When addressing the issue of the use of instrumental music today in the light of New Testament doctrine, the first thing that needs to be addressed is the fact that God has never left His worship up to the faulty decision-making of His creation. From the time of Adam and Eve to the present, man’s decision making has been questionable. If man is left to himself and his own devices with a question that must be answered correctly, it is possible he will make the wrong decision. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” So, if we are left with a question as to whether instrumental music is acceptable in worship to God in the light of New Testament doctrine, the answer must come from …show more content…
4:4b-5a). In Romans 4:15, Paul recorded, “Where there is no law there is no transgression.” Therefore, if God had not made the law available to Cain, there could have been no transgression of the law. Obviously, there was a transgression of the law, because of what God would tell Cain next. “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” This shows irrefutably that Cain knew the law of God, because God points out his sin. Therefore, God did not leave His worship up to sinful man, because He told Cain that he had worshiped Him in the wrong manner. God must have made the law available to Cain for there to be transgression. In the wording of Genesis 4:7 is the implication that Cain knew the law concerning sacrifices; “if you do well, will you not be accepted?” implies that he knew how to do well, thus also showing that God did not leave His worship up to the decision of man. Another example of God never leaving His worship up to the decision of fallible man is found in the Mosaical Age in the story of Nadab and Abihu. Leviticus 10:1 reads: “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” The fire was profane, since God
When God proclaims that he favors Abel's gift over Cain's, Cain becomes angry and jealous towards Abel and he eventually kills him. Although God is fully aware of what has transpired, He asks Cain where Abel is, and Cain answers Him untruthfully saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:2-5). After God reveals to Cain that he knows of Abel's murder, God banishes Cain to another part of the land and places a mark on him so that no man will kill him.
In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it on a personal level. The usual portrayal of God as an omniscient being is instead replaced as mentor to Adam and Eve who is trying to help them understand their existence. This close relationship is shown even when man does something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break the singular rule and be punished; but not to the extent most would think. Before partaking of the fruit God says that, "the day that you eat of it you shall die"(Genesis). Instead of dying, Adam and Eve are removed from the garden and go begin their lives. God punishes them for their actions, but also gives clothes and allows them to take the knowledge they have gained from the tree. Even after breaking the one rule that he has set for them, God allowed them to keep the knowledge they gained to begin mankind. This grace towards humanity is shown once again with Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering and not his own. Even with Cain having killed his own brother, God still does not punish Cain severally; "you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"(Genesis). This punishment is especially seen as inadequate as Cain goes on to settle in Nod and have his own family. This mercy by God shows that he was unable to punish humanity even for the most serious of offenses. This lack of punishment shows God's sympathy for mankind because of his close relationship with them. This close relationship stems from God's close bond with mankind because of their similar image and knowledge. This relationship that began as two very similar beings, has further blossomed as God has given great responsibility to
These different mindsets concerning the music caused a division to occur in the church. This example ties in with another point addressed in the Declaration and Address. And that is the point concerning what to do with doctrinal differences that are not based on clear and exact teachings in the New Testament and how that leads to division. There are a lot of things that come about in life that we can clearly read in the Bible is right or is wrong. With that being said it is simple to make definite rules and it is also simple to clear up arguments and disagreements when the answer is clearly seen in the Bible, because it is really hard to argue with a clear answer in the Bible when you are trying to use the Bible to back you up. However, what happens when there is not a clear teaching in the Bible? That is what happened with the
African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.
by this and explains, “…if you do not do well, sin is lurking at your
To participate in worship, a person must have a relationship with God. In other words, how can a person worship someone he/she does not know or experienced. To obtain that link an individual must become a part of the body of Christ by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior and surrender their will for God's will and plans for their life. They must also have had an encounter with God as Saul on the Damascus road and David with his many issues. However, music has a multipurpose, it drives away evil spirits, calms the mind, and drives a person toward the love and warmth of Christ.
Another source looks at whether God can use rock music for His glory or not. The article says that question shouldn’t be, “Can God use Christian rock music for His glory?” but it should be, “Will He use Christian rock music for His glory.” (Bealer helium.com) The author Paula Bealer follows that with a question of her own, “Why wouldn’t he?” She also goes on to state:
Music has always played a vigorous role in religious celebrations throughout history. Religions across the world have shaped our nations through music. There are various types of music in diverse religions across the world. Music is used to worship in many religions and it is spread across communities of the same religion. Music helps spread the gospel that is being preached.
Hart said, “God is sound.” (Potter, 58) This quote resonated with me because no three words have ever spoken more truth. Coming from a musical, Catholic background, I have always been told that singing is praying twice. Music truly is a gift from God because God gave us the ability to hear.
Genesis 4:1-6-And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?
One of the largest forms of music a Bible college student comes into contact with is worship music. Worship music is a large part of Christianity itself. Some denominations focus a great deal on worship, making it a central part of their faith. The philosophy of worship is something that every Christian must come in contact with at some point in their walk. Worship
Music is the only medium that blesses both man and God at the same time and as such to see it as an entertainment factor within our worship services is a gross misunderstanding of its purpose. Music is made up of three elements: melody, harmony, and rhythm. Mankind is also made up of three parts: spirit, soul and body (1 Thess 5:23). It can be argued that music and the triune, or trichotomy, of mankind are intrinsically linked i.e. melody is likened to the spirit, harmony to the soul and rhythm to the body.
This premise is predicated on the hypothesis that music plays an independent and important role within scripture itself; that is to be an elevated carrier for liturgy and prayer, the use of which is mandated by God for corporate worship. Both corporate worship and individual faith would suffer if music were removed. As an act of worshipping obedience, and a way of more readily understanding and relating to God, we will examine
In Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, Paul records three terms identified with music. We are to talk and instruct and scold each other in "hymns, psalms and profound melodies." When we hear song, we may consider more established of the congregation who survived the trial of time, treasured psalms like Amazing Grace (John Newton) or When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts). What's more, when we see profound tunes we may think about a portion of the more up to date, inspiring religious tunes of our day that wouldn't fit the more conventional names of psalm or hymn, melodies like Let Creation Sing (Hillsong) or All I Have Is Christ (Jordan Kauflin). These are generally real types of music for adore. Psalm was a term that would have been particularly well-known to the Gentiles.
The time between 1485 and 1660 marked a period of new beginnings for the people living in England; this time is known as the Renaissance. In England, the people were challenging their past beliefs; where before the Renaissance, England thrived basing their lives, government, and music off of God and his principles alone. During these one-hundred and seventy-five years, the English people started questioning their original principles about religion and established a yearning for information and proof based off of science instead of God. This desire caused many changes to form in England. The Renaissance period quickly became known as the rebirth of knowledge named by the change from God’s knowledge to the knowledge of man. The Renaissance