One statement I’ve heard and read a lot is that all music is fine and acceptable in its own way for the worship of God. Basically, anything goes. In the previous article I wrote, we went over the right foundation for our beliefs on music: God’s complete and sufficient Word, the Bible. And as the foundation for our belief structure, it should be the first authority we turn to for counsel on music.
What is God’s answer to the anything goes philosophy? Let’s check out His Word. 1 Peter 1:14-16 says
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
The Greek word for “holy” means “sacred”, “blameless”, or “consecrated”. It refers to a separation from the world unto Christ. We have to ask ourselves: “Does my music reflect my new life in Christ, where “old things are passed away” and “all things have become new?”” Are we conforming to our new life in Christ, or to our old flesh?
Next, let’s see some practical examples of what has happened to people with the “anything goes” mentality. Read Genesis 4:3-7. Cain offered God the fruit of the ground. It was not what God required, and definitely not what He accepted! In verse seven God tells Cain:
“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”
“If thou doest well”- if you bring what I require. God would not accept what Cain deemed appropriate for a sacrifice to God. Let’s take a look at another biblical example. Leviticus 10:1-3 relates to us another account of uncalled-for sacrifice.
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.”
Nadab and Abihu obviously made a big mistake, as their consequences were severe. What did they do wrong?
God had laid out in great detail how His worship was to be conducted. He had shown Israel what He expected of them, and these two men tried to sidestep God’s authority.
The Lord has clearly shown us in His Word that we are to be holy in all that we do, in every area of our lives; but if we let down our guard in the area of music, and try to worship God with music that is not holy, then we are not worshipping God how He desires and commands us to. Now, chances are that we will not be consumed by fire from Heaven, but does that mean that God is any less grieved by our lack of holiness? God will be glorified in His way only, and will not let His glory be shamed by an inadequate offering.
God’s Word has several examples of what has happened to those in the past who have disrespected Him in their worship, but I want to change gears for a moment and bring another aspect of the matter to mind.
I surmise that many are of the mind that all music is equal, and no music is of itself wrong for the worship of God, because they have forgotten what position Satan held in heaven before he fell. He was the chief musician. He knew all about music! To think that he has not created counterfeit music in the same way that he perverts everything else is dangerously ignorant, to say the least. You may be quite sure that Satan knows the power of music, and will use it to his advantage as much as he possibly can.
We need to steer clear of the mentality that all and any music is appropriate for the worship of God. He is holy and requires that His worship be holy as well.
The purpose of this article was not necessarily to elaborate on the specifics of music appropriate for the Lord’s worship, but merely to establish the fact that not all music is appropriate for the worship of our God. He deserves praise that is consistent with His holiness.