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Recently, in a conversation with my friend and brother, Eldred Hess, he told
of a conversation he had some years ago with a man he knew.
Eldred knew this man went to (a denominational) church regularly. But one Sunday
the man did not attend. Eldred asked him about this, knowing that he was not
sick or working that Sunday. The man told him, “I could not go to worship last
Sunday. My guitar string was broke, and there was no place to buy one on
Sunday.” I guess the poor fellow never even considered the possibility of going
without his guitar! He never considered the possibility of worshipping God
without playing his guitar! No guitar string, no worship! To him, instrumental
music was not an aid to worship-it was absolutely necessary. He would not even
go if he couldn’t play his guitar!
While this story is somewhat amusing, it is also sad to think that many people
cannot even contemplate worshipping God without some kind of aids or equipment.
God made man; God gave man a voice to sing praises to Him, and if we do, then
God gets the glory. On the other hand, man has invented many musical
instruments; man likes to play them and men like to hear them, so who is
glorified? Man, not God!
There are nine passages in the New Testament that deal with music. They are
Matt.26: 30; Mark 14:26; Acts 15:25; Rom.15: 9; 1 Cor.14: 15; Eph.5: 19; Col.3:
16; Heb.2: 12; James 5:13. These all speak of SINGING in worship. That’s what
the first century church did. Let us be content with that today, and neither our
worship nor our salvation will be hanging by a string!
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