Deal Thoroughly with Sin

Deal Thoroughly with Sin

2Timothy 2:19  “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

          Luke 6:48 also speaks to the issue of a Christian’s spiritual foundation, “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”  When a Christian musician faces the on slot of the enemy who is Satan, that musician must be sure that his or her spiritual foundation is solid.  Notice that St. Paul reminds Timothy that That a spiritual foundation built upon God will be sure. 

The Christian musician must deal thoroughly with sin.  1John 1:9 states that,  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Remember that 2 Timothy 2:19 declares, “Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”  The Christian musician is not capable of living a life in the Spirit if he or she is trying to hide unconfessed sin from God.  In order for a Christian musician’s spiritual foundation to stand “sure”  he or she must be completely honest with God.  Those who are honest enough to dig deep and depart from sin have this precious assurance that “…the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”  We know this with surety because God’s Word declares that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Appropriate Musical Art-forms

Appropriate Musical Art-forms

Every music worship leader must be sure that the music being used in worship is, as Tolstoy put it, “Christian art”.  Art forms that the world considers “great art forms” are not always appropriate vehicles for worshiping the blessed Triune God.  Some religious music that may be considered a high art form that is currently being used by Christian musicians may be considered religious music, but it is not always sacred music and ipso facto Christian music.  Music, being an art form, communicates the various implications of the composer’s and/or the arranger’s world view.   An arranger and/or performer can super-impose his or her world view over the original composer and librettist’s original intent.  When this happens, the original intent of the text and/or music part of the music is so eclipsed that it is no longer sacred music but instead it has been rendered merely religious music—there is a difference.

            Worship leaders must remember that everyone who attends a worship service brings memories and previous associations.  Therefore, the worship experience is never done in a musically sterile “bubble”.  Some worship leaders use music that has previously been clearly associated with situations that were anti-Christian and are averse to “universal principles” that are congruent with the separated life of a born-again Christian which are taught in the Bible. Other musical art forms are simply not appropriate for the purposes of worship because of the way the formal properties have been arranged.  When the formal properties of a piece of music form a congruent (or incongruent) whole that is not an appropriate concomitant to the awesomeness and solemnity of worshiping a high and holy God and is clearly antagonistic to the purposes of worship it is not Christian music.  Sometimes religious music is no longer distinctly Christian because it has been fashioned in a way that makes it not compatible with the purposes of worship. Whether or not it is a developed art form is not the proper criteria for accepting or rejecting it as a worship vehicle.

Religious Music as Quality Art

Religious Music as Quality Art

               Most Christian musicians would consider that sacred music is in fact an art form.  Donald Hodges stated that Leo Tolstoy believed that great art had two qualifiers.  “It must be Christian art that (a) expresses a union of man to God and to on another, or (b) expresses universal feelings of common life accessible to all.”  Hodges quoting Leo Tolstoy in A Concise Survey of Music Philosophy by Donald Hodges, p. 153.  When I recently read Tolstoy’s beliefs about great art I began to think about the fact that religious music used in the context of Christian worship must be Christian in the completeness of its nature.  Also, its value as an acceptable art form to be used in the context of Christian worship should be judged by how well it “expresses a union of man with God”.

  I want to make it completely clear that I do not believe that high quality art music is the doorway to the kingdom of God or that the ultimate purpose of worship is about great art music or any music genre for that matter.  Furthermore, some simple, straight forward, uncomplicated, and even somewhat predictable sacred music is sometimes the best vehicle of praise and worship at a particular moment in the public worship service.  Never-the-less sacred music is an art from, and for that reason alone, its nature, meaning and value should be partially understood in that light. It should be pointed out that it is believed by Jewish music historians that musicians in ancient Israel did not think of sacred music as an art form but rather a means of becoming closer to JHVH.

Thought for the Day

I find it hard to understand why any Christian musician would be satisfied to present God with a musical three-legged lamb.  Furthermore, I find it puzzling that a Christian would want to bring God down to an earthly level by requiring Him to receive a poor quality musical offering.

