Singing With An Audience
Categories: Bible Study Lessons Tags: Bible Lessons on SingingDear Brother Watkins,
Christian Greetings! I am writing to clarify something: Is it scripturally alright that a group (choir) of Christian perform a concert in front of a congregation using spiritual songs? Accordingly, the purpose is to entertain and they are to do it not on a Sunday. Please help as we are divided on this issue. We pray for your help.
God Bless! Brother J.
It is good to hear from the brethren in ***********!
Good question. It’s great to hear when the brethren are concerned with issues of Bible authority. In order to answer the question we must break the situation down into component parts.
1. A group singing spiritual songs.
2. A person or persons listening to others sing the songs.
Suppose I was with a group looking out over the ocean and a few started singing, “How Great Thou Art.” I don’t think there would be any question that this would be authorized (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). Notice that these passages don’t specify that the singing in view is in the worship assembly. (It does, however, include the singing in the worship assembly.)
Take that same group looking out over the ocean. Some are singing and some are listening. If the situation is unauthorized then it is a sin both to sing (causing the listeners to sin) and not to sing (causing the singers to sin). However, we have an apostolic example of singers singing with an audience. Notice Acts 16:25 in the American Standard Version of 1901:
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
We shall not accuse Paul and Silas of sinning or causing the prisoners to sin who did not sing.
When you say the purpose is to entertain do you mean that all such situations where there are singers and listeners are for the purpose of entertainment? Is this a “for profit” concert? Or, is it simply a group of talented Christians edifying others with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs? From thousands of miles away I cannot judge such things.
All I can do is affirm that the situation in which there are singers and listeners outside of the corporate worship of the church is authorized. The fact that it is scheduled and advertised is incidental. The fact that it is enjoyable is incidental as well.
If some come to the conclusion that we cannot sing with an audience then to be consistent we must cease all singing outside of corporate worship lest we cause others to sin by not singing or sin ourselves by singing with an audience present.