Contemporary Christian Music (CCM): Are Only the Words Important?

Are only the words important in contemporary Christian music (CCM)? Is music neutral? Is musical sound capable of moral or spiritual influence? Does music alone, with or without lyrics, carry and communicate moral or spiritual value? Does putting Christian words to any genre of music make the music Christian or Godly music? Are different kinds or styles of music right or wrong?

The above questions, are important to ask. By studying music in the Bible we see music from God’s perspective which is a much more complete perspective then our human perspectives. Seeing music from God’s perspective quickly answers the question, “Do only the words matter?” It increases our understanding of what music is as well. Music is not merely a medium of communication or enjoyment for human beings. Music is a medium of communication, enjoyment, and dislike in the spirit world first and foremost, and secondarily in the human realm. We need to discern who in the spirit world is the music (not the text) communicating to and what is it communicating?

Are you looking for something more than just the same old concepts, interpretations, explanations, and perspectives you have heard regurgitated over and over again? This website will give you some new insights and things to think about. You may not agree with everything you read, but Biblical Research Reports will stimulate your thinking. Our goal is to help you to formulate in your own mind what is Jesus’ truth as you look at the research we share on the various subjects facing the Church.

Evidence that Music is a Medium of Communication, Enjoyment, and Dislike in the Spirit Realm

To answer the question do only the words matter in contemporary Christian music we need to first look at music itself. Music is not something that people invented like most things that we enjoy today. Music existed before the world was created. God tells us this in Job 38:4-7, where He says: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. (5) Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? (6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; (7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” The world was created to the sound of music! It is no wonder that today the world is bathed in music.

God is the creator of music. He enjoys music, and He sings. Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

In addition, God likes musical instruments as well as singing. Musical instruments will be in heaven throughout all eternity. (Rev. 14:2; 15:2)

If only the words are important in worshiping God, why have music? Why not read poems? The answer is that God enjoys hearing us sing to Him and about Him. God likes music. It is for this reason that music has had an important part in the worship of God for thousands of years.

Music Communicates to God and Satan

There are a number of passages in the Bible that tell us that both God and Satan respond to music. We see that music communicates to God’s Spirit. In several passages, it is instrumental music alone without words that moved the heart of God.

1. God responded to the music and singing and filled the Temple. 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: (12) Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) (13) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; (14) So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.”This passage makes special note that the musical instruments were playing the melody along with the singers. It states that when the music was played and sung that then God filled the house with His presence. God responded to the music. The music communicated with His Spirit.
2. The singers led the soldiers, and when they began to sing God acted on their behalf and destroyed the enemy. 2 Chronicles 20:21 “And when he (Jehoshaphat) had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever. (22) And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (23) For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.”Here again God acted when they began to sing. God heard the music and it moved His heart to action. Music is a powerful means of communication with God.
3. God destroyed their enemy, the Assyrians, as they sang and played music. Isaiah 30:29-32 “29 Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. (30) And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. (31) For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. (32) And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.”
4. The Spirit of God came upon Saul as the music was played. 1 Samuel 10:5-11 “After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: (6) And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. (7) And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. (8) And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do. (9) And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. (10) And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. (11) And it came to pass, when all that knew him formerly saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”This is an interesting account because we see that a person can come under spiritual influence through the music that they are listening to. In this case it was the Spirit of God that came upon Saul. The music itself without words invited God’s presence, infilling, and empowering. Music opens a person’s spirit to have the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit influence and control their heart. It is the music, not the text that does this. Music gives “ground” or a “stronghold”, or a place in our heart to those in the spirit world. This is significant because music that we are listening to can be speaking to evil spirits through the music alone.
5. There is music that evil spirits do not like.1 Samuel 16:14-23 “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. (15) And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. (16) Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. (17) And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. (18) Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. (19) Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. (20) And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. (21) And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. (22) And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight. (23) And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”There is music that evil spirits do not like. When that music, without words, was played the evil spirit left. This is significant because not only does music alone without words invite those in the spirit realm, it can also cause them to leave.
6. Music without words invited God’s Spirit. 2 Kings 3:14-15 “And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. (15) But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.”Music without words invited God to speak to Elisha and to reveal His message. Music is a more powerful medium of communication in the spirit world than we as Christians often realize. Just as prayer moves the heart of God to act on our behalf, music also moves God’s heart to act. Music without words, is a spirit language, that communicates in the spirit world with communication that we do not fully understand.
7. God acted as they were singing to Him. Acts 16:25-28 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. (26) And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. (27) And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. (28) But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.”While they were singing, God acted.

