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…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,
Ephesians 5:19 |
Can you see any
instrument being used in the passage on the left?
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And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.
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It is the same instrument used by Jesus and the apostles in the upper room. |
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About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and
the prisoners were listening to them,
Acts 16:25 |
It is the
same instrument used by Paul and Silas when they were in prison in
Philippi. |
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But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 2:29
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4. The Heart has always been the most adequate instrument for God's ears. |
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According to
the example of Jesus and His apostles, and according to the teaching of
the apostles, and according to the
historical record, Christians did not use instruments at the
beginning.
Eg. Voices and
Instruments in Christian Worship,
published by The Liturgical Press: "From the standpoint of ritual
action, liturgical music can only be monodic and vocal. Throughout
nearly ten centuries of its history, Christian worship was in principle,
and nearly always in fact, celebrated una voce ["one voice"-
unanimously] and a capella [without instrumental accompaniment,
lit. "as the chapel"]. . . . The abundance and clearness of the texts in
which the Fathers of the Church have discussed the questions can leave
us in no doubt about the content and firmness of their teaching: musical
instruments are to be excluded from the worship of the New "Alliance"
(142, 150). The Wycliffe
Bible Encyclopedia: "There is no record in the NT of the use of
instruments in the music worship of the church. In this regard, early
believers followed the practice of the Hebrew synagogue music" ("Music",
1163).
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