Submitting to Silence

Authority is a word that we often associate with the government(Rom. 13:1ff), parents(Eph. 6:1), or even those who enforce the law as civil servants. It's a word we think of when combating the error that lies in the trespassing of scripture when studying with others(II Thes. 5:21). For some authority means more limitations on what they can do. However, authority is liberating when approached from a scriptural perspective. For example, by God's authority set out in scripture, we can worship God in song and prayer, have fellowship, and even teach the precious message that we find in the gospel. So God's judgments in certain matters show what he has signed his name to and sometimes what he has forbade.

So what happens when there is an absence of such authority? Has God still signed his name to an act that he hasn't given authority for in scripture(II Pt 1:3)? Should we search elsewhere for that authority(Mt. 28:18; Jn. 6:66ff)? While the answers to these questions may be more obvious to most, it seems we forget them when the choice becomes ours whether to heed the silence of God or to pretend justification for our actions. In the absence of authority through the Bible, there is only limitation in what we're authorized to do.

We see this conflict more often than we might initially recognize. In fact, one of the most common excuses for justification of instrumental music in worship is, “Well, the Bible doesn't say not to use instruments!” This statement appeals, not to the authority of scripture, but the absence of an authoritative reprimand. Using this approach, along with a misunderstanding of the purpose of the New Covenant(Heb. 8:13; Gal. 3:24ff), denominations have continued the practice of vain worship for centuries.

Since its beginning in the first century, the church has been making moves away from the Bible to the left and right, disregarding God's say in things and appealing to emotion instead of scripture. If instrumental Christian music wasn't listed as an acceptable means of worship in the first century, why is it that we're so quick to make an exception for the church today? Though time and culture have changed, God's word has not, and, as far as it goes, instrumental music is not worship.

For those who wish to use such unauthorized practices for entertainment, is it not just as wrong? Why is it that a child can listen to “Christian Rock” though it is in violation of what God asked for(Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16-17)? Because we can't be edified by vain worship, there is no sense in standing by as our fellow brethren pleasure themselves on the sound of the piano, the guitar, or whatever it may be. If we don't expect children to grow up seeking instruments in worship or a coffee and donut fellowship instead of the Lord's Supper, why do we pretend that it's okay outside of the assembly?