Musical Guidelines

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16

In the past, I've written quite a few posts on this blog that are based on hymns and gospel songs. There are a couple of reasons for that. For one thing, music is an important part of my life. I've always been a music lover, and I've been the music director at my church for the past five years. Secondly, well-written music can teach us a lot. It is no substitute for the word of God, but when done correctly, it can teach us about scripture.

When it comes to music, we are certainly confronted with a lot of options. There is plenty of debate about what is acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to music choices. Fortunately, we can search the Bible and find guidelines that will help us make that determination. In this post, I'd like to look at some Biblical principles that will help us determine what is acceptable and what isn't in our musical choices.

1) Does it sound like something from the world?

I believe that there shouldn't be doubt about what a Christian is listening to when someone else comes along. If their first impression is that we're listening to something from the world, that should be a red flag. Titus 2:14 and 1 Peter 2:9 say that we are to be a "peculiar people." Second Corinthians 6:17 tells us to be separate from the world. That should apply as much in our music as it does to any other part of our lives. Our musical choices should be peculiar to the world and show that there is a separation.

2) Does it stir the spirit or the flesh?

Our own flesh is our worst enemy because we have to contend with it all day long, every day. We should always strive to avoid things that will arouse it and turn to things that will lift up our spirits. There is a reason that the Bible refers to "spiritual songs." Galatians 5:24-25 tells us that those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh and that they walk and live in the Spirit. If we're in a spiritual battle, shouldn't our music reflect that?

3) Does it glorify God or man?

Revelation 4:11 tells us that God is worthy to receive glory and honour and power. That is something that no human has any claim to. Ultimately, our musical selections should point us to the fact that God is indeed the worthy One. If a song glorifies a man, it's no good. Any song that has a person as a central character should use that person's life to point us to God and encourage our faithfulness to Him, such as the song "Dare to be a Daniel." That's what the accounts of the heroes of the faith in the Bible do, so why should it be any different in song?

4) Does it teach sound doctrine?

Music is no substitute for the preaching of the word of God, but if it is done correctly, it can play a key role in preparing the heart for worshiping the Lord during preaching and in teaching us about the Bible. Colossians 3:16 makes it clear that music can teach us. If we're going to learn from it, shouldn't we make sure we're learning the right things? I do want to say that we can violate the spirit of this if we're not careful. I've read articles online in which people attacked the song "Victory in Jesus" because it mentions "angels singing" and the Bible never mentions angels singing. Ultimately, I find something like that to be trivial and inconsequential. Talking about angels singing has nothing to do with central Bible doctrines. If a song teaches something that does violate those principles, however, we should steer clear.

There you have it. It is my prayer that the principles above will help to guide anyone who has questions about Godly music and point them toward things that are edifying. Music is indeed powerful, and it's important to know how to harness that power for good to edify ourselves and other believers, and maybe even help to point a lost soul toward Calvary and the Lamb of God.