I know this sounds crazy, but when I was little, I would bet on a lot of stuff (like "I'll do ten jumping jacks if I miss this basketball shot.").  But sometimes, I would say things like, "I'll go to hell if I miss this shot"… and stuff like that.  I know it was years ago, but I can't stop wondering if I am going to hell because of what I said.  And I was saved at the time, so am I?  I can't stop thinking that because I bet my life that I am and should be going to hell.  I've asked God to forgive me, but will I still go to hell?  Please help.

Sincerely,
Youthful Regrets

Dear Youthful Regrets,

Saying that you will go to hell for missing a basketball shot won’t guarantee your eternal destiny any more than saying, “I’ll go to heaven if I make this shot.”  We aren’t the final judge of our eternal home – Christ is (2 Tim 4:1).  If you have done what Christ teaches you must do to be saved, you will go to heaven (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for specifics on the steps of salvation), and if you turn away from Christ, you will be lost (Acts 4:12).  Everyone deserves to go to hell because of their sins (Rom 6:23), but Christ offers to save us if we love and obey Him (Jhn 14:15).  What you did in the past doesn’t matter; what you do now is what counts (2 Cor 6:1-2).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I've been reading over some of the responses to questions involving music, and I keep hearing Ephesians 5:19 being thrown around a lot.  To a musician, anything that comes from us is from the heart… be it banging trashcan lids together or the serenade of a choir spanning all octaves.

As a musician, everything I play, I play for the Lord because I want to deliver a beautiful gift for Him and for all to hear.  There is beauty in Metallica, there is beauty in Psalms, and there is beauty in prayer, but the people answering questions on here have a strong tendency to not like instruments (or more specifically in church).  With every instrument I touch, I can feel ideas exploding from my heart for God, but you seem to rebuke others who want to join along in song with me using other instruments if they don't carry the same praise that I do for the Lord.

The standard response to my question is "you’re looking too deeply at the Scripture" + "Scripture is perfect" = Only sing, but I want the long answer.

So could you please expand on the "...and make music from the heart" part of Ephesian 5:19 for me?

Thanks and God Bless.

Sincerely,
Musician

Dear Musician,

Before we go into the specifics of this issue, it is important to note that how we feel about a topic is not the same as the truth on a topic.  We may feel that a certain activity is pleasing to God, but that doesn’t mean it is.  God tells us that His ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8) and that every man’s ways are right in his own eyes (Pr 21:2).  The issue isn’t whether or not you feel that you are pleasing God when using instruments to worship – the question we have to ask is: “What do the Scriptures say about instruments in worship?”

The fact is that God has given us instruments to use for worshipping Him – our hearts (Eph 5:19).  In the New Testament, God tells us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to Him.  He wants the only melody He hears to come from our hearts.  Instrumental music wasn’t introduced into the church until over three hundred years after Christ.  In fact, ‘a cappella’ singing (singing without instruments) literally means ‘as the church’.  There are no examples of the church using instruments to worship God in the New Testament.  If we start using them, we are adding something to God’s Word (Rev 22:18-19).  All we are ever told to do is “sing and make melody in our hearts”… pluck your heartstrings as you sing to God, and you will make God happy.  If a congregation begins to use instruments in worship, they must do so without any New Testament Scripture to back up the practice.

The problem with instrumental music in worship is that it isn’t a part of the Bible pattern, and the moment we start doing things outside the Bible, we have gone beyond what God intended (1 Cor 4:6).  Instrumental music may sound appealing to us, but it is just one more manmade additive that adds to the division and confusion found in the religious world.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

According to the Gospels, the believers of Jesus would attain salvation through the words of Jesus.  Does this mean that salvation was not dependent on the shedding of His blood since it was stated before the crucifixion?

Sincerely,
Why Did He Die?

Dear Why Did He Die,

What Christ preached was that He would die for our sins (Matt 12:40, Matt 26:28).  Jesus said that it was His blood that would give people eternal life (Jhn 6:53-54).  Jesus said that all men would be saved through Him in anticipation of the sacrifice He was about to make.  Without the cross, Jesus’ words would have been empty promises.  Jesus even recognized the necessity of His death when He proclaimed “It is finished” with His last breath (Jhn 19:30).  Jesus did die on the cross, and His blood did pay for the sins of mankind (Heb 9:28)… thus finishing the saving work that He had been preaching about.