Issues in the Church: truth

Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Separation from the World

When one hears the words “Separation from the world” what comes to mind? To some it could be the very phrase you hold your Christian life upon. Maybe you show this by listening to only gospel music, not going to any place that serves alcohol, not attending movie theaters, not having women wear pants, and men not wearing blue jeans. Maybe you don’t have boys spike their hair, wear name brand clothes, or permit girls to wear makeup or color their hair. This is what this phrase means to many different people. To others it may mean not to sin, or maybe to reject the culture around you! Few verses/phrases in the Bible have caused more confusion, debate, and frustration amongst Christians, and fewer verses have caused more churches and it’s people to be torn asunder. What does this mean? Is this a general command? Or is their a more specific meaning to this verse? What exactly is God trying to communicate to us when He says “to be separate from the world?”

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2 Corinthians 6:17 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left...

To unlock the meaning behind these verses first we must understand. What does the word “world” mean? It seems many Christians have different ideas of what “world” really means here and hence all the different standards that come forth from this. This word “world” is the word “kosmos.” Interestingly enough, Greek doesn’t have a word for “culture” so generally speaking the word “kosmos” is also used instead. In the context of this verse, it’s obviously not telling us to be separate from the very world we live and dwell upon (as in the earth) that’d be impossibly absurd! This leads many to believe it means to separate yourself from the world’s culture! (women not wearing pants, not going to movie theaters, no modern music, etc.)

However, people who say this forget that in the Bible we see the churches and church leaders adjust to their culture all the time! (Acts 17:23, Matt. 7:3-5, 19:24) These verses all use the culture in that locale to present the Gospel. In fact, this process is called “Contextualization.” So this verse obviously can’t mean to be totally separate from the culture in which you live. That would make the Bible contradict itself. For the Gospel has always been most effective when it is applied to the current culture in which it’s being presented.

We see an example of Biblical separation by Daniel when he decided to follow the Mosaic law, and not defile himself with the king’s food and wine (Daniel 1:8) We later see Daniel living in the Neo-Babylonian Empire and living among the people/leaders peacefully, all the while, honoring to the Lord and following Him. Once the law was decreed that only Nebuchadnezzar could be worshipped, Daniel still lived peacefully among the people but chose to honor God and not worship the false idol.

With this one example in mind, and we reread out texts in question in their entirety (verses before and after the stated verses) we see a common thread that many Christians seem to miss. Every time it talks about being separate from the world it’s clearly referring to sin (Ex: 2 Cor. 6 is talking about idol worship.) The Bible isn’t telling us we can’t enjoy basic things such as going to movies, playing video games, wearing modern clothes etc. It’s saying to separate yourself from the sinful nature of the world! Meaning to separate yourself from openly sinful behaviors.

It’s amazing how much these passages get misinterpreted and misapplied. So many Christians bind themselves with rules and regulations under the banner “Be separate from the world!” But let me present to you something about this logic. If you start separating yourself based on its connection to the world (as in culture) you would soon be unable to do anything. Where would you draw this arbitrary the line?

For example: I’ll take a personal favorite topic of mine: music. How many Christians in the world think modern music is wrong? So, they start saying “It’s connected to the world!” and start pointing fingers as how it’s “worldly.” The list is endless, many say it's the drums, electrical instruments, syncopation, singing styles, etc. So they continually make newer and newer arbitrary lines as to why something is worldly. In short, if it's modern and popular, it must be worldly and sinful. However, what if a rock song uses a violin? Does the violin suddenly become as evil as the electric guitars? Where does one draw the line?

The logic in this is not used to its completion. If all things associated with something cultural are evil, then you soon wouldn't be able to do much of anything. If you’re going to take one part of something and label it as evil, then naturally you can’t leave a job half done. Such logic would leave us hypocrites. If name brand clothes are evil, then all brand clothes are evil! If movie theaters are evil, movies should be evil. But obviously this would be ridiculous. This would result in all Christians turning into Amish. However, even that lifestyle has its own hypocrisies. My point is this: Christians need to stop labeling such things as sin, when God never defined them as sin. This also includes adding to things to God’s command. For example:

I Corinthians 11:14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him...

Here we see Paul, through God’s leading, instructing men to have short hair. Yet, many Christians put more regulations on just what exactly that means. (Ex: hair can’t touch your ears, tapered vs not tapered, no spiked styles etc.) this is not the case. It’s simply telling men to have short hair. There are no other footnotes than that! God says “men have short hair.” Then man jumps in and says “What God really meant was to style it within these ___ guidlines.” as if to help God out.

Let me give you an example: my third year in Bible college I was preparing for Easter Sunday and I decided to trim my hair around my ears (I looked pretty scraggly) and I wanted to trim up before Easter. So that Saturday night after work I started trimming. I got one side to look great and I switched to trim the other side. This turned out to be a mistake. My trimmer bit right into my hair and left a canyon in my head, so much so, that it was unfixable. I realized that I had to shave my entire head and start all over. I remember being horrified at first. Then me and my friends started joking around about it. Calling me all sorts of applicable names. Then, that Sunday I arrived to church and it was my turn to interpret the service for the deaf. I was up on the podium getting my materials together when the Dean of Men, came up to me, grabbed my arm, and then asked

“Mr. Hess, what do you think you’re doing?”

“What?”

“Mr. Hess, what happened to your hair?"

*Tells him the hilarious story of how I chopped off my faux hawk*

“William, I can’t let you interpret looking like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re practically bald and we specifically have it cited in the handbook that you can’t shave your head”

“Why? It was an accident anyway...”

“Because we’re not going to have you all looking like a bunch of worldly hoolagins running around here wanting to be a bunch of Vin Diesal knock offs.”

“But, I’m on the schedule to interpret. Plus it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a buzz cut. It’ll be fine”

“No. You can’t interpret looking like that. We’ll be discussing your haircut in more detail later”

“The Bible tells me only to have short hair. Now, I don’t care what your handbook says, the Bible says I’m within my bounds. On top of that I’m on the schedule to interpret today which means it’s my responsibility and I am not handing my responsibility off to someone just because Crown’s handbook doesn’t approve of a buzz cut! Also, God’s calling and authority on my life to reach the deaf, and therefore interpret for them, far exceeds any boundaries or regulations given by man. Including your handbook.”

He wasn’t happy about the response, but he knew I had a point and he said “We’ll talk about this later...” To my relief we never did. I continued on that morning interpreting despite this conversation.

Might I take a moment to add that it’s a massive crime to God to add anymore to the Bible than His own words. God says specifically what He means. No more. No less. Don’t add to the regulations God has set forth. To do so is a crime before a sovereign God. Most people think this simply means not adding false doctrines, but God doesn’t say that, He specifically says not to add unto these things.

Revelation 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book...

Granted, I am aware that the context of this verse is referring to the prophecy of John’s. However, I think it’s obvious that God doesn’t want His words tampered with.

