One of the benefits of being a child of God, a Christian, is that we have the privilege of worshiping God. Jesus said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24) The Father seeks such worshippers.

Throughout all of history, God has wanted us to worship him in the ways He has commanded. We can look to Cain and Abel to see the first recorded example of false worship. The record tells us, "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? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted, and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." (Genesis 4:3-7)

To understand what happened in this situation, we need to ask the question, "Why did God have respect unto Abel and to his offering? Why did he not have respect to Cain and his offering?" Could it be because God liked Abel more than He liked Cain? No, we know that Peter wrote, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." (Acts 10:34-35) Why then? We find the answer in Hebrews 11:4: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." The reason God had respect unto Abel and his sacrifice is because Abel worshiped by faith.

What does it mean to do something by faith? Paul wrote, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Therefore, doing something by faith means doing it according to what you have learned through God's word. The only way we can have true faith in something is if God has told us it's true. So, when Cain offered up grain, he did so even though God had not commanded a grain offering. When Abel offered up the firstlings of his flock, he did so because God commanded it. That's how we worship by faith. Paul wrote, "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23) We now understand that Paul was telling us that if we do something not commanded by God in His word, we sin. That's the reason God told Cain that because he hadn't done well (obeyed), sin was lying at the door.

This same principle applies for worshippers today. We must worship God in spirit and in truth. That is to say, we worship God without regard to our race--Jew or Gentile--because we have been born again through a spiritual birth; and we worship God in truth, or according to His commands.

What does God's word teach us about the use of instrumental music in our worship to Him? The truth is, God is silent on the subject of instrumental music in New-Testament worship. His word says absolutely nothing about the use of instrumental music in the Christian worship. The question then is, "Is it okay to worship God in a way of which He hasn't approved?" We've already seen the answer to that question. Cain did something other than that of which God approved. So the answer to the question is "No!" God will tell them the same thing He told Cain, "If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."

Of what does God approve with regard to music in worship to Him? Paul wrote, "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. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." (Colossians 3:16, 17) In a parallel verse, he said, "But be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20) In these verses, Paul told us the kind and type of music that God wants from us as worship. He wants to hear psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In other words, we shouldn't offer a rock love ballad in our worship to God. We should use appropriate music--psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The type of music that Paul said is vocal music. He wrote, "Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord," and "singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

Some, in an effort to show justification for instrumental music, argue that the phrase "making melody" is translated from the Greek word Psallo, which means to twitch, pluck, or twang. While it's true that the word Psallo means this, in no way does it show that Paul authorized the use of mechanical instruments in the worship to God. Notice what he told us to pluck. The phrase is, "singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Each worshipper is to sing, and the accompanying instrument is his or her heart. We are to use our hearts as instruments. Paul used this phrase to teach that our singing is to be accompanied by our heart chords.

This phrase is parallel to the one in Colossians 3:16 where Paul wrote, "singing with grace in your heart to the Lord." In designating this instrument, he excluded all others. This is a basic fact of God's commands. For an example of this, observe Noah. God commanded Noah to use gopher wood to build the ark. When God designated gopher wood, He excluded all other types of wood. When God designated vocal singing, played on the heart, He excluded all other types of music.

The fact of the matter is that the New Testament authorizes only vocal music in the worship to God, but what about David in the Old Testament. David said, "Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto Him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise." (Psalm 33:2-3) Here, we see David plainly instructing those who worship God to accompany their worship with an instrument. The question we need to ask is, "To whom was David speaking, and in what era?" David was speaking to Hebrews who lived under Moses' Law. Are we physical Jews living under Moses' Law? If not, why would we think what David said applies to us?

Many Old-Testament commands do not apply to us. For example, Noah was commanded to build an ark. Does that apply to anyone today? No it doesn't, but at one time, that was the way to salvation. Moses commanded the children of Israel, "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:" (Exodus 20:8-10) This is a direct command. Why doesn't it apply to us? Because, under the New-Testament Law, this changed. We now worship God on the first day of the week, following apostolic example (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). The same principle applies with regard to music. Our only New-Testament command for music designates vocal music.

Paul wrote, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." (Galatians 3:19) Moses' Law was in effect until the promise came through Jesus Christ; hence, we are Christians. Paul went on to write, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Galatians 3:24-25) Moses' Law was the vehicle that brought us up to the time of Christ. It prepared us for the Messiah's coming. Paul said, "after that faith is come," which is to say when the Gospel of Christ (New Testament) came, we were no longer under the Old Law. The New took the Old out of the way (Galatians 5:4). If we justify ourselves by using Moses' Law, we fall from grace.

Why is this? It is for the simple reason that we can't pick and choose what we want in our religion. We must be either Jews under the Old Law, or Christians under the New. If we attempt to use part of the Old Law to justify ourselves, for example, using mechanical instruments in worship, we must take all that goes with the law. That would mean bringing in incenses, candles, tithes, circumcision, and last of all, sacrificial ordinances. To we who are Christians, that would mean replacing the sacrifice of God's only-begotten Son with the sacrifice of bulls and goats as under the Old Law. For that reason, one falls from grace if he tries to use the Old Law to justify himself. The Law was a great schoolmaster, to bring us up to Christ, to teach us life lessons, but it is not the source of our authority (Matthew 17:5; Hebrews 1:1,2) We must hear Christ today. He is our authority.

Another statement we hear and need to examine is: "Since God allowed the use of mechanical instruments for worship in the days of David, he surely wouldn't care now." Is this a true statement?

• In Exodus 17:5, 6, when Israel was at Rephadim, God commanded Moses to strike the rock, and water would come out of it. Moses obeyed God's command, and as God had promised, water came forth from the rock.
  
  
• In Numbers 20:7-12, while Israel was camped in the wilderness of Zin, God told Moses to speak to the rock, and it would yield water. This was a different command for a different event.
  
  

In the wilderness of Zin, Moses failed to do as God commanded; he did what He had previously commanded (at Rephadim) and struck the rock. This was not what God wanted. Actually, two sins were committed here, and God explained both.

1. Moses didn't believe God. He didn't do by faith what God commanded.
   
   
2. He took credit for God's work. He didn't sanctify God in the eyes of the children of Israel.
   
   

God punished Moses by not allowing him to enter into the promised land--Canaan. This example shows that just because God previously commanded a thing, it doesn't mean that He approves of it now. God approves of doing things by faith. He wants us to obey Him.

We must worship God in the way that He commands, and He has commanded us to use vocal music. The truth is available, and it's usually easier to agree on what God says. Now, can we agree on what God doesn't say? Neither God, nor His apostles authorized or commanded the use of mechanical instruments in Christian worship. Are you willing, like Cain, to do something that is not of faith? Let us, like Abel, do all things by faith, and God will respect our form of worship.