The Tongue of the Wise is Health

The Tongue of the Wise is Health

 Proverbs 12:18-20  “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.  The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.  Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.”

          I learned a life lesson  from a music collegue of mine who is now in heaven.  Professor Archie Coons was a great Christian and a great music teacher.  He and I had many conversations during the years that we worked together at God’s Bible College.  There were some people whose office I avoided when possible because I always had enough problems that were capable of sending me to the slough of despond without hearing any more depressing news.  However, it was different with Mr. Coons!  He always had a smile on his face and an upbeat demeanor.  He had a lot of physical problems that were at times very serious, but he did not let them get him down emotionally.

          We would discuss all kinds of  problems, but he never said anything demeaning or destructive about anyone.  I always joked that if he saw two dead rats in the gutter, he would look them over and find something good to say about both of them.  So the Scripture verses in Proverbs describes him as a person who had “lip of truth”.  He was truly a counsellor of peace and joy.  So, if you have the opportunity to say something negative and demeaning about someone today—don’t do it.

Prayer for the Day

Lord, You are a wonderful God.  I want to thank You for giving me the opportunity to work with a great Christian like Archie Coons.  Thank You for the life lessons that I learned from him.  Lord, help me to finish my days on this earth with a smile on my face and a joyful heart.  Help me to continue to benefit from the lessons that I learned from Mr. Coons.  Please help me to mentor young musicians as positively as he mentored me.  Help me to not only music with joy , but to also mentor with “lips of truth” and a heart that is filled with words of peace and joy.  

Song for the Day  Since Jesus Came into My Heart  by Rufus H. McDaniel

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 5

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 5 

          Modern philosophy has given up on a unified field of philosophical knowledge and no longer believes that there is thesis (truth) and antithesis (a lie).  To modern man truth is relative and is always found in a combination of both good and bad, i.e. modern man believes that truth is always found in syntheses (a combination or blend).

Traditional philosophy has always believed in two contrasting worldviews

GOD                        DEVIL

Truth                        Perversion

Right                        Wrong

Good                        Evil

Now modern philosophers believe that the answer is found in a mixture of truth and evil.  The answer is neither good nor evil but somewhere in between.  Now modern man has a style of music that fits the synthesis paradigm.  The church and the satanic world now have something in common.  Both believe in worship and both are deeply committed to rock music.  The modern church no longer believes I Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”  The philosophy of the modern church no longer tolerates the “be ye separate” philosophy of the Bible.  The modern church no longer tolerates traditional church music performance but rather strongly believes in being yoked together with the world through the medium of music.  It is strongly believed by the “seeker sensitive” movement that any kind of separation from worldly music will dwarf the church of Jesus Christ.

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 5

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 5 

         Never in the history of church music has there ever been a music genre that could

directly yoke Christians and those who are antagonistic to the teachings of the Bible.  This has been made possible by a shift in some Christian’s paradigm of sacred music. No previous style of music has ever been so directly identified with satanic worship and so directly identified with the worship of God.  Rock music has successfully yoked unbelievers with Christians. This yoking together has not come about because infidels and Christians both love the LORD, but rather because they both love the heavy pounding physical beat of rock music.  Is it possible that those who hate Christ are capitulating?  Is this present sinful age turning to Christ?  Is Satan finally giving up?  Are we close to finally getting together?

Throughout the history of the world, there has always been Christ vs. the antichrist. There has always been right vs. wrong.  Have we finally found a style of music that works equally well for worshiping Satan and Christ?  Has the modern matrix finally found a unifying style of music that will unite the world of sin with the world of Christ?

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 4

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 4

It is amazing to me when I lecture to church musicians, that so many of them do not consider themselves to be rock music performers.  They do not seem to realize that if they perform rock music at any level, they are rock performers.  Somehow they have developed a mindset that, although they perform music with a heavy rock beat, somehow their music is not really the “bad stuff,” since they only perform “good” rock music.  As a matter of fact, many of the “soft rock” musicians profess to be against rock music much in the same way that the country rock musicians who perform country music with a heavy rock beat deny being country rock performers.

