What God hasn't said

Some folks seem to take their cues in religion from what God hasn’t said. Apparently, almost anything can be a part of a fellowship and church work or worship if “God didn’t say not to do it.” Let’s think about that logic and reason for a moment.

When giving Noah instructions for building an ark through which he and his family could be saved from the coming destruction of those who were unwilling to obey God, the Lord didn’t forbid him from using pine, oak, cedar, maple, sycamore, cypress, etc. Instead, God just told Noah what type of wood he could use, and that automatically eliminated the rest, Genesis 6:14-16. God was silent on these other kinds of wood because He specified the type of wood He wanted Noah to use.

Likewise, when God specified through Moses that priests had to come from the tribe of Levi, Deuteronomy 33:8-11, He didn’t have to forbid the tribes of Rueben, Simeon, Issachar, Dan, Naphtali, Judah, etc. All the other tribes were necessarily excluded when God specified Levi as the priestly tribe (cp. Hebrews 7:14). God was silent on these other tribes because He had specified the tribe He wanted to serve as priests.

As priests, Nadab and Abihu were to keep fire burning on the altar of the Lord continuously (Leviticus 6:12-13) and fire used for other sacrifices and offerings was to be taken from this altar (Leviticus 16:12). So, they were killed by God when they “offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1-2). Did God need to say, “Don’t use fire from here, or here, or there”? Not at all -- when He told the priests from where the fire needed to come, every other place and source was automatically eliminated. God was silent on “other fire” because He had specified the fire He wanted to be used.

Now, let’s make a specific application of these things (though the same principles should guide all other applications also). Most religions of today use instruments of music to praise God in worship. If asked why they choose to worship in this way, the answer is often, “God didn’t say not to use it.” Can’t we see that God didn’t tell Noah “not to use cedar,” or tell Israel “not to make priests from the tribe of Rueben,” or tell Nadab and Abihu “not to use fire from some other source” either? But God does tell us what “instruments” to use to praise Him in Ephesians 5:19: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” The voice and the heart were the instruments specified -- not the violin and harp.

The objection usually raised to this is, “But they used instrumental music to praise God in the Old Testament!” They sure did, but please answer this question: “Why did they use instrumental music in the Old Testament to praise God?” Second Chronicles 29:25 provides the answer, “He stationed the Levites in the house of Lord with cymbals, with harps, and lyres, according to the command of David and of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the command was from the Lord through His prophets.” God specified instrumental music for Jews under the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. We are Christians under the Law of Christ in the New Testament. Where is God’s specification of instruments of music besides the voice and the heart in the New Testament?

“But weren’t the first Christians Jews?” Absolutely, and yet any reputable historian or bible encyclopedia will tell you that mechanical music was not a part of Christian worship until late in the seventh century A.D. when Pope Vitalian decreed it as an acceptable form of worship. Overwhelmingly, instrumental music in worship was rejected by all the major Protestant denominations (and their leaders such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and John Wesley) until the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But more importantly, why did Jewish Christians, who were accustomed to using mechanical instruments to worship God under the Old Testament Law, suddenly abandon the use of them in Christian worship? Again, the answer is simple: “Neither God, Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit (or men inspired by them) authorized the use of mechanical instruments in the New Testament for Christian worship.” There was no need to say (or write), “Don’t use this or that mechanical instrument” because God had specified the voices and hearts of Christians singing praises to Him. There are at least nine New Testament passages that specify singing praises to God (Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9; 1Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12; 13:15; James 5:13). But, though mechanical instruments were readily available, and had been a part of Jewish worship, there is not one New Testament passage that species using one (or several) for Christian worship. Apparently, early Christians understood that the silence of God did not authorize this, or any other practice. Does it really make that much difference? Ask Nadab and Abihu.

Adapted from Philip C. Strong