People so often forget that God created language to communicate to us. He gave us His Word as a guide. It is perfect and complete. No need to take His Word and apply multiple foot notes, read into statements, and ask “what if God really meant___” or “What would God say about___.” God already states what He means! God has already said what He needed to say. Remember, God is not the author of confusion! (1 Cor. 14:33) All issues that are sin today have already been addressed in the Bible. Sin has never changed. Lust and adultery are still the same. Today it’s just easier to have access to feed that sin. Thievery is still an abomination. Immodesty is still disgraceful. Pride is still shameful. Sin is still sin.

It’s true, God’s people are to be separate, we are called out from the world, we are to be separate from the sinful nature of this world, but not so separate that we appear as foreign to them. If we become so distant from the people we live around and won’t associate ourselves with the common ground of people today, then we are defeating the purpose of being on this earth. Jesus Christ said this:

John 17:14-18 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

As Christians we’ve all heard the slogan “In the world, not of the world” and this is so very true. A man once said “Not of the world, but sent into the world”. If we are to be so separate from the world that we can’t dress like our culture (even though Jesus and His disciples did) and we can’t listen to modern styled music (even though culturally applicable music was in the temples) and we can’t do all these different things and are to be so separate that it causes us to not even be remotely “in the world” then we have separated ourselves too far. People need to feel like they can relate to us. This is how Jesus and His disciples were able to see so many souls saved. They lived for God, showed it in their lives, reached and preached, all without compromising the Gospel (which should never happen) but also within the world they lived.

"Christians are to be separate from the sinful nature of the world"

In conclusion, to be separate from the world in no way means that we can’t enjoy our lives on this earth and do normal day to day things. It does not mean we have to live as if we are a part of the cast on “Little House on the Prairie,” it doesn’t mean we have to live reclusive from everyone and everything. It doesn’t mean we can’t go to movie theaters, listen to music, or dress like we’re from the 21st century. The Bible simply means to separate ourselves from the sinful nature of this world. God couldn’t care less about what footnotes you decide to add to your life. What guidelines you decide to run your life by. He doesn’t care about how high your standards are. He cares about how separate are you from sin and how close you are to Him.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Altar Call

Unknown October 05, 2015 confusion , heart 0 Comments

In evangelical churches today, there are many practices and traditions that present themselves in church buildings. Perhaps one of the most iconic of such practices is: the altar call. The part of a service where a speaker invites the congregation members to step forward and come to the place before the speaker, pray, and get their lives right with the Lord, put their faith in Jesus, or even pray for church members/loved ones.

However, this tradition has caused some debate among church officials, leaders, and members. Is it Biblical? Does it do more harm than good? Is it something that should be emphasized at all? I previously didn't give this subject a lot of thought due to the fact that it seemed many other topics demanded my attention, but upon observing this practice multiple times in churches I thought it would be beneficial to write my thoughts on this matter.

History of the Altar Call

The altar call started in the early nineteenth century. One of the earliest recorded happenings of this was with the Methodist preacher Peter Cartwright. Soon after other speakers started to adopt this method. Big names such as Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, and probably the most popular and well known to this day, Billy Graham.

The altar call is not the only thing that churches today have taken on from this period of time. In fact, our entire church services mostly derive from services of the Great Awakening. Most churches today have an order of service similar to this:

1. Welcome/Opening Prayer

2. Sing a Hymn

3. Announcements/Offering

4. Sing a Chorus

5. Sing a Hymn

6. Special Music

7. Sermon

8. Altar Call

9. Closing

This setup has become famous and considered normal in church services since the early 1800s. This model can be seen even in the most modernized churches today.

Is The Altar Call Biblical?

The short answer to this question is: no. As I said, its beginnings are traced back to early 1800s, not traced back to the Bible. In fact, the Bible has no such practice in place. However, just because something isn’t in the Bible doesn’t make it right/wrong, but if it’s not in the Bible we must be cautious before we make it a regular part of our church services.

Support for the Altar Call

The Bible doesn’t speak about any such call. However, this has not stopped people from using passages such as Matthew 7, 12, Acts 2:37-40, 17:4, 18:4, 19:8 and many other passages as trying to construct an argument for this in the church. For the sake of time and space I’ll give you the basic argument that is given:

The Argument for Altar Calls: Jesus called forth His disciples openly and they immediately responded and came forward following Him to become “fishers of men.” Before entire groups of people Jesus, Paul and Peter, on many occasions, ended with a call to the people (Ex: calling for people to build their house upon a rock.) Also, Paul stated himself that the Gospel and his sermons were literally meant to persuade people’s minds so the altar call is just a final attempt to persuade men to come forward and get right with God.

2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

Some even use the following verse in support of the altar call as well, saying that you are “claiming Christ before men.” Some go as far as saying it is a requirement to become a Christian.

Matthew 10:33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

First, I am going to point out that this is not a requirement for salvation by any stretch of the imagination. That would directly go against Ephesians 2:8-9. No physical action we do will even assist our entry into heaven. Because as the Bible states

John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Next point I would mention is that the Gospel is meant to persuade the minds/hearts of the people of this world and bring them to Christ. It is also true that Jesus called out His disciples to follow Him. Also, it’s true that we see many preachers in the Bible ending in a “call to action” or a “call to decide." However, is it necessary to have this altar call to drive it home?

Let me emphasize the fact that I don’t believe the altar call is a sinful terrible infestation in our churches, however, over time I’ve realized the dangers of this practice. Every church I’ve attended since I was a child has practiced an altar call and this has given me time to look over and study this topic and observe it personally.

The Dangers of the Altar Call

Confusion of its Purpose

The first one is probably the largest issue that I mentioned earlier. When a preacher asks people to come forward it can cause a certain amount of confusion. It may imply that you have to go forward to get saved. So it is important that the preacher explains how to actually get saved from the pulpit. Simply going forward and making a “statement of faith” or reciting the Sinner’s Prayer doesn’t save someone. As we saw earlier the only way someone can get saved is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. One man stated this:

“The church today has exchanged saving faith for a statement of faith.”

Pastors all over the world become so focused on getting people to come forward to accept Christ that they really push and pressure people to come down the aisle instead of humbling themselves before the Lord, putting their faith in Him, and getting saved in their pews. Over the last year I have talked to many people and they always say “Well I know I’m saved because I went forward and talked to someone and they showed me some verses in the Bible and then I repeated a prayer, and that’s when I got saved.” Now, I’m not saying people don’t get saved through this method, but it can cause some serious confusion. Pastors must be cautious when using this method. Also, there are people I’ve seen raise their hand that they want to know how to get to heaven, but it seems they lack the courage to step out of their seat and talk to someone. One might say “Well, they’re cowardly then. Why care about what people think when your soul is on the line?” first off, that’s an unfair question to ask someone who is not a Christian yet. Also, the same could be said about any Christian who doesn’t witness to people because they get embarrassed or afraid. “Why wouldn’t you tell the Gospel when someone’s soul is on the line?” I’ll tell you why; because we’re all human. Some people are just introverted, have anxiety issues, or just get too nervous to do this.

