I. Introduction: Simple historical fact: Christians in the First     Century Church did not use instruments of music.

    A. Nothing startling, just a simple provable fact.

    B. If they did not use them, why did they not do so.

        1. They had access to them.

        2. They had Jewish and Pagan examples.

II. Instruments of music were invented and used from ancient times.

    A. Invented by Jubal: Genesis 4:21

    B. Many pagan nations used instruments in their worship.

        1. Babylon in Daniel 3:15 - horn, flute, lyre, zither,           psaltery, bagpipe.

III. Instruments of music were used in the Jewish Temple and elsewhere.

    A. Temple Dedication, II Chronicles 5:12-13 - harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets.

    B. Prophets in I Samuel 10:5 - Harp, tambourine, flute, lyre.

    C. There emptiness was condemned: Amos 5:23 - "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps."

IV. In the time of Christ

    A. Instruments used in the Temple controlled by the Sadducees.

    B. Instruments not used in the Synagogues controlled by the Pharisees.

        1. No instruments used in Orthodox Synagogues today.

    C. The Romans used instruments of music including the water organ.

        1. Nero played the water organ as well as the lyre.

        2. The pagans used many types of instruments in their orgiastic worship.

    D. Even though early Christians had access to many types of musical instruments they did not use them in their worship.

        1. Paul refers to instruments as "lifeless." I Corinthians 14:7 - "Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound . . ."

        2. Just a few verses later Paul says "I shall sing with the spirit"

    E. Many other early church writers spoke against instruments.

        1. Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 190, "Leave the pipe to the shepherd, the flute to the men who are in fear of gods and intent on their idol worshiping. Such musical instruments must be excluded from our wingless feasts, for they are more suited for beasts and for the class of men that is least capable of reason than for men." The Instructor, Fathers of the Church, p.130.

        2. Justin Martyr, A.D. 139, "Simply singing is not agreeable to children (Jews), but singing with lifeless instruments and with dancing and clapping is. On this account the use of this kind of instruments and of others agreeable to (Jews) is removed from the songs of the churches, and there is left remaining simply singing." Resp. ad Orthodox., Q. 107

        3. Chrysostom (Golden mouth) 347-407, "David formerly sang songs, also today we sing hymns. He had a lyre with lifeless strings, the church has a lyre with living strings. Our tongues are the strings of the lyre with a different tone indeed, but much more in accordance with piety." Exposition of Psalms 41, (A.D. 381-398) from Source Readings in Music History, ed. O. Strunk, pg. 70

        4. Pope Gregory the Great (590-604), creator of the Gregorian Chant, had chants sung a-capella.

IV. The Roman Catholic Church introduced instruments of music.

    A. Pope Vitalian is often credited with first using organ, 660-665.

        1. Vitalian had a famous choir and wanted to "help the singing."

    B. Greek Emperor Constantine Copronymus gave water organ to King Pepin (father of Charlemagne) in 755.

    C. Charlemagne (771-814) accepted an organ as a gift from the Caliph Haroun al Rashid and had it installed in the cathedral of Aix-la-chapel, but met some opposition from some local monks.

        1. It reportedly was not used much due to the opposition.

    D. The Eastern Greek Orthodox Church rejected any use of the organ or other instruments in their worship.

    E. The use of the organ was not universally accepted even among the Roman Catholics.

        1. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) said instruments not in use in churches he worshiped in.

        "Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize." "Thomas Aquinas" Bingham's Antiquities, Vol. 3 page 137.

    F. Catholic Encyclopedia admits instrumental music was among the pagan practices which the Medieval church adopted to "enhance the splendor of religious ceremony." Vol. III, p. 246

V. Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church Split 1054:

    A. Greek Church refuses to accept these Catholic practices:

        1. Supreme authority of the pope.

        2. Requiring clergy to be celibate.

        3. Use of three-dimensional statues in worship.

        4. Use of instruments of music.

VI. Reformers at first rejected the use of instruments, but the were slowly reintroduced by their more worldly followers.

    A. Martin Luther (1483-1546) "The organ in the worship is the insignia of Baal. . . The Roman Catholic Church borrowed it from the Jews." Mcclintock & Strong's Encyclopedia Vol. 6, p. 762. (Note: this is attributed to Luther: he made other statements in support of organ.)

    B. John Calvin (1509-1564) "Musical instruments in celebrating the praise of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews."

    C. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) who played several instruments said instruments were a shadow of the old law and that to use them today was "wicked perversity."
 

    D. Erasmus (1466-1536) "We have brought into our churches certain operatic and theatrical music; such a confused, disorderly chattering of some words as I hardly think was ever in any of the Grecian or Roman theaters. The church rings with the noise of trumpets, pipes, and dulcimers; the human voices strive to bear their part with them." Commentary on I Corinthians discussion on 14:19.

    E. Bishops of the Church of England voted in 1562 to lay aside instruments of music in worship, but in 1564, Queen Elizabeth I overruled and instruments were allowed.

    F. John Wesley "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen." Clarke's Commentary, Vol. 4, page 684.

VII. The Restoration Movement

    A. Alexander Campbell (1788-1866) "To those who have no real devotion or spirituality in them instrumental music would be not only a desideratum, but an essential prerequisite to fire up their souls to even animal devotion. I presume, to all spiritually-minded Christians, such aids would be as a cow bell in a concert." (c.1851)

    B. J. W. McGarvey "Musical Worship has been attended by strife, alienation, and division, with all their attendant evils, in hundreds of congregations. . . I regard the use of the organ in the worship a violation of one of the fundamental principles of our plea for restoration and unity." Apostolic Timer, 1881 and What Shall We Do About the Organ? p. 4, 10.

    C. Introduced into churches in the North after the Civil War.

        1. First known use in Restoration Churches 1860, Midway, Kentucy church, Dr. L. L. Pinkerton preacher, used small melodeon.

        2. 1887, St. Louis, Mo., congregation bought old Episcopal church, had organ, but majority of congregation refused to allow it to be played. A minority, angry, left and built their own building, but ran out of funds and could not afford to by an organ. So, congregation that had one did not play it and congregation who wanted to pay organ did not have one to play.

        3. 1872, Central Christian Church of Cincinnati, Ohio, dedicated new $140,000 building with $8,000 organ.

        4. Unending source of division.

        5. Symbol of wealth of Northern congregations.

        6. Northern congregations also quickly adopted "reverend" title, missionary societies, and social gospel.

VIII. Conclusion

    A. Instruments of music were not a part of the worship of the New Testament church even though first century Christians new of them and had access to them.

    B. If one's aim is to Restore the purity of New Testament worship then instruments of music have no place in the worship.

    C. Adding instrumental music as an aid or an expediency.

        1. This was the argument of the Catholic Church in adding them.

            a. Can use the same argument to add statues, relics, priests, the pope, or whatever one wants.

            b. Participants quickly become observers.

        2. Adding instruments has brought only division.

    D. Non-instrumentalists are on sound historical and scriptural foundation.

        1. Fight to maintain simple New Testament worship.