Don's Page

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Those of you who have ever studied a foreign language know that a translation can almost never carry all the nuances of suggestion and understanding found in the original expression. Connotations, those subtle implications and word pictures that enhance the stark literal definition, are among the first shades of meaning to be lost when one strives to convey terms from one tongue to another. Frequently one culture will have words for which no equivalents exist in the other. For example, how would you render “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world” to a remote and primitive people that had no concept of the alluded little wooly creatures in their imagination or designation for them in their vernacular?

“Traduttore, traditore!” is an Italian quotation that aptly expresses the butchery done by anyone who attempts to interpret something in another language. The phrase means a translator is a traitor (i.e., always unfaithful to the original)!

The problems of precision are by no means diminished when one attempts to render an ancient work in modern speech, for the meanings of words change as the years go by. For just a couple of examples, charity, which once signified love (I Cor. 13:1), now more readily evokes the idea of alms; and “be careful for nothing” (Philip. 4:6) tends to bring to the present-day mind thoughts of slovenly behavior rather than not being anxious or full-of-care about things.

“Peculiar” in the King James Version of Titus 2:14 is, in the Apostle Paul’s original Greek writing, periousios [pronounced peh-ree-oo-see-ohs]. As Paul used the adjective in its accusative case, it is periousion [peh-ree-oo-see-ohn]. In most modern Greek-English lexicons, the term is defined as chosen or special. Even still, the translators are just doing the best they can where exact equivalents are lacking in the target tongue. A deeper, fuller (and more wonderful) understanding of periousios, however, can be attained by examining the roots from which the word was built.

As Dr. Kenneth Wuest, professor emeritus of New Testament Greek at the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago explained, peri is a preposition meaning around, and ousios stemmed from a participle meaning being[1]. (By the time of Christ’s visit to planet earth, ousia had come to mean property. In fact, the prodigal son in Luke 15:12 did not ask for his share of the inheritance but rather of the ousia. However, back when the original word translated peculiar was brought into existence, it derived from the roots around-being.) Now what can we gain from this analysis?[2]

In Titus 2:14 we are told that the Lord Jesus gave Himself to purify unto Himself a people as fitting the description of “around-being”. Think of a beautiful snow-scene within one of those glass spheres that, when shaken upside down, results in an enchanting fall of “snowflakes”.[3] Better yet, imagine the Holy City, adorned as a bride for her husband (Rev. 21:2) in just such a crystal globe. Inside is the church which is the body of Christ, and surrounding it (or peri this ousia) is the loving protection of God. If you are “peculiar” in the sense of peri-ousios, you, a being, are God’s property and enjoy a treasured and sheltered position in the radius of God’s presence.

Out in the world are many sorrows and hurts, but the only way any of these can get through God’s defensive wall to afflict you is by His permission.[4] But some suffering is necessary for your spiritual growth. Consequently, your loving Father, who promised that you would not be tested in excess of what you are able to bear (I Cor. 10:15), does indeed allow you to ex-perience those trials necessary to shape and mold you into a valuable treasure for the Lord Jesus. After all, you are Christ’s property, His ousia, purchased with His own blood and purified for Him.

People have been telling me that I shouldn’t pray to the Lord Jesus but only to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. Now I don’t pretend to be any expert on the exact details of the Holy Trinity, but it seems to me that those who claim we shouldn’t pray to Christ are making in their minds a wider separation between the Three Persons of the Trinity than is shown by the New Testament.

Certainly we should pray to the Father in the name of Christ! This is scriptural, and this I strongly agree with. But is it not allowable, at least in the privacy of our hearts, to also direct some prayers to Lord Jesus, Himself? I shall build my case on the following seven points: ¹⁾Christ is God, ²⁾He accepted worship, ³⁾He is our advocate, ⁴⁾there is Biblical support for praying to Christ, ⁵⁾He has a right to our prayers, ⁶⁾I am by no means alone in my view on this matter, and ⁷⁾praying to Christ is a necessary part of a loving relationship with Him.

Many people, while claiming to follow Christ, seem to have a lot of trouble acknowledging His divinity. Look one more time at John 1:1—

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [Emphasis added.]

