Colossians chapter three, please. We're glad to see you and thank you for coming along. Some visitors, we're glad to see you. Some who are back as well from previous times. Right, we're finishing out Acceptable Music in the Church and last month and tonight we want to think particularly about contemporary Christian music. Are we ready to go on that? So I want to read a few verses from, well really one verse from Colossians chapter 3 that we're going to make reference to there on the first page of the notes. It's Colossians chapter 3 verse 16. And the word of God reads there, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Amen. We know the Lord will bless the reading of his word to all of our hearts. So I've given you some notes there again that you can have them to refer to. So we start with a little bit of a summary from last week or last month. We started thinking about music in the Bible generally and what the scripture has to say about using music in worship. And the point that I was seeking to get over to you was that music has always been regulated in the worship of God. In Old Testament times that was the case. In the worship of the Lord there were only four instruments. that were permitted. And it started off with the trumpets, the two silver trumpets from the Book of Numbers. And then there were three other instruments that were added on in David's time. So there were many other instruments that are mentioned in the Bible. But the one point I would like you to go away with thinking about music is that music itself was regulated. It wasn't a matter of a free-for-all in any way that they could employ whatever instruments they liked and more the merrier. That is not how the Word of God conveys the matter at all. So with regards to music, that's the one thing I would like you to keep in mind. And then we covered that for the first two months, and then last month and now tonight, we want to think a little bit more about contemporary Christian music itself. So there is a little summary there where we have got to. With regards to this, what is wrong with contemporary Christian music? One, contemporary Christian music weakens and dilutes the doctrine of personal separation from the world. It's worldly music. It often borrows heavily from the secular worldly music styles and rhythms. Oftentimes the promoters are more interested in prioritizing marketability over separation from the world. So I think that's a general feature of it. It does break down that line of distinction between the Christian and the world because it's taking the world styles of music. Number two, contemporary Christian music weakens and dilutes the doctrine of ecclesiastical separation from the world. It's weak on issues of separation and again we covered that a little bit last time about groups that come together and CCM Contemporary Christian music seems to be what brings them together, whereas there are doctrinal views and so on that ought to keep them apart. We thought a little bit about what the Bible has to say about separation, and the Bible does teach ecclesiastical separation. We ought to separate from false teaching and churches that have departed from the truth. That is the command of Scripture. So there's two further points in the main, and then we're going to finish off with a particular thought I just want to bring, because I think it's more relevant as well in our own circumstances. But number three there, contemporary Christian music is doctrinally compromised. Let's remind ourselves of an important point with respect to the contents of what we sing. In Colossians, our psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are to have a teaching quality to them. Chapter 3 verse 16 this is the verse that we have read. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Our Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs must be, first of all, based on the Word of God, and two, the contents must be capable of teaching and admonishing those who sing and those who may listen. So if that is the case, then they're going to have to have a doctrinal quality to them, a proper, a true, accurate doctrinal quality to them. Now, I know sometimes people say, oh, hymology isn't theology. And that's sometimes used as an excuse for certain hymns. But is that really scriptural to defend something along those lines? Oh, hymology isn't theology. Because the Bible would suggest that our songs Our hymns, our psalms are to have a teaching quality to them. There's a purpose in that regard. And if you look there particularly at Colossians, I know there's a similar verse in Ephesians, but it's this one in Colossians that it tells us here, teaching and admonishing. That word admonishing is translated in chapter one of Colossians in verse 28 as the word warning. If you look across, well, it's just across the pages of my Bible. I have the two of them highlighted so that they do tie up. But it says there in Colossians 128, we preach warning every man. So the word warning and the word admonishing is exactly the same word in the New Testament language. So there's to be even a warning nature to what we sing. And sometimes we sing hymns like that, and rightly so, but maybe warn. We were doing that tonight even, of warning of the need of the cleansing in the blood of the Lamb that we were thinking about. So we have got a warrant for singing hymns like that because they are to have a teaching element to them. Well, how can you teach unless you have truth? So what we sing has to contain truth. And there's the old comment that was made about somebody singing and you could write the theology of