What do we believe about 'mechanical instruments'
used in public worship?
We believe that when the bible speaks on a subject that is the highest form of authorization that we have to go to for the purpose of guiding our faith and our activities. If the bible speaks on a subject and declares that to be the way God wants us to go, then we are obligated to go and do what God says. If God says for us to not do something, then we should not do that. The scriptures are the inspired and thus inerrant voice of God’s authority for this simple group of Christians
We believe that the New Testament message is the specific declaration of God’s will for His church today. It is in His new covenant, “The New Testament”, that we will find what He wants us to do today. We further believe that God is clear in what He says and that He does not play any games with us regarding this New Covenant. God is not capricious and does not hide what He wants mankind to do.
We believe that because the New Testament says that we should sing, that we should sing. This command is found in Ephesians 5:19 and in Colossians 3:16. Because the bible says that we are to sing, we need to be a people of song. This concept of the singing of songs is shared with one another and one before God, publicly. It is a command that we are to follow. In making this command, God did not mention any mechanical instruments and thus the Bible is silent on this subject.
We believe that with the Bible being silent on the subject of mechanical instruments, we are left without any guidance on this subject. Without any guidance on this subject, or on any other subject in which He is silent, we believe that we need to be silent and thus leave people to their own opinions. Silence means not making major, binding, doctrinal statements about something that God does not declare Himself on, one way or the other. It does not mean speaking against something that is not declared. Thus, we believe in, and practice, simple singing, just as we practice simple silence. We believe that this is the only expressed element of God’s will in the matter of singing.
We believe that historically the first century did not use instruments from the testimony of people like Justin Martyr. We know that no ‘Christian’ church used an instrument until much latter in history, thus we can say that it was not part of the first century pattern. If we stay with the practices of the New Testament pattern, then we will include singing in our worship and in our daily Christian life, as directed in the Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 passages. [This concept of a daily lifestyle song / singing is where so many Christians differ with the stated words of Paul’s passages, and only practice singing on the special occasions when the whole church gathers together. Improvement and restoration needs to occur in this concern.]
So, do these simple Christians use mechanical instruments in the group worship sessions? The answer is no, we do not. Why? Because what we do know, is that the expressed will of God is to sing, and thus we sing, -daily, and in the special occasions of weekly group worships. All other elements of the question are silent and so we are silent. If in the process of that silence, someone has an opinion that favors the usage of mechanical instruments, then that is fine. However, we will continue to use an “acapella” approach to all public singing and worship because that was the way in which the first century church did things. In moments of private worship, do these simple Christians believe that they can use a mechanical instrument as they sing? The answer is yes. These simple Christians believe that in the privacy of the moment, it is okay for an individual to use a mechanical instrument in their intimate worship before the Lord.
We believe that the precedents that are set by this response to singing do assist us in answering certain other question where the Bible is silent on a given subject. We believe that in the space of that silence, we are free to participant in a wider platform of activities, simply because it is a subject that is left to our opinions. An example of this usage of extended opinion is in the case of the Lord’s Supper where we are free to use one single cup for the wine, and or, a collection of many individual cups. The refraining from mechanical instruments in an organized worship service is an example where these simple Christians use a restrictive opinion and refraining from going farther than that which is expressly stated.