Worship Is Not Determined by Our Styles

2005-09-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just finished a book from a former worship leader who had left the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) movement. His basic premise was that music with a “beat” is unscriptural. He said that “contemporaries,” as he called those who enjoy CCM, could never show scripturally why their music was appropriate. He kept saying he was going to back up his convictions with Bible references. But he never actually did! Every verse he alluded to dealt with motives of the heart, not with the kinds of music being used.

I think it's time we take our assumptions to task. Like the gentleman who wrote that book, too often, we "assume" ideas and beliefs that aren't really supported in God's Word. In his classic book, Art and the Bible, Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Let me say firmly that there is no such thing as a godly style or an ungodly style. The more one tries to make such a distinction, the more confusing it becomes.”1 I, too, could easily give you my opinion of what I think we should sing. (I actually have several I'd like to share!) But what good would my opinions do you or anyone else? Our authority and standard is the Bible. And the Bible simply makes no reference to one style being preferred over another. (In fact, not one of our modern music styles—i.e.: country, rock, jazz, classical, R&B, etc.—was even around when the Bible was written!)

So, if God’s Word is apparently not concerned about style, why should we be so "up in arms" about it? If anything, the Scriptures seem to point to the importance of both the old and the new. Compare these two verses for example: Psalm 96:1 says, “Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!” (NLT) Jeremiah 6:16 reads, “So now the LORD says, "Stop right where you are! Look for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls...” (NLT) Do you see the contrast? We are clearly encouraged to sing new songs; yet, we are also exhorted to seek the “old paths” from former days when our ancestors walked with God. No doubt those “old paths” could include our ancestors’ songs.

I want you to see something that I think is fascinating. Do you recall what the living creatures say in the last part of Revelation 4:8? They sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.” (NIV) The heavenly creatures In Isaiah 6:3 sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory." (NIV) Notice how similar the creatures’ song in Isaiah is to the four living creatures’ song in Revelation? Put together, those words could even be two verses of the same song! I believe there’s a good reason for this: Many scholars hold that the heavenly creatures Isaiah saw are also the living creatures John the Revelator wrote about. Furthermore, consider this: Those living creatures “never stop saying, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy…’” What we seem to have here is an “old and traditional” song (so to speak). It’s the same song they had been singing way back in Isaiah’s time, and they will still be singing it at the end of the ages!

Now, before you “traditionalists,” who want only the older songs, start planning your victory celebration based on what we just discovered, you had better take a close look at the 5th chapter of Revelation. According the beginning of verse 9, the four living creatures and the elders sang a “new song.” Amazingly, they sang a brand new song that complemented the “old song” they had just sung! Imagine that. Revelation 4 and 5 records the most powerful worship service in the entire Bible, and it is a “blended” service of both the old and the new!

Again, it's worth reiterating: Style is not the issue with God. He loves all kinds of music—as long as it honors Him. What matters to the Lord is not so much what we sing, but how we sing it. He wants to see that our music is flowing from hearts that truly worship Him.
- excerpt from Praise More Powerful, (c) 2005 Dwayne Moore