what they'd sung on the back of a postage stamp. Well, that ought not to be the case. Something ought not to be that doctrinally suspect that it's questionable as to what theology is in it. There is to be truth in what we sing. So if that is the case and it is from what the Lord is teaching us there in Colossians that there is to be that teaching even that warning aspect in what we sing. And if we bring that over into the area of music now and address contemporary Christian music. Well in many cases it is doctrinally compromised. If you think of some of the places where that originates from, that in itself would suggest to you that here are places that don't hold to Reformed truth. The doctrines of Scripture as we understand them, well surely then they're going to be suspect. I've put in some areas here specifically rather than just making a general statement about them being doctrinally suspect. So there are some specific primary criticisms to be directed against CCM and its conflict with biblical doctrine. And the first one there is it lacks theological depth. Many songs prioritize emotional experience and catchy melodies over substantive biblical teaching, leading to a shallow understanding of the gospel. Shallow doctrine leads to shallow Christians. So it's not that truth is the primary marker here, that somebody is wanting to construct a hymn or a song. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's one of the arguments against exclusive psalmody in the Bible, is that those in Scripture oftentimes composed a new song. They didn't go back to the Psalms. If you think about Mary and Elizabeth, and there's many others in Scripture in Old Testament times as well, that's a separate issue. But one of the arguments against singing exclusive psalmody is to look at those in the Scriptures who sang new songs And Mary in her song and Elizabeth in her song were new songs. They weren't going taking the Psalms as our exclusive Psalmist friends would say we ought to. That's not the practice of the Christian church in the scriptures and it wasn't even the practice of the Old Testament church either. So there's nothing wrong with making up a new song in that sense. Writing a hymn? Not at all. But Truth ought to be to the fore. It ought to be the primary marker that is going to be the chief feature of what it is that's written and then sung. Truth is very much to the fore. But oftentimes in CCM, that's not the primary. It's more something emotional, something that's going to affect the emotions of an individual, even a catchy melody that maybe the words of it are going to be remembered, whether they're good words or not. whether they're scriptural words or not. So there is a shallowness to much of contemporary Christian music. And I ask the question there, how much of what passes for contemporary Christian music comes from Reformed Calvinistic circles? I would say that most of the origins of CCM are found elsewhere from sources that are Arminian and doctrinal emphasis and therefore unscriptural. So there is a lack of theological depth. Also there, CCM is too heavenly orientated towards self-focused lyrics. Worship ought to primarily focus on the greatness and the graciousness of God in Christ. Our worship is to be God-centered. There is a secondary place for that which is more self-focus. The psalmist certainly spoke of his own experiences, thoughts, and feelings. CCM has been rightly criticized for an excessive emphasis upon self and the use of first-person pronouns, I, me, my, which some argue makes the music self-focused rather than God-focused, contrasting with more theologically robust traditional hymns. That is something we ought to be careful about in our worship that God is the primary focus of our worship. I've summarized it there, the greatness and the graciousness of God. So we'll think about him as to who he is in his person, we're going to think about him as he is in his work, and his greatest work is the work of redemption, his grace that flows to sinners in Christ. That ought to be the primary focus of our worship, God-centered worship. even if I just speak personally. There are certain hymns that I won't start a service with. We might sing them as a second or a third hymn in a service, but personally I don't think that should be the starting hymn for a service. I don't like starting off with hymns that are self-focused. I want to start off when we come to worship here in this house, in our services, I want to start off with a hymn that centers on God and on Christ. That's why we start it with a psalm every Lord's Day morning, sing a psalm or a portion of a psalm. And same on a Sunday evening. I desire, I specifically pick hymns that have that. And other hymns, as I say, there is a place, because even in the Psalms, there's reference to, as I've mentioned there, to the psalmist's experience and thoughts and even his feelings. You know, the psalmist talked about, why art thou cast down, O my soul? So he was talking about his feelings there as well. So it's not that they are entirely excluded, but they are a secondary part. of worship. The primary focus of worship ought to be our God and who he is and what he has done. Oftentimes that is not the case in CCM music. I would say most of the time that is not the case in that type of music. On to another point there, CCM often contains questionable old scripture theology. Not only does it lack theological depth, its shallowness is accompanied with theological views that are at odds with Reformed theology. There are those who have leveled such charges against CCM that they cheapen the gospel with