You are living under the law brother.
Sans hit it just right. The law was made for man, not the other way around. To forbid instruments is legalism, it is elevating a physical law, over the law of the heart. The New Testament nowhere forbids instruments.
Why then are instruments not generally mentioned there?
The church grew out of poverty. The entire culture and society was behind worship where the Jews were concerned. Elaborate temples were built, the entire city came out to worship. One of the tribes, the Levites, had a primary responsibility of performing religious services, including singing and YES, playing musical instruments during service. In one example, a 4000 member orchestra was created. Nowhere to be found does God judge or forbid that. When you find admonitions about singing and playing, and God's judgement coming. It is not because they are singing and playing instruments, but because they are doing these things as if everything is ok, and nothing is wrong, when their hearts are dark and not spiritual. God is concerned with the heart, not with law and not with superficial observances. Maybe in your own church, people are so proud of themselves for not using instruments, when at home, some of them beat their wives or commit adultery. THIS is what God is judging, not the actual singing or playing of musical instruments itself.
People met in homes to worship together. They were under threat of death by orthodox Jews, and then later by Romans and others. For centuries, they met in hidden places. The sign of the fish as a Christian symbol, is in fact secret code, for Christians to recognize other Christians. In this environment, secrecy was required. Should we then now, also maintain secrecy when we don't have to? Of course not. Neither then, should we abandon instruments to praise God, merely because in the early church it was not practical, and in fact only increased the danger of being found out and destroyed.
The early church met in private homes. By that example, should we not meet in homes rather than construct sanctuaries and buildings for such purposes? You don't have a problem with building those apparently.
You basically claim that "silence" is almost a forbiddance of the act itself. And even in recognizing that it doesn't specifically forbid such practice, you choose to "play it safe" anyway.
I noticed that you don't feel that way concerning air-conditioning, video equiptment and microphones and speakers. the New Testament is absolutely silent on all these things, and yet you have ALL of them in your sanctuary.
I think, following your own advice, you should "play it safe" and stop video taping services, stop using microphones and speakers and air-conditioning as well. Electric lights are out too. Get some candles in there.
Don't you agree?
One can never be too careful!
