god doesnt say i cant

ARGUMENTS AGAINST A CAPPELLA

God Didn’t Say I Can’t

GOD DOESN‟T SAY I CAN‟T

MUSIC IS QUITE POWERFUL.


♪ Martin Luther understood the power of good music.



♫ “The devil should not be allowed to keep all the best tunes for

himself.”




himself.”

♫ “Music is a glorious gift of God, very like to theology. I would not

part with my little gifts of music for anything in the world. We ought

to teach the young this art, for it makes fine and clever people.”




himself.”

♫ “Music is a glorious gift of God, very like to theology. I would not

part with my little gifts of music for anything in the world. We ought

to teach the young this art, for it makes fine and clever people.”

♫ “Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the

greatest honor.”


♪ The power of music is surely why God included music in

worship.



worship.

♫ “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord

with your heart” (Eph 5:18-19, ESV).



worship.

♫ “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord

with your heart” (Eph 5:18-19, ESV).

♫ “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and

admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to

God” (Col 3:16, ESV).


♪ The context of both those passages is the Christian life.



♫ Thus, some have said they have nothing to do with singing in the

assembly.




assembly.

♫ While the context is private life, it is not true that the singing takes

place privately.




assembly.


place privately.

♪ Ephesians 5 speaks of “addressing one another” & Colossians 3 speaks of

“teaching and admonishing one another.”




assembly.


place privately.


“teaching and admonishing one another.” Those activities cannot take

place privately.




assembly.


place privately.



place privately.

♪ The verbs are reflexive in Greek.




assembly.


place privately.



place privately.


♫That means that the addressing & teaching take place simultaneously.




assembly.


place privately.



place privately.


♫That means that the addressing & teaching take place simultaneously.

♫As I‟m teaching you, you‟re teaching me.


BUT, MUST THAT SINGING BE A

CAPPELLA?


♪ One frequently heard argument in favor of instrumental

music is that God didn‟t say we can‟t use it.




♫ Martin Luther personally opposed the instrument, but believed

anything not expressly forbidden by God was acceptable.




♫ Martin Luther personally opposed the instrument, but believed

anything not expressly forbidden by God was acceptable.

♫ Ulrich Zwingli, on the other hand, firmly believed man could only

do what God had expressly told him to do.


WHO IS RIGHT?


SOME THINGS ARE WRONG EVEN

THOUGH THE BIBLE DOESN’T

MENTION THEM!


♪ I cannot find a single word in Scripture about viewing

pornography on the Internet.




♫ Does that make the activity right?





♫ But, why is it wrong?






♪ “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has

already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28, ESV).






♪ “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has

already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28, ESV).

♪ “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father,

younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as

sisters, in all purity” (1 Tm 5:1-2, ESV).


♪ I cannot find a single word in Scripture that says the

destruction of embryos for medical research is wrong.




♪ But, God has provided guidelines that condemn such an

activity.





activity.

♫ We know that life begins at conception.





activity.

♫ We know that life begins at conception: “If the woman has not

defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall

conceive children” (Num 5:28, ESV).





activity.




♫ We dare not take human life.





activity.




♫ We dare not take human life: “Whoever sheds the blood of man,

man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image”

(Gn 9:6, ESV).


CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THE BIBLE

WOULD BE LIKE IF GOD TOLD US

EVERYTHING THAT WAS RIGHT &

WRONG?


SPECIFICS LEAVE NO WIGGLE ROOM.


SPECIFICS LEAVE NO WIGGLE ROOM.

When God specifically says what he wants, everything

else is excluded.


♪ Num 20:7-13.


♪ Num 20:7-13.

♫ We have rightfully pointed to Moses‟ pride.


♪ Num 20:7-13.

♫ We have rightfully pointed to Moses‟ pride: “Shall we bring water

for you out of this rock?” (v 10, ESV).


♪ Num 20:7-13.

♫ We have rightfully pointed to Moses‟ pride: “Shall we bring water

for you out of this rock?” (v 10, ESV).

♫ But, notice that Moses doesn‟t do precisely what God told him to

do.


