[Editor’s Note: I wrote the following article for the Columbia City Crusader, and it was printed on November 13, 1994. Now it is fifteen years later: some things have changed, but the major issues remain the same.]
Last Saturday a “Family Adventure Seminar” was held at a congregation near here. The morning session was quite profitable for the first hour-and-a-half as the one conducting it warned about the entertainment media and the influence we let it have over our lives and especially the lives of our children. The material was excellent and combined with pertinent Scriptures.
But suddenly it was as though a cold wind swept through the room, which should have chilled everyone present but apparently affected very few. The speaker began to argue passionately that parents get their children involved in listening to Christian rock music.
To be sure, he prefaced it by saying that there was no agenda to get instrumental music into our worship but that our young people need a healthy alternative to the seedy rock music found on most popular stations.
Following is how the presentation worked. A video from Focus on the Family was played which lowlighted the worst of rock music. The words were flashed on the screen (with obscenities partially deleted) while a portion of the song was played. Selected songs were “Me So Horny” by 2 Live Crew, “Cop Killer” [by Ice T], “Suicide Solution” by Ozzy Osborne, and a few others that have received a great deal of publicity.
These were contrasted on the video with words from Christian rock music that protested abortion, advocated Christian morality, and exalted Jesus. Obviously, if the only criteria between the two things presented on the “Learn to Discern” video by Robert DeMoss was the words (and it was), it’s a no-brainer to decide which is better for kids.
After the video was completed, the speaker continued to sing the praises of Christian rock music as an alternative to the other. Following are a few of his tools of persuasion.
1. Youth groups in churches of Christ all over the country are promoting Christian rock music for their young people. A group of 50 youths at White’s Ferry Road are really into it. [Wow, an endorsement!]
2. A young girl was addicted to sex from the age of fifteen. She began listening to Christian rock music, and now she’s cured. [Double wow, a testimonial!!]
3. Young people today are going to listen to rock music (Substitute “have sex” for “listen to rock music,” and see if this argument sounds familiar); you can’t stop them. They’re going to do it; so why not let them listen to something with wholesome words instead of those profane lyrics?
After a few minutes of these exhortations, some of the brethren began to agree with the concept; some of them were already listening to this music with their children. Since no one seemed disposed to offer any objections, I spoke.
A Fair-Minded Discussion
“I want to inject a note of discord into this discussion. Is instrumental music sinful?” In the context of the discussion, the speaker surely knew what I meant, but he hedged by saying that instrumental music is not inherently sinful. That is true; so I reworded the question: “Is using instrumental music in singing praises to God sin?”
His answer was something like: “We’re not advocating instrumental music in worship.” I countered with: “Is there a difference between in and out of the assembly?” He responded: “This is not the time for a discussion of this nature.”
“Aren’t you just exchanging one sin for another?” He repeated that this was not the time for discussion. Pray tell, when was the time for it? He had spent twenty minutes advocating as strongly as he knew how getting young people in the Lord’s church to listen to Christian rock music. When will the parents present that day hear the other side, since he chose to silence any opposition?
Objections to Christian Rock Music
1. The phrase, Christian Rock, is a misnomer. Rock Music is secular; Christian songs are spiritual—the two don’t mix. It’s as inconsistent as the phrase, theistic evolution, which is supernatural naturalism.
2. God did not authorize the use of mechanical instruments of music in our worship of Him. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 are universal statements that are applicable in a number of situations. The singing referred to herein may be done in the assembly or out of it. The exhortations are not limited to one context any more than 1 Timothy 2:8 is (“I desire that men pray everywhere”).
3. There is no Scriptural justification for the brethren to conclude that it is wrong to sing with musical accompaniment in the assembly but all right to gather around the piano at home or a guitar at camp. Wherever Christians meet, they are to sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord.
4. If it is unauthorized (and therefore sinful) for Christians to use musical accompaniment in singing praises, and hymns, and spiritual songs, can it be right to approve of others doing so?
5. To be more precise, it’s a matter of fellowshipping error. Why is it that God’s people always want to be like the nations around them (1 Kings 8:20)? All of the religious denominations are now participating in this newest craze; so its time our young people joined them. Right; we wouldn’t want to be distinctive, would we? Anyone who thinks that our young people can listen to this music, buy it, attend the concerts, etc., without it affecting them, is incredibly naïve. How long will it be before some want to form their own Christian rock band? How much longer yet will it be until they begin to say, “We sing these songs with instruments all the time; why can’t we use it in the assembly?” Christian rock music is nothing more than the latest form of the Trojan Horse.
Arguments Refuted
1. The workshop emcee appealed for acceptance of this practice by the fact that brethren in various locales were doing it. So what? The same thing could be said about any false practice. Instrumental music itself crept in little by little.
2. Christian rock music got a young girl off of illicit sex. Should we offer those who have tried LSD marijuana? Whereas much of rock music is sinful (which is a good reason to turn it off at that point—as well as the television), some of it does no harm. But it is always wrong to add instruments to spiritual songs. One sin is just being exchanged for another that is deemed lesser.
3. Kids will listen to rock music anyway. Not all of them do, but even if they did, why not teach them to exercise good judgment rather than give it up altogether (the same goes for country music)? It is a false dilemma to say it’s either 2 Live Crew or Christian rock. There’s quite a bit in between.
4. “But it’s only entertainment; the purpose is not worship.” It has already been argued that the reason for listening to Christian rock is that the words are inspiring and uplifting. Shall we say edifying? Does it admonish and teach? Sounds like a spiritual song.
5. On what basis is Christian rock music authorized? Who will set forth an argument, the conclusion of which is, “The Bible authorizes my children and me to listen to Christian rock music”?