The Significance of the Music in Contemporary Christian Music Communicating in the Spirit Realm

The fact that music communicates in the spirit realm means that music is much more than a moral subject. It means that it is important for us to evaluate the music in contemporary Christian music. Music is a spiritual subject. It means that music is a language or medium of communication in the spirit world, and part of music is outside the realm of full human understanding. One cannot totally evaluate the spiritual content or communication of music solely from a musical analysis and say that God enjoys it. As with other spiritual subjects, music requires spiritual discernment through the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Since music communicates in the spirit world, the volume does not change the spiritual element or communication of the music. If the music of a song glorifies Satan, whether it is played loud or soft, it does not change the spiritual communication of the music.

For us to debate about music from the standpoint of personal likes or dislikes misses the point of what is truly Christian music. Music is a spiritual subject. The spiritual element of the music needs to match the words. It is possible to take music that communicates to Satan and put Christian words to it and God would not enjoy the music. For example, if a New Age piece of music that communicates to Satan was put with Christian words, we would have a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

As Christians we need to spend time discerning what music God enjoys, and develop it. We need to be concerned first does God enjoy the music, and second with our enjoyment.

Ungodly Music in the Bible

There are several accounts in the Bible where ungodly music was used in worship. One of those is in Exodus 32:15-20 “And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. (16) And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. (17) And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. (18) And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. (19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. (20) And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.”

Joshua and Moses had difficulty recognizing the music from a distance as music. They described it as noise and war. It must have been something like we have today when a car goes past playing loud rock music. It sounds more like the car is falling apart than music, because the sound melody gets lost a short distance from the car, and what you hear mainly is the beat.

Another account of ungodly music is in Daniel 3:1-7 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. (2) Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. (3) Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (4) Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, (5) That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: (6) And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. (7) Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”

Music was part of the worship of the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Music that God Dislikes

It is important to realize that there is music that God does not like. Just because God created music does not mean that He likes all music. Does God like contemporary Christian music? Some music God calls noise.

In Isaiah 14:11 in talking about Babylon, God says, “Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, [and] the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.”

The viol was an instrument with a bow. And was the forerunner of the violin family of instruments. God describes the music that they played on it as noise! God enjoys music, but He did not like Babylon’s music.

God does not like all music used to worship Him. In Amos 5:21-23 God says, “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. (22) Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. (23) Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.”

There is some “Godly” music that God will not listen to even though the words are worshiping Him. This passage is addressing their religious holidays and worship times. It was not the words, it was the music itself – the instrumental music that was noise (and God likes instrumental music). The music was so repulsive to God that He commanded them to take it away from Him.

These were sincere “religious” people, they were longing for the day of the Lord v18, but their heart, worship, and music was not right. This passage answers the question: “Does putting Christian words to any kind of music make the music Christian or Godly music?” The answer is no. We may enjoy the music but God may not.

The real question is not do others enjoy our music but does God enjoy contemporary Christian music, or is it noise to Him? “Worship music” in the church can be ungodly music that God will not listen to. If God does not listen to a worship song, it is not true worship and it is a waste of time in church.

The Origins of the Music in Contemporary Music

Possessed: Voodoo’s Origins and Influence from the Blues to Britney

The woman who wrote the article I am quoting from here also wrote the book The language of Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu. The book received a lot of endorsements for being a valuable resource from publications such as Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. The book defines a lot of words and phrases (blues slang) used in blues music. A lot of research was done to find out what these phrases mean and the history behind them.

“Blissed-out, ecstatic union with our divine selves — we seek it at raves and rock concerts, and in the desert with the Burning Man. I try to get there when I’m jamming with my band — but I didn’t realize until I wrote The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu how much this longing relates to West African spirituality, and the Voodoo concept of possession.

“Vodou (the proper Kreyol/Creole spelling of Voodoo) is a neo-African religion that evolved in the New World from the 6000-year-old West African religion Vodun. This was the religion of many slaves brought from West Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean.

“Vodun was brutally repressed by slave-owners, yet its powerful beats, ethics and aesthetics endured. We owe our concepts of cool, soul and rock and roll to it.

“The roots of rock are in a West African word for dance — rak. As Michael Ventura wrote in his important essay on rock music, “Hear that Long Snake Moan”:

“The Voodoo rite of possession by the god became the standard of American performance in rock’n’roll. Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Jim Morrison, Johnny Rotten, Prince — they let themselves be possessed not by any god they could name but by the spirit they felt in the music. Their behavior in this possession was something Western society had never before tolerated.

“Vodou possession is not the hokey demon-possession of zombie movies; it’s a state of union with the divine achieved through drumming, dancing and singing. It’s becoming “filled with the Holy Ghost” in the Pentecostal Christian tradition or attaining yogic bliss through the practice of kirtan, singing the names of God — Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna…

“The first musician to bring pop-Voodoo imagery to the stage was Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who would rise from a coffin onstage with a bone in his nose. Hawkins had intended for his hit record “I Put A Spell On You” to be a soulful ballad. But once the producer “brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, we came out with this weird version,” Hawkins admitted, adding “I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death.” Hawkins kicked off the undead craze among rockers like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson.

