You Asked For It: What does the Bible teach about what to sing in church?

You Asked For It: What does the Bible teach about what to sing in church?

The Bible calls us to sing Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs: 

Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” 

  • In the Greek translation of the OT, “psalms”and “hymns” and “spiritual songs” are 3 of the different headings found in the book of Psalms, and thus can all refer to the variety of Biblical Psalms
  • These terms also have overlap in the NT, where Jesus and his disciples sing a “hymn” after the Last Supper (Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26), likely referring to Psalm 118 (the final Passover Psalm)

So should we only sing Psalms?

No, we can sing new songs as well:

Revelation 5:9-10 – "And they sang a new song, saying,
'Worthy are you to take the scroll
  and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
  from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
  and they shall reign on the earth.'"

  • In Revelation we see those redeemed by Christ worshiping him by singing new songs, not strictly the Psalms of the OT
  • This suggests that Christians can compose and sing new songs in corporate worship, not being restricted to only the Psalms

What kinds of new songs should Christians write and sing?

We should sing songs that are consistent with Scripture, following the example of the Psalms: 

“[Psalms] can be short, long, or somewhere in between (Psalms 117; 119; 89). They can enable us to speak to God, others, or ourselves, sometimes in the same psalm (Psalms 86; 100; 62:5–7; 42). We have psalms about God and about us (Psalms 145; 133). And when it comes to first-person pronouns, Psalm 71 contains 58 of them in 24 verses. God gave us psalms that never repeat and others that say the same thing 26 times (Psalms 2; 136). Some psalms explode with emotion, while others are more doctrinal (Psalms 150; 111). They give us words for rejoicing and reflecting (Psalms 47; 23). They tell us there’s a time to praise and a time to lament (Psalms 96; 38).” —Bob Kauflin, Sovereign Grace Music

Putting it all together: 

We should sing the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that are IN SCRIPTURE as well as new songs that are CONSISTENT WITH SCRIPTURE, to praise and thank God and to edify one another.

We should not sing songs that go against Scripture, or songs that are not about praising God and his works, or songs that don’t edify one another. 

What about songs composed by groups with bad theology?

Whether newer songs by groups like Bethel or Elevation, or older hymns like Come Thou Fount or It is Well with my Soul:

  • Some say it is better to avoid those songs altogether 
  • Others say as long as the song itself is consistent with Scripture, then there’s no problem 

There are good Biblical reasons for each of these positions. 

What if I worship somewhere that sings songs that don’t seem consistent with Scripture?

    • Sing whatever songs or parts of songs ARE true and consistent with Scripture
    • Refrain from singing anything that you believe to be contradictory to Scripture or against your conscience
    • Talk to your parents and church leaders about any songs that you aren’t sure about
    • Be wise and discerning, but not bitter or overly critical