Since ancient times, music has been both at the core of culture and at the core of Christian worship. But as Christianity has spread across many cultures, and as believers have attempted both to be a witness to other people and express their faith in their own “heart music” language, many questions have arisen as to what music is appropriate for Christian expression and worship. In America, churches have style wars, battling out among themselves what style of music should be used in worship. Churches even split and lose members over the issue. In addition, some of today's most popular worship songs have a great beat and sound, but the theology is weak. And on the other hand, songs which have solid teachings may have difficult words or an instrumental accompaniment which is not appealing to the young. Some people teach that God has created music, so we can use music as we like by putting Christian words to it. Many people even say since God is our object of worship, the style does not matter because it is God we are worshiping. But perhaps we should evaluate our own opinions with the Scriptures to see if there are any guidelines concerning music and worship. What does God find acceptable as worship? Is it not laying down our own desires (Romans 12:1-2)?
Let's begin with the basics. One of the first things we teach our children is the difference between things God has made, and things people have made. God has made us, He has made the world, the trees, the stars. He has made everything. But, we also know that people have taken from God's creation to make houses, bicycles, tools, and artwork because God has placed within us abilities and talents to make things with our own hands and minds. This is also true in regards to worship. The Apostle Paul once said, “The God who made the world, and everything in it, He who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands” (Acts 17:24). Here, Paul is addressing the issue of idol worship. Notice he is teaching the people what is appropriate for worship of the One True God. He concludes, the Creator of the universe should not be worshiped in the form of an idol inside of a shrine. Paul's exercises the principle of testing the things people have made with Truth, by bringing the issue of shrines under an evaluation of Truth. The people's motivations in building shrines is not in question. What is in question is the appropriateness of using shrines to worship God, the true Creator of all things. The moral of the story is, whatever people make for the worship of the One True and Holy God, should be tested with the Truth and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (who guides us into Truth), to determine its appropriateness for worship. We are to worship God in spirit and Truth.
As Christians, we have often thought to evaluate the words of a song when determining whether or not the song is useful for worship or as an evangelistic expression of our faith. We ask questions such as, “Do these words teach us the truth about God and His ways?” “Do these words move us toward worshiping God, or away from Him? “Do these words help grow in our relationship to God, or help us to stand strong against temptation, false religion, or Satan's schemes?” And even, “Do these words bear a personal testimony concerning God's work in the world or in someone's life?” These are important questions to ask as we evaluate and test Christian music today. We should not take it for granted that because an artist is popular or very talented, that they are sound theologically.
Did you know one of the earliest examples of music evangelism is in ancient Israel? Yes! The Psalms are a great example of musical evangelism. One Psalm in particular is worthy of a note. One of the earliest languages known is the Ugaritic language. It is a form of early Hebrew, and very possibly spoken by Abraham while he was living in Ur. The people of Ur worshiped Baal, and a host of other gods. They wrote a series of epics and songs describing the power or antics of their gods. Some of the exact phrases from one of these songs are found in Psalm 104, with an interesting twist. In all the places where these poetic phrases originally spoke of Baal, Baal has been replaced with the name Elohim (God). Not only this, but the Psalm goes on to show how God is much greater than Baal by taking the original phrases and adding to them. The Psalm also teaches the people that God is responsible for their provisions through nature, and He is responsible for the seasons, not these other gods who are supposedly manipulated through fertility rituals during different seasons of the year. So the Psalm writer, took some phrases and some beliefs which would have been familiar to the people passing through, or even living among the Israelites, and made them into Truth statements which were both evangelical and educational. What an amazing form of early evangelism! The songs we use for witness and for believers need to be songs filled with Truth, such as these!
But let us consider some things about today's Christian music. Many of today's song writers follow the pattern set by the Contemporary Christian Music Recording Agencies. These patterns consist of something called, “cross-over” songs. In them, the Name of Jesus is not used, rather the songs are written as a type of love song which could be interpreted as Christian or secular. Why do they do this? Is it for witness, to attract unbelievers, or is it to sell recordings? Not sure we can be the judge. But why would we want to leave Jesus' name out of every recording, and expect it to really be a witness? Is our relationship with Jesus really a “Jesus is my girlfriend or boyfriend” relationship? Take into account also, most song writers do not have any formal doctrinal training. Many of them are young converts, but very talented! We need to be sure the words to the songs we use in worship, are theologically sound.
