Does the Style of Music We Use Matter?

The Bible's Answers to Man's Questions

Key Verses  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.

2 Chronicles 7:6 And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

Worship is all about attitude.  The word itself derives from worth-ship, or the act of giving to God his worth, or reverence due.  In its Hebrew version, the idea of worship carried the meaning of prostrating oneself on the ground in recognition of our worthlessness in the presence of a great and holy God.  It is that sense of godly fear that our worship should reflect, in praise of the God who created us all for his own pleasure.  Though the music of worship may well bring a thrill of pleasure to us as well, that is not its primary purpose.  Above all, it should seek to bring pleasure to God, as a sacrifice of praise.

Sometimes it seems that Fundamental churches are just stuck in the past, hung up on the music of the nineteenth century, or the early twentieth century.  Perhaps that's because the era of faith in this country seemed to end early in the last century; we went from being a nation under God to a post-Christian society.  Music is a reflection of culture, and the loud, chaotic music of today certainly coincides with the chaos of the world around us.  The prime motivations of modern music, whether rock, country, or hip hop, are sex and violence.  Those forces drive both the lyrics and the beat.  Just as it would not have been appropriate to base hymns in the early twentieth century on jazz or the current dance craze, it is no more appropriate to turn to popular music now for inspiration.

Some beautiful praise music is written in the contemporary style, but not so much because of it as despite it.  Apart from the style itself, the major problem with "modern" worship music is that it appeals primarily to the emotions, not to the spirit.  People who have an emotional experience they mistake for salvation only derive satisfaction from music that stirs their emotions; it's like a drug, a fix that has to be repeated over and over to create the desired effect.  Repetition is, in fact, one of the hallmarks of praise and worship music in many churches; singing the same words over and over with the same few notes has a hypnotic effect.

Christian rock is a misnomer; a style of music that derives its impetus from sex and violence could never be Christian, no matter what lyrics are used.  When crowds are swaying to the beat of the music, it's not the Holy Spirit that moves them.  Any performer or group who draws attention to the music, or to themselves, rather than to God, is not engaged in worship.  More accurately, they are worshipping something other than God.  Style does matter; the way we dress and talk can identify us as surely as the substance of what we say and do.  We would not -- or should not -- enter into worship dressed in sexually provocative clothing.  By the same token, our style of worship should not dishonor God either.

I'm not opposed, though some are, to the use of electronic instruments to praise God, or even to the use of accompaniment tracks if the music itself honors God.  What I do oppose is the adoption of anything in our time of worship that derives from the world's customs and culture.  Our music, like everything else in worship, must first of all bring honor to praise to God.  If it doesn't, it has no business among God's people, inside church or out.

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