Pastor, if you don’t clearly explain the way of salvation and how to get to heaven/accept Christ as your Savior in your message, you have failed to deliver the Gospel. If you’re relying on an unsaved person to humble themselves before mankind before the event of their salvation, then you have reversed the order of which God commands His people. See, this idea taken from Matthew 10:33 of claiming God before men is only after someone already accepts Christ, not before.

I remember trying to go forward during an altar call once when I was a kid. What was my reason? Because everyone else was doing it (more on that later.) I felt that’s what good Christians did, they go forward and pray at the steps. I remember trying to force my legs to move, they felt like lead, I was nervous, scared, and I went up there and tried praying but even then I was still nervous. Then I started thinking of what others thought of me, I couldn’t even focus on my prayer! I remember standing up and returning to me seat, still shaken up. Looking back on this, I realized that many people were emphasizing going forward. For weeks I was trying to get myself to do it because I was told that’s what you do when God speaks to you. I felt God speak to me many times before but couldn’t get the courage to go forward. I now see that I shouldn’t have been worried about going forward to show everyone that I got my heart right, but instead I should’ve just got my heart right in my seat.

One’s salvation, and one’s walk with the Lord should not be based or even emphasized around an altar calling. That’s simply foolishness and missed opportunity.

A Path for Dishonesty and Manipulation

Your first response to this point may be: “Wait, what? Dishonesty? Manipulation? At an altar call? In church? Highly unlikely.” This was my response when this point was first brought to me as well. Until someone explained it to me.

How many services have you been to where at the end the pastor says something like this:

“With every head bowed and every eye closed, if you feel God has spoken to your heart tonight, would you raise your hand? I’m not going to call you out, I’m not going to embarrass you, but if you feel God spoke to you, would you raise your hand?” *Hands go up* “Okay, thank you, you may put your hands down. Now, if you raised your hand I’m going to ask you to come out of your pews and pray at the altar.”

I know I’ve been at a number of services where a statement like this had been made. For those of you who didn’t catch it, this approach makes the preacher a liar at worst, and a manipulator at best. He just stated that he wouldn’t “call them out” yet a few minutes later he indeed “called them out.”

James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Also, this approach is openly trying to manipulate people into coming forward, and this should never be. A church nor pastor should ever try to manipulate the minds of the people around them into getting a response that they want. We should desire hearts humble before the Lord and lives getting right with God, however, we shouldn't try to convince people or guilt them into stepping forward. I’ve heard a lot of techniques of how preachers get people to come to the altar. Many use guilting, scaring, or manipulating people to coming forward. The scarier part of this is that most preachers aren’t even aware that they’re doing that. Most never gave a second thought to how they worded their closing statements and they just repeat what they’ve heard so many times before.

I’ve personally witnessed people trying to earn the respect or admiration of people around them they go forward to the altar. When in the dorms in Bible College I heard a man mention that he goes forward because he wants people around him to see his heart for the Lord. His motive was ultimately trying impress others. This is not only a form of manipulation, but is also not the purpose for a call such as this. The opinion of others should never be what dictates someone to go before God publicly.

Disrupts the Focus

What I mean by this point is that often times people get consumed with how many people go forward! This easily turns into a desire for numbers and public renown. How many times have you heard someone say “The meeting was great! Over a hundred people went forward!” or how many times have you heard a pastor say, “I wish more people would come to the altar.” In fact, a good pastoral friend of mine had fallen into this trap. The problem is many preachers weigh the power of their words by the number of people at the altar. This is faulty and foolish. God can work in someone’s heart in their pew just as he can at the steps of a platform. Instead, preachers should weigh the words of God on the promises of God. The Bible says that the Gospel can never be returned void. So just preach with conviction and passion and you’d be surprised how your church can grow. Your altar might be empty, but the hearts of the people may be filled. This is what’s important. Not everyone goes forward, not everyone can go forward, and not all people feel comfortable with going forward, so therefore this should not be the focus of your ministry. Not even a highlight.

A man once said

“The acid test of an evangelistic speaker is not what happens when a multitude responds; it is what happens when nobody responds.” - R. Larry Moyer

Another quick thought, I’ve noticed many Christians feel in order to be considered good Christians they need to go forward to the altar. This is untrue, and honestly burdens me that our churches have made the altar calling such a focus that people think in order to be a good Christian or looked upon with any form of spirituality that they have to go forward. This is sad to me. We’ve focused so much on the altar call that we’ve missed the fact that God works in the heart. Not by walking down an aisle and praying at some steps before a platform.

Altar calls are not the only way to see people come to Christ. Moyer put it best:

“The altar call is one way of finding out who is interested in trusting Christ; it is by no means the only way, however. A church that does not use variety in the way it invites people to express their desire for Christ is a church too deeply steeped in tradition.”

Obviously every pastor wants to see the results of his labor. This is only natural. However, what is our focus supposed to be?

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

We have to also remember that God will bring the increase in all things. You don’t know if you’re the one planting the seed, watering it, or harvesting it. However, we do know that God is the one in control and he is the one who grows the church. This is what needs to be the focus of a church and pastor. That God will give the increase as long as you stay faithful.

1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

Shifting the Focus and Helpful Suggestions

Let me clarify, I am not against the altar call, only giving dangers and traps that can be harmful to a church and its people. The Altar Call isn’t a method found in the Bible, but it is a way God has used to reach people. To deny that would be foolish. My own brother in-law surrendered to be a missionary during an altar call. I’ve known many good friends of mine who got saved or called to ministry through an altar call. However, I am encouraging you preachers, pastors, church members, to shift your focus away from the altar call and analyze how you (or your church) approach this portion of your service. Remember, God will give the increase. God will reward the fruits of your labor, just remember to remain faithful. Don’t be consumed with this one method.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Clearly Explaining: When giving the altar call, clearly explain the way of salvation. For if someone is at your service and doesn’t understand how to get to heaven, then you have failed at presenting the Gospel. Make sure they know coming forward does not make them saved. Also, repeating the Sinner’s Prayer, does not save them either. Clearly explain it, then offer for them to come forward to be explained more thoroughly or have any questions answered.

2. Accepting in Their Seats: This point should probably come during the same time you’re offering the altar call. Explain this to them that they can do this method if they want.

3. Sending Someone: When people raises their hand for salvation. Make a note. If they don’t come forward to talk to someone, then send someone to them and ask them if they want someone to show them how they know they will go to heaven. This would help with the people who are too nervous to go forward, yet, offering a helping hand. Please be sure that the people you choose are strong and mature Christians who can approach people and be friendly enough to make the individual comfortable.

4. Meeting Afterwards: Ask for those who have accepted Christ or interested in accepting Christ to meet in a room after the service. This allows for a more private experience for those who are shy yet have questions.

5. Communication Card: This would allow someone to “check off” on a box, leave any personal information and drop it in a plate at the end to be gathered.

6. Social Media: Pretty much the possibilities for this are endless. Have a page for your church, have people submit their testimonies via social media. Give the Gospel online etc.