But are the words of a song the only things we should evaluate and use for ministry. What about musical style? As stated above, anything created by the design and inspiration of man should be tested with the Spirit and the Word of God as to its appropriateness for the worship of the One True and Holy God. It is interesting that what most people are so connected to is not the words, but the style of the music which acts as the vehicle to deliver the message of the words. One has to think, “Why does musical style have such a hold on people?” The style has much more potential both as a witness if taken to God and tested, or as a tool of Satan to deceive and hinder if we are not careful!
Why does the style hold so much potential? The reason is that people find their very identity and soul in the styles and cultural expressions of music in which they live. Musical style is one of the most difficult subjects to address because it lies at the heart of one's personal and social identification. Instrumental music alone can express and raise emotions, desires, and moods. Such emotions can be expressed musically and understood by all peoples, because instrumental music both mimics and stirs human emotion and desire. It can make us scared in a movie, or inspired in worship. It can make us want to dance or clap our hands! And the style gives us a sense of belonging to a group of people who share that a commonness of values, traditions, and cultures. It accompanies important events in our lives. Because music does all of these things, we find our identity in it.
Incredibly, for every secular style of music, there have been Christians who have copied and used the style to carry the Gospel message. But we must ask, is every musical style in the world an appropriate vessel to carry the Gospel message? And is every musical style appropriate for worship? If we focus on style, are we not making worship man-centered, that is for the pleasure and tastes of people? Since musical style is a man-made thing, how can we evaluate musical style, just as we evaluate the words to a song?
Before we begin to examine this question, there is one thing we must remember, a description of our enemy in the book of Genesis. “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Satan knows how to deceive us. And in fact, he is at work in the world to destroy, to blind, and to deceive. He works in us through the lusts of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh. He wants to destroy us through destructive behaviors and thoughts, he wants to blind unbelievers from the truth of the Gospel to follow false gods, and he wants to deceive us in every way.
When it comes to music, it is not the words which hold the potential to be deceptive. It is the style. Think about the hold style has on people! Should Christian song writers and musicians not take precautions when copying the styles of music in the world to express and bear witness to their faith in God? Can music originally written to be the vehicle for pagan worship, seduction, immorality, violent behavior, and substance abuse, be “baptized by changing the words” to become Christian music? Do words in a song alone make the style acceptable? If we try to answer these questions by reasoning arguments alone, we may find ourselves on many different sides of opinion. We must look to the Scriptures and the Spirit of God to guide us.
One of the most interesting Scriptures about instrumental music is found in Isaiah 14:11-15. “Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, along with the sound (hamah) of your harps. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you. Shining morning star (Lucifer), how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods assembly...I will make myself like the Most High.' But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.” In this Scripture, it is not the words of the music which is falling into judgment, it was the sound of the harps which was worthy of the grave (God's judgment). Imagine that, harps! Harps could be played in a seductive, luring manner. It is interesting that in this same passage, the subject is the King of Babylon, often identified or compared to Satan. We must ask, “Why is the king of Babylon's or Satan's music worthy of the grave?”
In ancient Israel two forms of pagan worship influenced Jewish music during the days of the prophets. There was the seductive harp/flute type of music, and the boisterous frenzied music, representing the worship of two different gods. One of the gods was Dionysius (boisterous, drunken) and the other, Apollos (seductive, breathy female, luring). As a side note, many modern rock musicians have said they are trying to re-create that sound. Are these the sounds Christians are copying?
The word for “sound” in this passage is different than the general word used for sound in the Old Testament. The general word for sound is the words kol. A word for music in general is the word zamar. The word kol is used in the Psalms to indicate the sound of shouting or the sound of music in general. Psalms 150:3-5 says, “Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the sound of the harp and lyre...etc. But there is another word for sound used a few times in the prophets...it is the word, hamah. This word, hamah is used to describe the sound of ancient pagan instrumental and vocal music. It carries the connotation of sensual roaring sound or boisterous sound, even as relating it to the worship of these two gods mentioned above. And interestingly, it also carries the idea of groaning and misery. The boisterous music was used in pagan sacrifices, to cover screams and to induce frenzy among the people, along with the drinking of much intoxicating wine. We find this same word, hamah, in the Isaiah passage above.