Additional Observations
The original article concluded above, but there are some additional points that ought to be made, considering that fifteen years have elapsed since it was written. The first of these points is that there are so many types of radio stations available that in most parts of the country practically any kind of music can be accessed—Big Band era, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, contemporary, country, easy listening, alternative, or anything whatever. And if these choices are not enough, a person can carry compact discs from either major artists or downloads off the Internet. If all of these fail to satisfy, one can invest in an iPod and take whatever he wants with him. In other words, there is no Christian music versus filthy rock and rap dilemma. It was not actually the case in 1994, but it is really not the case now.
Second, some of the predictions made in the original article have already come to pass. The fact is that many young people who have grown up listening to “Christian” rock music have not made the distinction between listening to it and being involved in it. About a year ago, this writer had a conversation with a younger man whom he has known for twenty years. He had released a CD. He should have been taught better, as a member of the church for all that time period, but his CD consists of his voice and a friend accompanying with a guitar. How does something like that happen except in the absence of Biblical teaching concerning instrumental music and the recommendation of listening to “Christian” music? No one needed to be a genius to see the way that this kind of approval was going to work out.
A Door to Apostasy
How does one explain the recent phenomenon of churches, such as Richland Hills, adding instrumental music to some of its services? The speaker, who fifteen years ago advocated acceptance of “Christian” music, made it very clear that doing so was in no way an attempt to introduce instrumental music into worship, yet that is precisely what has happened. To advocate participation on any level with musical accompaniment to spiritual lyrics will open the door to its ultimate acceptance in worship because the immediate effect is to blur the lines of distinction.
Barb and I own a well-traveled piano that has lived in the six states we have. We bought it originally in order to play secular music (I’ve been playing Elvis’ “Don’t Be Cruel” since the age of nine or ten.) When we lived in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, we had a couple from the Christian Church that visited our Sunday evening worship periodically. His first name was Thorn. We invited them over for dinner one evening. In the course of conversation, he asked if we played hymns on the piano. We answered that we did not.
He actually looked crestfallen. After a moment, he said, “When I walked into your house and saw the piano, I just knew I had you. I was going to ask you, ‘If you can play the piano and sing hymns in your home, why can’t you do the same thing 25 feet away in the church building?’” His argument would have been that we were inconsistent, and he would have been right, since the Bible makes no distinction about whether the singing is in or out of the assembly.
It is also inconsistent today for a person to tell his neighbor that we sing a cappella because God gave us no authority to sing with musical accompaniment and then play a CD of “Christian” music for them when they ride in his car. People must be amused by our inconsistencies and think we are hypocritical.
It’s Only “Entertainment”
Many brethren have advanced the notion that it is all right to listen to “Christian music” because we have no intention of worshiping when we listen to them; it’s only entertainment. If we are driving a car while listening, there is no reason to think we would be worshiping any more while listening to “Amazing Grace” being sung than the latest hit by Taylor Swift. While this point is valid, it is not the only consideration.
What was the purpose of the one who recorded the song? The fact that over the years those singing religious music have included such titles as Hymns of Inspiration should tell us that the purpose of the singer(s) is to praise and glorify God, which constitutes worship. If the intention is to praise God, then the use of instruments in doing so is wrong. If they were wrong in worshiping God in that manner, why are we correct to buy their CDs and fellowship them in their error? On what basis do we not stand guilty of wrongdoing?
Is anyone uncomfortable about calling practices related to sacred things “entertainment”? Can anyone imagine Jesus introducing Peter, Andrew, James, and John as “The First Gospel Quartet” to sing religious songs as entertainment? What’s wrong with this picture? Did Jesus preach for entertainment, also? Perhaps the Pharisees prayed for entertainment; truly they were only after the praise of men. They might have enjoyed applause. Does anyone see a danger in combining the sacred and the profane? According to the dictionary, to entertain means “to amuse.” Yes, let’s amuse ourselves by listening to people sing their hearts out in praise to God.
At some of the lectureships brethren host, it has not been uncommon to record the prayer as well as the message. If we are listening to one of those tapes and a prayer is included, are we worshiping if we listen to the prayer? Was the one leading the prayer worshiping? Was the lecture, the proclamation of the Word of God, worship on the part of the one who rendered it? Is it worship to us if we are listening to it in the car while traveling? Surely, we would not claim that it is entertainment.
What if someone took a lectureship tape by one of our faithful brethren and edited it by adding instrumental music to the introduction and perhaps scattered some sound effects throughout (thunder and wind noises for the storm on the Sea of Galilee, for example). When the speaker preached on the grace of God, an instrumental version of “Amazing Grace” played in the background. Would any of these additions be acceptable? They would if the tape was only for “entertainment.”
Conclusion
Singing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs with the accompaniment of instruments of music is inherently wrong because it is not authorized by the New Testament (Col. 3:17). This is the same fundamental sin that Nadab and Abihu committed when they offered “profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them” (Lev. 10:1). Even the NIV, which mistranslates frequently and is generally unreliable, got this verse correct when they said of the two priests that “they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command.” The fire they used was unauthorized, and so is instrumental music when it is used to accompany songs of praise to God.
There are occasions when we must listen to songs accompanied by instrumental music, such as attending someone’s funeral who was a member of a denomination. We do not, however, participate in the singing, nor do we enjoy it. Why, then, would anyone want to buy a CD of that type of music and listen to it? It is not consistent, and it is not right. Furthermore, it should not be done in the absence of an argument which clearly authorizes it. No one has or can set forth such a proposition. In these perilous spiritual times, brethren should be as careful as they can to follow the teachings of the New Testament and abstain from worldly influences.
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