Picking where we left off in Friday's post,
(P.S. stay tuned until the end of article for a surprise “special treat”)
As Holiness people, we all usually adhere at least to the guidelines of “christian” labeled music. We have been taught that secular music such as country, rock, hiphop, pop, etc are detrimental to our walk with God. The Devil realized this and thus, he, being a crafty serpent, introduced so called “Christian” music that distorted the message of the Gospel and brought in a different tempo/beat (sometimes much like secular music) Because it hid under the guise of Christian music, we have embraced it as acceptable.
As Christians, we can not be ignorant (that just means “unlearned”) of the effects that music has on our hearts and souls. Music is never morally neutral. We must be cautious and wary about what we allow in our hearts and homes. There is a direct connection to the music we listen to and the spiritual condition of our hearts. Music always carries a message, whether good or evil. If it detracts away from God, or in any way brings glory to self, we must resist that thing.
But we must not just throw away God's gift of music simply because a lot of music isn't pleasing to God....why, just this morning, in Sunday School, our pastor revisited a teaching that he taught many years ago. The teaching was on the Law of Replacement. It’s not just about the “Don’ts” or the “Thou shalt nots”. We have to focus on the “Dos” or the “Thou shalts” When you lay down some things for God, it is imperative that you replace those “things” with something else… For instance, if you quit listening to worldly music, you must replace it with good, wholesome, uplifting Godly music. He took his text over there in
Matthew 12:43-45:
[43] When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
We see that demonic forces seek to inhabit a human host. They want to have a “home”—a dwelling place. In this passage, we don’t know what caused the spirit to be evicted in the first place, but this passage definitely demonstrates the importance of this principle (law) of replacement. You can quit doing some “evil” or bad things but if you don’t replace them with good, righteous things, the evil is going to come back. Then you will be in worse shape than you were in the beginning.
This is why we must seek to be full of the Holy Ghost. We must allow Him to walk guard duty around our minds. We must seek wisdom from God to be “right” in our every action, decision, and step.
So, with this principle in mind, let’s dive in to learn more from God’s Word.
We must seek out Godly music and fill our hearts and our minds with songs and praises that bring God glory. Taking this step will help keep our hearts on a Godly path.
So how can we know what kind of music is pleasing to God? The Bible gives us some distinct guidelines for determining whether a song is acceptable for us to enjoy. These guidelines are found in Ephesians 5:19--“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
These three categories of music are once again repeated in Colossians 3:16--
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Let's look at this criteria more closely.
Psalms:
In Biblical times, God's people often set the Scripture to musical accompaniment. Science has now proved that if you put something to music, it is a powerful tool to aid memorization so it is no wonder that that practice is found throughout the Word of God. It also was common in ancient times for people to sing their prayers to God. Singing a prayer or a poem was a way to connect with God on a more intimate level. We have been blessed to have 150 such poems/prayers recorded together in one single book in the Bible. It really gives us a better glimpse inside the heart and soul of the writer. Much of these "songs" are seeped in Hebrew Scripture. In the book of Psalms, we read psalms that are cries for deliverance and help, laments over the nation of Israel, and some psalms that even momentarily question God's plan (until the Psalmist saw the end result), but the overall theme of the entire book is worship! Even when the Psalmist was crying out his frustrations or voicing his questions to God, he nearly always ended his prayer in worship and praise of the Creator. There is great comfort and encouragement found in the book of Psalms. The content is timeless. It is as relevant for us today as it was for the Psalmist himself. Many of the words to our songs today are based in the book of Psalms. The word "Psalm" itself simply means "praise"....Singing the Psalms verbatim as they are written is also a wonderful way to grow your faith and bring God glory.
Hymns:
I would say the majority of us can easily distinguish songs in this category. While the hymns of Biblical days might have differed from ours today, these type of songs were the classic songs that were sung by the people (congregation) (That's where the term "singing congregational songs came from--Traditionally, it was singing that all members of a church or group of people participated in) The hymns that we know today such as--Amazing Grace, I'll Fly Away, The Old Rugged Cross, Come thy Fount, There is a Fountain filled with blood, Power in the Blood, Nothing but the Blood, Sweet Hour of Prayer, Just As I AM, Rock of Ages, and many more. The common theme in all of these "hymns" is foundational Gospel truth. These type of songs are packed full with the doctrinal "meat of the Word."
