Ephesians 5:11--And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
After talking with a few boys about what classifies as Christian music I quickly understood that I was faced with a teaching(or lack thereof) that has permeated much of society. When you think of something or someone as being Christian, what do you think of? What qualities come to mind? How do you qualify something as being Christian? If you are like most people, your criteria will not find much backing from God's Word. Allow me to shine the light of God's Word into this, sometimes confusing arena, to aid you in making your distinctions.
The problem, the standard has been ignored. God's Word says, "...Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you..."(II Corinthians 6:17); but churches today allow, if not promote, being united to the world(music, movies, speech, clothing). God's Word states that, "...friendship with the world is enmity(hatred) with God" and that if one desires to be a friend of the world he, "makes himself an enemy of God..." (James 4:4); but today's preachers seem to be preaching that holiness and worldliness can sometimes coincide.
After talking to one believer (whose goal/program was to win the young people for Christ) about his proposed plan to reach the lost, I knew something was amiss. His objective was good, but his method was unScriptural. He desired to get unsaved youth together, play games, listen to music they liked, eat and talk about this man called Jesus. The problem, 50-55 minutes were to be dedicated to feeding the flesh while 5-10 minutes were allotted to speak to the spirit. We must understand that winning people to Christ does not come by psychological tricks, but by the awesome power of Jesus Christ. We don't run from the gospel, and we certainly should not be ashamed of it. Paul says in Romans 1:16, " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." Today, many are afraid that the true gospel of Christ Jesus will offend, or drive people away....if you want to know the truth...it will (have you read the New Testament); but it will also drive some to repentance.
Where are our shepherds that are called to guide the flock of God?(I Peter 5:2) Where are the watchmen that have been called to warn others of danger? (Ezekiel 33:1-9) And where are the teachers that are called to explain God's Word and expose the works of darkness? Instead of truth, we're hearing tales; instead of Scripture, we're getting stories. Please do not forget what Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." People are being deceived left and right; they are being taken captive by the devil, while we preachers stand by bloviating about some joke we read on the internet. May we repent of our wickedness and return to the command found in II Timothy 4:2. "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching"
Allow me to spend one paragraph teaching you how to know if something(music, movies, speech and dress) is Christian or not. Step one: are a majority of the people doing it? If they are, it’s not for you. Remember, Christ said that there are two paths, one that is narrow and one that is broad. Many take the broad path which leads to destruction, but few find the narrow path that leads to life. (Matthew 7:13-14) Christ does not call His followers to walk like the world, but to come out and be separate. Step two: does it pass the Philippians 4:8 test? Is your music, movies, speech and dress noble(upright), just, pure, lovely(in Christ’s eyes), of good report, virtuous and praise-worthy? Step three: is it Christ-honoring? If it does not honor Christ, it cannot attain the label Christian. Use these three steps to re-evaluate your standard of choosing what Christian is and what it is not. Just because the world calls it contemporary Christian music does not mean Christ views it that way as well.
Let me close by acknowledging my state of imperfection. I do not sit on a perfection pedestal casting down judgment upon others, but I do understand the dangerous repercussions that can come from not understanding what Christ-like living truly is. Do not be deceived, we cannot truly walk with Christ while continuing to walk in the flesh. Come out and be separate. By doing so, you will have overcome the deception that many have been misled by.
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