Influence of Music in the Church

Ask anyone: "Why did you change churches?" The answer is normally one of five things:

• I didn't like the music.
• The people weren't friendly.
• The pastor was boring.
• The service was too traditional.
• Too much emphasis was put on punishment.

Let's look at the first "complaint". It seems that the genre of music is the most important to people. I hear them say "I hate church hymns!" or "I prefer contemporary music."  Both of those may be true, but why do we have music in the church in the first place?

Psalm 68: 3 "...let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. 4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah (Jehovah), and rejoice before him."

 "Rejoicing before God" is merrymaking because of God. We are to "sing unto God" as we make merry in his glory. You can see here that singing praises is God-centered, not self-centered. This is validated by another act of early worship.

Exodus 29:18 "And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord."

So just as the ram offering was pleasant to the Lord so is the song offering when we sing!  And what are we to sing?

James 5:13 "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms."

Psalms are sacred hymns or poems. Yes, they were sometimes accompanied by music. A hymn is a poem set to music in praise of God.

It would appear that singing praises to God using an orderly, respectful poetic musical number is appropriate. Most traditional music fits this description and much of contemporary music does. "Contemporary" should not frighten the believer, but the genre is important!  Since we're praising God the music should be enjoyable to God. We have no way of knowing that!  Therefore, we must find another standard.

Deuteronomy 18:9 "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations."

Basically said, we should not copy pagans!   Any genre of music can contain paganism. "New Age" music by definition is pagan. However, mellow Christian music is much like the "New Age" genre.

The type of music which comes first to my  mind is "rock music". Don't equate "rock" with all contemporary music. "Rock" is just one aspect of contemporary. "Rock 'n Roll" music was coined in 1951 by DJ Allen Freed. The name means "back seat sex". Rock 'n Roll music originated primarily as protest music and many of the lyrics were rebellious and the beat to hammer the message home.

What's wrong with "Rock 'n Roll"? No sin can be acceptable to the Lord. There may be other genres of sinful music, but rock comes to mind first to many Christians. God is Holy and his purity cannot be defaced and God still be pleased!

1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

There are two thoughts here. We must be holy. That means that we should not pleasure in what the pagans have pleasure in. I'm not speaking of having fun, but pleasure associated with sins of the flesh. Unfortunately, rock music is associated with provocative behavior and sexual activity or at least suggestive behavior.

The second thought is that we are to be holy so that we're emulating God in whose image we're created. We are to be righteous. One might say "When I sing rock music in church, I'm not being provocative." That's reasonable, but is it the type of music God desires? I'm not the authority on what pleases God and what offends him. I only have my opinion, but I try to base it on scripture. Each of us need to do the same!

However, the main point to be considered is whether we enjoy the church music for our own selfish pleasure or to magnify God. It's the attitude we have toward the singing. Neither should we praise the singer. The intent of hymns is to praise God!

Music genres splits churches. That pains God! We each have our own preferences and we "demand" that it be what we enjoy! Traditional music, whether the younger generation likes it or not, was there first. Church music is being changed to please the young. It does get younger people to the church, but is it for the right reasons?  If we focus on the music above the sermon, then we're missing opportunities. I know many who attend church regularly, but know little about God.  People know all the lyrics to songs, but can't quote scripture!

Why pick on rock music? It's because of its negative influences in the world. Whether we agree or not, the battle within churches is between hymns and rock, not between hymns and contemporary. It's not for me to say that rock is wrong, but suggest that all examine our own attitudes toward music. Church leaders often believe that to increase church attendance we must make services entertaining. I disagree with that! If we're learning about Jesus we should be joyful! We're entertained all week. Church is for learning, praying, praise and salvation.

If you disagree, that's between you and God. I write this because music type is a major problem in modern churches. Please do a self-examination and make your own choices. Just do it with praise of God in mind. My self-evaluation is that although I prefer traditional hymns over southern gospel, contemporary or rock, that's what scripture leads me toward. However, I can tolerate other genres of music, excepting hard rock and rap music. I like to think that God and I have the same tastes, but that's pride! Maybe he's more tolerant than I am of praise music... but maybe he's not!