The Word was God. Verse 3 tells us, “All things were made by him (i.e., the Word); and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (Parentheses added.) You might also want to look at Col. 1:15-16 and Heb. 1:2.

Now who was the Word? We get a rather obvious clue when we arrive at verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...” The passages we just read along with Col. 1:15-16 and Heb. 1:2 teach us that the same God who created us became one of us for a little while and lived among us. We do not have to read very far into the New Testament before we realize that He did this in the form of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Are you an aficionado of the finer points of Greek grammar? Lord Jesus is identified as ho Theos [with the article!] in John 20:28 and Heb. 1:8.)

Mainstream Christian teaching asserts that Lord Jesus was simul-taneously fully God and fully man. Paul informs us that we need the help of the Holy Spirit to truly accommodate the divinity of Christ. (I Cor. 12:3)

In the 3^rd chapter of Exodus, after Moses had fled Egypt, God instructed him to return there and lead the Hebrews out of that land. Moses then replied (in Exod. 3:13), “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” Verse 14 continues: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” Ever since that time, people have understood that I AM was God’s name for Himself.

Three centuries before Christ, Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt made a translation of their Bible (what Christians refer to as the Old Testament) into Greek. They did this so that their people could read their own Law and Prophets, for Hebrew had become a ‘dead language’ since the Babylonian Captivity, and Greek had become the lingua franca. This Greek version of the Scriptures became known as the Septuagint, and it achieved widespread recognition. It was the common text that most Jews of that time used throughout the Holy Land and the one that the writers of the N.T. used most often when making quotes from the O.T.[1]

In the Septuagint God’s name, I AM, is rendered ego eimi (Pro-nounced eh-go ee-mee). On more than one occasion, Lord Jesus referred to himself as the ego eimi, thus declaring His divinity. An excellent example is in John 8:58. “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” The King James Version does not capitalize am, but the meaning was not lost on the Jews, for they began getting ready to stone Him for calling Himself that.

See also how they reacted in John 18:6 when Jesus announced (in verse 5) that he was the ego eimi. “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.” Here the King James Version added the word he, but in the Greek text it is very clear what Lord Jesus was saying; and the response of the crowd showed that those present got His meaning.

Christ strongly maintained that we are to worship only God. After Satan had tried to tempt Lord Jesus to worship him, we are told, “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Luke 4:8, emphasis added.)

Not even angels may receive this privilege. Col. 2:18 warns us not to let anyone sucker us out of our reward by false humility and the worship of angels. Notice also how, in Rev. 22:8-9, the Apostle John was immediately corrected when he tried to worship an angel: “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” (Emphasis added.)

But now see how Lord Jesus accepted worship in Matt. 8:1-3. “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.” (Emphasis added)

Even Christ’s apostles worshipped him. After He walked on the waves, the Bible says, “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matt. 14:33, emphasis added)

If you would like more examples of Lord Jesus accepting worship, look at Matt. 9:18, Matt. 15:25, Matt. 20:20, Matt. 28:9, Matt. 28:17, and John 9:38. If you have good reference materials, you can probably find still other cases. In all of these circumstances, however, the verb used in the Greek text was proskuneo (pro-nounced prohs-kee-nay-o) which, without any nit-picking or uncertainty, means worship[2].

Jesus Christ can accept worship because He is God. Admittedly, this is hard for lots of people to swallow, for nobody can say with conviction that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:3). Now as God, is not our Savior qualified to receive our prayers? Or has He ever indicated that He does not want them?

A very dear neighbor of mine pointed something out to me that further supports praying to Lord Jesus. In I John 2:1 we read:

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Now my neighbor made the observation that people are accorded the right to speak with their lawyers. I might add that this is true even for advocates that are court-appointed. Would it not also be the case for the Paramount of all attorneys who loved us and gave Himself for us (I Tim. 2:5-6), purchasing us with His own blood (Acts 20:28)?

There are nevertheless individuals out in the world who would attempt to muzzle any communication between our dearest Advocate and ourselves by hitting us with John 16:23. “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (Emphasis added.) Passages lifted out of context may be made to seemingly support almost any viewpoint, so let’s examine the appropriate setting and circumstances to see whether this verse really does shut off any prayers to our Savior.

