As in virtually every other detail of Christianity, there have been both controversy and conflict about music in the Church: What style, should we have instruments or should we sing a cappella, should there be music at all, do we need a choir or a band, and so forth. One thing some believers do, including myself, is go back into the writings of the early Church fathers, particularly the Ante-Nicene fathers, to learn about their doctrinal views, how they “did Church,” and other such things.
Before getting into the subject at hand, I can tell you from my own research that even in the early Church days there were differences of opinion, and some of what they believed left a lot to be desired. For example, the early Church fathers placed emphasis on personal godliness and holiness much more than on God’s role as a loving heavenly Father. Holiness is crucial, yes, but so is understanding the fatherly love of God as one of His children, because without it all you have is merciless legalism. These differences of opinion extended to music as well.
A Google search on what the early Church believed about “church” music will leave you confused if you are not careful. Those denominations which disdain music in church, such as the Church of Christ, will, in their postings, quote early Church beliefs against music and singing, especially against the use of musical instruments, while others will quote those with friendlier beliefs about these practices from the early Church era. The only thing you can conclude from this is that there was, to a certain extent, different musical practices (or the absence thereof) back then just as there is now.
The New Testament does not say as much about this subject as the Old Testament does, but it is certainly not silent about it. For instance, before the fateful trip to the Mount of Olives where Gethsemane was, a hymn was sung (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). Likewise, though not identified explicitly as a song by the Scriptures, we see the song of Mary, also known as The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). We will see more about music-related themes in the New Testament later.
In summary, the Church was born in a veritable sea of paganism, and in a lot of ancient pagan religious practices and festivals, singing and the use of musical instruments was important. It is understandable that there would spring up an aversion to such practices. Also, in the early days of Christianity, its practitioners were already busy trying to extricate themselves from the Jewish faith. In Old Testament times, music and singing were an integral part of the praise and worship of God, so in separating from Jewish practices there was another cause for some early believers to have a tepid attitude towards music in church services.
In addition to these factors, an ugly anti-Semitic attitude emerged among many early Christians, particularly after the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD, these events being viewed as divine retribution for the Jews’ role in orchestrating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The Roman emperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity in the early 300’s AD and encouraged tolerance for the faith, had strong anti-Semitic feelings also.
All these developments delayed but did not stop the spread of music in the Church. The Christians of the first few centuries, although less inclined to use musical instruments in worship than later believers were, did sing, and their first primary source for this was the book of Psalms. As time went on, various forms of singing and music were included in services, such as the Gregorian chant from the ninth and tenth centuries. The first church musical organs appeared around the year 900, and by the 1400’s were in common use.
Those of you who come from denominational backgrounds where hymns are sung will note that a majority of those hymns were written in the 1700’s and 1800’s. Many musical styles are represented today in the Christian music genre, including contemporary, bluegrass, and gospel, as well as others. Some churches still sing hymns and use choirs while a number of others incorporate different music styles and have a band instead. Then there are those poor religious souls who either sing exclusively a cappella or perhaps even have nothing at all. In this Christian musical smorgasbord, what, then, does the Bible say on this subject? A lot! We only have space to cover some of what is says.
Even before the fall of man—even before the creation of man—there was music in heaven. There certainly was happy shouting among the angels (Job 38:4-7). Could this shouting have been in song? We do not know, but it would be hard to imagine there at least not being heavenly music to celebrate something as momentous as the completion of the Lord’s creation. Before Lucifer rebelled against God and became known as Satan, one of the responsibilities of this angel was for music, as we see in this passage:
Ezekiel 28:12b-14: …“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones…”
If music was that important in heaven, then how can it not be appropriate for church and for praising and worshipping God? That is a strange conclusion to arrive at regardless of background or reasoning! In the Old Testament we learn that among those of the earliest generations of human beings, a man named Jubal had musical skills, and he passed that knowledge on to others (Genesis 4:21). King David was a highly skilled musician and songwriter who also danced and may well have sung in addition to all these other abilities he had (1 Samuel 16:14-23; 2 Samuel 6:5, 14-15, 22:1ff, 23:1ff). He wrote approximately half of the 150 psalms that we have in the Protestant Bible. For worship services David appointed 288 people for the purposes of playing music, singing, and prophesying (1 Chronicles 25:1-31). In fact, it was not at all uncommon for the Old Testament prophets to prophesy while music was being played (2 Kings 3:11-15).
