’ is used to refer to temple service after all.
**The practice of using the instrument in the assembly was unheard of in the origin of the church. ( Acts 2:42, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19, I Cor. 14:15, Hebrews 2;12, John 4:24) .**
None of the verses you refered to show that the use of instruments was unheard of in early church assemblies. James 2:2 refers to Christians gathering in synagogues. Either he is referring to a church gathering or location as a ‘synagogue’ or writing about Christians participating in Jewish synagogues that weren’t Christian meetings. We can research history and find that, during this time period, instrumental music was used in the synagogue. Paul and Christ both participated in synagogues. ( What kind of witness would Paul had been if he had refused to sing the Psalms because they were, ( as ‘psalm’ etymologically indicates) accompanied by instruments?
I don't recall calling you any names - but maybe I could think of a few!