Back in chapter 13 of John’s Gospel, while celebrating the Pass-over with His apostles, Lord Jesus began telling them some very weighty matters (that Judas would betray Him and that Peter would disown Him three times). In chapter 14 He further flabbergasts them all with many more difficult-to-digest remarks [for a couple of examples: “...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9b). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do...” (John 14:12)].

It doesn’t get much easier for the apostles when the same Teacher who had said to them back in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one” now tells them that He is going unto the Father, but He will send them another Comforter whom the world cannot receive (John 14:16-17). In almost the next breath, Lord Jesus is informing them, “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” (John 14:19-20)

Throughout all this, up until now, the apostles had been inter-rupting with questions, asking Lord Jesus to explain what He was talking about. By the time we get to chapter 15, however, we might wonder whether they had all been dazed into silence, for we see no further comments from the twelve—at least for a while. At any rate, our Savior continues His discourse right on through chapter 15 by instructing them on how they must conduct them-selves when He is no longer with them.

Much of chapter 16 also goes by without interruption from the apostles while Lord Jesus says to them that it is for their own good that He is going away, for unless He does depart, the Comforter will not come unto them (John 16:7). One can then imagine the condition of His audience by the time He tells them, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12, emphasis added)

Finally, in John 16:16, Lord Jesus announced, “A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.” At this, the apostles once again began asking all sorts of questions about what He could possibly mean (John 16:17 and 18).

Seeing their confusion, Lord Jesus (still preferring such gentle words as going to the Father over blunter language like being put to death) warns them that they are in for a session of grieving, but that they should not lose sight of the greater joy that awaits them. He likens their situation to that of a mother who suffers in childbirth but has sublime joy at the life entering the world through her. Interestingly, verse 19 even spells out exactly why Christ is making the statement that He is about to make! “Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye shall see me?” (Emphasis added.) Then came the analogy of the woman in child-birth, and following that, the important passage in question: “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” (Emphasis added.)

What Lord Jesus meant when He said, “In that day ye shall ask me nothing,” was simply that they wouldn’t have to pepper Him with any more questions (Why?) because they were about to see for themselves. Events were quickly coming to a head. The following is important:

In Greek there are different terms used for various types of asking. If Lord Jesus had meant, “in that day ye shall make no more requests or supplications of Me,” He would have employed the verb aiteo (pronounced eh-tay-o). The word He used, however, was erotao (pronounced eh-roh-tah-o) meaning to question. Con-sequently, the passage should best be translated, “in that day ye shall ask me no more questions.” In the very next sentence, however, when He said, “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name...” He switched to aiteo so that He could use the verb ask in the sense of to petition.

So, then, we plainly see from all this that the John 16:23 passage cannot in any legitimate way be used to prevent us from speaking to our beloved Advocate in prayer. Not only would doing so demand that the verse be lifted completely out of context, but it would also require ignoring the distinctions between the different Greek verbs translated ‘ask’.

Are there any examples of prayers offered specifically to Lord Jesus in the New Testament? How about the prayer of Stephen, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” (Acts 7:59)? In fact, without invoking a different person of the Holy Trinity, Stephen continued his prayer, asking that the Lord not charge his murderers with sin for stoning him.

The Apostle John directed his closing prayer to the Son of God in Rev. 22:20, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Consider Paul’s offering of gratitude in I Tim. 1:12, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful...” Some might argue that this is possibly not a prayer but rather a description of a prayer’s contents. Either way, whether a prayer or a retelling of one, it shows to whom Paul addressed it!

Most informative is the instruction on prayer given by the “beloved apostle” in I John 5:13-15, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (Emphasis added.)

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

Take a moment to imagine what it must have been like to be beaten by Roman soldiers. It was considerably different from being spanked by your father!

Next contemplate what it must have been like to have thorns pounded into your head with a staff. Could there be a headache to compare?

Having large spikes driven through your wrists and ankles must not have been much fun, either. Nor hanging suspended from those spikes for hours in torture while fighting for breath!

A further torment was having to take upon oneself the burden of the world’s sins—including all the most vile and shameful ones that anybody could imagine! This was a heap of abomination that an innocent person could hardly want to touch with a 100-foot pole, but Lord Jesus lovingly took it all onto Himself to pay the price for our iniquity (I Peter 2:24)!