theologically problematic lyrics. And if we hold to Reformed theology, and we do, then there is a viewpoint that we have on these things. And some of these songs and hymns that come along from CCM are theologically questionable, unscriptural in many regards in the lyrics that they have. And then fourthly there, it engages in emotional manipulation. There is always the danger, whether in preaching or in song, that emotion is substituted for the genuine presence of the Spirit of God. CCM is known for an overemphasis on creating an emotional experience through music. And if you remember when we started off, that was one of the very opening points I made about the influence of music. Not only from what the Bible has to say about the influence of music, but even what the world understands. Why they play music when you go into a shop. What style of music they play when you go into a shop. All of that is chosen specifically because of the influence that music has upon you, your mind, your thoughts, what you are engaged in at that particular time. Music is very powerful. very powerful. And even the Bible recognizes the power that music has. And we talked a little bit about that at the very beginning. And if you bring that point in here to CCM, then there is that danger. As I say, it's a danger in preaching as well, that people preach to emotion. And you get an emotional response. More often than not, you get an emotional response, you're going to get a false profession. Because that's all it is. It's just an emotional response to the atmosphere in a meeting, to what has been said or how it has been said. And there are individuals who can speak in such a way that they're orators. They can influence people for evil or for good. They said that George Whitefield could have a congregation weeping on one moment and laughing at the next. Such was his power of words. Certainly George Whitefield's preaching was deep and penetrating and used mightily of the Lord. But there are people who have got that ability with words to make an impact, even emotionally, upon someone. And there are people who are more open to that than others. There's those that It's not going to make such an impression upon but many people are impacted by emotion and they can make decisions on nothing more than the basis of emotion. And particularly when we come to the things of God and the matter of salvation that is something every preacher ought to guard against and also it ought to be something we guard against in song and worship as well and what we sing that it's not leading It's not encouraging, just an emotional response to something. And I would say that CCM Music is guilty of that in many ways, and that they are looking for an emotional response at times. And as it goes on there to say, you can employ Pacific musical techniques like repetitive lyrics or styles of music that seek to manipulate a listener's feelings, causing them to mistake a biological and physiological response for the genuine presence of God. And I said this, maybe it was to David, when I was preparing this part, It reminded me of some of the same arguments that I had brought out. It's many years ago now. Some of you wouldn't even have been born when the Alpha Course started. I don't know whether you've ever come upon it. It's not as prevalent today. There's still churches that do it. But when that came out, that was the whole rage in churches, the Alpha Course. And it was drawn up by a man in England in a church in London. And I remember preaching on it at the time and publishing notes about it as well. I think even it predates our days in sermon audio, so it's not even up in sermon audio. I still have the notes, I would imagine, somewhere. But when I was sitting down thinking about some of these arguments against this CCM, Contemporary Christian Music, it reminded me of some of those very same issues that were to the fore in what was known as the Alpha Course. It was substituting a biological, physiological response as a substitute for the genuine presence of God. And people can whip up a crowd with singing and song and get them to feel certain things and pass it off as if it's the presence of God when it's not, when it's not the presence of God. And as I say, people make emotional decisions and there's nothing, I think there is nothing worse than to get somebody to make a decision upon emotion and it's a false profession. That complicates the matter of salvation so much in that person's life from there on. Because they will think, oh, but I did profess and it never come to anything and it never really felt anything. No change came over my life because it was only emotional reaction. And trying to filter that out and counsel somebody, that's exactly what it was, is very, very difficult. So I would say there is a danger, a real danger, in CCM that we need to avoid. So that's some comments about it being doctrinally compromised. Then on to number four. Contemporary Christian music is heavily influenced by the charismatic movement. I will highlight two areas where this is the case, where it's influenced, even tainted. an anti-cessation position. Reformed theology believes that the gifts of the early New Testament church have ceased. The charismatic movement evidently does not, and that viewpoint is prevalent within contemporary Christian music. So there is a great divide here between what we believe as Reformed churches, believing in Reformed theology. We believe the gifts have ceased. We believe the gifts have ceased, that they were there for a period of time in the early New Testament church, but they died out. They died