“Oh fetch back that duty which thou hast sent away, though least in thy eye, yet, it may be, it is that which God means to crown with His choicest blessing to thy soul.” – William Gurnall
This pandemic has brought us into an interesting alternate universe – in just a few months, the things we’ve always taken as a “given” in our culture seem to have been taken away with astounding speed, confusing explanations and rumbles of intimidation.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the practice of faith. Because of the potential spread of COVID-19, places of worship were mandated to stop gathering in person; through the crisis, churches have innovated and grown their online communication and it has been an amazing marriage of spirit and technology. “Necessity is the mother of invention”, Benjamin Franklin once said, and we can respond these centuries later with a confident “case in point.”
We have done that by the grace of God. But now as we are reopening our tents for public worship, the game plan coming down from our government coaches keeps shifting, leaving us with the necessity to carefully discern how to balance Romans 13:1-2 with Acts 4:18-20.
And that’s where singing comes in.
Imperatives-Shmeritives
The latest in the series of guidelines includes a “ban” on singing in church: when we sing, we project droplets of potential virus out into the environment. So, no singing. Sitting, listening, and passively social distancing in pre-mandated groups of 100–yes. Singing, no. There’s something wrong with this picture, but what is it?
To find out, the questions we have to ask ourselves are:
1) What are the Biblical spiritual disciplines that the Christian must include in all his religious walk?
2) Is it acceptable to include some spiritual disciplines at the expense of others, which also have” the divine stamp” upon them?
Essential Practices 101
In Acts 2:42-47 Luke describes essential practices of the early church instituted by the apostles, which include the teaching of the Word, “the fellowship” (which would be the gathering and sharing of community) and “the breaking of bread” and prayer. Even as they were part of the local community and enjoyed favor with them, verse 47 tells us they “praised God.”
Praising God is an imperative of our faith and includes the practice of singing. The tradition of singing our worship is included in 150 Psalms meant to be to be sung in praise to God. The early church no doubt did not neglect this aspect of worship since they met daily in the temple courts. Psalm 111 tells us “Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord in the council of the upright and in the assembly.” (Emphasis mine). Psalm 95:1-2 tells us “Come let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come together before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.” (Emphasis mine).
Read through the Psalms and you will see the imperatives of worship by song over and over again. Of course, there are other ways we praise God, but there is no substitute practice for singing. This was made clear when Jesus was told by the Pharisees to get His disciples to be quiet and stop singing. He responded to them by saying, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19: 37-40). Singing and praising out loud is an essential practice of our faith and a gift which we will be practicing and enjoying together forever. (Rev. 7:9-10, Rev. 15:4, Rev. 19:1-8).
And then, there’s the expression and the solidarity of our unity. When we join our voices as one voice under the authority and Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, we proclaim our purposes, our loyalty, our hearts and our beliefs. Together we will accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven.
“Ain’t No Rock Gonna Cry Out”
If singing is, therefore, an essential spiritual practice of the Church with the imprint of “the divine stamp”, we can’t default to the rocks and call it a day. Jesus did not allow the Pharisees to dictate His praise, and neither should we. That’s when we arrive at the tricky intersection of Romans 13:1-3 and Acts 4:18-20. Will it be an intersection where we can work together, or will it be a collision of dueling purposes?
Romans 13:1-3 tells us “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement upon themselves.”
So yes, we pay our taxes, keep the speed limit, respect zoning laws, and work with our leaders whose job it is to govern our communities, states, country. But what happens when, despite our good will toward our government coaches, we’re told to do something that goes against the practice of our faith?
Acts 4 happens. In this passage the apostles Peter and John are jailed for healing someone and speaking in the name of Jesus. When they are released, they are threatened and commanded “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”
“But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
The Holy Spirit left in two important qualifiers in Acts 4: speaking and teaching. Our faith is practiced by speaking words, though evangelism, discipleship, prayer, encouragement, and—singing. Singing is a form of speech, expressing words in melodic form which–last time I checked–is protected by the First Amendment. Peter and John didn’t have a First Amendment, but they knew who was First. (Rev. 22:13).
We Can Work It Out (we hope).
So, what to do? We must do what we can to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of everyone who gathers in person in our churches, first, because love dictates that we do. (I Corinthians 13:7). We must also seek to abide by the guidelines our government coaches have given us as much as they do not interfere with what’s First.
Then there is the conscience and comfort level of each person. There will be people who have been ready to sing out loud in church yesterday, and there will be those who will not be comfortable for reasons of conscience or health. We can provide in-person options and online options to allow choices for each. But let’s not judge each other for their choice– let’s “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) since the Bible tells us “each one should be convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).
I believe we are standing at the crossroads of Romans 13 and Acts 4. The essential practices of our faith call out to us to “fetch them back”. And as more crossroads present themselves, will we “pay more careful attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away”? (Hebrews 2:1)
I hope that question will drive us to James 1:5:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given him.”
And when the wisdom comes, may it come with courage and a song.❤
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