Take Amazing Grace for instance. In this hymn, the grace of God is on display. The writer depicts himself as a lost, blind wretch save for the grace of God. He attributes grace as what made him feel conviction (or fear) yet it was the same grace that relieved him from that fear.
In Nothing but the Blood, the doctrine of salvation is on view.
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace: nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness: nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Wow! So much Gospel packed into those few stanzas.
It is the blood of Jesus that washes away sin.
It is the blood of Jesus that makes us whole and complete--that new creature in Christ.
It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from evil.
It is the blood of Jesus that pardons us from the punishment of sin--He took our place!
It isn't because of anything you or I could DO to attain it--it was only through the shed blood of Jesus,
I can be righteous through and by the blood of Jesus.
I can now have hope! I can have peace! All because of the blood of Jesus!
See what I mean? Those hymns have been discounted as being old fashioned and no longer "with the times" in some churches, but that, my friend, is a direct attack of Satan in those churches. Remember? He HATES God! He doesn't want you and I to get the Gospel embedded in our hearts. Like we discussed earlier, he knows the power of music and He sure doesn't want songs to influence us toward God. That is one of the huge reasons why traditional singing and worship music have been under such an attack in the last several decades in the church movement as a whole. Take out the Gospel! Take out any mention of the blood of Jesus! Take out the absolutes. Let's be gentler. Let's be inclusive. Let's be tolerate. Let's cater to our feelings. Let's feed our emotions.
Once doctrine was removed from the music and the sermons, we see the rise of the nondenominal movement or community churches. One minister invited my own pastor to come speak at one of these type of churches...but he was told to "leave his doctrine" at the door. WHAT??!! Doctrine just means "truth"...He wanted my pastor to leave truth at the door?? Needless to say, my pastor declined that invitation. You can't separate doctrine from the church. It is an essential part of its makeup.
Leading into that topic, with the rise of these types of churches, the era of praise and worship music was birthed. While there are some of praise and worship songs that do in fact, glorify God, sadly, many of these songs have watered down the gospel to "appeal" to more folks. They have even become vague in the direction or the target (the WHOM) of their worship ( the song could be sung to a spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend with little to no modification)
A lot of the songs associated with the modern day “praise and worship” genre of music seem to leave out definite doctrine and many have absolutely no “meat of the gospel” message— oh —a lot of them have a “feel good” factor but according to Scripture, many are not acceptable by the guidelines given to us by God if we are honest.
There is music being produced by some big name “Christian” praise & worship artists/groups that has even come under fire recently by “worldly” church pastors. These pastors are refusing to allow their churches to sing any music these groups put out because the leadership behind these music groups have become so deceived by Satan…Their theology has evolved to where it no longer aligns with “thus sayeth the Word of God.” These people have essentially became just like the false teachers discussed in 2 Peter 2:1 —they have become heretical and are bringing in a “damnable doctrine” right through our music speakers if we aren’t being cautious.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
That’s why it’s so important to read the Word of God and to know the Word of God. When you hide the Word of God in your heart, it makes it easier to “discern the spirits”…. I heard it put like this….If you surround yourself with the genuine, it makes it a lot easier to spot a counterfeit….
Psalm 119:11 —Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Spiritual Songs:
So, What qualifies as a ”spiritual song”?
Here are a few things I think would be good guidelines (or an outline to follow) when we are assessing a song to determine if it is acceptable .
•It must glorify God.
•The focus must be on God, not on ourself.
•It must “draw” us closer to God or point us toward God.
A “spiritual song” usually always will have a gospel message, a fundamental foundation of Biblical principles, or will be a song of worship addressed directly to God himself. It’s often the songs that seem shallow (without much gospel truths embedded in the lyrics) or those whose sole focus is “me” that appeal to our flesh. Many of these songs have a quality about them that makes them easy to listen to or they have a catchy tune/beat that sticks in our brains. We must be super cautious that we don’t allow our music to get off track from what God intended for our music to look like.
When our pastor taught the series on music years ago, he really stressed that this specific category of music (spiritual songs) was the one section of our Biblical music criteria we had to exercise the most caution due to broad individual interpretation. He recommended that we view each song and every song on a case by case basis.
For an example, Have you ever bought a new album from your favorite group only to discover that you actually only like 3 or 4 songs out of the entire album? In an effort to reach broader groups of people and dabble in different genres, many so-called “Christian” bands have really “branched out” in their music. In times past, there used to be decent Christian groups that back then, we could have said that any of the songs that they would sing would be acceptable. This is no longer the case. Many of these groups have allowed their music to be become more about entertaining instead of ministering. Because they are seeking the approval of the masses, their music has become more about producing songs that will “move” people or songs that will shoot to the top of the charts in popularity.