out, they did not continue. And that's one of the great things that Charismatics and Pentecostals try to do, is to justify. And they're trying to find individuals in history, down through church history, that somehow justifies the continuation, as they see it, of the gifts. The gifts died out. Even in the Bible they were dying out. Just to give you one example there we finished thinking about Timothy a little while ago in the series on 1st Timothy. Timothy had evidently health problems. Paul didn't have the power to heal him. Paul had the gift of healing at the time. But why did he not heal Timothy? He told Timothy he was to take a little wine for his stomach's sake. He was to medicate. The whole idea of taking medication is perfectly legitimate as long as it's done properly and in a controlled way because Paul was telling Timothy alcoholism is a drug. We talked about it at the time when we come on that verse in Timothy, take a little wine for the health sake. Alcohol is a drug and Paul was telling Timothy, medicate. Now why did Paul not use his ability to heal? Was it already dying out that gift in the New Testament church? that whereas Paul had used that gift in earlier years, there he was with Timothy, somebody serving the Lord, somebody that Paul was seeking to encourage and leaving him in charge of a work. And here's a man who was struggling evidently with health because Paul said, thy often infirmities. It wasn't something that was just a one-off and an issue that wasn't really affecting his life all that much. Paul was uttering words there that would suggest that Timothy was severely troubled by physical ailment and yet Paul wasn't able to use his gifts of healing there. So I suggest to you that It is a scriptural position to say the gifts have ceased. That is a Reformed position. That is a view we take as a denomination. Reformed theology across the board holds to that point. That the gifts were there for a purpose and they have ceased. But much of contemporary Christian music doesn't come from that mindset. It's the very opposite. It comes out of sources and it originates from those who believe the gifts continue. And that is found in contemporary Christian music, found in lyrics and words and so on. The other one is prosperity gospel teaching. The theology has often been called health and wealth gospel. It has often been criticized for being materialistic and exploitative as well. There are those who persuade individuals that donations to religious causes alongside faith can lead to improved financial and physical well-being. I think it's still there, maybe not as much as it was back in the 1970s, the 80s, the 90s when I was your age, but there were those tele-evangelists. and making appeals for money and they lived expensive lives. They had the flashiest suits on, the flashiest cars, the flashiest lifestyle, flying on planes here, there and yonder and they were making appeals for money and they were telling people, oh you give to God's work and God will give to you and you can get rich as well and you'll be in good health, you'll not be sick. We covered some of this a while back in Youth Meeting. the errors of prosperity gospel. Those who say that if you're sick it's a sign of sin, that's found among Pentecostals, charismatics today, that you shouldn't be sick and if you're sick it's a sign of sin. It's not. It's not. Again, we covered that at the time and we looked at incidences in the scriptures where The Lord permitted people to be sick and knew sickness as a means of leading them on with the Lord. Even Paul himself had a great infirmity, a thorn in the flesh he called it, and he prayed three times for it to be removed and the Lord didn't remove it. Was it because of sin? No. In fact it was the very opposite. The Lord said, Paul it's to keep you humble. You've had such experiences of seeing things no man can utter. You need something to keep you humble and bring you down to earth. and the Lord permitted a thorn in the flesh. But there are those out there even tonight still and they promote this prosperity gospel and even as a category on its own I would say to you young people be on your guard against that. Particularly stuff that's on God Channel and Revelation TV and so on. Please be discerning. about what is known as prosperity gospel. If you don't know what it is, go and look it up. I don't know whether it's in Mr. Kearns' dictionary of theological terms. I must look that up and see if it is in his... I would imagine he has something in that, I would think. That'll give you a few pointers. But a lot of this CCM music comes out of that. It comes from that background. So that's influencing Christians, young Christians, maybe Christians that maybe aren't as discerning because they don't know those things. And they get influenced by that and taken in by that. And then they start thinking along those lines. So there's many reasons to be on their guard. Very quickly, I want to finish off with this as I say there. I want to say something about using material from other sources because I think that is one of the primary issues about CCM coming into even the Free Presbyterian Church. People are picking up on hymns and they think, oh yeah, that's a good hymn. Maybe even they say that as good words and they sing that. Part of that video that was circulating was the fact that it was showing the same hymn being played its original setting in some of these charismatic churches and so on. And it was like a disco and then somebody singing it in the free church. And I think it comes down to this point. It's using material from other sources. So I want to