Caught in the “Cogs of the Wheel”

Caught in the “Cogs of the Wheel”

 Christian musicians must not get caught in the “cogs of the wheel” of this world’s musical doing.  This is what is being taught in Romans 12:2. Whether we like or not, Romans 8:29 teaches that God has predestined that we should conform to the image of His Son—not to the image, will, or way of those who let their lives be influenced by Satan.  I will say again, we are doers and since every time a musical doer does, what is done must conform to the image of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  So, how and what we do when we music matters. The words matter; the music part of the music matters; the styles used in our musicing matters; our actions including our bodily movements matter; our musical enactment matters; our clothing and our adornment matters; our attitude matters; and our sincerity and passion matters.

Christian musicians who are careful about the sacred music they compose, arrange and perform should not feel isolated or intimidated, because music is only one of the many art forms that must be judged by whether it is Christian art when it is used in conjunction with God’s house or in Christian worship.  When a fellowship of believers is decorating the foyer of their new church, it would be highly inappropriate use a copy of a sculpture of Michelangelo’s “David”.  Although it is a famous sculpture of a biblical character, it is not Christian art because it is nude art and therefore is not appropriate.  Although Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Super Star is a religious musical based on Bible characters, it is not sacred music because it twists and misrepresents the story of Christ’s life.  Christians must realize that using a Bible character or including Christ’s name in our art does not make it Christian.  No art form is truly Christian unless the story it tells is accurate; it properly represents the moral nature of God; and is amenable to the principles of the changed life of a Christian taught in the Bible.

Song for the Day  When in Our Music God is Glorified by Fred Pratt Green