Conclusion

The altar call is not a scriptural method, no. However, just because it’s not found in scripture doesn’t make it instantly sinful. The issue isn’t so much a scriptural one, but more of a presentation one. When the altar call was first introduced it received a lot of criticism. Yet, today it’s considered a normal part of many services. There’s nothing wrong with using this method, but I do believe that if churches took a second to look at their practice critically they might see that some of these issues currently exist in their church and modify it properly. I encourage all of you to observe your churches, things about your own mentality of the altar calling. How can you and your church fine tune your gospel presentation? My desire is the the Gospel is given plainly and clearly.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Homosexuality

Unknown February 19, 2015 bible , gay 6 Comments

In pop and western culture today, there are a great many political and social issues that can create blazing arguments between friends, family members, strangers, or basically any human being in the cosmos. Few such issues will cause more hate, more spats, and more broken relationships than the topic of ‘homosexuality.’ This has become a massive religious issue and social issue in today’s society and after much thought and study I thought I would bring my thoughts to the table today. This has been a burden on my heart for a long time and I pray God will give me wisdom as I write these thoughts out and present them to you.

The first thing I’d like to say is I have a burden about this topic, mainly because I have seen so many struggle with this issue. Also, I’m sick of being called either a “homophobic” by some and a “gay lover” by others. So, let me explain this topic from a Biblical and logical point of view and hopefully help bring this topic away from its toxic roots on both sides of the aisle.

Growing up I’ve had many friends come out and say they are gay. My best friend actually in high school and early college even came out and said he struggled with this issue. Growing up in the conservative realm I was in and the views of others I was around, this made it extremely difficult for me to think this through. I had a great friend, who was a Christian, who helped in ministries, but then he told me that he has struggled with homosexual thoughts for years. He sought council for it and it bothered him deeply. I empathized with my friend as well, I was just unsure of how to handle it. Luckily, few at the church knew about his struggle, I could only imagine the outrage that he would’ve received if others knew of this. Luckily, no one knew that he didn’t want to know.

So, before I speak further on this topic I want to ask, “What does the Bible say? Is homosexuality a sin?”

Romans 1:24-28 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

There are many other verses I could use, but this passage will be the one I primarily focus on. So the Bible says that homosexual relations is contrary to nature. The Bible makes it clear that homosexuality is against the nature that God made things. I always thought this was very clear in the Bible. God made man and woman and together they can create life (children.) God gave men and women different anatomies and different ways of thinking so that together they can create a balanced family. The Bible is clear that marriage is between husband and wife, so to answer the previous question: yes, homosexuality is a sin before God.

The problem isn't the spiritual conclusion, but the practical application of this. So many churches, pastors, deacons, Christians, etc., attack homosexuals in some of the worst ways a church can do. Calling them godless, perverts, sodomites, child molesters, and many other things that are intended to be derogatory or hateful. If someone gay walks into the church either people ignore their existence and avoid them, or jump all over them, putting them down and spewing hateful remarks at them while demanding they turn away from their sinful lifestyle. Some even go as far as kick them out of their families or churches, or forbid anyone in the household to be friends with them. This sort of behavior will never win them to Christ, but in fact hurts the testimony of Christ.

Are Homosexuals Born Gay?

The answer to this question is: yes. Yes, homosexuals are born this way. Not in the sense liberal media wants you to believe, but we are all born with sin! (Romans 3:23) Each person is born with a sin nature and hence we all struggle with different sins. Satan gets his claws into certain people and just doesn’t let go without a fight! Each person has different sins that they struggle with and homosexuality is no different than that.

"Homosexuals are born gay, because they are born with sin, not a gene."

My friend growing up understood that it was wrong, but he struggled and struggled with these issues. It was constant for him. I’ve heard many Christians ask, “Why would someone have such desires to go against that which God created to be natural?” Well, the same could be asked to any of us any time we sin! Sin is going against the commands of God; lying, stealing, adultering, coveting: These are all examples of things that go directly against the way God intended them to be. The simple answer is the sin nature.

Sometimes people have no rhyme or reason to their sins. A habitual liar could never tell you why he feels the need to lie all the time. Well, I’d say it’s applicable to this subject matter as well.

It’s an Abomination to the Lord! (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13)

This is my personal favorite thing I’ve heard in my life as a miserable excuse to slander and hurt these people. (Yes, they are people. Not demons, not witches, or pedophiles. They are people) Yes, it is true that it is an abomination though! The references above describe it clearly as that. However, there are other things described as this as well.

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

That’s right Christians. We are all guilty of committing an abomination against God. We’ve all lied, have had pride, ran to mischief, etc. That means, we’ve all committed a sin of the same magnitude as homosexuality. It's easy to get on our high-horse and condescend someone else's sin, but we must remember that we are all equally guilty of similar sin before God.

Just because we’ve committed a crime against God, doesn’t mean God hates us. In fact, we know that God loves every person on this earth. There are dozens of references that show this (e.g. John 3:16) Jesus Christ died for the sin of the liar and the homosexual. He died for each and every sinner here. You know why? Because God hates sin, but He loves the sinner. He loves us despite our flaws, mistakes, failures, and sins. He looks past our faults, and sees our need.

Sodomy/Sodomites

This is a phrase I refuse to ever use when referring to this topic and I urge you to forbid this phrase as well because it screams ignorance for a few reasons. Let me explain.

This phrase “sodomy/sodomite” is used because of the events of Genesis 18-19 when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. For one, a “Sodomite” would technically be a person who was a citizen of Sodom (a city) not a group of people that practice sexual relations with the same sex. A Sodomite is a citizen of Sodom, not a homosexual. Lot wasn’t a homosexual, but he was a Sodomite, because he lived there. This clear enough?

The term “Sodomy” is a pet term used by many conservatives to describe the act of homosexuality. This drives me crazy for a few reasons. Contrary to popular belief, Sodom was not only destroyed because of homosexuality. This is one of the largest misinterpretations in the Bible. Sodom was destroyed for this reason...

Genesis 18:20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave...

Ezekiel 16:49-50 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

The Bible, more or less, just generalizes their sin as many different types of sins. It never once just points to homosexuality. I’m sure you can see that not even the Bible uses the term the way many of the church like to. Now we see that this sexual wickedness is one of the many issues in Sodom (Gen. 19) but they must’ve been filled with much more wickedness than this one sin. It was a nation stained with filthiness. There are not many nations we see in the Bible that God just wipes out, and Sodom and Gomorrah got the full wrath of “fire and brimstone” from Heaven. This was God’s judgment on a city filled with sin. In fact, all but Lot’s family were destroyed.

We need to stop generalizing homosexuals as “Sodomites.” They are not Sodomites, the Bible never even points to the way the phrase is used today. Let’s use proper terminology. I don’t see homosexuals running around raping, pillaging, stealing, molesting, lying, killing, etc. Anymore than the average person. They just have this particular sexual struggle. Instead of condemning them, how about we love them and pray for them that God will help them overcome this issue?