make a few comments about that. Because that's one of the more common practices, I think, and maybe one of the greatest dangers. Applying it to your lives, to us, bringing it as home as closely as I possibly can to you. Because there's things that I can say about that, and you can say, yeah, that's a way out there, and I won't get taken in by that. I'm aware of that. But here's how it does filter in. Because error never knocks at the front door. of any church. It comes in, it creeps in, it comes in in a sly fashion. And I think here's one of the ways whereby some of this has come in, is that people are attracted to a particular song and they think, oh here I'm going to sing that, that's a nice song. Well, first thing I say there, there is some justification to the argument that says it is the truth of a statement that counts and not so much its source. And I'm willing to give ground on that. For the example, Paul quotes heathen poets at least three times in the scriptures. So there is some justification to that argument and I can understand that. And I've given you the three examples. I'm not going to go over those now. They're just there for your information. But if you go and look up commentators on those verses that I've highlighted there, you'll find that they are quotations from heathen poets. So Paul, he was a learned man. even in classical learning, he was well educated and he was able to take from these heathen poets certain statements that in and of themselves were true and he's put them into the scriptures. So I can understand that argument to some degree when people say, ah, but it's not the source, it's the words themselves. Fair enough. Let's take that argument for a moment. And here I go on. However in reply it must be pointed out that everyone knew Paul's view as to the beliefs and practices of heathenism. Nobody had to question Paul as to where he stood on these things. Everybody knew where Paul stood. He preached it clearly and plainly. We do need to be very careful whom we draw from as sources of music or quotes as it can give a wrong impression that we are condoning their wider beliefs and practices. Quoting Romanists or liberals is not a good practice. And taking quotations. And the quotation might be true. They might say something. Even Popery gets it right sometimes in what they say. But is it a wise practice in quoting those individuals because of all the other associated things? that the impression that could be given is that somehow you're weakening your views and condoning them in some way, and then somebody uses that as a justification for even going further than you or I do. So I do think there is an issue there of being careful in using material from other sources. Search out where a hymn comes from before you listen to it. Do a little bit of background. The words themselves might be true enough as they stand, but maybe it's not the best example to be setting somebody. Maybe somebody listens on to what you're listening to. If you have it in your car playing, somebody gets into your car and you're playing that, and they think, well, that music must be all right. He or she's listening to it. And as I say, there might be nothing wrong with that particular hymn itself or chorus or whatever it is. But still, what impression are you giving? What do you seem to condone? Because you don't have the opportunity maybe to speak clearly and set out, well, I don't have any part with this. But then, if you don't have any part with it, why are you listening to it? So there is an issue there, I believe, that needs some thought and care and being generally on our guard as young people listening to it. But you be careful what kind of an example you set to others. The older generation needs to be careful what example it sets to you, but then as you grow up, you're going to set an example too, to your fellow young people. And then you'll get a little bit older and there'll be another group of young people coming on behind and they're going to be looking up to you and they're going to see, well, there's the example, there's what they do. And they're going to think, well, if they do it, it must be all right. If they listen to that music, it must be all right. And maybe it's just one particular song by one particular singer that you listen to. Then maybe somebody says, well, I listened to somebody else, something else that singer has written, and it's not good. It's not good. So it starts to multiply in that sense. So I would counsel you to be on your guard just in quoting sources or using sources. And be careful. There's plenty of good hymns out there, plenty of good hymns. Some of the old hymns, what is wrong with them? They're sound theologically and they're worth singing. Just be on your guard against that other type of music that we have been thinking about and that coming into among the people of God because it will do harm. It will pull down the barriers. It will blur those lines of demarcation there ought to be between us and the world and false teaching and false churches. That will inevitably inevitably follow. So we do need to be on our guard and young people every generation has to fight a battle in some way or another. There'll be something that's going to be in your your life your generation that you have to take a stand against. There's always something. That's just how it is as each generation comes along. There's always something that you're going to have to take a stand on and say, well, am I going to be against it or am I going to go for it? What's it going to be? And may we stand faithful to the Lord and to old paths and old ways.