Just as the book of Psalms was, among other things, a songbook, so was the OT book, The Song of Solomon, also known as The Song of Songs or The Canticles. The book of Habakkuk ends with a hymn and musical instructions (Habakkuk 3:17-19). We also find other songs in the Old Testament, such as two songs of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19; Deuteronomy 31:30-32:43), the song of Moses’ sister Miriam (Exodus 15:20-21), and the song of Deborah and Barak (Judges 5:1-31a). It is written about God Himself rejoicing over Zion with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). There is more in the Old Testament about this subject, but it should be clear by now that music and singing were an integral part of the lives of the Jews, and much of it was geared toward praise and worship.
Back to the New Testament. We have noted that Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn just before His time in the garden of Gethsemane, and that Mary sang a song of praise to God. Songs such as those in psalm form were not unknown to the earliest Christians (1 Corinthians 14:26). And take note of these words in the Biblical canon, some quoted from the Old Testament, some strictly from the New Testament:
Romans 15:8-9: Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.”
1 Corinthians 14:15: What is the conclusion then? 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.
Ephesians 5:18-19: And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord,…
Colossians 3:16: 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.
Hebrews 2:11-12: For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
James 5:13b: Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing songs.
Some references to singing are even made in the book of Revelation (Revelation 5:8-10, 14:1-5). Now, having thoroughly established by the Word of God that singing and music most definitely have a place in church and in our lives in general as Christians, what about the music that is brought into church?
Those who sing and/or play music in the house of God must be born again, spiritually mature, and have a good testimony. How can a lost person be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit when he or she does not even know the Lord? As for maturity, like the minister who is a novice or whose testimony is not solidly good (1 Timothy 3:6-7), so also someone involved in praise and worship in this condition can also be felled by the enemy. A lot of attention and accolades are given to entertainers, and that includes Christian singers and musicians.
A person who is not spiritually mature can become swollen with pride and forget that it is God who gifted him or her in this way. A singer and/or musician who has a bad testimony, when exposed, can give their entire church a black eye, so to speak, including those in the church’s music ministry.
Style is important to a certain extent. Traditional hymns, gospel Christian music, bluegrass gospel, and contemporary Christian music are fine as long as the One who is ultimately being praised is God. Too much of modern Christian songs lack substance or reverence, being me-centered instead of Christ-centered and, in some cases, so highly repetitive as to be more like Hindu mantras than Christian singing. Of the 150 psalms, only one, Psalm 136, has a lot of repetition. Just one out of 150 divinely inspired psalms having a bunch of repetitiveness should tell you something.
Many modern Christian songs also paint a distorted picture of God, filled with “love” to the point of portraying Him as a sappy, indulgent, or even effeminate old grandfather. Soaking music, like soaking prayer, is a no-go! Both have contemplative characteristics akin to Eastern mysticism. The Holy Spirit should be the one who guides the music and singing, to create the “mood,” so to speak, not the music itself or the singing. Then there are those who indulge in such styles as Christian rock, Christian rap, Christian metal, and Christian alternative rock.
This is an area that is iffy, because by their very nature some forms of music and singing are hard to redeem. I cannot personally get behind these styles. It is challenging to find reverence toward God in them, in my opinion. Beyond that, all I can tell you, my fellow Christians, is for you to be led of God in deciding what kinds of Christian music you listen to.
In this age of feelgood preaching, a considerable number of choirs have been replaced by bands and many of the old Christian hymns have been replaced with more “modern” music. In some cases these individuals, in spite of the ear-tickling agenda of their parent church, still do seek to honor God in music and song, but for a lot of others it is all part of the performance, all part of the show to swell the attendance and the coffers of the church. If you really prize spiritual meat, spiritual substance, the old hymns are the way to go.
They may not be as “exciting” as the newer songs, but if you cannot get excited about their Christ-honoring content and reverence then you are the problem! I would take a choir and hymns any day over amped-up church bands and sappy or house-rocking music and singing. After all, as Christians, our musical ministering should be Spirit-led, Spirit-filled, pointing to the Savior and honoring the God of all creation. And yes, music and singing are allowed in the house of God.