Also, due to the liberal use of the term “sodomy” many just figure it means “homosexuality.” However, upon looking at the definition:

Sodomy: (slang) Sexual intercourse involving anal or oral copulation.

Both straight and gay people regularly exercise oral copulation. Some even participate in anal copulation (although not usually recommended.) However, this would mean that most people have committed “sodomy.” in one way or another.

I’ve had discussions with gay people and they tell me that when someone uses the term “Sodomite” usually hate comes right after. I’m not talking about reproof here, I’m talking about hate. Please, Christians, I urge you to use proper terminology and not say such things. This isn’t cowardice or being afraid to “call it what it is.” In fact, it’s the opposite. I’m asking you to actually call it what it really is (homo/bi-sexuality.) Because as explained above, the term “sodomy” is highly inaccurate and has been exhausted by the most hateful speakers. I’m only encouraging wisdom and discretion here.

Gain Knowledge and Wisdom

You need to get to know a person before you start pointing fingers. You see, many times there is a “method to the madness.” Generally, if someone struggles with this issue it is because they were exposed to it early on in life or some other event.

Example: Growing up in my family, we had foster kids in and out of our home. Obviously, this meant we had many sexually abused children come through our doors. I remember hearing things from the kids that to this day disturb me. One of the kids still resonate in my mind. When he was just four years old he was raped, multiple times, by a ten year old neighbor boy. Then, another neighbor girl molested him along with her brother. This happened until he was about six years old. He was eventually taken into foster care. Being exposed to this at such an early age it created a ton of confusion with him. Later, he was caught molesting/raping other boys around him. This caused him to be moved from that foster home and eventually into ours where all of us were much older and not going to be another random victim. I talked to this boy many times about his experiences. He knew it was wrong. He didn’t understand his urges or why he had them. But I knew why; he was abused at an early age and it warped his mind. Something inside him was broken. After being in our home for a long time and us watching him closely we watched him go from a traumatized kid to becoming a normal boy in every way. He accepted Christ as his savior and we saw him as a new child. He was given a chance to change, and he did.

What’s my point? Well, if this boy was never brought to our home, introduced to God, and given a bit of grace his story could've ended very differently. However, this child was given a normal life, but due to a traumatizing past incident he could’ve easily been set before a different path.

My ultimate point is that you have to get to know people before you just instantly condemn them or label them. The Bible tells us to judge (discern) that which is sin, but not to judge a person’s thoughts, motives, feelings, past, or heart. This is God’s part. Our job is to lead them and anyone else to the Lord.

A Plea

Matthew 9:36-38 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

God moved with compassion when He saw the people lost in sin. Let me ask you: Will you be a shepherd? Will you stop putting down, avoiding, condemning, and being hateful to homosexuals? I understand it’s a sin and so should you. If someone openly lives that lifestyle then they are living in open sin and not in the freedom of Christ. Obviously, we Christians are not bound by sin, let’s show the entire world that! Every person we come into contact with. Gays/lesbians are no exception.

Also, let me add this. Gays/lesbians/bi’s are not trying to take over the entire USA or the world. They aren’t trying to molest your children. They are not monsters in the night. They are people. Are there some who might fit this description? Sure. But are there straight people doing the same? Yup. So it’s the liberal agenda to be blamed there, not only homosexuals. To blame gays for all the problems in this country/world is ignorant and foolish. Sin filled mankind is to blame for all of that. No one else.

For all those still doubting everything I’ve said and still want to openly and verbally bash them and excuse it by saying something like “There is no greater love than speaking the truth” Well let me remind you. First off, the Bible says that there is no greater love than he who gives his life for a friend (John 15:13) so that statement is wrong. Also, it’s not bashing the truth all day that shows love. It’s speaking the truth in love.

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

“Love without truth is compromise, but truth without love is harshness”

That is the moral I’m ultimately trying to speak here. Why would anyone want to hear man just hating on them all day? Especially if they are not a Christian! Why on earth would anyone open a listening ear to hear about God if all they hear is “God hates you and you going to burn in hell because you’re gay!” I know I wouldn’t listen to a word! Let’s clear the name of our churches today and show that the church is God’s blessed vessel to reach out to the world and teach His Words to everyone and preach the grace of God.

Let me give you an example real quick then I’ll close:

When I was in Tennessee going to Crown College of the Bible, I worked at Express. One of my managers there was a gay man. He was a hard worker, he was friendly, and never mistreated anyone. He worked insane hours and went to school to be a chemist. He knew I was a Bible college student but he didn’t act weird around me and I joked with him as I did with all my co-workers. I never acted weird around him and he always respected me and vice versa. Well, when the school year came to an end I had to quit working there. When I put in my notice he called me up and said this to me:

“Will, I wanted to thank you for your hard work and your attitude while working here. You treated me like a normal person despite going to a Bible college and knowing I was gay. I never told you this but my dad was a Southern Baptist Preacher and when I was 17 I went to him and told him that I had thoughts toward men and didn’t know what to do. Enraged my father scolded me and told me to find a job and kicked me out of the house. I haven’t talked to him for over 8 years now. Ever since that day, I wanted nothing to do with church. I believe in God, but I’m scared of being treated like that again. So I wanted to thank you.”

“What for?” I asked.

“For giving me faith in Christians again.”

I remember hanging up the phone in a daze. I was shocked that I made such an impression on him while I was there: all because I treated him like a person. Now, he had faith in Christians again. He never stopped believing God, he only doubted the people that are supposed be showing the grace of God.

What happened to us Christians? Since when did we trade the Great Commission and the Grace of God for a hammer and judgment seat? It is not our place to judge them or make sure they “regret” their sin. It’s our place to reach and teach Christ.

Please understand, I do not condone homosexuality. The Bible says it is sin and against the nature of things. God created things to be a certain way and we are to follow that. However, I am tired of Christians not following the proper commandments of God. To hate on them, bash them, and then excusing it away by saying “It’s an abomination to the Lord.” Meanwhile, they ignore that lying and sowing discord among the brethren is also an abomination. Let me remind you, if there is a Christian who struggles with homosexuality to put them down, yell at them, call them an abomination is doing 1) judging/condemning him for their sin which is only God’s place 2) You are causing discord among the brethren. Instead of doing those things, how about you befriend that person and encourage them to walk right with the Lord.

1 John 2:11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Let’s keep things where they need to be. Hate the sin and love the sinner. No one will ever turn away from sin or even have a desire to transform their mind/heart (Romans 12:2) if we don’t lead first by example. Even now, I am counseling and attempting to help some people who struggle with this sin. They are opening up to me and I’m trying to help them. But they will only listen if you first show grace, love, and discretion. This is not to say “Look how spiritual and good I am!” this is something that is a burden on my heart. It bothers me when I hear what Christians say about homosexuals, yet they ignore the commands of Mark 12:31 (love your neighbor) I want to see a change in Christians and how they interact with the gay/bi/lesbian community. Not saying it’s “okay” and accepting it as normal, but not rejecting them with such harsh demeanor that it’s not even remotely Christian. I will lave you with this verse. I am praying for you all and I hope that my thoughts were clear on this message.