Truly these church musicians are “of this world” since they have developed a worldly paradigm without recognizing they have been squeezed into the world’s mold musically.

One has said,” There is none as blind as he who will not see.”  These church musicians are so numb intellectually that they only think in a reprobate manner.  I John 2:15 warns us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  Verse 18 cautions, “Little children, it is the last time: and ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists: whereby ye know that it is the last time.”  I believe that one of the signs of the last days is the church locking arms with the world in worshipping God. II Corinthians 6:14. Speaks about this connection when it states, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 3

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 3

          We are psychological beings.  A healthy psyche demands release from tension.  Any music that does not give the listener regular reoccurring rest from tension becomes psychologically disturbing.  No wonder that so many teenagers who listen to rock music five or six hours a day commit suicide or are constantly depressed.

          Christians should realize that adding religious words to rock music does not solve the problems of rock music being a proper concomitant to the gospel message.  Rock music was originally not created to worship God.  Therefore when we try to force sacred purposes on this music that was developed to appeal primarily to the flesh, we only complicate matters. The juxtaposition of the sacred with the profane is often very problematic. Well-meaning attempts at re-tasking music styles that were never intended to be used in the context of Christian worship often send conflicting messages to seekers who are trying to find a way to break the bonds of sin that have enslaved them and have formed a music addiction that has become a negative influence on their thought patterns and conduct.

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 2

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 2

Until the twentieth century, rhythm in sacred music was used to help build tension in music but always subsided in a final relaxation to achieve finality. As I have said before, music flowed in a forward directionality from relaxation to tension to find relaxation.  All well-constructed musical compositions have a beginning, a climax and an ending.  Rock music does not normally let you relax anywhere or at least not often in the composition.  Therefore, it is not biblical in its enactment. 

Jesus said in St. Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  He did not say, “I will give you continuous tension,” or “I will keep your heavy laden or burdened down.”  The heaviness and incessant tension created by the preponderant beat of rock music is not compatible with the good news of the gospel.  Even our heartbeat is made of tension and release.  The good news presented by sacred music should bring ultimate rest, not tension.  Music that is compatible with the Gospel of Christ or the Logos Christos must come to regular points of rest.

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 1

The Shift in Sacred Music Paradigm—part 1

            In the sacred music of ancient Israel, melody was considered to be a vehicle upon which the word of Jehovah rode into the hearts and minds of the worshiper.  Biblical research has proven that the most important aspect of sacred music in ancient Bible times was the word of Jehovah.  All the elements of music were servants or helpers of the word of God. The rhythm of Bible music was always the natural rhythm of the words.  The word, music originally came from the word “muse” which meant to think.  So, sacred music was not originally conceived as primarily an artistic rhythmic experience, but rather an artistic intellectual experience.  It was a means by which the worshiper could experience the import of God’s Word more clearly.

No Bible composer would have written a melody that would have covered up or distracted in any way from the word of Jehovah.  If ancient Israel had some form of harmonic practice in either vocal or instrumental music, no Temple musician would have allowed it to cover up words.  What does this all mean to us now that we have entered the 21^st century?  What is the biblical example given to us?  When any style of religious music accompaniment is in competition with or covers up the words of a song this music does not follow the biblical example of how sacred music should be performed.  Remember from the time of ancient Israel and for centuries, after, words were most important in church music.  Melody, being the handmaiden of God’s word, came second and any harmony came next and rhythm was normally the rhythm of the text. Rock music reverses this order.  Rhythm and beat are normally first in rock music.  Harmony is generally second and words and melody are last. Since beat is first, it is the master of words and therefore more important.  Through the use of extremely high amplification levels, beat becomes an even bigger giant. Instead of a flowing forward directionality rock music has a crushing, propelling, forward directionality.