JUN 21

1 John 2:15-17
Memorise Colossians 3:2
“…for the love of money is the root of all evil…”

WHAT IS WRONG WITH CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC? (II)

We have understood yesterday that music composers have a great control over how their music affects their audience, especially in terms of the emotions that their music induces. Also, we made the connection that how composers write their music is dependent on their motives and what they want to achieve. Today, we want to understand what “pop” or popular music is about. As the name suggests, it is music that is designed to appeal to the majority of people. Pop music artists aim to sell as many records as possible. The more people buy their music, the more successful they are. Who buys such music? It is the world. What is the nature of the world? God’s Word tells us it is a sin sick world. (Jeremiah 17:9). For pop music to appeal, it has to provide the kind of sinful emotional high that sinful people desire. This is really what pop or popular music is about. It is an instrument to appeal to the carnal desires of sinners so as to enrich its creators with filthy lucre. It is nothing short of an instrument of Satan. We must reject it!

What we may not realize is that CCM is actually categorized by the music industry as a genre or type of pop music. If you think about it, there is little need to justify this fact. We can all hear and see the similarities. CCM uses the same kind of musical “tools” that originate from pop music. These tools create the same kind of sinful emotions that pop music is de­signed to do. If CCM uses these sinful techniques, why then are God’s chil­dren using the same tools of Satan to worship a Holy God? Will God ever accept this kind of music in worship? Of course not! In fact, God is greatly angered. It is akin to offering “strange fire” like Nadab and Abihu in Leviti­cus 10:1. God requires holiness. As Christians, we are told in no uncertain terms that we must never love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If we love the world, we show that we do not love God (1 John 2:15- 16). Pop music, and by extension, CCM, is music that is of the world. What should we do then? We must reject CCM for worship, even for leisure.

We should instead return to the music of the Reformers; hymns, psalms and spiritual songs which were written of old by godly men and women. These men of God were used to create music that is reverential, somber and beautiful. It is music that God has given mankind that will help us worship Him correctly. It is music that will help us draw closer to Him.

Thought: Can worldly music be used to worship a holy God?
Prayer: Lord, help me to take a stand against CCM.