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Singing in Worship


RETIREDFAN1

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Singing 

 

Today, we continue our series on worship. We are shown in the New Testament that singing is something God requires in our worship. As such, each one of us should understand what it is that makes up proper worship to God in singing. We must also remember that singing must be done in God’s way, not ours, to worship Him.

Colossians 3:15-17 

 

Paul, in writing the book of Colossians, is writing regarding the supremacy of Christ over the philosophies of men. In chapter 3, he emphasizes the relationship of Christians with Christ in the resurrection. Based upon this relationship, Christians are to behave in a certain manner. They are not to behave in such a way as is indicated in verses 5-11. They are rather to practice the attitudes and actions of the Christian faith. Singing is among those great actions of faith that indicate the superiority of Christ.

 

Worshipping God in song involves understanding the role of several things. First is aesthetics.  Aesthetics in singing are those things that are pleasing to the human ear. They are the beauty of the singing. The beauty of the song plays a part in our Christian happiness according to James.

James 5:13

 

There is a certain relationship between our emotional state and singing and we should not neglect this. Militaries the world over recognize the power of song. Countries have national anthems.  Singing arouses great feelings of loyalty and patriotism in these contexts. Singing should have the same effect upon the church as well. 

 

This being said,  there are those who exalt aesthetics above Christ. The one who sings well and emphasizes the importance of singing “correctly” is putting the singing above Christ. Merely focusing upon singing the song correctly can lead to vain worship. Some people may let how others sound distract them from their own individual worship. They may be distracted by whether one is on pitch and in time and thus not concentrate on the meaning of the song at all. The person may desire that the song service be beautiful (aesthetically) above anything else failing to recognize that true beauty in the song is when we do things according to God’s will.

 

Then there is the opposite reaction. Some don’t sing because they fear they will sound bad. They don’t want to make the song sound bad. So they don’t sing. However, what  they fail to realize is that singing is from the heart. God demands that everyone worship in song.


 

Then there are those who don’t believe that aesthetics are involved at all. How can you have a song without pitch and time?  In order to have singing, there must be some minimal aesthetics.

 

Aesthetics have a proper place in the song service. The proper place of aesthetics. It is used to compose music to sing by. Without it, there would be no songs. It is used to promote unity of thought and worship. It is used to encourage and bolster faith in the individual. It is used to engender emotions of loyalty and bravery.

 

Aesthetics in song focuses our emotions correctly, but they are the last thing that we should be worried about in worshipping God.

 

Second, the doctrine being taught in the song is of extreme importance. Since singing is worship to God, singing doctrinally incorrect songs would be blaspheming God. Would it be acceptable to sing about the glories of sin? What about singing praises to Satan? We clearly understand that we must not sing in these ways, as it would be an affront to God. This being the case, why would we think that some other doctrinal error would not be an equal affront to Him?

Acts 2:42

 

Here in this passage, it says that the early Christians “Continued steadfast in the apostles doctrine.” This applies to singing as anything. Song books are not inspired, so we must be careful as to what we sing. The scriptures say that singing is to be used to teach and admonish. What are we to teach? How are we to admonish? Teaching and admonishing must come from sound doctrine. This is why we must pay careful attention and make sure that we are not singing the very false doctrines we would never teach. 

 

That being said, there is also room for poetic license. However, to keep a  good balance between the two, we must ask ourselves the question, “Is there a way that I can understand this song that harmonizes with the scriptures and think of it that way when I sing the song.” If there is no way to do this, then we must remove the song from the repertoire of our song service.

 

In worship, we must sing songs that we understand.

1 Corinthians14:15

 

If there are songs that have difficult phrases then the song leader needs to explain what those songs mean, if they are not explained in the song book. This also involves thinking about the meaning of the words we are singing. There should be no daydreaming. There should be no vain repetition.

Matthew 6:7


 

We must strive to sing the song in a way that will encourage our brethren.

Colossians 3:16

 

How do we focus better on the meaning of songs? We can think about the meaning of the stanza. We can think about how the Chorus relates to the stanza.

 

Our attitude toward singing is very important. Our attitude in worship must be to do only that which is authorized by God. Colossians 3:17

 

The Bible is clear on God’s attitude toward those who go beyond His authority. Look at Nadab and Abihu.

Leviticus 10:1 - 2

 

Then there was Uzzah.

 2 Samuel 6: 6 - 7

 

This is mentioned also in John’s letters.

2 John 9 





 

We must remain within God’s authorized pattern. This means that our singing must be just that–singing. God has specifically authorized singing. This excludes playing instruments of any kind, including a tuning fork. This excludes humming. This excludes whistling.

 

What does the Bible say about this? We see that the only music authorized in the New Testament was vocal. There are several passages within the New Testament that authorize us to sing today. We have the example of Jesus and His disciples

Matthew 26: 30

 

We have the example of Paul and Silas.

Acts 16: 25

 

There are other references in the New Testament letters other than the ones we always use in Ephesians and Colossians.

Romans 15: 9

Hebrews 2: 12

 

There are ZERO passages that authorize us to play, hum, or whistle. It is a matter of doing what God wants done in worship to Him, not what WE want.

Ephesians 5:19

Colossians 3:16 

 

Singing is to be done from the heart. The heart is the instrument upon which we are to play today before the Lord. Adding instruments makes the worship physical, not spiritual. Music in NT worship, therefore, is to be SPIRITUAL. It is to be sung by all who are in attendance. There is no authorization for choirs or singing groups. 

 

With emphasis not placed on how we sound, but that we are making true  melody in our hearts to the Lord.

 

Let's not make the same mistakes that Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah made. As we approach God in worship, let us treat Him as Holy by worshipping as He has commanded: "in spirit and in truth"

 

In regards to our music, let it be singing with melody in our hearts to the Lord, and not with melody made with mechanical instruments. Let everyone sing out and be praising God with their voices. 

 

In doing so, we KNOW we are on safe ground, and that our worship is well pleasing to Him. 






 

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