To God be the glory!

When a person visits the Church of Christ, one of the first things he

notices is that our music is different from what you find in most of the

denominational world.

For instance,

we don't have a choir, we don't have a chorus. We don't have instruments, not

even a piano;

and everyone is singing.

In this lesson, we want to talk about one of the five acts of worship, specifically

singing.

We're going to notice four points together in this lesson.

Number one: We must sing according to the truth; Number two: we must sing the

truth;

Number three: We must be truthful about what we sing;

And then fourth: We're going to notice some arguments made concerning the use

of instrumental music.

Alright, let's study together, now, the truth about

singing.

Point number one:

We must sing according to the truth. Now, exactly what do we mean by that?

Well, to do anything according to the truth

means that we do it the right way. It means that we do it according to God's

Word. And, when we talk about singing according to the truth,

we're talking about singing the way the truth tells us to.

And that truth, of course, is the Bible.

So, what does the Bible tell us about "singing according to the truth?"

I want to begin in John, chapter 4 and verse 23.

The Bible says: "But the hour is coming,

and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father

in spirit

and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and they

that worship Him must worship

in spirit

and truth."

Now, from this passage we learn three things:

First, God desires us to worship Him.

The verse says "the Father is seeking such

to worship Him."

Secondly, we must worship God in spirit. Now, what does it mean to "worship God

in spirit?"

It means that you do it with both your heart

and your mind. It means that you're not just saying the words,

but you mean what you're saying.

Thirdly, from this text, we learn

that we must worship God in truth.

Now, what does it mean to "worship God in truth?"

It means that we worship Him as His word

tells us to.

Now, let's think about this verse in light of our singing. Since singing is an act of

worship, then whatever this verse teaches us about worship then it also applies to

our singing.

Well, first let's make application to the first part of the verse,

where we learn that God desires for us

to sing.

And, not only does He desire it,

He requires it. I hate to say that. I hate to say that God requires for us

to sing,

because we ought to want to do it.

We ought to be like David.

He said, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the

Lord.'" Psalm 122

and verse 1.

I ought to WANT to sing.

"All hail the power of Jesus' name,

let angel's prostrate fall..." or "Our God, he is alive." My soul ought to want to do that.

But I do need to understand that God does require it.

Ephesians 5:19 says:

"Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing and making melody in your heart

to the Lord."

Colossians 3:16 says: "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."

He requires it. He expects it.

He commands that we do it. But you know,

despite this there're sometimes Christians who sometimes choose not to

sing.

And I have to wonder, what kind of message does that send to others? Maybe

to people who are not Christians who might be visiting.

You know, Matthew 5:16 says: "Let your light so shine before men, that

they may see your good works and glorify your Father

in heaven."

And certainly, that would apply to our worship

and to our singing.

Well, secondly, if we must "worship in spirit," then we must also "sing in spirit."

That means we must sing with our hearts

and our minds.

It means that we need to understand and mean

what we are saying when we're singing.

In 1 Corinthians 14 and verse 15, the Bible says: "...I will pray with

the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the

spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding."

Now, I can't say "amen" to a prayer that I don't understand.

And, in the same vein,

how can I sing a song that I don't understand? You know,

sometimes, we point out a problem with the Roman Catholic Church because,

sometimes, they speak in Latin, even though most of the people there don't

understand what's being said. But, you know,

we could be guilty of similar things in our singing

when we sing things that we don't understand.

You know, there's a song that is commonly sung in the Lord's church entitled

"O Thou Fount of Every Blessing."

And I guess I sang that song for years before I ever understood what verse two

meant. It says this:

"Here I raise my Ebenezer,

hither by thy help I've come..."

I didn't know what that was talking about.

Later, I learned it's a reference to 1 Samuel 7 and verse 12.

The children of Israel had won a great defeat against the Philistines, and

Samuel set up a stone as a memorial saying,

"... 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'" It marked God's help.

So, when I "raise my Ebenezer," it's a figurative way of saying,

"God has helped me. He has got me

this far." Now, another common song that some people have said they don't

understand

is "Night With Ebon Pinion."

One phrase in that song says:

"Night with ebon pinion,

brooded o'er the vale..."

Well, what's that talking about?

It's figurative language. "Ebon" means "black." "Pinion" is "a wing."

"Brooded o'er the vale" means "hanging over the valley." It's a figurative way to

express the blackness and great sorrow

of the terrible things happening to Christ.

But, sometimes understanding is not the problem.

Sometimes, concentrating is the problem.

You know, we're singing the words,

but, we're not really thinking about what we're saying.

Have you ever done that?

You know, sometimes we get more interested in the notes of the song, and

in the time signature, and the song leaders hand motions, than we are in the

words that we're actually speaking to God

and to one another.

You know, sometimes

we might be more interested in how pretty the song sounds,

than in the message that it actually contains.

You know, worship

takes effort.

Our singing requires focus on the words that we're saying.

Otherwise,

the words are vain and empty.

We need to give it our all.

We're worshiping the God of the Universe.

Now, thirdly,

as we apply John 4:24 to our singing,

we learn that we must sing not only in spirit,

but also in truth. That is, we must sing according to the truth.

We must sing in the way that the truth directs us to. Now,

do you know why we don't use a piano or some other mechanical instrument in our

worship in the Church of Christ?

It isn't because we don't like instrumental music, because we do.

But, it's because the truth does not direct us to.

It's because

there's no authority for it in the Bible.

And everything we do in religion.

must have authority

from God! You know,

why don't we use peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches and orange juice on the

Lord's table?

Again, it's because there's no authority for it. Actually, it would be contrary to

authority. God said to use unleavened bread

and fruit of the vine.

And to use something else, or to use something additional,

would simply be without

Biblical authority. And the same thing is true with regard to instruments

in our song service.

That's not the way that God said that we're to worship Him in song.

He said,

that we're to "sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord."