Why acapella in churches of christ

Although the use of instrumental worship may seem huge within the denomination as opposed to other groups that use instruments, Woodall said. We are not choosing instrumental worship over a cappella. What he does want to focus on is the foundation of Christianity as a whole, and what Stones River Church of Christ is doing to further the Kingdom of God, he said.

Knowing grace and love of God so you can worship however you feel like God is leading you to worship — that matters. Facebook Twitter Email. Local Church of Christ adds instruments to worship. John 4. The absence of any mention of mechanical instruments being used in worship in the New Testament is easily understood when we realize that it was not the practice of the Apostolic church to use such instruments.

Bible scholars and historians of all faiths agree on the entire absence of instrumental music from the New Testament church. It was, however, purely vocal. Brown notes: "That instrumental music was not practiced by primitive Christians Continued references to the testimony of religious scholars and historians could be presented almost indefinitely--however, by now it should be clear that Instrumental Music was not practiced in the Early Church!

Those early Christians, who were guided by the Apostles, did not make use of mechanical instruments of music, but, rather, sang psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. The question is: If we seriously intend to be New Testament Christians, can we do that which was never permitted as a part of the worship of the New Testament Church?

If the use of mechanical instruments of music is not authorized by the New Testament, and was not permitted in the early church, where did the practice originate? In the 2nd and 3rd Centuries, the purity of the church was tarnished by gradual departures from the New Testament pattern. This departure from the truth had been predicted by the writers of the New Testament. Paul, for example, wrote: "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.

Departures took place in the area of church government, terms of membership, and with regard to the elements of worship. Before long, the church of the New Testament was submerged in a sea of Apostacy.

Having abandoned the simple worship of the New Testament, the Apostate Church began to develop a more elaborate and liturgical ceremony in its place. According to The American Cyclopedia: "Pope Vitalian is related to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of Western Europe, about , but the earliest trustworthy account is that of the one sent as a present by the Greek emperor, Constantine Copronymus, to Pepin, king of the Franks, in As late as the 13th Century, the noted Thomas Aquinas, a world-renowned Catholic scholar, was writing against its use.

Indications are that even in his time the practice was not wide-spread. Congregations which were guided by the principles of the Reformation generally made three changes in the arrangement of their houses of worship: 1 The altars were changed to communion tables, 2 Religious statues were taken down, and 3 Organs were taken out.

Leaders in the Reformationest were united in their opposition to Instrumental Music. Martin Luther called the organ "an ensign of Baal. He commented: "I would as soon pray to God with machinery as sing to God with machinery. You'll go whoa you'll cover your eyes you'll shade you it's the natural reaction you can't look straight into the sun and not cover your eyes. What's the natural reaction when you see the Grand Canyon for the first time?

Wow what's the natural reaction when you see Niagara Falls for the first time? Oh my goodness look at this. Natural reaction. Well praise and song is our natural reaction, our natural response when we are made aware of God's majesty and power and wisdom and mercy. It's the reaction that is the most biblically acceptable as a way of expressing praise to God. I see how great God is, I recognize His mercy and His love, the awesome power that He has and I've just got to do something, I can't sit still, what do I do?

Well I offer song in praise, spiritual song, that's the reaction, that's the natural God-given reaction. The word for worship in the Greek means to send a kiss or to kiss forward, singing spiritual hymns and songs is our way of sending a kiss to God and making sure that it's accepted. So when we sing in worship we demonstrate the natural response to our understanding of God. Also when we sing in worship we offer spiritual thanksgiving. In Ephesians chapter 5 Paul writes,.

How many times does he have to mention singing in the same verse till we kind of get that he wants us to sing? Singing hymns is a spiritual way of saying thank you for forgiveness and resurrection and eternal life, thank you for maintaining our faith in our life here on earth, the source of these blessings is spiritual in nature because God is a spirit, and so our thanksgiving or our appreciation must also be spiritual in nature.

You've got to give the right thing to the right person in the right way, I go to the restaurant and the server does a great job in serving me right a great job in serving me and the menu and the food is great everything's on time my drink is filled, a good server, would it be proper for me to express my thanks to him by saying, you know what I'll say a prayer for you on my way home.

What's the proper way to offer thanks to the server for his good service or her good service? I leave a tip I leave a good tip. What's the proper way to say thank you to God for life, eternal life, for blessings and family?

Do I give Him a tip? No, I give Him a song, I give Him praise, I sing with my heart full of joy, that's the proper way to give thanks to God because you can't give God money or flowers. Things done because we believe in Jesus and are carried out according to the Word take on a spiritual quality. Our worship is spiritual not just because we sing, our worship is spiritual because we are singing in obedience to God's Word, that's what makes it spiritual, it doesn't make it spiritual because the guys in the band are playing nice you know seventh or minor chords and the there's nice for five-part harmony by the background singers and the pianist they've got a nice melody all work.

That's not what makes it spiritual, that's what makes it entertaining. What makes it spiritual is that we're responding to God in the way God wants us to respond to Him, that's what makes it spiritual. To pollute this expression with instruments makes the entire experience less spiritual. I'm not saying less sincere, I don't question anybody sincerity and their desire to worship God but I do think it's less spiritual because it's not following God's will.