But perhaps the worst agony of all was separation for the first time from God the Father while the sins of the world were being dealt with. Lord Jesus had always had the closest possible relationship with the Father since before the beginning of time (John 1:1-2), and now He had to experience rejection by this aspect of the trinity (Gal. 3:13, Matt. 27:46) because of sins that were not His own but that could have no room or place in the purity of the Father’s Holiness.

Jesus Christ went through all that for us, and we can’t even tell Him thank You?? Of course we can! (We had better!) Where do people get the notion that we can’t?

That I must not be alone in my conviction that we may pray to Lord Jesus is shown by some of the songs we sing in church. Examine the words to: Just a Little Talk with Jesus; My Jesus, I Love You; Christ, We do All Adore Thee; Even So, Lord Jesus, Come; Fairest Lord Jesus; Jesus, I Come; Jesus, Lover of My Soul; etc. These are only a few. There are many, many more. My point is that if praying to Christ is not acceptable, then we need to purchase all new hymnals! Not to do so would be hypocrisy.

How can one have a loving relationship with anyone if he never communicates with him? Do you have a relationship with Christ? For the one who claims to love Him but never directs any prayers His way, such “love” can only be stylized and formalistic—hardly the agape that He has for us and wants from us.

If you have been cutting your Savior out of your prayer life, you might want to reconsider. You belong to Him and He loves you; would He not want to hear from you? Is belief all that you want to give Him? He wants a relationship with you!

It must be emphasized that the above remarks are intended to refer to our personal devotion. When leading a public prayer, however, people at various levels of faith and understanding all need to be able to feel comfortable with what is said therein so that they can accord their amen. For this reason, such open worship might better be directed to the Father (or to God in general) in the name of Jesus Christ. Then all who hear can be in agreement. But in your private appeals to God, why not include something for your Savior? And may your love for Him grow forever!

Third Article

How Can I Improve My Surrender?

by Don M. Daniels

Not much has been written on this matter—or else what has been produced is not being disseminated very extensively. But surrender is a very important issue and one that Christians generally have difficulty with. (For example, do you find yourself frequently offering Lord Jesus the steering wheel of your life only to keep trying to yank it back from Him?) Maybe other writers will be encouraged to put down their thoughts on this topic. Then perhaps one day there might be enough material for someone to compile a comprehensive study of great benefit to those of us who really want to give ourselves wholly to our Savior. In the meantime, here are a few points that might help.

· The Lord Jesus Christ is enthroned in glory in heaven. On this planet, however, Christians must now serve as His body (Rom. 12:5 and ff.). Because you are unique you are thus able to enrich His life on this earth by giving Him your individual combination of personality, talents, abilities, and everything that makes you special. This is your one-of-a-kind service that only you can offer Him.

· Having presented our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God (Rom. 12:1), our eyes, ears, tongue, heart, hands, feet, and all parts of our anatomy now belong to Him to be used as He would use them. Notice that I didn’t say to be used as He would want you to use them, but as He would use them. Now it is no longer a matter of asking, “Is this what the Lord wants me to look at?” Instead we ask, “Is this what He would look at?” Similarly, “Is this what the Lord wants me to do?” becomes “Is this what the Lord would do if He were in my circumstances with my limitations?” You are now His instrument, His tool on this earth.

· In order to be able to make right decisions when confronted by the various choices that the world offers, you will need to get to know your Lord as well as you can. This means that, among other things, you will have to study the Word of God (especially the New Testament) very carefully every day. From the four Gospels you will want to examine thoroughly the personality and temperament of the Lord Jesus, His perspective and attitude toward the issues that faced Him, and the underlying basis for His approach to dealing with them.

· The kind of love that the Lord has for you (and wants from you) is unselfish. If you do not understand self-sacrificial devotion, you will not be able to perform as a properly working instrument for Christ. But this type of love does not come naturally. It must be learned. You will have to be willing to let go of what you crave and seek instead what Christ desires based on your knowledge and understanding of Him. Of course, Lord Jesus wants you to be happy, too. It’s all right for you to enjoy things in a wholesome way. It is good and pleasing to your Master for you to do so (Rom. 14:17). But remember who has priority now, and don’t get carried away. Lack of moderation is, when you boil it down, nothing less than putting yourself first instead of Christ.

