As querist wrote:
>IF “believe AND is baptized means an individual has to do both to be saved
>then why doesn’t “speak to one another in psalms AND hymns AND spiritual
>songs mean we have to do all three?
James replied:
Repent and be baptizied is a process that has a result “for forgiveness of sins”. These three things do not have to be done in one service in order to accomplish their objective of forgiving sin and being pleasing to God. One might believe at one service, repent after service was over, and be baptized the next service. No sin has taken place. Why? Because the time element is not specified. One just has to do all of these things in a lifetime in order to be pleasing to God.
Singing to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is a list of behaviors that are to characterize Christians when we speak to one another. When do we see one another? At the weekly assemblies. We then speak to one another. The command to speak to one another in songs, hymns and spiritual songs does not have a time element in the command. It is a list of behaviors that is to characterize Christian behavior. It does not necessarily have to happen every time we speak, but it does have to be included in our behavior over time. Our Christian walk has to include this.
Here’s a practical example. When you sing, you necessarily choose one of the three. Are you disobeying God because you chose a psalm instead of a hymn or spiritual song? No. Why? Because it is an authorized behavior, the frequency of which is not specified. If you only sing two songs, one of which is a psalm and the other a hymn, have you disobeyed God? No. Why? Because the frequency of the use of these three types of speaking is not specified. If you include all of them in your speaking to one another over time, you are obeying God. The list is apparently intended to specify the
type of music that is to be used and not specify the frequecy of its use. You are at liberty to use any song from this list as long as all of them are included at some time during the course of your various assemblies over the Lord’s days.
