Jonathan, a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus, set apart as His broken
instrument so that the harmony of the chorus of Christ might be
revealed to be all in all -
To the saints who are dispersed:
Grace to you and peace in the Name of God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
I am writing to you, beloved, as I have heard there to be a great deal
of discord and dissension among you lately as to what sort of music is
the most worshipful and pleasing to the Lord. I can hardly believe my
ears. I therefore charge you in the Name of the Lord Jesus to hear the
counsel of the Word of God when it testifies of Him, "For it was
fitting for Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all
things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the Author of their
salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who
are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not
ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will proclaim your Name to
my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your
praise.'" And again, "Now we who are strong ought to bear the
weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The
reproaches of those reproaching You fell on Me.' For whatever was
written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that
through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement
grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ
Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another,
just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that
Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth
of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the
Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, 'Therefore I
will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your
Name.' Again he says, 'Rejoice O Gentiles, with His people.' And again,
'Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise
Him.'"
So, then, brethren: it is Christ who worships and sings to the Father
in the midst of His people; and, as our Lord told us, wherever two or
three of us are gathered together in His Name there He is in the midst
of us - if it is truly in His Name, His character, that we assemble.
Therefore, with such a wonderful and inspired Vocalist in our midst,
let us ask ourselves: "Are we listening to Him, or merely to ourselves?
Who, in all this dissension, is on the Lord's side? Above all, can
anyone hear His voice? If so, is Christ's voice one of harmony or
discord?" I ask those 'wise' and 'learned' among you, "What does Christ
testify in your midst?" And, "What is this that you are testifying in
His presence and the presence of those for whom Christ died by your own
words and actions?" Christ is not divided is He? Is there no One among
you qualified to judge in this matter? For by the testimony of two or
three witnesses is every word of Christ established. Tell me, those of
you who are so zealous for the worship of the one true God, are you so
busy making a supposed 'joyful noise unto the Lord' with your own
dissonant voices that you've forgotten the reason why you are supposed
to be singing in the first place? For Christ is our Head and our
Worship Leader, and His preferences ought to prevail above our own.
Therefore, let us render to God the worship that He desires and
accepts; for as the Scripture says, "Draw near to God and He will draw
near to you." And again, "Because this people draw near with their
words and honor Me with their lips, but remove their hearts far from
Me, and their worship of Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people,
wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and
the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed." Therefore,
if anyone does speak now, let it be as the very oracles of Christ so
that at last the Body might be built up into the Head. For when we find
our true center in silent reverence before God in the mind of Christ
- opening our hearts to His still, small voice - then and then
alone shall we together find our one voice. Everything else is vain
distraction and a striving after the wind: an offering of a strange
fire of incense before the Lord that will not be accepted by Him. Just
as the Preacher warns us, "Watch your step as you go to the house of
God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of
fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in
word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of
God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your
words be few." Now may all of God's family, in the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace, destroy every lofty thing raised up against the
knowledge of Christ in their midst; and let us all take great care lest
we inadvertently reproach Christ by disregarding any of those in whom
He dwells, crucifying Him that we might be justified in our own eyes,
exposing Him again to public shame. For as it is written, "The Name of
God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." And again, "All
the day long I have spread out My hands to an obstinate and
contradicting people." Finally, brethren, let us not forget the dying
words of our Lord Jesus on behalf of His accusers, "Father, forgive
them... for they do not know what they are doing."
So, in the words of our brother Paul: "What is the outcome then,
brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has
a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be
done for edification." As it was at the beginning, let it be so now, so
that Christ's glory might again be revealed in His temple, that is:
His Body. When all of God's people finally return to worship in the
tradition of the apostles, as set forth and approved by the Word of
God, will there be any cause for division left among us? After all this
petty quarreling about individual music preferences, isn't it time for
all of us to do things God's way? Is not everyone in whom the Spirit of
Christ dwells to be a sharer in the acceptable altar of Christ? Does
not our Father delight to hear the heart-song of each and every one of
His children? And shall not the family of God as well, as those who are
called by His Name?
As Paul said, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do
not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Such
is the noise that grieves God's heart and sows discord in the hearts of
His children. So then, if we would truly make a joyful noise unto the
Lord - as one Voice that pleases Him - let us therefore love one
another as God is love... for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased.
Now may the God of peace grant you to be of one mind with one another
according to Christ Jesus, and bear you up in the fellowship of the
unity that is the Spirit of Christ, to the praise of His great glory.
Amen.
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