· Even your hurt belongs to Christ! That’s right. Have you ever considered that concept? God can use your pain and adversity to make you into what He wants you to be for Him in eternity. A person who never suffers is unlikely to learn self-sacrificing agape love, for without trials in his life, he turns out selfish, spoiled, weak, unable to cope with things, and hardly a fitting companion for the Lord Jesus. So instead of wasting your sorrow on despair, turn it over to your Lord and ask Him to use it to shape and mold you into what He wants. Knowing that your Beloved can actually utilize your agony to His advantage tends to take the sting out of it.

· God is holy, and there is no room for sin in Him. Having offered Him the use of your body, you must be very careful not to drag Him through the mud (Rom. 6:13)! There are behaviors and activities that are wholesome and pleasing to your Lord, and there are those which are just the opposite. Are there any which are neutral? Probably so, but the more you live a surrendered life, the less of these you are likely to find (Rom. 8:5).

Never let your mistakes discourage you and cause you to quit trying. Hang in there (James 1:12)! Always remember that you have an ally in the Holy Spirit who indwells you (I Cor. 3:16). Remember also that you are saved for good works not by good works (Eph. 2:8-10).

Fourth Article

A CHRISTIAN PRAYER

(Based on the Model Prayer of Matt. 6: 9-13)

Most gracious Father, my beloved Savior, Holiest Spirit, I am glad that You are sovereign LORD GOD for all eternity. I am grateful that Your will prevails for ever and ever, and I am joyfully surrendered to You.

You are my life and my purpose. Please provide me with my needed portion of Your grace to sustain me, and shape me according to Your desires.

I forgive from my heart all who have wronged me and beseech You to bless any such people, completing anything that might be lacking in their souls. I beg You to pardon my transgressions and failings and pray You will help me to not sin. Please strengthen me against temptations and lead me away from performing (or even thinking) evil. Kindly help me to do what is good.

All that is wonderful, loving, merciful, just, and beautiful has its origin in You, most mighty and glorious God; and I long to become more and more like You.

Thank You for creating me. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for blessing me in countless ways.

I love You.

Fifth Article

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN WORSHIP?

By Don M. Daniels

In a large portion of the congregations associated with or stemming from the American Restoration Movement there is strong opposition to the application of musical instru-ments in worship on the grounds that the New Testament offers no authorization for their employment. Accepting the tenet that we should “speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent”, those who stand against such “innovations” argue that the silence of the New Testament on the issue does not merely relegate musical instruments to the realm of personal conscience but strictly prohibits their use.

The reader of this paper is urged to look at both sides of the matter before congealing his ultimate conclusion—and certainly before becoming so adamant on the issue that he would contribute to the splitting of the church. Though I personally favor a cappella worship, I defend the use of musical instruments on the following grounds:

1) In the opening history of the church, the Old Testament was, for many years, all that Christians had to work from. Even the earliest Books of the New Testament did not come on the scene until decades after Pentecost. Now there is continuity between the Jewish Testament and the New Testament. They are not two separate Bibles. We gentiles regard the New Testament, not as a replacement, but as a further revealing of God’s word. The same God who gave us the Old Testament also gave us the New Testament, and He is not a God of disorder (I Cor. 14:33). He therefore does not contradict Himself. Now there are many attestations in the Old Testament of musical instruments being approved for the worship of God. (One good example is Psalm 150.)

2) Now given that the first Christians were Jews and were working from the Old Testament, if God had wanted a change of practice as far as musical instruments were concerned, our Lord Jesus would certainly have instructed us to that effect. Neither did any such auxiliary teachings come from any of the writers of the New Testament. All we have are passages in the last Book of the Bible (such as Rev. 5:8-13 and 15:2-4) that describe acceptably worshipping God in His sanctuary with the kithara (usually translated “harp”).

Various replies to the above-mentioned passages that I have heard from preachers who were unwilling to cede a point are hardly convincing:

· “Well, the kithara was a plucked instrument. If instruments are permitted, they must be plucked.” (So the piano is strictly forbidden because its strings are pounded with little mallets rather than plucked! Oh come on! I find no evidence that God would reject loving worship just because strings were being hammered instead of strummed!)

