Why do some churches not allow musical instruments?  Ephesians 5:19 says to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord...”  The Greek definition of psalms says “from a set piece of music or a sacred ode accompanied with the voice, harp, or other instrument”.

Sincerely,
Don’t Mean To Harp

Dear Don’t Mean To Harp,

The reasons some churches don’t use musical instruments (ours included) is because of the very verse you mentioned.  In the New Testament, we are commanded to “speak to one another” and “make melody in our hearts” (Eph. 5:19).  Col 3:16 says that we should “sing with grace in our hearts”, and 1 Cor 14:15 says that we should “sing with our spirit” and “sing with understanding”.  All of these verses clearly tell us what to be offering God in worship – heartfelt singing.

It is true that a psalm means “a piece of music or sacred ode accompanied with the voice, harp, or other instrument”, and if God hadn’t specified what accompaniment we should use, we could use any instrument we wanted… but God did specify what instrument He wanted us to use.  He wanted us to use our voices and heartstrings.  Incidentally, the word ‘acappella’ means ‘as the church’ because the early church never used instruments in their worship.  Instruments weren’t introduced into worship services until the sixth century.  The church of the first century understood that when God asked for them to sing – that meant they should only sing.  Since we desire to do exactly what the Bible says and neither add nor subtract from God’s Word (Rev 22:18-19), we simply use our voices.  God doesn’t ask for instruments in His worship, and we don’t go beyond what He has written (1 Cor 4:6).

Please clarify the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:1-16.  In church, we are required to pray individually and corporately.  I see women in church and on T.V. ministries lead prayers and prophesy without head covering.  In 1 Cor 11:1, Paul says, " Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ".  Verse two says, "... Keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you."  Verse sixteen says, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God."

Sincerely,
Keep Your Hat On

Dear Keep Your Hat On,

Women must always have their heads covered while praying (1 Cor 11:5), but God has built into every woman a permanent head-covering – her hair (1 Cor 11:15).  God designed men and women differently… this should be no surprise to anyone that has ever dealt with the opposite gender!  Men are to be the leaders in the home (Eph 5:23) and the church (Tit 1:5-6).  Women are the heart of the family (Tit 2:4-5), and men are not complete without them (1 Cor 11:12).  Both genders are equal heirs of salvation, but they are designed with different strengths and roles (1 Pet 3:7).  One way that God signifies this is by having men look different from women.  When women have long hair and men have short hair – it pleases God (1 Cor 11:14-15).  There are varying degrees of long and short hair, but ultimately – men are to look like men, and women are to look like women.  This principle is even borne out in the Old Testament (Deu 22:5).  The teachings of 1 Cor 11:1-16 are simply teaching that a woman’s long hair is a God-given covering for her head, and men are not to have that same covering due to their varying roles in leadership.

Who has the right to touch someone and pray for them today?  There have been some that say that if there is sin in your life, even though you have repented of it, that you can't pray for someone who has asked for prayer.  They can't come to an agreement with others for the forgiveness of a brother or sister.  What do you think?  I can't find a particular Scripture to back this up.

Sincerely,
Hands To Myself

Dear Hands To Myself,

If you are a christian, you have a right and responsibility to pray for yourself and others (1 Tim 2:1-3).  The Bible says that a righteous person’s prayer makes a difference (Jas 5:16).  The Bible makes no distinction between one christian’s prayer and another’s.  If you are a faithful christian (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” to make sure you have followed God’s plan to receive salvation), then you have a right to approach God in prayer and expect to be heard (1 Jn 5:14-15).

However, if you are actively engaged in a sinful lifestyle and are not living faithfully – your prayers will be hindered by sinful living (1 Pet 3:7).  Iniquity separates us from God (Isa 59:1-2) and hinders our prayers from being effective.

I'm a new christian, but there is so much that I do not understand; one of the things that I need to know is: when I was in the Baptist church, I learned to take communion every first Sunday.  Now, I'm in a different church, and there is no communion… just once a year washing of the feet as Mary did for Jesus, so when I heard that one of the ministries on TV was giving communion last week, I also took part while at home.  Was I wrong, or should I only do feet washing?  Thank you for taking the time to answer.

Sincerely,
Clean Toes

Dear Clean Toes,

The church should take communion every Sunday.  In fact, the subject is so clear that it is an evident sign that a congregation isn’t biblically sound if they don’t take it every Sunday.  In Acts 20:7, we see that the church, including the apostle Paul, gathered on the first day of the week to take the Lord’s Supper.  We are told to follow the example of the apostles (1 Cor 11:1).  In the New Testament, the church took the Lord’s Supper on Sunday, and we should, too.

On a separate but related note, we never see feet washing as a part of the worship service of the church.  Though there are examples of feet washing in the Bible, none of those examples are a part of congregational worship.  The church you are attending is failing to take communion when the Bible says to, and it is adding feet washing as worship when the Bible never teaches that… God warns against adding or subtracting from His Word (Rev 22:18-19).

I’m wondering whom I would go to, a priest or preacher, to pray about my new house that I am getting.

Sincerely,
Mr. Buyer

Dear Mr. Buyer,

If you are living a faithful life, you should do the praying.  If you aren’t living a faithful life… your house won’t matter one way or the other (Mk 8:36-37).  God says that He clearly hears the prayers of the righteous (Pr 15:29), and He says those prayers make a difference (Jas 5:16-18).  The term ‘priest’ is a Bible word that is often misused by many false churches.  There is no such thing as special priests in the church.  In Christ, all christians are priests (1 Pet 2:9).  There is no need to seek some special religious leader to receive the blessing of prayer to God.  If you aren’t a christian or if you need a faithful church to gather with – e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we would be happy to help you in whatever way possible.