Should we use instruments in worship?
Question 11095
The question of whether musical instruments should be used in Christian worship has a long and sometimes surprisingly heated history. For most contemporary evangelicals, the question seems settled beyond discussion: of course instruments are used in worship. But a significant minority tradition, most notably represented by the Churches of Christ and some Reformed Presbyterian bodies, holds that instruments are prohibited in corporate worship because the New Testament does not authorise them. The question is worth examining carefully, because it touches on how we read Scripture, how we understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and what principle governs what is permissible in the worship of God.
Instruments in the Old Testament
The Old Testament’s endorsement of instrumental worship is emphatic and extensive. Psalm 150 alone mentions the trumpet, lute, harp, tambourine, strings, pipe, and clashing cymbals, and commands the use of all of them in praising the Lord. David appointed musicians with harps, lyres, and cymbals for the worship of God before the ark (1 Chronicles 15:16), and the temple worship established under Solomon was richly musical, with trained Levitical musicians and a full complement of instruments (2 Chronicles 5:12-13). The dedication of the second temple under Ezra likewise included trumpets and cymbals (Ezra 3:10). Instrumental music was not an incidental feature of Israelite worship; it was a commanded, organised, and integral element of how God’s people praised Him.
The Argument Against Instruments
The case against instruments in Christian worship rests on what is called the regulative principle of worship in its strictest form: only what is explicitly commanded or clearly exemplified in the New Testament is permissible in corporate worship. Since the New Testament references to worship music mention only singing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13) and never mention instruments, the argument concludes that instruments are not authorised and therefore not permitted.
The reasoning is that Old Testament instrumental worship was part of the Levitical temple system, which has been fulfilled in Christ and is no longer in force. The instruments, like the animal sacrifices and the priestly vestments, belonged to the old covenant arrangement and passed away with it. The New Testament’s silence about instruments is therefore not accidental but intentional: God has prescribed a new, simpler form of worship for the Church, consisting of unaccompanied congregational singing.
Why the Argument Does Not Succeed
The strict regulative principle, as applied to instruments, proves too much. If the New Testament’s silence about instruments constitutes a prohibition, then consistency would require the same conclusion about a great many other features of church worship that the New Testament does not explicitly mention: hymnbooks, church buildings, pulpits, microphones, heating, and seating arrangements. The New Testament does not mention choirs, yet even the most rigorous acapella congregations often have song leaders who function as de facto musical directors. Silence does not equal prohibition unless one can demonstrate that the silence is intentional and restrictive, and the New Testament gives no indication that its references to singing are meant to exclude accompanying instruments.
The claim that instruments belonged exclusively to the Levitical temple system does not account for the evidence. Miriam’s tambourine at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20) predated the Mosaic Law. The Psalms, which command instrumental praise, were not addressed exclusively to the Levitical musicians but to the people of God as a whole: “Praise the LORD” in Psalm 150 is addressed to everything that has breath. The association of instruments with a single covenantal arrangement is too narrow a reading of the Old Testament evidence.
Paul’s instruction to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16) is significant precisely because psalmos in Greek literally refers to a song sung to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument. The word’s etymology does not prove that Paul expected instruments to be used, but it does demonstrate that the vocabulary he chose carried instrumental associations that he made no effort to exclude. If Paul intended to restrict worship to unaccompanied singing, his choice of psalmos was remarkably unfortunate.
The heavenly worship described in Revelation includes harps (Revelation 5:8; 14:2; 15:2). While earthly worship need not replicate every feature of heavenly worship, it would be strange for instruments to feature in the worship of heaven if they were inherently inappropriate for the worship of the Church.
The Real Principle
The question is not whether instruments are commanded but whether they are consistent with what Scripture teaches about worship. The New Testament’s governing principles for corporate worship are that it should be intelligible (1 Corinthians 14:19), orderly (1 Corinthians 14:40), edifying (1 Corinthians 14:26), participatory (Colossians 3:16), and directed toward God with sincerity of heart (Ephesians 5:19). Instruments that serve these purposes, facilitating congregational singing, supporting the declaration of truth, and directing hearts toward God, are not merely permissible but helpful. Instruments that obscure the congregation’s voice, turn worship into performance, or become the focus of attention rather than a means of praise have ceased to serve their purpose regardless of their inherent legitimacy.
So, now what?
The use of instruments in worship is neither commanded nor prohibited in the New Testament. It is a matter of Christian liberty governed by the broader principles of edification, order, and congregational participation. The believer who worships in a richly accompanied setting and the believer who worships acapella are both free before God, provided the heart is engaged, the truth is sung, and the praise is directed to the One who alone is worthy of it. The instrument is never the point. The God to whom the music is offered is always the point, and where He is genuinely honoured, the question of accompaniment takes its proper place among the secondary matters on which Christians extend charity to one another.
“Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!” Psalm 150:3-6 (ESV)