God and Music
It would not be an exaggeration to state that the dividing line between secular music and what is described as ‘Contemporary Christian Music’, is extremely thin. It is sad to say, but much of what we hear today is simply pop music with Christian lyrics.
As the spirit of this world creeps insidiously into the Church, it is not surprising that its music does so as well. When we consider the ‘Christian’ music and worship that is out there today, we can already see clear evidence of just how much the spirit of the world has invaded the Church. As worship begins to take on a distinctly worldly flavour, we see how it brings confusion and a struggle to Christians, especially young people.
The question that I ask is simply this: ‘What has true worship got to do with music from the world?’ I find it hard to understand why we would, and are trying to, mix the two – praising the Lord with a worldly beat… surely, it can’t be done! When we are born-again, we should want to worship from our hearts, in Spirit and in Truth. Anything else is just entertainment for the flesh.
Once again, I believe that looking at the Word of God will lead us into new insights and revelation as to God’s heart on the subject of praise and worship. Let us be careful not to accept everything that carries the label ‘Christian’ as necessarily actually giving glory to God.
We find no clear instructions in the Bible as to how we should worship God. There are Old Testament precepts relating to music, worship, and instruments, as well as examples of God’s people praising Him with rejoicing and dancing; but no indication as to what type of melody, lyric, rhythm or beat we should use in the New Testament Church. There is a good reason for this… Remember that we are a New Covenant people! Whether we are black or white, rich or poor, educated or not, we all have two things in common: our hearts, and the Holy Spirit. He is our Teacher; He guides us and testifies to our hearts as to what is from God our Father, and what is not.
The Holy Spirit is our guide
In John 16:13-14, we read, “However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all Truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” There is no confusion here: the Holy Spirit is the one who will guide us, teach us, and lead us as to how Jesus would respond and the way Jesus would act. We would all agree that there was a fragrance to everything that Jesus said and did. Likewise, the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ should accompany everything we say and do. What comes from the world is of a different spirit; but because God has given us (born-again Christians) the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, we are able to discern the spirit of this world that is under satan’s control.
Strange things happening
I believe people are aware that even in the Christian world there are some very emotional and carnal things going on. Unfortunately, just because something bears the label ‘Christian’ does not guarantee that it will be good for your heart or your spirit. As much as there is worship and music today that witness to our hearts as being from the Lord, there is also much music, singing, and dancing that give off a strong flavour of the world and carnality. Let us be careful not to take the Word of God to the letter. When it says “Praise Him with instruments” or “Praise Him with dances and rejoicing,” it does not mean we can bring the spirit of this world into the Church, by dancing in any way we feel like, or using instruments to play with a beat or style that is indistinguishable from what is heard in nightclubs.
By looking at a few Biblical examples of dancing and rejoicing, I believe we can see the difference between music and worship that honours God by reflecting what is in our hearts, and music that entertains and feeds our flesh, and can only lead us into sin further down the road.
In 2 Samuel 6:12-15, relating to the time David brought the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God, back to Jerusalem, verses 14-15 state, “Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So, David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.” David and the people of Israel were celebrating a great victory. His godly, humble, and pure joy overflowed to the point that he just had to dance, even if it appeared foolish to his wife. The people were rejoicing at what God had done, they knew this was not man’s doing. When David slaughtered Goliath, the very people who had been trembling in fear were suddenly filled with courage and went out to attack the Philistines.
After returning from battles like these, we read in 1 Samuel 18:6-7 that, “the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments. So the women sang as they danced…” In the New Testament (Acts 3), Peter and John came to the temple one day, and a man who was lame from birth was healed. This man leapt with joy and danced in the temple praising God for his miracle. He could not keep his joy to himself.
Spontaneous rejoicing
In all three examples, we see a spontaneous outburst of gratitude and rejoicing, springing from thanksgiving that results in singing, dancing, and music. It is all about God and not about the music. When we are humbled by what God has done, we are free to rejoice as our hearts lead us. There is no problem with singing or dancing in these circumstances.
But when the worship team decides on a Sunday morning that ‘now’ is the time to start praising the Lord with dances, or worship by appealing to people’s emotions, with music that is nothing more than Christian lyrics set to a worldly beat and which only draws us to the performance, we must begin to ask questions. It is the same for today’s so-called ‘Gospel Concerts’.
What happens afterwards to these young men and women whose emotions and whose flesh have been whipped up to a feverous pitch by the musicians on stage? How is Jesus honoured and glorified in all this? Some might say it is how young people worship today and a way for them to bring their friends to hear about the Lord. But I would ask how many of these friends really get born-again in these concerts? And, more importantly, how many of these Christians are on the road to backsliding as a result of indulging their flesh in this way. I know personally that when I hear or watch this type of event, the Holy Spirit in me testifies that something is not right. And we all know who and what is behind everything that is not of the Spirit!
We cannot hide behind Gospel music that entertains us in our emotions and stirs up our flesh. The flesh cannot produce spiritual life, therefore, the moment it responds to a type of music we are in danger. As a spiritual people, we must be able to discern between Godly music, worship from the heart that edifies, and worldly music that simply indulges our flesh and emotions.
Music has two sources
As we know, music originates only from one of two sources. The first is from the heart of God – where men and women, often as a result of a direct experience of His hand at work in their lives, are led by the Holy Spirit to compose a melody or write a song. Many of the great hymns testify to this. God creates this music in the heart of man to worship and praise Him, to give Him all the glory, the honour, and the power. When the anointing of God is present, our hearts melt and we are drawn into His presence. The second source is the spirit that reigns in the world – where the beat, rhythm, and moves are carnal and worldly.
Music is another great danger area for the Church when we lay aside the foundation, i.e. the Gospel of the Cross, which continually challenges us and brings us to maturity. However, if we stay on this foundation, as we grow and become more like Christ, we will automatically know what to do, where to go and what to listen to. And we will find that we are no longer attracted to music that does not benefit us in any way.
