Every so often, the question comes up about musical instruments in worship. In reality, many people do not understand why the Church of Christ does not allow instruments in their worship and when the question comes up, most often, it is an honest question.

The question is generally answered, that the New Testament does not authorize musical instruments in worship of the church that Jesus built. And, of a truth, if one was to search the New Testament for authorization, they would not find such authorization. That should settle the matter, but then one might ask, “What about David, didn’t David use musical instruments in worship”? And the answer is “Yes”. But we need to look at the whole story.

If one is going to argue that we must use musical instruments because David did, then why wouldn’t he argue that we have to make animal sacrifices like David did in Psalms 66:13-15? Or maybe have worship dances as David did in Psalms 149:3?  Or why wouldn’t he argue also that we can have many wives like David did in 2 Sam 5:13? Or that we have to worship on the Sabbath like David did? David certainly did all those things. See the real question is, “Are we allowed to so pick and choose how we want to worship from the Old Testament?”

This is one of the problems we run into when we do not “rightly divide the word of God”. We need to recognize the Law of Christ is different than the Law of Moses and we today, do not live under or worship under the Law of Moses. We live under the Law of Christ. Of a truth, people did worship differently in the Old Testament, but we cannot worship that way today simply because we would violate the Law of Christ. In Eph 2:11-15 Paul states that Jesus has abolished the law of commandments (i.e. Law of Moses). Paul also states in Gal 5:1-6, especially vs 3 that if a man wants to keep part of the Law of Moses, he is bound to keep it all. In other words, Paul was telling the Jews and is telling us, “You can’t pick and choose what you want to keep from the Law of Moses.” And Paul was a Jew that, at one time, lived under the Law of Moses!

It's like the law of our land. The speed limit, at one time, was set to 55 mph. Before that, on the interstates it was 70-75 mph. During the time the law changed to 55 mph, you could get a citation if you continued to drive 70 or 75 mph. Rightly dividing the Old Testament and the New Testament laws is that simple. There was a time when the Law of Moses was in effect, but that is not true today. Today, the Law of Christ is in effect and we dishonor Christ when we try to live by or worship by the Law of Moses.
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Which brings us back to musical instruments in worship. Yes, they did worship with musical instruments in the Old Testament. We must recognize that we do not worship like they did in the Old Testament. We live under the law of Christ and in the law of Christ, as such, there is no authority for using musical instruments in worship.

The following article comes from the desk of David Bobbitt, one of the men of the Madisonville church of Christ.

​During the reign of Hezekiah, the bronze snake that Moses had made in the desert to save the Israelite people from the bite of poisonous serpents was destroyed.  For generations the Israelites had carried it with them, calling it Nehushtan and venerating it as a holy object.  According to 2 Kings 18:3, they had even burned incense to it!  Recognizing that it had taken the people’s focus away from the Lord, Hezekiah destroyed it along with all the other idols and high places where the Israelites worshiped.

Man’s capacity for doing evil seems boundless and Americans have followed in the ways of ancient Israel by creating mythical beings to be venerated by children.  The Bible commands us to teach our children the ways of the Lord, not foist upon them stories of beings, who like God, give them good things.  Whether it be Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, or any other such mythical being, are these not idols who usurp the praise and devotion rightly belonging to God?

The History of Santa Claus is revealing.  The modern-day version of Santa Claus appears to be a combination of Saint Nicholas, England’s Father Christmas, and the Norse god Odin, who gained access to homes to leave gifts by going down the chimney.  Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop of Myra, which today is part of Turkey.  He was known for his generosity toward the poor and downtrodden.  He is said to have given three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian dowries to prevent them from falling into prostitution.  He was the patron saint of children, whose feast day was celebrated on December 6th. Puritans and other Protestants initially rejected the celebration of Christmas, on the grounds that it was inconsistent with Bible teachings, but eventually, accommodations were made.  Protestants coopted the holiday by giving gifts to children on December 24th and 25th instead of December 6th to avoid any association with the Saint Nicholas celebration and its ties to the veneration of saints, which they considered to be idolatry.

In America, once Protestants secularized the celebration of Christmas, the holiday devolved into a riotous affair featuring drunken mobs roaming the streets damaging property and threatening the upper-classes.  Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, and other Protestants continued to regard December 25th as an ordinary day without religious significance throughout the first half of the 19th century.  Nonetheless, by the 1850’s many Protestant churches had invited Christmas back into their assemblies.  They discovered that by embracing a secularize form of the holiday, which included Santa Claus, a decorated tree, and gift giving, Bible class attendance was greatly improved.

Although it may not be a sin to celebrate Christmas in the privacy of one’s home, three things ought to become apparent.  First, Santa Claus has no place in the church whatsoever because God should receive thanks for all good things that we receive, not some mythical being.  Second, like the Israelites of old who worshiped Nehushtan, we risk committing idolatry by replacing God with some mythical being with gift-giving powers.  Finally, we jeopardize the souls of our own children with our lies and deceptions.  One study found that one in sixteen children suffered long-term negative effects once learning the truth about Santa Claus. Some children went so far as to reject the religious beliefs of their parents once they discovered that they had been lied to.  They reasoned that if their parents had lied about the existence of Santa Claus, they might also have lied about the existence of God.  Philosopher David Kyle Johnson wrote, “It's a lie, it degrades your parental trustworthiness, it encourages incredulity, it does not encourage imagination, and it's equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior.”

Yet even today some Christians can be heard telling their children or grandchildren that if they are not good, Santa Claus won’t come to see them!  Shouldn’t we rather be concerned about them pleasing God?  A poem about Saint Nicholas ends with these words: “Saint Nicholas, my dear good friend! To serve you ever was my end, if you will, now, me something give, I’ll serve you ever while I live.” Ironically, Jesus refers to the bronze serpent made by Moses in John 3:14-15, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  God has given us the greatest gift possible, eternal life through the blood his son Jesus.  We should thankfully obey him and serve him only.  Acknowledge the Lord, and him alone, as the only giver of good gifts.