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...

Friday, July 4, 2014

The Music Controversy

Unknown July 04, 2014 clapping drums , controversy 4 Comments

Music is obviously huge in today’s culture and it’s not going away anytime soon! Churches seem to continually be approached with the questions “Out with the old and in with the new?” or “Out with the new and stick with the old?” In fact, this issue hasn’t just stayed inside the church building, but has really been imprinted upon people in their homes as well. So let me tell you a bit about my struggle with this issue.

Growing up in traditional churches, all my life I heard this issue brought up more times than I can count. I was told that rhythmic music was wrong, if it was in a minor key, if it was syncopated, or had a set of drums (or any percussion instrument for that matter), and guitars (especially electric) were bad. It seemed each person told me something different about where I should stand with music, and why it was all evil. This started to keep me up at night in thought. "What was wrong with it? Was it bad? What does the Bible say?" For years, I reserved a tight music mindset. I never listened to things with drums, electric guitars, digitization etc. Finally, I saw some major division take place over the topic and it shook me enough to start studying this topic.

Before I dive into this, please note that I have studied music for over fourteen years now. I play violin, piano, guitar, and I sing (melody and harmony.) I played in a very well qualified orchestra, sang in a pristine acappella choir in Michigan, pit orchestras, musicals, and even studied it while in college. I do not say this in any way to boast about my musical resume. In fact, I was rarely the best musician in any group. However, I want you to know that I am qualified to speak on topics musically related, and being a pastor I believe that I am qualified to speak on things of a theological nature. So for about a year, I studied the Bible; searching for anything that pertained to the topic. I tried to find something against drums, minor keys, rhythms etc. Also, I studied history of music during this time, trying to find the reasoning of what I had been taught.

The Bible makes perfectly clear that music is important to God...

Psalms 104:33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

Christian music should, at its core, bring praise to God. To which any Christian in the world would probably exclaim, “Duh! We know that!” But how well do we know that? Has it ever occurred to you that maybe your Christian music does not praise God? Or maybe music that you condemn actually does praise the Lord? This is a line that many Christians do not seem to think about. Do you accept any music thrown at you with the label of 'Christian' slapped on it? Do you condemn music and its listeners to be sinful and worldly when there is nothing inherently wrong with what they are doing? Both sides of this can be dangerous.

All throughout history we see many different styles of music. Take a look at this Classical Music Timeline. This is only dealing with Western Styled music (IE: from Europe/North America)

Medieval (before 1450)
Renaissance (1450 - 1600)
Baroque (1600 - 1750)
Classical (1750 - 1820)
Romantic (1810 - 1910)
20th-Century (1900 - 2000)
Modern (1945 - present)

Now I am not gonna bore you with explaining each period and what genre did what and where. However, I will say this: Music has changed drastically throughout history and cultures. Many of the styles introduced were originally disliked. Take J.S. Bach for example. Today he is praised for his musical genius, but in his time, he was only famous for one thing: controversial worldly music. He was the organist of a few churches and he was nearly kicked out of these churches because his music was worldly. Yet, he continued to write despite the resistance.

Fast forward to the future...

Today, his music is praised and listened to by both Christians and non-believers alike. What’s my point? Today the very same thing is happening. As soon as someone comes up with something new, it is instantly compared to that of the worldly artists and immediately condemned (guilty by association.) This is a sad truth to see that this issue is not recent, but many years old. Ironically, we see even today people compare modern music to that same exact pagan root that Bach was accused of.

Exodus 32 is used frequently against modern Christian music. This is when Moses comes down from the mountain and sees the people worshiping a golden calf and singing praises to the false god. Moses threw down the tablets of the ten commandments, and destroyed the idol. There is a section in the passage that compares the Israelites' false praise as ‘songs of war’. Their praise was as a loud noise and the cry of battle. So many use this verse to 'prove' that there is evil styled music (especially if it is loud.)

Upon closer examination, this verse is really talking about their cries of false worship. I find it to be stretching the truth a bit to apply it to modern day Christian music. In fact, the Bible only talks about singing praises to God and condemning false worship. The Bible says nothing about various music styles.

It amazes me how such a simple issue has exploded to becoming such a destroyer of Christian unity, lives, churches, hearts, and souls. Where does the Bible place this emphasis?

Ephesians 5:19 Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart...

I have heard this verse defined as:

Psalms: The Book of Psalms

Spiritual Songs: Choruses we sing

Hymns: Songs we sing in our hymn book

This is not an accurate interpretation. This false definition actually has no grounds of truth. They did not have a chorus book or a hymn book back in ancient Ephesus in the way we think today. It was everything they could do to get a copy of any Bible manuscript, let alone making up little booklets such as hymnbooks. This verse is ultimately referring to praising our God and singing songs that glorify Him and exhort us as Christians.

As we continue to check the validity of claims against modern worship, I wish to be clear in my terms, I will often refer to Contemporary Christian Music as CCM.

“Are Drums Sinful?”

Psalms 150:1-6 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

(Also, see Isaiah 55:12)

Besides the emphasis on praising the Lord again, we see he mentions specific instruments to praise the Lord with, and he does not seem to discriminate which ones either. He mentions wind, string, and percussive instruments. David, nor God, seemed to have an issue with them. Yet, some of these are frowned upon by churches today. Despite how you may feel about drums personally, the Bible has nothing against percussive instruments. In Psalm 47:1 it even mentions “The clapping of hands.” Many of these thoughts against such things come from the wrong application of separation and how that applies to the Christian.

I have heard mention that the beat overwhelms all the other music. Which this can be true in some cases, but it all depends who playing the drums. This tends to be more about poor musicianship than it does about being sinful. I sang once in my church and my pianist completely drowned out my voice with the piano. This does not make it evil. It simply means poor musicianship (or not enough rehearsals if you throw things together like I do.) I should also mention that there is no Biblical validity in this claim either.

I have also heard that the beat, in general, is evil and pleases the flesh. Of course, to state the obvious, every song has a beat. (besides traditional Gregorian chants) Next time you are singing in church, look around you. Upon observation, you may notice many congregation members swaying side to side when singing a song. If you look closely, you will notice that the swaying is generally in perfect sync with the beat. The beat helps musicians and singers stay in the correct timing, which proves to be beneficial to everyone. Feeling the music does not mean it is wrong, it means one is engaged in the music.

Another claim against drums is they emphasize the ‘off-beat’. First off, percussionists can emphasize whatever beat they choose. But for those of you who are not musicians I will try to explain this as easily as possible.

