EATING MEAT OF FRIDAYS AND INTRUMENTAL MUSIC
At one time it was a sin for a Catholic to eat meat on Friday. It had something to do with penance and abstinence. In the early sixties there was a council called by the Pope that came to be known as Vatican II which in effect cancelled out the sin of eating meat on Friday. One article suggested the McDonalds came up with the fish sandwich because their sales went down dramatically on Fridays. Of course every restaurant served fish on Friday.
After Vatican II removed the sin of eating meat on Friday there was a cartoon circulated that had a picture of the devil sitting on a throne. An underling is speaking to the devil and says, “Alright, now what do we do with those who ate meat on Friday?”
Before going further, keep in mind, that the Bible never forbade the eating of meat on Friday. Under the Old Law there were some restrictions concerning eating certain meats but the New Testament does not have those restrictions. In the meeting of the apostles and elders in Acts 15 there was this declaration, “But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20). Catholic Bishops determined you couldn’t eat meat on Friday not the Bible.
So what does eating meat on Friday have to do with instrumental music in worship? First remember that scriptures teach us to sing in worship. There is not a single passage of scripture in the New Testament that indicates, hints at, commands, gives an example of playing an instrument in the worship assembly. Not one! As a matter of fact just the opposite. In the New Testament the words sing, singing, sung appear eleven times (Rom. 15:9, 1 Cor. 14:15, Heb. 2:12, James 5:13, Rev. 15:13, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, Mat. 26:30, Mk. 14:26, Rev. 5:9, Rev. 14:3).
In spite of the above scripture, elderships in various congregations are going before their members and declaring, “We have studied the Old and New Testaments along with the book of Revelation [As if it’s not in the NT] and have concluded that our stance on instrumental music in the past has been wrong. We have damned people to hell for using the instrument and we will no longer do that.” In other words “We have had a meeting and decided not to follow the New Testament.” Catholic Bishops decided that it was wrong to eat meat on Friday and then decided it wasn’t. Now elders have decided that it is not wrong to use the instrument in worship. Folks that is what you get when you refuse to follow the scriptures.
Elders have no authority to dismantle the New Testament. Elders are to “feed the flock” (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2) not pacify it. “Holding fast the faithful word” (Titus 1:9) not releasing brethren from it; “Convincing the gainsayers” not compromising with them. They do this by “sound doctrine” not sounds from instruments.
“The elders have met and decided….” That must have been Vatican III. How about that? Baptism and The Lord’s Supper will be next when Vatican IV meets.
Larry