What Worship Music Does God Really Want? Singing VS. Instruments in Church
You want to worship God in spirit and in truth. You want to be part of a church that honors the authority of Scripture—not just traditions or whatever feels good in the moment. But in today’s religious world, worship practices are all over the place. And maybe you’re wondering, What does the Bible actually say about how we should praise God in our assemblies?
Many churches use choirs, bands, and instrumental music in worship. It’s common. But the real question isn’t preference., it’s authority. Does God authorize these things in New Testament worship? When we dig into Scripture, we find a clear and consistent pattern. So in this article, we’re going to explore what the Bible says—and even what early church founders had to say—about singing, instruments, and worship.
Here’s the plan:
Look at every New Testament passage about singing or praising God.
Compare Old Testament worship with New Testament worship.
Examine what some early denominational leaders taught about instrumental music.
Conclude what God wants in musical praise.
Every New Testament Passage About Singing
Let’s start by looking at every New Testament passage that talks about people singing or praising God musically.
Matthew 26:30 = “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
Mark 14:26 = “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”
Romans 15:9b = “As it is written, ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.’”
1 Corinthians 14:15 = “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”
Ephesians 5:19 = “…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart…”
Colossians 3:16 = “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.”
Hebrews 2:12 = “…saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.’”
James 5:13 = “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”
What’s interesting is that no verse in the New Testament speaks of the early church using musical instruments (other than their heart) as they worship God.
Old Testament Vs. New Testament Worship
However, the Old Covenant did command musical instruments (1 Chronicles 15:16). But many Old Testament practices are not part of New Covenant worship. They were shadows of things to come and were replaced by something better.
For example:
Animal sacrifices → Jesus, the final sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10)
Incense → the prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8)
Levitical priesthood → every Christian as a priest (1 Peter 2:9)
Physical temple → the church is God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Sabbath day → first day of the week (Acts 20:7)
Physical circumcision → circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29)
Tithing → freewill offerings (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Feast days → fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:16–17)
Instrumental music → singing and making melody with your heart (Ephesians 5:19)
We wouldn’t want to bring back burnt offerings or the Levitical priesthood into New Testament worship. So why bring back musical instruments from Old Covenant worship into New Covenant worship?
What History Shows About Early Christian Worship
Since we’ve seen that the New Testament never shows Christians using instruments in worship, let’s look at church history. While historical sources are not authoritative, they do shed light on the practices of early Christians.
History shows that from the very beginning, Christians worshiped God in song only, without instruments. This wasn’t a stylistic choice—it was conviction rooted in apostolic authority and a clear break from Jewish temple worship and pagan religious music.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia (vol. 10 p. 106) states that the first Christians “were of too spiritual a fiber to substitute lifeless instruments for or to use them with the human voice.”
Encyclopedia Britannica says instrumental music wasn’t practiced in Christian worship until the 8th century, and didn’t become widespread until the 12th century.
So where did instruments come from?
The Catholic Church introduced the organ somewhere around 670–750 AD, and it slowly became common during the Middle Ages.
Even many major leaders of the Protestant Reformation and the Great Awakening rejected instrumental music in worship:
John Calvin: “Musical instruments in celebrating the praise of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense and the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of other shadows of the law. The Papists therefore, have foolishly borrowed, this, as well as many other things, from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pump made delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostles is far more pleasing to him. Paul allows us to bless God in the public assemblies of the saints, only in a known tongue (1 Corinthians 14:16)” (Commentary on Psalm 33).
Martin Luther: “The organ in the worship is the insignia of Baal… The Roman Catholics borrowed it from the Jews” (Martin Luther, Mcclintock & Strong’s Encyclopedia, Volume VI, page 762).
Charles Spurgeon: “What a degradation to supplement the intelligent song of the whole congregation by the theatrical prettiness of a quartet, bellows, and pipes! We might as well pray by machinery as praise by it” (Commentary on Psalms 42:4).
John Wesley: “I have no objection to instruments of music in our worship, provided they are neither seen nor heard” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 685).
The founders of many modern denominations understood that the use of instrumental music in worship was a departure from biblical Christianity.
How Should We Worship Today?
With no command, no example, and no necessary inference in Scripture showing that God approves of instrumental worship—and with the hisorical record showing that early Christians did not use them—how should we worship God today?
We could simply do what God asked: In psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with our hearts.
But there’s one more question we need to answer: What types of songs should we sing?
New Testament worship isn’t just emotional expression or pretty music. It’s about teaching and admonishing one another in truth.
“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 thanksgiving in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16 | ESV)
Paul says singing is a way to teach and admonish. That means our songs must be Scripturally sound. They must not contain emotional fluff, vague theology, or false doctrine. A beautiful melody doesn’t make a false message true. If we wouldn’t preach error from the pulpit, we shouldn’t sing it from the pew.
So as you look for a biblical church, ask:
Are the songs teaching truth—or promoting false ideas?
Are they praising God without instrumental accompaniment, as we see in the New Testament?
If you want a church that honors God by doing things His way, choose worship that follows the New Testament pattern. Don’t settle for man-made worship. Choose what God wants.
Jesus warned in Mark 7:7 that people can worship in vain when they follow the doctrines of men. Adding to God’s Word might feel sincere, but it can still be wrong.
When you sing from the heart—just like the early church did and Scripture says—you’re doing exactly what God wanted. Nothing more, nothing less. And that’s the kind of worship God desires.
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