The Straw That is Breaking the 'Camel's Back'

As I sat in front of my computer and listened to the three sermons by Rick Atchley, preacher for the Richland Hills church, in which he was justifying the use of instrumental music in worship and the serving of the Lord’s Supper on Saturday afternoon, my soul became sick and my heart was breaking. It is not my purpose in this article to deal with all of his reasoning (?) but simply to call to your attention that the same ‘wedge’ that finally divided the church of our Lord in the 19th century is being used again to do the same damage to the body of Jesus Christ. I remember an aged gospel preacher saying many years ago that he would rather be the soldier who pierced the side of our Lord while he was on the cross than to divide the body (church) of Jesus Christ. The decision by the elders of this congregation will have a tremendous influence in our brotherhood. Already many elders and brethren from various churches throughout our country have expressed their approval of this major decision to use the instrument in a worship assembly.

The apostle Paul, in dealing with a problem in the church in Corinth, wrote, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (I Corinthians 5:6)? Very few of the congregations in the 19th century were using the instrument in their worship assemblies in the beginning; however, in a few years hundreds of congregations of the Lord had begun to use the instrument in their assemblies. There were other major factors involved in this schism in the brotherhood like ‘open membership’, the missionary society, etc., but the innovation that affected the worship of the church and was the main contributing force leading to the division in the church was the use of the instrument in the worship. Brethren have often disagreed over the meaning of some of the passages in the Bible and have continued to fellowship one another but when it comes to the public worship assembly, these same brethren will not permit an unscriptural practice such as the instrument to be used because it is not authorized in the Holy Scriptures and it is divisive in nature. In Proverbs 6:16-19, we learn that of the seven things that God hates is “one who sows discord among brethren.” The elders, preachers and educators who are promoting the use of the instrument in the worship assemblies should realize the seriousness of their decision and know that they will have to answer to God for their actions in contributing to the division that is now taking place in the church of Jesus Christ. These same brethren are causing scores of our young people, especially college age men and women, to accept this innovation as being approved by God. Would not the words of our Lord in principle apply to this situation when He said, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of sea” (Matthew 18:6).

In Romans 14 where Paul is dealing with relations between brethren concerning things that were not wrong within themselves he made these statements that should be studied and followed by members of the church today regarding this sinful practice of instrumental music in the worship assemblies: “Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (Verses 19 & 21, NKJV). There will be more congregations now to introduce the instrument in their various assemblies than in recent times. For example the Highland Church in Abilene, Texas conducted their “annual lament service” recently on a Sunday evening and this is what one of their preachers wrote about it on his blog: “…a time to grieve and to remember those we’ve lost. While it was not a big crowd, it was a powerful experience. After hearing scripture and praying, we listened to an ACU freshman play the dulcimer. As he moved into “When Peace Like a River”, you could hear people weeping. Then as we went forward to light candles to remember those we love, a time of prayer and ministry –unplanned!—broke out…” (Emphasis, mine, RE)

It is worthy to note that many of the brethren who are praising the Richland Hills elders for their decision to use the instrument in the Saturday worship assembly are not commenting on the serving of the Lord’s Supper during the same time. It was sad indeed to hear our brother using Acts 2:46 to ‘prove’ that the early disciples partook of the supper daily and that the apostle Paul ate the Lord’s Supper on Monday morning as per Acts 20:11. I do not wish to sound harsh and uncouth (because that is not my nature) but it would be most helpful if all these congregations would advertise to the rest of the brotherhood their decisions to include the instrument in their assemblies and other innovations so that we could avoid them when traveling or when a Christian is desirous to place membership with a congregation. The admonition given by the apostle Paul in Romans 16:17 is most appropriate in this critical situation now facing the Lord’s church: “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” The sign out front of a church building may read “Church of Christ” but when the cooperative worship begins an instrument may be heard along with the singing and/or a sister may get up to lead the singing. As it was in the 19th century, it is not the brethren who believe only in acappela music in our worship assemblies that are causing the division; rather, it is those brethren who cannot find the authority in the New Testament for the use of the instrument in our assemblies that are contributing to the present day apostasy in the church. My heart weeps whenever I read Psalms 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” and to know that this is not how it is in the body of Jesus Christ today.