After having posted several non serious doctrines, I thought I would tackle a little more serious subject. Not that music is serious, but compared to discussions about ties… I realize that a lot of you are going to disagree with me. Some you will say I’m too liberal on this subject, others will say I to conservative. But anyway, this is my position on the topic of Christian rock. Since I will be indirectly/directly addressing 1 Corinthians 8, it might be good for you to really quick read that that chapter (don’t worry it’s short.).
My belief is that Christian rock music is like eating food sacrificed to idols: its ok for some people, but not others. Now is there specifically anything wrong with Christian rock music? No. I don’t believe that the music itself is the problem. With that said, is Christian rock wrong for some people and in some circumstances? Yes I believe it is. I think most of us have probably been in situations where we’ve seen people “rockin’” out to Christian rock. Now is rockin’ out to a wholesome song wrong? No, not really. What gets me is when people and churches start calling this worship. But you say, “can’t I worship God while I’m rockin’ out?” Yes you can. You can also worship him while you play basketball or washing the dishes. But I believe there is a difference between worship and Worship. worship (lowercase) is the act of living a set apart life for God. Worship (upper case) is the act of coming before a holy God and confessing our unworthiness and his Holiness. Now are some people able to Worship while listening to Christian rock? I believe some are. However I believe that there are many how aren’t able to. And as 1 Corinthians 8:9 says “be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” I think it’s fine for some people to listen to Christian rock, but when Christian artists, Christian radio, and Christian churches start to say that Rockin’ out is Worship, I disagree. I think we see a lot of churches today that only play Christian rock music, and deceive many people into thinking they are Worshiping, when all along it’s just an emotional roller coaster ride. Now there may be some in those churches that can worship to that music, but referring back to 1 Corinthians, it’s important that the exercise of our faith does not become a stumbling block to others. I think many churches today have lost true worship and have replaced it with over-hyped emotionalism. And when we deceive ourselves and try to lie to God and say that we’re worshiping - that is, confessing God’s holiness - when all we’re doing is pleasing our flesh, I believe that’s an awful sin.
In summary, I believe that Christian rock is ok for some people, but those people should be careful when and where they listen to that music, and that they never tell someone else that Rockin’ out is Woship. 1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
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9 comments:
Hey man, I appreciate your commentary on such a difficult subject - apparently controversial subjects are afloat at the moment... :)
And in addition - I whole-heartedly agree. What is OK for some is not OK for all. My conviction is to do nothing that will cause another to stumble with regards to music - which is one reason I never really do a whole lot of music stuff with my friends. I would rather make sure that I am keeping them from stumbling (or from stumbling myself more often) than have a rift in my relationship with another individual. Great commentary. Keep it up!
wow. Maybe my post wasn't as controversial as I thought. I was expecting a different response from you, Paul. We'll have to see what the people I thought would critisize this as to conservative will say.
Yeah, although what can they say against your comments? You are so right.
We need to be so careful that we don't offend people's beliefs. I've always wanted to be extra careful about music because when you are listening to music the people who are around you can hear it too and are affected by it. While if say they happen to not like your hair style they can just look the other way. They can't really shut their ears.
Any ways, all that to say good job Trev keep up the good work.
Oh, I do think that maybe Chris doesn't count with the people that we should not offend with music. *wink*
"I think we see a lot of churches today that only play Christian rock music, and deceive many people into thinking they are Worshiping, when all along it’s just an emotional roller coaster ride."
Excellent statment, well put and so true. And while I do think that true Worship is possible through SOME Christian rock, I think that it tends to be the exception, not the rule.
Janel: I listened to one of Chris's songs that he recorded when i was at his house and it was really good.
Anonymous: I very much agree. My point was that It's ok for some but not others.
good point trevor. this is one area where person by person, conviction is going to be different. I think there is a difference between clean entertainment, and worship. for instance, the Third Day concert seemed more like clean (and loud) entertainment than it did worship although i was able to worship in my heart. VERY good post. no reason to take offense at what you said. :)
oh and good parallel between food sacrificed to idols and music. identical issues
Thanks Jef.
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