Are Church Choirs and Solos Scriptural?
By Larry Powers
Many are using choirs and solos in
their attempts to worship God. Are
choirs and solos authorized by God as a part of Christian worship? To find the answer to this question, we must
turn to the Bible. The Bible is God’s
Word (2 Timothy 3:16,17; John 12:48; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Peter 1 :3;Jude3). Man does not have the right to add to, nor to
take away from, the teachings of the Word of God (Revelation 22:18, 19;
Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6). The
New Testament portion of God’s Word is the standard of authority for what we do
in the work and worship of God today (Colossians
2:14; Hebrews 8:6-13).
In His Word, God has authorized
five acts of worship for His church. These
five acts are: singing (Ephesians 5:19;
Colossians 3:16), giving (1
Corinthians 16:1,2; 2 Corinthians 9:6,7), prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy2:8), eating the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11 -23-29;Acts 20:7), and
the preaching of the Word of God (Acts
2:42; 20:7; 2 Timothy 4:14). These
acts of worship are authorized by direct statements, commands, implications,
and approved examples.
Singing in worship is commanded by
God. The New Testament contains many
examples of Christians singing in worship to God (Acts 16:25; Romans 15:9;
1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians
5:18,19; He brews 2:12; James 5:13). These passages
describe the kind of music God has authorized so that His people can worship
Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
The kind of music God authorized is
singing. This singing is congregational
singing. It is done by every Christian
in the assembly! It must be done with
understanding. The purpose of the singing is for Christians to glorify God and
to teach and admonish one another.
Does the New Testament Teach
Congregational Singing?
Does Ephesians 5:19 teach congregational singing? The word in the original Greek language in
which the New Testament was written, which is translated as “speaking,” means
“to utter speech, to convey speech, to use the tongue or faculty of speech, to
utter articulate sounds, to talk, to tell, to use words to declare one’s mind
and thoughts.” The New Testament word
translated “yourselves” is a “reflexive” pronoun of the third person. It shows that the person who acts and the
person who receives the action is the same.
In other words, while one is speaking to others in psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs, others are also speaking to him in the same way. This is a clear reference to congregational
singing where all mutually teach one another as they unite their voices in
song. To obey this command, there must
be an interchange of action. When one group or person is active ( a choir or soloist) and another group is passive (the
listening audience), there is no inter change of action. Ephesians
5:19
can not be obeyed by choirs or solos!
Does Colossians 3:16 teach congregational singing? The New Testament word, which is translated
“teaching,” means “to teach, instruct, by word of mouth.” It requires that the one who is taught understand
the teaching given. The New Testament
word translated “admonishing” means “to put into the mind, instruct, or warn.” This teaching and admonishing is to be done to
“one another.” The phrase “one another”
is translated from the same New Testament word as “yourselves” in Ephesians 5:19. Therefore, when the church is worshipping God
by the act of singing, there is teaching and admonishing one another taking
place. Colossians 3:16 clearly teaches congregational singing! When one
group or individual (the choir or soloist) is active, and another group is
passive (the listening audience), there is no interchange of teaching and
admonishing!
Congregational singing (singing by
every member of the congregation) was the practice of the church in the first
century. But many today claim that
choirs and solos in the worship are permitted because the Bible is silent
concerning them. When God commanded
Christians to sing and admonish one another; that eliminated choirs and solos
in worship. It was not necessary for God
to give a long list of “Thou shalt nots” concerning
singing. It was not necessary for God to
say, “Thou shalt not use mechanical instruments of music in My
worship.” It was not necessary for God
to say, “Thou shalt not use choirs or solos in my worship.” When God specified congregational singing, that eliminated choirs, solos, and instrumental
music.
Choirs, solos, and mechanical
instruments of music in New Testament worship were never commanded by the Lord!
No apostle of Christ ever approved of
choirs, solos or instrumental music in the worship to God! No inspired New Testament writer ever taught
or approved of them. There is no
command, implication or approved example of the use of choirs, solos or instrumental
music in New Testament worship. Thus, they are completely without the authority
of the Lord! To use them in worship is
sinful (Matthew 15:8, 9-12 John 9-11; Revelation 22:18, 19).
Must Worship Be Entertaining?
Must worship be entertaining? Many seem to think so. Every Christian must realize that God has
commanded him to worship in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). This
means that every Christian must worship with the correct attitude and the
correct actions. God is the One Who is
being worshipped. He is the
audience. Therefore, He is the One Who must be pleased!
1 Corinthians 14:26
Some try to defend the use of
choirs and solos by saying that 1 Corinthians 14:26
teaches such. A close look at the verse
will reveal that it does not teach the use of either choirs or solos. To say that “every one of you hath a psalm”
does not mean that every one sang a solo or that several sang solos. A psalm can be read, or quoted. In this context, Paul is dealing with the misuse
of a spiritual gift. The best
explanation of what the verse means is Acts
4:23-30. When the disciples heard what had happened to Peter and John,
“they lifted up their voice to God with one accord...” (Acts 4:24).
Church History
Lyman Coleman, a church historian,
wrote: “The prevailing mode of singing during the first three centuries was
congregational. The whole congregation
united their voices in the sacred song of praise, in strains suited to their
ability...the most ancient and most common mode of singing was confessedly for
the whole assembly; men, women and children blend their voices in their songs
of praise in the great congregation” (Ancient Christianity Exemplified, pages
329,330).
All worship, at all times, and in
all places must be done in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). If one
does not worship in the right acts and with the right attitudes, his worship is
vain and he is guilty of sin. There is
absolutely no authority in the New Testament for the use of choirs and solos in
worship. Therefore, those who practice
such are worshipping in vain and are guilty of sin.
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