♪ “For to which of the angels did God ever say, „You are my

Son, today I have begotten you‟? Or again, „I will be to him a

father, and he shall be to me a son‟?” (Heb 1:5, ESV).





♫ Because God never said such to the angels, it wasn‟t so.





♫ Because God never said such to the angels, it wasn‟t so.

♫ Jesus is the unique Son of God; therefore, he is the only One to

Whom the Father said, “You are my Son.”


♪ “When there is a change in the priesthood, there is

necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom

these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from

which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident

that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection

with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests” (Heb 7:12-

14, ESV).








14, ESV).

♫ God never said that someone from the tribe of Judah couldn‟t be a

priest.








14, ESV).

♫ God never said that someone from the tribe of Judah couldn‟t be a

priest.

♫ But, when he specified the tribe of Levi, that excluded all other

tribes.


♪ The “law of exclusion” only applies when there are

SPECIFICS.



SPECIFICS.

♫ It‟s obvious that God could have commanded instruments—he

commanded their use in the Old Testament & the early Christians

knew of instruments.



SPECIFICS.

♫ It‟s obvious that God could have commanded instruments—he

commanded their use in the Old Testament & the early Christians

knew of instruments.

♫ But, when God said, “Sing,” that excluded everything else.


♪ It is at this point that so many stumble.



♫ Scripture is silent on many things we use in worship—pews,

church building, powerpoint projector, etc.





♫ If God is silent on those things, what gives us the right to use

them?






them?

♪ But, just because something isn‟t mentioned as part of

worship doesn‟t make it wrong.






them?

♪ But, just because something isn‟t mentioned as part of

worship doesn‟t make it wrong. But, when God says,

“Here‟s what I want,” everything else is excluded.


♪ Preaching.


♪ Preaching.

♫ Nowhere in the New Testament does God mention using notes or

a pulpit or a powerpoint projector.


♪ Preaching.


a pulpit or a powerpoint projector. But, none of that changes the

act of preaching.


♪ Preaching.



act of preaching.

♫ But, what if we decide to have a play next Sunday instead of a

sermon?


♪ Preaching.



act of preaching.


sermon?

♪ Nowhere in the New Testament does it say I cannot do that.


♪ Preaching.



act of preaching.


sermon?


♪ “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break

bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he

prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7, ESV).


♪ Preaching.



act of preaching.


sermon?


♪ “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break

bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he

prolonged his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7, ESV). The specifics of a

speech excludes everything else.


♪ Lord‟s Supper.



♫ Nowhere in the New Testament does God speak about having

men pass the emblems or using trays.





♪ But, using trays & having men pass the trays does not change the act of

the Lord‟s Supper.







♪ It‟s far more expedient than having everyone line up to be served.








♫ What if next Lord‟s Day we decided to use Twinkies & Coca-Cola?









♪ Jesus used unleavened bread & fruit of the vine.









♪ Jesus used unleavened bread & fruit of the vine.

♪ Everything else is excluded.


♪ If God had simply said, “Make music,” we could have any

type of music we wanted.




♫ But, God said, “Sing.”




♫ But, God said, “Sing.”

♫ Therefore, everything else is excluded.


♪ A direct corollary to the “law of specifics” is that we cannot

add to Scripture.



add to Scripture.

♫ “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from

it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God

that I command you” (Deut 4:2, ESV).



add to Scripture.




♫ “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a

liar” (Prov 30:6, ESV).



add to Scripture.




♫ “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a

liar” (Prov 30:6, ESV).

♫ “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this

book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues

described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of

the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree

of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Rev

22:18-19, ESV).


LET US HONOR GOD IN THE WAY

THAT WE WORSHIP & THE WAY THAT

WE LIVE?


LET US HONOR GOD IN THE WAY

THAT WE WORSHIP & THE WAY THAT

WE LIVE?

Are you honoring God this evening?

god doesnt say i cant

Documents

god doesnt

power of music

christian life

god didnt

private life

power of good music

god col

favor of instrumental