What Kind of Music should we have in our churches
by Jim Murriner
What kind of music should we have in the Lord’s church?
Psm. 100:1-2 tells us to sing and to make a joyful noise.
1“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.”
2 “Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”
God’s word not only tells us to sing and to make a joyful noise, but it also tells us specifically to sing praises unto God.
Psm.30:4
“Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
Psm.66:2 shows us that our singing is to bring honor and praise unto God.
“Sing forth the honour of his name; make his praise glorious.”
Psm. 33:2 tells us that instruments are to be used in bringing glory to God.
“Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.”
In our worship services today we have forgotten that singing is to be consistent with the message which we preach. Whether it be the preaching or the singing all that is done within a church service is to bring glory unto God.
ICor. 10:31
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
There are many other verses which tell us that our singing, our music, as well as our preaching is to bring glory unto God.
ICor.6:20
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Romans 15:6
“That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Psalms 101: 1 tells us of some specific things which we are to sing about.
“I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.”
Psalms 51:14 tells us of one who could sing because God had delivered him from not only the power and penalty of sin, but also from the guilt of sin.
“Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”
Psalms 59: 16-17 tell us of the great power of God in salvation.
16 :But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.”
17 “Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God to my mercy.”
We cannot bring glory unto God, nor be serving Him, if each person in the service is of a different mind. If one stands before the congregation and sings a song which gives glory to man, and another stands before the congregation and sings a song which teaches some way of salvation other than faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet another sings a song which gives great glory and honor to the Lord for providing us salvation, and the preacher stands before the congregation and preaches that salvation is all of the Lord, and is received by faith, then we are not all of one mind, and only those teaching that we are saved by faith in the finished work done by Christ are actually glorifying God.
Many people today seem to look at music used in a church service in the same way that they do a politician, if the song mentions something religious, we call it gospel music. This is like a preacher speaking for 45 minutes or an hour and mentioning some religious subject, but never really having any substance or any truth or any Bible teaching to his message, and the people yet saying that it was a good and proper message.
The music in most churches today is identical to the preaching in most churches today. It soothes , and comforts by distraction. Instead of answering the sinners problem, it gets the sinners mind away from the penalty of sin.
The comfort found in the average church music and in the average sermon is like the comfort which Job’s friend were giving him.
Job 21:34
“How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaneth falsehood?”
It is our duty as the Lord’s people to warn and to give real comfort, not a false or vain comfort.
Isaiah 40:1 commands us to comfort the people, but it speaks of a real comfort, which is based upon truth, even truth, that shows people that they are wrong, and the danger of their sins.
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”
Romans 15:4 speaks of the comfort of the scriptures. We may entertain people by our singing or our preaching, but we will not be a real comfort unto them without the scriptures.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
Once a lost sinner has been blessed to see himself as lost, the only comfort that is real to him from then on is to know that his sins have been paid for.
Romans 8:1 tells us of our sins and our condemnation being taken completely away.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk no after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 5:1 tells us that we are now at peace with God, since we have been given faith in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peach with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
If we then would seek to comfort a lost sinner, or if we should seek to bring glory unto the Lord, in our singing, we then should sing songs which give God the glory for our salvation, and not man.
If you are trusting in the finished work which Jesus Christ did upon the cross to get you to heaven, and you are a singer, you then just as preachers should, need to examine the songs which you sing. Just because they sound pretty to the ear, does not mean that they should be use in the church services.
This does not mean that each song must strictly be a salvation message, but that each song should give glory to God, and one of the most glorious things which God has done for us is to provide the savior, and to save us.