“Meanwhile, despite the severe repression, Vodun practices crept into Southern black churches. Descriptions of black Baptist church services in the late 1800s and early 1900s depict the congregation dancing in a circle in a “rock” or “ring shout” as they follow the deacon, who bears a standard.

“It was the deacon’s job to whip parishioners into a frenzy of fainting and speaking in tongues called “rocking the church.” The concept of a deity “riding” with a worshiper transferred to these Christian churches, where the cry “Drop down chariot and let me ride!” was often heard, as well as “Ride on!” and “Ride on, King Jesus!” This became the solidarity shout, “Right on!”

“Blues singers fronting big bands, like Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing, copied the way church solo singers belted over the choir. The radio beamed this new “shouting blues” all over black America. It was picked up by country blues singers like Muddy Waters and T-Bone Walker, who had moved to Chicago and used it with their new electrified bands. These, in turn, inspired rockers like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

“Africans brought here as slaves carried with them incredibly strong aesthetic, ethical and cultural values that not only withstood the shock of their forced transplantation to the New World, but transformed and invigorated it. Their influence made us uniquely American. It’s why we respond to that Voodoo beat.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-devi/voodoo_b_1518269.html

The Occult’s Control of the Music Industry

From the website Advent of Deception – Broadcasting the Deception of the New World Order

“Music directly penetrates the inner soul and causes an impacting impression, positive or negative. During the 1960s, the Occult slowly pursued its influence through Rock and Roll music, and today thrives by using an outward spectacle of occult and satanic rituals and symbolism. The music industry is an important indoctrination tool for the Secret Government (illuminati), and many musicians are introduced to Satanism and Occultism; today the most popular musicians, such as Lady Gaga, are controlled by the occult. The music industry and Hollywood are fixated in Black Magic and Witchcraft. Music has always been associated with the Occult and used as a tool for programming…

“Satanism and The Occult gain energy through humans who are manipulated into trances. These short to long trances provide the Lower Entities to extract needed energy. Music throughout the twentieth century has progressed from innocent to good, and progression from bad too outright vile. Strangely, around the world people are listening to emotionally numbing and trance inducing negative music. Induced trances allow suggestive thought complexes that derive from the songs that mention immorality, rebellion, death, incest, madness, anti-social themes, and infatuation presented as love…

“Rock and roll’s origins can be found in the tribal music of Africa. This music was originally part of the ritual worship of the assorted tribal gods. Among the slaves who were brought into the New World, the old ritual tribal music quickly changed into more acceptable forms like church music and the blues, as the act of worshiping pagan gods was usually viewed with disfavor by the ruling whites…

“From the very start of its popularity, rock and roll was accused of being the devil’s music by the common conservative church member. It would have been far more accurate to have labeled it Damballah Ouedo’s music instead, for now, the worship of this Voodoo god had a far greater impact on rock and roll than the worship of the devil…

“Rock Music gave the occult a dominant force and “socially accepted” by mass amount of listeners. Today, the occult plays out its satanic rituals through their favorite musicians and award ceremonies in front of millions of deluded humans…

“Many well-known rock artists are studied in the occult and are aware that spiritual entities and multidimensional ‘demons’ can manifest themself through music of a lower vibrational nautre. They have admitted that they use rock music and the rhythms, the lower guttural tones, and the insidious lyrics to LOWER the vibration of concerts, listeners, etc. They have admitted countless times (Jim Morrison being the most well-known) that they are possessed by the music and have little control over where these vibrations lead them. This is typical of almost any satanic ‘ritual’ or practice – the lowering of consciousness and allowing lower vibrational entities to control a person…” http://adventofdeception.com/occult-control-music-industry/

Music: Satan’s Gift to Humanity (Sermon by a Satanist)

The Joy of Satan Ministries has a sermon about Satan and music. The following are some excerpts from it.

“Satan is master of the violin and flute. 18th century Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini was inspired when Satan appeared to him in a dream. He heard Satan playing the violin. He said it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. It was “indescribably beautiful.” He immediately awoke and tried to write it down to copy it, but it never turned out the same way. He did the best he could to duplicate it, and he published it and named it “The Devil’s Trill.”

“19th century violinist Niccolo Paganini came under intense suspicion of “collaborating with the Devil.” In other words, no one could write or play anything so beautiful without help from Satan. Here the Christian church indirectly admits that the beauty of Satan outshines what they worship…

“Jazz is synonymous with Satan. The rhythmic beat, the dances the music inspires, and of course, it opened the door to rock and roll…”

www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/MUSIC.html

You Rolled the Trojan Horse (Contemporary Christian Music) into Your Living Room and it Rocked!