In most traditional songs, there is a 4/4 time/beat pattern. Basically, to keep this simplified, this means there are gonna be 4 beats per measure. In traditional music they always emphasized the 1st and 3rd beat (IE: 1, 2, 3, 4.) and in modern music they emphasize the opposite beat (1, 2, 3, 4) It is often claimed that this is wrong because it is imitating the sounds of the world during the rock and roll movements of the '70-'80s and therefore feeds our flesh. Once again, this is a false claim. There is a lot of older music that does this same setup and is accepted openly because it is a classical piece. Take Irish styled music as an example. It has both beat patterns in it (among others.) We hear Irish styled music all the time in churches and people love it. Why? Because it’s beautiful! In southern Gospel, the off-beat is emphasized all the time, (especially by the stand up bass.) I have heard it emphasized in classical music anywhere from the medieval period to the romantic period. Off-beat emphasis has been around for a very long time. You will even notice some hymns do this if you pay attention. Oddly enough, the Bible says nothing about such beat patterns either.

“Is Syncopation Wrong?”

Syncopation is defined as “displacing the beats or accents in music or rhythm so the strong beats become weak and vice versa.” This is pretty much the exact same thing as explained above. Even in Vivaldi’s Concerto in A Minor, there is syncopation. It has been around for centuries. It is generally used to create a musical emphasis. This is not always the case, but often times it is.

There was a young man at my Bible college who was really ragging on syncopated music. Yet, his favorite song was "I Have Been Blessed." I looked at his sheet music and saw that it was entirely syncopated. I pointed out the syncopation in his music and he started saying, “Wow, this song is corrupted too, I don’t think I should play this anymore...” I attempted to reason with him, but sadly, the roots of his traditionalist mindset would not be uprooted. This was a shame since God clearly used the song to bless his heart along with many others. Syncopation should not eliminate a song from being a blessing. Ever.

Many of these issues exist because of ignorance. We need to educate ourselves on these topics, especially if you even consider the idea of debating these issues. Remember, God says to praise Him! If God wanted a specific beat structure I am sure He would have communicated it clearly.

“The modern movement is repetitive and has no theological depth."

Often times those who use this form of argumentation call contemporary music 7/11 music (same seven words repeated eleven times) I personally do not find much enjoyment out of repetitive music. However, there is nothing actually wrong with it. What is ironic is that some will accuse songs like "Awesome God" of being simplistic and repetitive, while saying songs such as "God is So Good" are good and acceptable for worship. Despite the fact that "God is So Good" is written simplistically in both theory and lyrics, not to mention that song's repetitive nature. However. there is a level of beauty in repeating a holy and simple truth about God. It is also worth noting that the Bible says the angels sing “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty” all throughout eternity.

Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

If God finds it acceptable to sing it in heaven, then one can safely assume it is okay within our churches. Christians should not be so harsh as to put down believers for repeating a truth about God. God can be praised by repeating a simple truth about Him, or by stating a long and in-depth poetic song filled to the brim with doctrinal and theological truth. We must keep the focus on Christ, not our personal musical preferences.

As a side note: not all modern songs constantly repeat themselves. In fact, some of them have deeper meanings than many traditional songs.

“The CCM Artists are worldly and you can’t tell the difference between them and a normal rockstar."

(Please read my Appearance of Evil and Separation from the World for more information)

This is an interesting point to bring up. I can see the concern here, but one's physical appearance does not dictate one's spiritual state. (Unless they are entirely immodest, but even that has some subjectivity) It is also worth noting that not all of these Christian artists look like worldly rockstars. Like any group of individuals, you will find all different types. Look at the very church you attend and you will see what I mean. The church is made up of individuals and each individual is different and rightfully so. Some of us are at different points of our spiritual walk, some of us have different conviction/beliefs about various different topics, and due to all these differences, many of us can reach people that the other cannot. After all, are we not the Body of Christ?

Jeremy Camp is a well-known song writer and CCM artist and he has an incredible testimony. Many accusers would say he is worldly, but if you take off the judgmental lenses you may actually see a genuine person here.

Jeremy Camp's Testimony

Plus, if someone spikes their hair, has a piercing, or even eight tattoos, does that really make them less of a Christian? The Bible really does not speak against these things (within proper context) so why are we making a bigger deal about it than even God did? Remember, you do not know these people. They do not know you. To judge them from a distance is within direct violation of popular passages like Matthew 7. God looks upon the heart, do not get caught up in the over critical nature of man to look down on someone because they do not present themselves in the way you think is best.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

“CCM Music doesn’t say the name of God and sounds like it could be sung to/about anyone”

Actually, there are a lot of songs that openly and clearly testify Christ. It is also true that a lot of songs use the personal pronoun you. Now first off, you will see in the book of Psalms that David uses the word thee, thou, you, etc. A lot of these songs are sung as prayers to God so, naturally, they would use personal pronouns (As King David did.) Below are links to a few songs within the CCM movement with amazing messages that clearly demonstrate that the above accusation is false.

Even if the accusation was true, there are traditional songs that never use the name of God, but simply describe His attributes, or poetically describe the person-hood of God. A famous example of this is: Amazing Grace. "Amazing Grace" never once mentions the name of God directly. It mentions "God's praise" in the last stanza, but never directly refers to the personhood of God. This is fine! The song is about the human journey of experiencing God's grace. That is the entirety of the message.

Obviously, there are many songs that are shallow. Take Get Back Up Again as an example. Does it talk about love? Yes. Does it encourage you to press on? Yes. Is its focus on Christ? Not really. Although, it is sung by a Christian artist and played on the station. This song is more of a positive message than a spiritual one. However, if we are going to bash music for being positive in its message, we may need a heart check. There are plenty of songs both old and new that can be shallow. Of course, this is basic argumentation. The most important part of all this is that there is not an ounce of Biblical support to this claim.

Ultimately, we have to be careful not to generalize new or old Christian music. No one likes to be generalized or painted with a broad brush. That being said, be careful on what you are accusing and be sure it is consistent within your own position.

“We have to avoid music that reflects a worldly culture.”

Many people define worldliness as follows...

Worldly: of or concerned with material values or ordinary life rather than a spiritual existence. (traditional interpretation.)

However, this definition is too vague. What is "too concerned?" what is a healthy "material value?" where is the line? At what point do I cross the threshold between, "providing for my family" and, "not being spiritually focused?" Obviously, this could become subjective quickly. Which is why I have previously written on this topic. In short, what the Bible really means is much simpler than what tradition says.

Worldly: To be enamored or ensnared by the sinful nature of the world. (Biblical interpretation)

To be clear, we are to be separate from the world. This does not mean that people cannot be engaged within their own culture. What that means is not falling into the habits/sins of the world. It does not mean to avoid everything within your own culture/society.

We commend Hudson Taylor (missionary to China) for adapting to the Chinese culture. This did not make him worldly, but instead made him trusted by the people. This is why it is increasingly important that churches adapt to the current culture without sacrificing Biblical truth or the content of the Gospel. Everything in this world is attached to some form of culture. So everything we do could be considered worldly. Traditional music, modern music, clothes, entertainment, books etc. all originated within a culture. That does not make it evil. The content, however, can.

“Didn't CCM emerge because of the Rock and Roll movement in the 70-80's?”

