What About Music?

If you are like me, you can’t live without music. It is as essential as the blood that courses through my veins and the air that fills my lungs...well, almost. Music is food for the soul. It’s like medicine for a sick heart.

God created everything, and He is the author of music too. In Ezekiel 28:13-19 we see that Satan was an angel in Heaven before he fell through pride, and he actually had the ability to make music with his very being. “The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.” Satan was created to make music for God! This portion of Scripture continues on to say that Satan was perfect in all his ways from the day that he was created…UNTIL iniquity was found in him.

The Bible says in Isaiah 14:12-15 that the devil was cast out of Heaven because of his pride in lifting himself above God. Obviously, that old serpent would never, ever use his built-in musical system to give honor and glory to God. Now he lives as a creature of rebellion, “going to and fro in the earth” (Job 2) and seeking to destroy the sons of men and bring them in rebellion to God. This is how we got our present day Rock & Roll. Satan, the one who once made heavenly music, has turned his instrumental gift into a weapon.

Music is spiritual!

Depending on what we listen to, we are either allowing good or evil forces to penetrate our minds and tamper with our emotions. Our enemy is wicked; our enemy is sly. Not only does he want the lost turned against God, but he also desperately wants the satisfaction of turning God’s own children against Him through the subtle message of rebellion that is threaded throughout his music. Satan knows that Christians who are walking close to the Lord won’t listen to the music on the world, so he has cleverly bridged the gap between Rock & Roll and God-honoring music. He has done this through our “wonderful” CCM ~ Contemporary Christian Music. He has given us something that SEEMS right, but we must not be deceived. The Bible says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man…but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

CCM is the devil’s bait with which he seduces Christians to taste of the great evils he has in the world.

Ask any Christian who has fallen into gross sin. I can guarantee he will say it started with the wrong music. We think that Contemporary Christian Music is fine because it has that word “Christian” stuck right there in the middle. Sounds okay, right? No! “The end thereof are the ways of death.”

Interestingly, the dictionary definition for the word contemporary is “1. Belonging to the same period of time. 2. Of about the same age. 3. Current; modern.” So, CCM is music that is modern music. It’s supposed to appeal to whatever this generation expects from the music-making industry. That means the sole purpose of this music is to please people, not to bring honor to God, which was why music was created in the first place.

Doesn’t the Bible describe Christians as “strangers and pilgrims” (Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11)? That means we don’t exactly fit in with what is presently being considered “normal.” I’m not sure we can justify listening to music that is considered modern and “in style.” As strangers, we are supposed to be NOTICEABLY different from the world, because we are not of this world; we are pilgrims. We are the adopted children of the most high God! If we blend in, then something is SERIOUSLY WRONG! This principle not only applies to the clothing we wear, but also our attitudes, our mannerisms, and MAINLY our MUSIC. If our music sounds like Rock & Roll, but is labeled “CCM,” then something is seriously wrong! It should sound distinctively different than what the world is feeding its enslaved, Hell-bound people. I’ve heard the argument of those who insist that “Christian rock” is not harmful. Let’s get something straight:

There is no such thing as “Christian” Rock.

It’s either Christian, or it’s Rock.

We can’t mix the two and come up with a good product because they are as opposite as darkness and light, water and oil. They do not mix. The Bible says that we cannot serve two masters (God’s words put to the devil’s music), “for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” One of the two is eventually going to claim our loyalty. Because we were born with a sinful nature, and our flesh has not yet been completely destroyed, it is usually the flesh that wins out. This is why we shouldn’t get NEAR the stuff! We must avoid it at all costs!

No matter how good a plate of steaming hot food tastes, if there is only one dish that is poisoned, I am going to find out. The good food is going to be vomited up with the bad, even if there was only a little bit of poison in it. This is the case with music; whether the words are “good, Christian words” or not, the poison of the bad music overpowers even the little bit of good. This is why it is extremely important that we only fill our minds with ONLY good words and ONLY good MUSIC.

Music is a universal language; you don’t have to understand the words to get the message.

Music has a message. The music, or melody, is even more important than the words. We don’t have to hear words in order to hear the “mood” of the music. If I walk into a room and hear sad music, I become melancholy. If I walk into a room and hear cheerful, uplifting music, my spirit becomes happy. I don’t need to even hear the words, because the melody of the music says everything.

Let’s continue with the food example. The kind of food and the amounts I eat of it will most likely show by the health and size of my body. In this same way, I won't need to tell anyone what kind of music I am “feeding” myself, because my entire being will radiate it. The fact is, we become like the music we listen to. That is a scary thing if we are listening to the wrong stuff! How can we possibly think that we will be unharmed if we are feeding ourselves the poison of devilish music with the good food of God’s words?

God’s people are not only listening to this junk, but are bringing it into the church. Nothing makes me more disgusted than hearing “Christian” rock in the house of God! It is absolutely unfitting! Do you remember Jesus’ fury in the temple? He said that the merchants and moneychangers had made the house of God into a den of thieves. Enraged, He overturned tables and drove the cattle out with a whip. Don’t you think Jesus is just as displeased when His house is polluted by the world’s music?

In 2004 my family and I visited a “Baptist” church in NY. Dad thought that maybe he would be able to get a meeting there. As he spoke with the pastor, I thought I heard a strange sound in the main auditorium. We sat down, and the pianist played a few beautiful hymns. Then a group of men got up to sing a special. They sang about “Jesus the Rock,” accompanied by wretched worldly music. My blood boils when I hear such blasphemous music…and in the house of God, nonetheless! We ended up walking out when the preacher began saying things that don’t need to be said from behind the pulpit. It was disgusting, and I still feel enraged thinking about it. It truly is scary what goes by the name of Baptist!

In 2006, at a different “Baptist” church, we had to endure a group of country singers who sang to the world’s tune. I couldn’t even concentrate on what might have been “good, Christian” words because the music was blaring and the bodily movements of the singers were so distracting. It wasn’t the words that were applauded afterwards; it was the performance of the singers. They received the glory, NOT Jesus Christ. I greatly fear that just as the Jews turned God’s house into a den of thieves…

We have turned our churches into concert halls, our podiums into stages, and our music into man-glorifying abomination.

God, have mercy on us! We must ask ourselves these questions: Is our music drawing us to the Lord or pulling us away? Does it appeal to the Spirit or awaken fleshly desires? Does it cause us to bow before the Lord in worship or move our bodies to the beat? Does it cause us to love Him or love the world?
To find out whether your music is the right kind of music, please visit this link: www.av1611.org/cqguide.html. You will find this information astounding!

Meet Eric Costantino

Read His Personal Story

Read how the devil's music cost him his health
and ruined his relationship with his family and God.
Don't let this happen to you!

Our church went through the 6-session DVD series by Dr. Frank Garlock about music. It was really good! This man goes into great detail and lets you hear excerpts of Contemporary “Christian” Music, clearly showing how wrong it is. If you are interested in good Christian music, please visit the following sites:

CCM ~ Conservative Christian Music!

Your Conservative Alternative:

The John Marshall Family

Susan McGill

Majesty Music

Baptist Ink Music

Mark Rogers