Additionally this word is used in Amos 5:22-27. “Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. "Take away from Me the noise (hamah) of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound (zamar) of your harps. "But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. "Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? "You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. "Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts” Amos is addressing the issue of syncretism (the mixing together of pagan religion with Israel's worship of God). Note in this passage the reference to the hamah of the songs. In ancient Israel, songs used to worship God focused on enhancing the text being communicated. The melody moved in steps or by thirds. In pagan music, the words tended to follow the boisterous or sensual sounds of the instruments-leading to sensual acts in pagan worship. Ezekiel 26:13 holds a similar example, “So I will silence the sound (hamah) of your songs, and the sound (kol) of your harps will be heard no more.” In the book of Amos (6:5), there is even some indication that Israel was carelessly using pagan instrumental musical sound as dominate characteristic of their music, instead of how David used music to enhance the words or meaning of the words.
If you go back and read the historical documents about early Jewish music and even Christian music across the centuries, light is shed on instrumental music during this time period. The reason there were no instruments in the NT, was not only because many of the Christians had to worship in secret. But, instrumental music had been considered so seductive, even leading to the exile...that it was not accepted for a long period of time both in Jewish and Christian circles. Instruments were not brought back into the church until the invention of the organ in Europe as a Christian instrument around 1500 A.D.! That is an incredibly long amount of time! Now we can say that it was not the instrument themselves which lead to the downfall of the people. Many of the same instruments were used by David and others in the Psalms to worship God. There were probably many reasons for the downfall...the people were copying every form of pagan worship--the idols, the beliefs, the charms, and the music. It was the suggestive type of music played on the instruments which had a pull on the people. It is also interesting to note that even the gold on idols was to be destroyed along with the idols so that the people would not be pulled back into idol worship and become entangled once again by the lure of the gold alone. One wonders if the sounds of music have the same tendancy?
Here in America people are very offended if someone suggests this idea. They even deny that instrumental music itself can be immoral or lead to immorality. But if you think about it, it is not only words to songs which can be immoral. We can do immoral acts physically; we could even create immoral pictures, for visual affect. So can we not also create immoral sounds for an auditory affect? Music can sound happy, it can sound sorrowful. It can also sound sensual or seductive. Let us not be naive. In the book of Hebrews we are exhorted to “Train our senses to discern between good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). We have spiritual senses which we are to train. We train them by listening to the Spirit of God as we live our lives in the world. If we tune out the Spirit's voice, we become dull of seeing and hearing. The Scripture above from Isaiah seems to indicate that music received a moral judgment, being worthy of the grave. So perhaps it does have the ability to seduce all by itself. Remember, musical style has a much greater hold on people than words to songs do. Is not Satan crafty? Christians who are sticking to their style may also drawn back into the very lifestyles they are trying to leave. There are testimonies of Christian musicians who have said these very things.
While all music builds upon preceding style or culture, instrumentation, emotion, and language, Christians need to draw from the most pure indigenous instrumental music to represent the Christian life and God. This does not mean that music is to be dull. Note that, “David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals” (2 Sam. 6:5). Sounds like ancient praise was full of celebration!
So what are some guidelines for writing Christian music today?
Enhancement of the Words. Perhaps the main question we should ask when it comes to writing instrumental music for Christian songs is, “Are the words the most important aspect of the music?” “Does this musical accompaniment support the message and words of the song using the most appropriate styles and instrumentation of my culture?” Even people who write the instrumental music for movies know how to fit the music with the visual scene or mood of the film.
Consider the Original Purpose. Music can and should be a reflection of one's culture, but we must not be naive about what we are using from the culture. We should only use the best, and formulate it and improve it so that it reflects the God we worship and the message we are communicating! This means Christian song writers, musicians, church leaders, and individual Christians need to evaluate the associations certain music styles, instrumentation, or rhythms have in their particular culture. The styles which are particularly associated with false worship, sensuality, drugs, or rebellion, should not be used to represent a pure and holy God! First of all consider the purpose of pagan style during Bible times. It was to cover the screams of the person being sacrifice; to sensually enhance temple prostitution and fertility rites; to get the attention of the spirits to act on behalf of the people; to bring people into false worship; it was to mimic drunkenness and orgy; and to put people in a killing frenzy to carry out human sacrifice. If Israel took the same styles and put it to their Psalms, it would seem very inappropriate because the purpose of the instrument music differed according to the God they worshiped. Ancient Israel shaped their instrumental music by fitting it to the words. Look in the Psalms. There are musical notations in the script telling the instruments what to do. These musical indications are instrumental interpretations and communications of the message itself. Keep in mind also there were two different uses of music in ancient Israel. Some of the Psalms were written for temple use. Even certain instruments were designated for temple use. Other music was used in folk celebrations or settings. This music had other instruments included. So when it comes to music which is appropriate for our worship services, we may have a different criteria than Christian music we might use for a fellowship or in our homes. But both kinds should still represent God appropriately.
