Closing… This matter of singing because God teaches us to do it, and not playing because God does not teach us to do it, is a crucial issue because it determines one’s respect FOR and submission TO the Word of God. And friends, that has eternal implications. If I can look at the Words of the Bible and say, “I’m not going to do that,” what am I doing? I am saying to God, “I refuse to let You tell me what I’m to do. I’m going to have MY way.” Well, you may have it…in this life. You may have it until the day of your death. But when you stand before God in the Judgment, you won’t have your way! God will have HIS way, then.

“Oh, well, it doesn’t make any difference.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

“Well, it’s just a tradition.”

“No! Ephesians 5:19 [“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…”] is not a tradition. Ephesians 5:19 is a revelation of God.”

“Welllll, we don’t…we don’t bother about little things.”

“You don’t?”

“No! We don’t bother about that.”

“Well, do you bother about ‘little ole things’ such as taking the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week?”

“No, we don’t bother with that.”

“Do you bother with ‘little ole things’ like, ahh, baptism for remission of sins?”

“No, we don’t bother with that.”

“Do you bother with ‘little things’ like having women lead prayer in public worship?”

“Oh, we don’t worry about that. We have it all the time.”

“Well, do you bother about having elders in church…?”

“Aw, no, we don’t worry about that. We have men and women that serve the shepherds [or, serve as shepherds?].”

“Well, do you bother about observing the Lord’s Supper?”

“We take it on Saturday night when we want to; Thursday night—doesn’t make any difference.”

And down that road, one step after another, one goes, and finally repudiates everything that has to do with God and His Word—how to become a Christian; how the church is to worship, and everything else. I call, then, for your careful consideration of these thoughts, not because of me. I know well and good that I’m not an orator—never have wanted to be; couldn’t if I wanted to be. So, I’m not trying to be an orator. But I do my best to teach the Word of God in simplicity, in purity, with all the love I can muster, and yet with all the strength of my being. And with all of that, I maintain that when you study the subject we’re talking about tonight, and you think about the principle we’ve discussed—its validity as shown in Bible passages, and its application to what God said about singing in worship to Him—we will sing; and we will not play, because God did not teach us to do so.

Well, the time is gone, and I appreciate you listening.

In a moment, we’ll be singing an invitation hymn. As it is being sung, you have an opportunity to make a remarkable decision. If you are not a child of God, you have the opportunity to make the decision to become a child of God. One becomes a child of God by submitting to the Truth of Jesus in Scripture. That Truth teaches that one who is not a Christian is to believe in Jesus Christ, to repent of his sins, confess his faith that Jesus in Lord, and be buried in baptism FOR the remission of sins, that by the grace of God your sins will be forgiven, you will be added to the church and arise to walk in newness of life—the most important decision that will ever be made this side of eternity.

If you are a Christian, and by word or deed…or by neglect have failed to live as God wants you to do, and you realize that your failure has brought reproach on the Name of God, or on the good name of the church, you need to turn away from that wrong in repentance, to confess that sin from your heart to God, and ask loving men and women who are your brothers and sisters in Christ to pray with you and for you, that you may be forgiven by the grace of God.

On these terms, we invite you to come as we stand to sing.