There is a lot of discussion as to what kind of instruments should be allowed during worship. Is there anything wrong with using contemporary instruments?

Simply put there is no harm in using any type of instrument in worship but we should understand its role in worship. Music is just an accompaniment to our worship that enables us to express ourselves. However music, on its own, is not worship.

Unfortunately, most modern-day music is just mindless emotional hysteria that requires no thoughts or use of the mind.

This isn’t true worship.

You can only truly worship God when your mind is fully engaged. The deeper your understanding of God’s truth and God Himself, results in a more passionate worship.

Worship is our hearts lifting up toward God in gratitude and thanksgiving for all that God has done. 

Worship is acknowledging God to be who He is revealed to be in Scripture. It is acknowledging what God has done; and in particular, that He has saved us, redeemed us, and given us eternal life; it is expressing gratitude to God.

Worship is also praising God for His character, His works, His promises, and His faithfulness.

Worship must be directly correlated with your understanding of Him. Therefore the richer your theology and your grasp of biblical truth, the more elevated your worship becomes.

Worship is the heart of glorifying and honoring God and music is just a vehicle. It’s one of many vehicles  used to praise God (speaking / dancing / praying / silent reverence), but it is the dominant way in which we express that corporate praise.

So one does not need to turn on music to truly worship God. We must understand that music is just one of the modes that we can use in worship. When we have a low or shallow understanding of God, it often leads to a shallow, superficial, and contentless kind of hysteria that is mistaken for worship.

Hymns are a good example of songs with rich theology that fully engage your mind. Hymns help us to advance doctrine and deepen our understanding of the rich truths of Scripture.

We don’t need a rock concert to manipulate people’s minds; what we need is truth lifted up and proclaimed so that the Spirit of God can use it to purify our hearts and open our eyes to the glorious truths of Christ.

In addition, music is often misunderstood as being that  which induces, influences, or creates worship.

Yes, while music can induce or influence all kinds of feelings (happiness / sadness / joy / love etc.), it does not induce, create or influence worship.

It is the heart that worships and the mind that worships based on what you know to be true by the revelation of God and His word and by your own experience in your life.

Truth, love, and adoration from the heart are what create worship.

It is true that music helps us to express our love and adoration, but the motivation comes from within our hearts and from what we know about Him.

What is the purpose of music in the church?

There is only one purpose for music in the church, and that is to glorify God.

It’s not intended to make visiting non-believers think they’re at a rock concert. In fact, music in the church isn’t designed for them. It’s designed for believers to express their worship and reverence to God.

In church, believers should not necessarily be focused on the worship team on stage or strategies to please outsiders with lavish songs, but rather we must have our focus on God alone.

So what is music? 

It is the gift of God, common grace to the world, to give a means of expressing emotions. But for believers, music is a gift of God to allow believers to express gratitude to God for who He is, what He’s done, and particularly for our salvation.

The redeemed are called to sing, and music reaches its highest level of usage among Christians.