· Those passages referred to angelic worship. What was permitted to the angels was forbidden to humans. (Okay, Rev. 5:8-13 does refer to angels; but in Rev. 15:2-4 the worshippers were humans. Besides, why would angels be allowed this form of devotion to God if it were evil?)

· The passages are symbolic. The Book of Revelation is filled with figures and symbols that should not be taken literally. (To that I agree, but then why would God use something evil as a symbol of how to worship Him? One would think that, given the solemnity and importance of the issue, He would not be careless with His use of figures. Or else, worshipping Him with instruments is not as damnable as some people would make it out to be. Certainly we should not split the church over the matter. Doing that has got to be more damnable by far!)

3) Insofar as we find no prohibition of worshipping with instrumental music in either the Old Testament or the New Testament, where do some people get the idea that those who do so must be disfellowshipped? Those who would exclude such worshippers from the Body of Christ are following an extra-biblical source of authority, i.e.: Daniel Sommer, who instigated the Great Split of 1889 at Sand Creek, Illinois. He had no warrant in the Bible for causing the tragic division. He was not speaking where the Bible spoke, nor was he silent where the Bible was silent. By declaring that worshippers who used instruments should be rejected as Christians, he was saying, to the effect that, they were unsaved, had no place in the Church, and were therefore condemned. If you, the reader, prefer a cappella worship, that is good. But let us hope that you will not go so far as to align yourself (as many have) with that sweeping “Sommery execution”.

4) The appeal for us to “remain silent where the Bible is silent” is a wonderful guideline, but the Scriptures do not provide cut-and-dried answers to everything we face in life. Christian maturity is manifested by our ability to apply the principles found in the Bible to situations we encounter for which there are no parallel examples in the New Testament. The silence rule cannot, therefore, be made into a rigid edict; for to do so, we would have to separate worship from life. For example: if instruments are not allowed in worship, are they ever to be permitted even outside the church building? The way we conduct our lives is intimately connected with our honoring God, our obedience to Him, and our love for Him. Worship is not confined to an hour or so of ritual once a week. It involves all our daily activities.

5) Paul had something important to say that can and should be applied to instru-mental music, and he wrote it no less than four times to make sure we did not let it get past us: ¹⁾ “‘Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial’. ²⁾ ‘Everything is permissible for me’—but I will not be mastered by anything.” (1 Cor. 6:12) ³⁾ “‘Everything is permissible,’—but not everything is beneficial. ⁴⁾ ‘Everything is permissible,’—but not everything is constructive.” (1 Cor. 10:23 [The punctuation is interpretive.]) Just because we might not think that instrumental music is beneficial or constructive, we have no warrant to disfellowship those of us who choose to honor the Father by reflecting back to God the beauty that originates from Him with the talents He endowed us with. On the contrary: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:17-18 [emphasis mine])

6) Does the Bible instruct us to fail to recognize as Christians those devout people who love Christ and seek to live according to His teachings just because they play instruments (or have fellowship halls, or drink from many cups instead of one, etc.)? And yet disfellowshipping is going on over these chicky-picky issues in spite of the fact that no warrant can be found for this tragic splintering in the Scriptures. Such a top-heavy emphasis on the silence rule results in a capsized Christianity. It is time to stop quibbling about whether we should worship on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem and instead worship God in spirit and in truth. When we worry more about how we do something than why we do it to the point that we make laws where none exist and would exclude sincere Christians from the Body of Christ, we are not worshipping in spirit.

In short, I stand for the platform of the American Restoration Movement but not for the way it is often implemented. When we spend more time worrying about getting a pattern right than worshipping spiritually, we are doing as the Pharisees did; and anyone who has read the Gospel knows how our Lord Jesus received their practices.

We must remain cautious and vigilant to prevent the ways of men from supplanting the ways of God, and the silence rule is helpful for that as long as we keep it in perspective and use it as a guideline rather than a law. We must use careful, responsible, and reverent judgment in organizing a formal worship service. And our decisions must be sincere, based on loving God and putting Him first, not on unthinking adherence to a set of artificial rules. The former is worship; the latter is spiritless legalism.