Each song we sing or enjoy must be something that will draw us toward God. Like I mentioned in the last post, when Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to get the Ten Commandment, Aaron crafted a golden calf for the children of Israel to worship in Moses’ absence. Aaron proclaimed the worship of the calf and the celebration that followed as a feast unto the Lord.Likewise, Satan too tries to deceive us by blending the holy with the profane. We must be careful that we don’t offer up strange fire (or unholy worship) to God. Remember the story in Leviticus 10 about the sons of Aaron— Nadab and Abihu?? Aaron’s sons were raised “in the house of God”—they were sons of the priest (preacher’s kids)…they had been taught and raise up to become priest themselves….they knew the law and they knew what God required, yet we read where they were slain by God because of irreverence and disobedience. They tried to offer “strange fire” to a Holy God.
After they died, in verse 10, God himself told the people
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; [11] And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
God intended for there to be a significant difference between the holy and the unholy, unclean and the clean. God wanted there to be a separation between his people and the rest of the world— in our every day walk, our talk, our conduct,
and…
in our music.
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
(Here are a few Bible verses reiterating God’s intention of separation for His people)
Leviticus 22:2 —Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 21:23— Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.
Ezekiel 22:26 —Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
Ezekiel 42:20–He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.
2 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,
So, like I said, we must be cautious and guard every area of our lives. We must allow God to direct our paths. The Bible tells us that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. We must allow His guidance and instruction to determine our actions. We must submit our will and our flesh to His Will and His ways. God’s ways are always right! His ways always work…
So in closing, just to recap, we must build boundaries and adher to God’s guidelines in every area of our lives, but ESPECIALLY in the area of 🎶 music! Don’t just quit listening to the bad or questionable music. Replace it with good, Godly music.
Remember—Music IS powerful.
Allow music to influence you in a positive way and draw you closer to God and not away from Him.
In all honesty, I have found that listening to mainly holiness music really boosts the peaceful atmosphere in our home. While there isn’t anything wrong with listening to any song that fits within these God-given guidelines listed above, I think there is just so much more of a connection when you hear songs sung by people with a Holy Ghost experience themselves. They are more focused on ministering to the needs of others and sharing the gospel than just entertaining people, making money, or “tickling folks’ ears” with music that moves the emotions.
(Again, I highly advocate Holiness Voices Radio – they have a website, an app, and can also be found as a channel station on the Tune In Radio App. This radio program is composed entirely of Holiness singers.) There also are numerous holiness folks in our movement that have music CDs available for purchase. iTunes even has several of these holiness singers’ albums on Apple Music available for purchase and download.
so…Music and its genres can be controversial in our movement.…
Contemporary??
Praise/Worship??
Southern Gospel only??
What “Christian” style is acceptable??
Don’t use genres or labels as your guidelines of acceptance—
Instead, let’s get back to using the old black—backed Book (the Bible) for our music’s criteria…
Ephesians 5:19--“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Philippians 4:8 KJV
[8] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
I hope this series was encouraging, informative, and enlightening…it was never my intention to condemn, belittle, or to cause hurt or to anger anyone by sharing these thoughts on this subject. I just wanted to encourage you not to allow the Devil trip you up— Glorify God in every aspect of your life. Remember, music was created for HIS purposes—not yours or mine!!
From my heart to yours,
-Tiphanie ❤️
Here is a special treat… please join me in welcoming a new guest on the blog….👏🏼
A Word from Sis. Flora Shepherd—
the pastor’s wife at Straightline Pike Pentecostal Church — Sis. Flora is an anointed singer. She too recognizes the need for Biblical guidelines in the area of music. She was so gracious to share a few things with us today….
Here is her thoughts on the subject:
I heard Sis Genell Webb say once “if the music you are listening to answers to your body before your soul, chances are it’s not the right choice.”
This generation definitely likes what I call feel good, easy listening music. The focus is more on one’s self and how we are feeling than to the edifying and praise of God.
I think it’s very important to make sure the songs we listen to at home and even more, the songs we sing at church are bringing glory to God.
At a ladies retreat (we have went to for about 20 years now), Sis Luvenia Lakes was talking about how we have to be careful even of the music (even gospel) we listen to if we have a disposition to be depressed. You know there are so many songs that just focus all we have been through when our focus should continually be on the goodness of God. ❤️