WHO’s are we?
We are not born as children of God, but children of Satan. Jesus said in John 8:44 (NIV) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The main conversation of John 8 was Jesus explaining his relationship with His Father to a “dumb” audience. (see also Ephesians 2:1-5)
We start as children of the world, the world is under Satan’s power. But as God’s grace leads us to the cross, we choose Christ as our Savior and become adopted into God’s family. One of the hardest things I believe the merciful have to come to grip with is the fact that “innocent, new-born babies have more potential and opportunity to grow up evil than they do good. Only through receiving Christ, does anyone have hope.”
Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation’s Music
In his best-selling book “The Purpose Driven Life,” Rick Warren makes this statement, “There is no such thing as ‘Christian’ music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes.” He continues “God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all — fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don’t like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship . . . There is no biblical style!”
Inspirational or “Feels good!”
We need to personally know what “Holy” means! Your sacred boundaries should dictate what music you believe to be holy and what you think is secular. Ephesians 2:1 says we are spiritually dead until we receive Christ. When I hear a special song or experience an extraordinary performance, or see a once in a lifetime sunset or sunrise, etc., – they can all be considered inspirational. According to Webster, to be “inspired” simply means “aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence.” (Webster’s Dictionary) Before Christ, things may have looked beautiful, but they were not “seen” with an “eternal” eye directed by the Holy Spirit — so everything was only temporal and dies. Only the Truth will last forever. A Christian by the power of Christ should be able to look at the simplest thing and see the majesty of God. The ocean, a mountain, a bird, a tree, a blade of grass all proclaim the majesty of God. Moreover, in humility, the same Christian must endure the heresy of this world and daily humble themselves, pick up their cross, and follow Jesus.
Every Christian will fall to what I call “the temptation of the Pharisee.” In our futile attempt to understand God’s grace, we question the purpose and significance of other people’s ministry. This leads to one of the things I love about the Christian Church, there is a multitude of denominations, with a variety of worship styles. No perfect people, no perfect worship, no perfect churches down here. Somewhere there’s fit. Hebrews warns us not to forsake the fellowship of the saints. When Peter asked our Lord about John, Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:22)
I don’t like all Hillsong songs, though I love “Shout To The Lord.” I certainly don’t like all Elevation’s music, but, I love “O Come To The Altar” and their new song “Graves to Gardens.” I do not align myself with the theology and religious practices of Bethel, but I love “Living Hope” and the “Goodness of God.”
Jesus said even evil parents know how to give good gifts to their children. If a song helps a believer or non-believer come closer to knowing “good” — knowing God, then isn’t it a good gift? Besides our Lord Jesus, to me, scripture’s greatest worship leader was King David. Still, he was a liar, adulterer, and murderer. Do we stop singing his “Psalms” because he was a sinner? I believe a heart that is spiritually alive, washed by the blood of Christ can sing “I’m Walking On Sunshine” into heaven. Moreover, I know of only one song perpetually sung in heaven “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, and Is, and Is to come! (Revelation 4:8)” But soon, “Worthy is the Lamb… (Revelation 5:12)” will be sung.
In this current, cultural climate of rebellion and dissension, Christians need to remember “everyone is in submission.” (Ephesians 5:21) Remember this always, Jesus said this in Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” — Or sung?
Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ… The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Music is a powerful expression of individualism. It is a gift from our Creator that can bridge the communication gap between, tribes, tongues, nations, and generations that intelligence and other mediums can not. Like any gift, we can hoard it for ourselves — or give it away. We can make it self-serving and pervert it. Or, we can create healing songs that can bring relief to the depressed and melancholy. We can create temporal, manipulative songs that manufacture emotional connections that eventually get lost in reality. Or, we can create eternal spiritual songs that build up faith in the heart of every believer and encourages them to live out their love for God and their neighbor. “I desire to write songs that do the later.” Nonetheless, music is just one tool, one method, one practice to help us worship. Music is not worship. Obedience to Christ’s commands is worship. “Loving God and love one another” is our worship’s ultimate testimony. 