Yes and no. Music is always evolving and adapting. But yes, it is true that a lot of what we hear today became popular during that time. But even today’s music style sounds very different than that time period. Even classical music has roots that might shock many. Most of the old classical styles are deeply rooted in sensuality. Even the styles of songs played in our Hymn books are strikingly similar in structure to those that were played in taverns/brothels of the 1700’s and onward.

You see, music styles change according to the culture in which they are a part of. This is because that is the music people hear and are familiar with. Naturally, people write what they know. Then, over time the music changes and evolves into something else. This is a natural progression all throughout music history.

There is an amazing book that opened my eyes to this and it is entitled "Bruchko." It is about an American missionary to the Indians in South America. There is a part where he finally witnesses to the Indians and they accept Christ as their Savior. It shocked the missionary when they were singing praises to Jesus in their typical tribal music styles. He was going to intervene, but he felt convicted by the Holy Spirit not to. He realized that the Indians did not want his style of music, but they had their own. In fact, later the Indians said that hymns sounded similar to "Wailing at a funeral." This is a great example of cultural differences and adjusting to the culture in which you are in.

“These people are always trying to put on a show and bring attention to themselves.”

This could be true to some, but false to others. Again, it is a general claim. We cannot condemn the multitudes for the deeds of a few. Also, we cannot judge these motives for ourselves. People perform in traditional churches same as modern churches. To be the sole arbiter of someone's motive is disconcerting at best. Whether in a contemporary environment or a traditional one people can perform for their own self interests or for the Lord.

There was a girl I knew who sang all the time at Bible College and was commended highly by the pastor/president and the entire 3,000 member church. The thing was, when you talked to her she was extremely self-absorbed. I even heard her tell someone "I'm one of the best singers here. I think some people are just jealous of that...” (she did not say this out of an attempt to be humorous either.) It would appear that certain people, even traditionalists, might be in it for the thrills and attention as well.

I have also heard the argument that all there hand gestures and facial expressions are to bring attention to themselves. When we get to some of these claims, it honestly feels like people are just grasping at straws to nit-pick. People make facial expressions while singing and are actually encouraged to do so by most any vocal coach (classical or otherwise.) It is often a psychological technique used to help someone reach higher notes, use better tone etc. The hand gestures are basically the same thing. There is nothing Biblically wrong with this. So why do accusers say otherwise?

Luke 16:15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

I have heard this verse used against all these artists. This is taking this verse out of context and running with it. There are good preachers, singers, Sunday school teachers etc. that are all looked highly upon. Being looked up to is not a sin. This verse is talking about a person’s heart.

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

This goes all the way back to what was discussed earlier. In order to praise God in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, our hearts must be right with God. For God knows our hearts. Our lives do not have to be perfect, but our hearts must be in the right place. Otherwise, if it is all about our own skills and pride, it is vanity. The Bible says we must do our best in all things for the Lord. So use your talents and gifts humbly for Him.

“CCM Focuses on emotions”

It is not entirely emotional. Again, this is a general claim. However, if you are singing about a God who created the world, loved mankind despite its shortcomings and betrayals, sent His son to live a perfect life, endure torture and death for you, and you do not get a little emotional from time to time...you may want to take a spiritual inventory. God created emotions and He created us in His image.

This claim has no Biblical grounds and is ridiculous to assume something is wrong just because it can have emotions. Most music that is written is inspired by a highly emotional event such as loss or heartbreak. It is often when we are broken that God reveals His unending grace and mercy to us which results in inspiration for many Christian musicians to write.

“Christians can only listen to Christian music"

Again, there are no Biblical grounds for this claim. The Bible never says music is only for Christians to praise God with. It simply tells us to praise the Lord with music. If you do not want to listen to secular music that’s fine, but nothing is essentially wrong with listening to secular music. This would even make love songs to a spouse or the "Star Spangled Banner" worldly and sinful by this logic. Few people would say poems about love or loneliness are wrong. So what is wrong with putting that poem to a piano or other accompaniment? In short, a song is only sinful when it encourages or praises that which is sinful.

Even orchestral music or straight classical music has nothing to do with God, yet is generally more accepted even in the most conservative circles. This would appear to be a hypocrisy. Which would be more spiritually uplifting? A CCM song? Or a violin solo composed by Paganini?

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Whatever music you do choose to listen to, it should help encourage us to think on these things. I believe I can testify for numerous believers that CCM does encourage us to think upon these things.

“CCM artists say their primary reason for singing is evangelism, when God says it is to praise Him.”

Let’s actually take a second to think this through. If someone is fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20), travels, sings, and testifies Christ...does that not ultimately bring glory God? This argument, again, is a stretch. What could possibly be wrong with evangelizing with music? If they are testifying Christ and singing music to Him; God will receive honor and praise. Even the most conservative churches have Teen Meetings/Revivals and use games, pizza, skits, and competitions to reach out to teenagers. Is it mentioned in the Bible? No. Is there anything wrong with it? No. People are coming and hearing the Gospel message. In fact, I would find a Christ centered musical experience to be more spiritual than a game night with teenagers. Yet, we have the nerve to say musical evangelism is wrong? Let’s be honest, if we were as concerned about lost souls as we were these kinds of topics, there would be a huge revival in our world. However, so many prefer to tear down Christian people who are trying to influence lives than to pray for their ministry.

“Electrical Instruments are Worldly”

Outside of using the word worldly out of context again, there is further issue with this statement. It does not matter if an instrument is electric or acoustic. My church has an electric pipe organ and I grew up using an electric piano. How the instrument functions really is of no consequence. You will find that music styles have much more in common than one might originally assume. All music styles use the same notes and scales, sheet music, beat structure, and they all play in the same keys. At the end of the day, a G chord plays 3 notes G, B, D. The G chord can be played on piano, violin, or any guitar. It can be played in any style in any place. Music instruments and their notations are really amoral. It would seem that the only consistent position would be to acknowledge that musical instruments and the notes/style they play have no real moral value.

I would argue that it is all about the balance of the music vs. lyrics. Lyrics should be about God and praising Him, testifying Him, or praying to Him. The music should reflect that which is being sung or else it does not fit its message. Have you ever heard a song where the melody/style did not fit the lyrics? It can be jarring. This would seem to be a more appropriate complaint than the types of instruments it is played on. However, this would still be under a musical preference, not necessarily a moral issue, and certainly not a Biblical issue.

Conclusion

We cannot be so tight that we shut down anything that has a new sound to it. All of these claims against CCM have no Biblical grounds and fall apart upon further inspection of music. Sure, some CCM artists are not good examples of Christianity. However, we as Christians should be able to discern that, but not all traditionalists are good examples either. If the world judged us just as harshly for our few bad apples, could you imagine the devastating result that would have on the ministry of churches today? Maybe our entire focus on this is wrong. Maybe it is not about the drums, guitars, styles etc. maybe it is about something deeper. Maybe it is about the heart of the worship itself.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Separation from the World

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Altar Call

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Homosexuality

Friday, July 4, 2014

The Music Controversy

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