In the 12^th century BC, the Greeks waged a ten year war against the city of Troy and could not conquer it. Then after ten years the Greeks built a gift for the city of Troy and withdrew from the city. The gift was a huge Trojan horse. The people of Troy excited that the siege was over, and excited over the gift that had been given to them by the enemy, rolled the Trojan horse into the city and it “rocked” the city. That night while the people of Troy slept, the Greek soldiers who had hid inside the Trojan horse climbed out and opened the gates of the city. The Greek army swarmed through the open gate and burned the city.

Satan is at war for each of our souls. His goal is to have each of us surrender our lives to him. Satan uses many devices and tactics to win. One of Satan’s methods is the use of a “Trojan horse.” A “Trojan horse” is something that has originated with the enemy. It is a gift Satan has given to us for our enjoyment. A “Trojan horse” is always something that we view to be of great value. We see that it is worth having. The “Trojan horse” always appears to be Christian, not evil.

God has warned us a number of times to beware of Satan’s “Trojan horse” tactic. Because Satan’s “Trojan horse” does not always remain the same item, God has not told us specifically what “Trojan horses” to look for. But this is what He told us that Satan would come as an angel of light, and that his ministers would pose as ministers of light. II Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel: for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” Also Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

The “Trojan horse” that you “rolled” into your living room and it rocked is a gift that did not originate in the church, it came from the enemy as a gift. You may value this gift highly. This gift is so highly treasured that it has been given a significant place in many Christian’s lives and is enjoyed a significant portion of each day and in their church services. What is this gift? It is music with a rock beat.

What do we need to do?

God tells us to sing a new song to Him and to rid ourselves of music borrowed from the world. In Psalms 144:7-12 a new song is contrasted with what it is not. It is not music that is borrowed from the world–from “strange children”: “Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; (8) Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. (9) I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. (10) It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. (11) Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: (12) That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:”

In this passage a new song is contrasted with what it is not. It is not music that is borrowed from the world. There is a lot of contemporary Christian music that is patterned after Satan’s styles of music that has been justified because allegedly some outstanding hymn writer used bar room tunes for some of his hymns and is in our hymn books. If this is the case, which no one has proved, we need to reject those hymns because their music is communicating to the wrong spirit. If an outstanding Christian leader makes a mistake, please don’t follow him to do evil.

Another reason stated in this passage, for ridding ourselves of ungodly styles of music, is that our children will be spiritually mature in their youth, and that they will have a bright countenance. It has been discovered that music with a backbeat dulls the eyes of young people, and that when they rid themselves of that kind of music they have a brightness to their eyes. You can tell when young people are listening to music with a backbeat, because the music takes the “life” out of their eyes. Ungodly music styles are helping to create spiritually immature youth in our churches.

By ridding ourselves and our churches of ungodly music styles such as contemporary Christian music and are repulsive to God, we will have young people that will be “as plants grown up in their youth.” They will be spiritually mature and will be able to take a stand for Christ. Our young people will have convictions and stand firm on them. They will be like “corner stones”, a firm foundation for the church in their generation. Young people who make a compromise in their music and justify it, will be more likely to make other compromises in their Christian life.

We need to commit ourselves to singing and listening only to music that is decidedly Godly music. The music that we sing and listen to is much more significant than the debate of whether music communicates moral content. Music does communicate moral content. But even more significantly than that is that music is a medium of communication in the spirit world. Some music is enjoyed by God and moves the heart of God much in the same way as prayer. Other music is repulsive to Him. Some music invites Satan to indwell a person, other music causes him to flee.

Does God like all hymns? I seriously doubt it. I know personally from singing almost every song in 5 hymnals that there are many hymns that were so bad that I could easily understand why practically no one knows them and why they have been lost in the dust bag of history. I can’t imagine that God likes them either. Some of them had bad theology as well.

There are probably also hymns that God does not like because either the writer or the composer was not in a right relationship with Christ, or the tune was borrowed from the secular world. There are also some hymns that teach things that are not Biblically correct.

Are you making compromises in your music?

Will you turn this area of your life completely over to Jesus and listen only to music that is pleasing to Him?

Ask the Holy Spirit to Speak Through Your Music

We discovered an important element for worship. We discovered this first when we were singing on the Rosedale Chorale and in various situations since then, that when we ask the Holy Spirit to speak through our singing that it might truly be worship to the Father, that more people responded, saying that it was truly worship. The same song can be worship, or it may not be depending on the musicians or singers. In one group of very Godly people that we heard sing, their music was beautiful and of high quality–one of the best choral groups, but there was something lacking. It did not minister to our spirits. Then a men’s quartet which was part of the group sang several songs that were excellent, but it ministered to our spirits. It reinforced to us that there is a spiritual communication in music. The focus of music needs to be on worshiping Jesus, not entertainment.