And then when we sing we also encourage each other don't we? So Paul and Silas are in prison, they have no rights, they have no money, they have no lawyer, they have no way out, but in the midst of all of this they lift up their voices in song to God praising, thanking Him and, making my point here, encouraging each other encouraging each other.

And we know the rest of this story, the earthquake the prison doors open he converts the jailer and so on and so forth. But as far as my point is concerned about encouragement nothing lifts up a sad heart better than to sing praises to the Lord.

I can remember my wife Lise and I many times, we had four little kids in the mission field, sometimes we were just tired and a bit discouraged and a bit lonely and so on and so forth and when that would happen, we pulled out our song books and we'd start singing. I wasn't saying to her, "pick it up, everything's going to be fine, don't worry about" We just opened the songbook and started singing.

Are we not all prisoners of this world and its many frustrations and temptations and discouragements? When we sing together like Paul and Silas the walls of our tension, the walls of our fear, the prison of our anger and hurt, all of these come tumbling down.

When our hearts and our mouths are filled with songs of praise and thanksgiving there's no reason for arguing or hatred. It's very hard for me to hate my sister if I'm singing with her praises to God, very very difficult.

When I hear my voice and your voice mingle in song I not only know that we are united intellectually but I can feel our unity, I can feel the sense of purpose that we have together I am encouraged because you like me we're singing the same song, to the same God, for the same purpose.

Families who are experiencing problems should spend more time singing praises to God together, it would do them some good, it would do them a lot of good. I hope I've answered the question: why are we an a cappella church? Well we sing without instruments because this is what the Bible instructs us to do in public worship to God. The Apostles taught this, the early church did this and we simply follow their teaching and example.

In addition to this we sing in order to praise God effectively, to thank Him in a spiritual way because He is a spiritual being and also to encourage one another in the faith.

This lesson will make a difference in your spiritual life only if you realize and accept that what we do here is not just the Church of Christ thing. A capella music in worship is not a Church of Christ thing, it's a Bible thing, it's a God's Word thing. Therefore when we sing and when we lead others we should do so with as much effort and care and expertise as we can. If that is so then song leaders need to choose carefully and prayerfully the songs that will be offered to God.

Sermons they're not prepared at the last minute. I don't think song leaders should be up here two minutes before worship either figuring out what they're going to sing. I get it sometimes you've been asked at the last minute I understand that, but if you know that you're going to be leading God's people in worship that's not something that should be relegated for the last three minutes before you actually get up and lead the song.

Very important. And not only the song leader but the assembly needs to be focused on their singing, everybody should be singing, everybody, "well I don't have a good voice," so what this isn't American Idol. You think by not singing you're going to hide from God the fact that you can't sing. As a matter of fact for those who cannot sing I think it's an even more blessed thing that you open your mouth and sing anyways because the people with the good voices man they want to harmonize, I hear that okay I'll sing the next line as base okay next line I'm going to sing it as the alto, now I'm going to sing base and alto at the same time.

Worshiping God is not based on having a good voice it's based on faith, it's based on the fact that we recognize that we've been blessed. When we refuse to sing or ignore the song service part of the worship then we are refusing to praise God, we're refusing to thank Him and we're not participating in the building of the body.

Boy how edifying am I if I'm singing my heart out, you know Christians of souls Christians arise and so on as soldiers of Christ that's it, soldiers of Christ arise, and the two people next to me nothing. Well I'm edified, I really feel we're in this thing together.

I want to turn around and say okay what team are you on, who you rooting for? Fads and interest in various types of music they come and go, forty years ago the Beatles introduced eastern Indian music remember Ravi Shankar oh boy was all the thrill to the United States and it was a rage for a while and then it disappeared. This may be the decade for popular Christian music and that's good it's a form of salt and light in a very dark world but it's time will one day pass and it will recede to the marginal place that has occupied for so long just like other forms of contemporary music and something newer will come along to take its place.

If we however carefully follow God's Word our worship may not always be in style but it will always be acceptable. And if this be so then our prayers will be heard and we will come away from worship services spiritually satisfied and lifted up no matter what generation we live in, no matter what's going on in the world.

So we've got another song to sing tonight so we have two more songs to sing tonight, let's sing these songs with reverence shall we and conviction, offering God the worship that He deserves, and that He blesses us with. And while this song of encouragement is being sung if you recognize that you need to be baptized, to repent for your sins, or if you recognize that you need to be restored to faithfulness through prayer and restoration or perhaps to publicly announce your desire to be considered a member of this congregation and accept the oversight of our elders then please do not hesitate to do so as we stand and sing the song of invitation.

Print Save for later. The Acappella Church. By: Mike Mazzalongo. November, Mike reviews the reasons why the Churches of Christ do not use instruments of music in the public worship services.

YouTube Prime. We sing because the New Testament tells us to sing. I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Psallo The Greek word psallo , very interesting in English we use the term a cappella.