Another example is from modern times. The purposes of secular heavy rock music in America is to promote pre-marital sex; false religion; to widen the generation gap between the old and the young; to promote drug and alcohol use; and to promote rebellion and violence/destruction. How do we know this? Look at the words. “Acid Rock” is named this way because the sounds of the music turned up at very high volumes creates internally the sensation of a drug trip. Why do you think people like to turn up the bass and drums, making them disproportional to the rest of the musical sound-- because they are more sensual to certain physical areas of our bodies. Secular rock musicians even know how to stimulate their audiences for riots...testified by performers causing many riots during the early days in America when rock music was introduced in public concert halls. Can you see the purpose of the music being fulfilled in and through the style written to carry it's message? Are not these things Satan wants us to follow? Sound familiar in Satan's scheme of things, to deceive, to destroy, to rebel against God? Some of the most well-known American Christian artists mix Satanic musical style and occultic symbolism with their Christian message. Does this not grieve the heart of God? Why would we want to copy music intended for the worship of Satan, to represent the worship of a pure and holy God? By contrast, the witnessing examples set by early Christians was to encourage converts to turn away from their former lives and to worship the One True God.
No Flesh vs Spirit Competition. If the instruments are saying, “flesh, flesh, flesh,” and the words are saying “Spirit, Spirit, Spirit,” there is a conflict of interests. These two areas are in opposition to one another according to the Scriptures, one message pulling us away from the Lord, and one pulling us toward Him. The main issue with this conflict is immaturity. If you observe the life-styles of those who stay with these heavy styles, they do not tend to mature in their walks with Christ. They seem to remain immature and pulled by the temptations of the world. This includes the performers themselves. Those who migrate to the purer and deeper Christian message and style songs, tend to grow to deeper levels of maturity. The reason people do not grow is that they are constantly pulled and reminded of their former life. They may even listen to the sound of the music rather than the words. Are we able to send a clear Gospel message if we use the wrong instrumental message? And is our music a fleshly distraction to the worship of a pure and holy God? We need to ask, “Does this music glorify and testify to the One True God and His Ways?”
Encourage New Identity in Christ and the Fellowship of Believers. Another question to ask is, have those sticking to their styles of music really found their new identity in Christ, or are they remaining to identify themselves with their style of music instead? Sadly, there are people in America who won't leave their style of music to follow Jesus! For example, in secular America, youth are known and identified often by the music in which they listen. They even dress according to their taste in music, and often refer to what social group they belong to by a pop-culture name for their music. There are the punk-rockers; the ropers (country); the acid-rockers; etc. When one's whole identity is found in a style of music, it is very hard for them to change that identity to something that is focused on God and not themselves. Some people have made Christian music alternatives to try to reach these people for Christ. While it is hard to deny this might be a way to reach them, we have to also go back to the story in the book of Acts, where Paul does not address motivations, but appropriateness. It is shaky ground at best if we do not teach a repentance and the Lordship of Christ in our Gospel message. Does the Gospel or the Spirit of God need the help of music in order to reach these people? Discipleship and coming to know the Lord is a process in the lives of most people. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation! Perhaps it would be better to allow the Lord to work on them as far as music goes, but to think of other ways we can bring them to know Jesus.
In conclusion, we must be open to all styles of music, across all cultures. But we must be discerning,and remember that Satan intends to deceive us not with the obvious, but the hidden. As believers, we can reach across cultures to worship with our brothers and sisters with a unity of message and purpose. But we must set a good example by testing both the words and the style with the Name and attributes of the God we serve and to whom we bear witness with our words and our very lives. The Psalm writer exhorts us in the following Scripture, “Praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp. Sing to him a new song (of a new kind or fresh new song, is the meaning of the Hebrew word); play skillfully, and shout for joy.” (Psalm 33:1-3).
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Copyright © 2008 Tammie Friberg
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