Monthly Archives: May 2012

Music and the Bible Believing Christian

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“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” -2 Peter 1:3

Every aspect of your life must be consecrated to God. This includes music.  As a born again person God influences your life completely. The more you know Him, the more you will know what pleases Him! That’s why He is always the right place to start in any Bible study topic!

1. The Person of God.

“God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”- Westminster Catechism

God’s self revelation is found in: Creation- Job 12:7-9, The Nature and Constitution of Man- Genesis 1;26-27, God’s Mighty Acts- Exodus 5:1-2, His people’s lives – Matthew 5:13-15,The Bible- Hebrews 1:1, Jesus Christ – Colossians 2:9.

Some attributes of His Goodness…

Holy (set apart) Psalm 99:1-3; Exodus 15:11, True – Jeremiah 10:10, Loving - Isaiah 63:9, Righteous - Psalm 145:17, Faithful – Psalm 36:5, Merciful – 2 Cor 1:3, Gracious - 2 Kings 13:23.

Question: Does What I do Matter to God?

…Is there anything I do that DOES NOT matter to God? Do I get to make any life choices without regard to the Person or Character of God?

Answer:

“Whether therefore you eat or drink do ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.” -1 Corinthians 10:31

God’s glory is the sum total of His attributes. Goodness attributes like His faithfulness and righteousness, we are commanded to mirror in our life’s choices and  His Greatness attributes like His omnipotence or power that we cannot obtain.

“God’s glory translates to life. It affects ATTITUDES, ACTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS” -Pastor Tim Potter

2. The Principle of Philippians 4.

Verse 8 says:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Is the song I engage my mind in: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent or worthy of praise?

3. God owns you.

Bible Axiom #1: In the choice of musical styles, you are not the judge and jury, God is. (1 cor 10:31, 1 Thes 5:21-22)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?You are not your own, 20  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” -1 Corinthians 6:19

4. God wants your body and your mind.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12 :1-2 

Could it be that what modern Christianity calls “freedom to worship however I want” is in fact slavery to the popular worldly styles just because is what the crowd likes? Don’t be conformed but be discerning!!

5. What is worship anyhow? Is worship just singing…is it just the music?

Worship is designed only for believers and not as a means of evangelism because unbelievers cannot understand the Biblical truths we sing about. Where is there in the Bible a place were the NT church invited people to “come worship with us”. Col 3 is very specific you must be saved to worship God through Jesus Christ.

Worship is also your money offering, it is also giving of thanks, obedience, and even  delighting in Christ is worship. (Romans 12:1-2) Worship is the full time activity of every born again person!

6. How about the words?

Can repetitive phrases bring comfort to the soul? Sometimes writers write unbiblically and can give a wrong understanding to the listener!

Example,  a CCM song titled How He loves said, “Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy, wet kiss.” Where is that in the Bible? Although I don’t fully understand what the artist meant  with that sentence, it sounds weird.

Christ-centered worship focuses on doctrinal truth, not repetition. It is focused on Him — not you or me! Be aware of music that only speaks of “I…I…ME…ME.”

7. God is our song!

“The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.” -Psalm 118:14

MORE BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING MUSIC:

1. Use Spiritual Songs (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16)

Appeals first and mainly to the Spirit or to the flesh?

2. Live pure and holy lives. (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Cor 6:18, Eph 5:3, 1 Thes 4:1-7)

Associated with purity or fornication? Does it control my body?

3. Don’t love the things of the world: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life.  (1 John 2:15-17 )

Does it promote any of these “things of the world”?

4. Honor your father and mother. Respect those over you in the Lord. (Exo 20:12, Eph 6:2,  1 Thes 5:12)

Respectful to parents and grandparents or the music of rebels?

5. Flee from idolatry. (Exodus 20:4-5)

Used to serve today’s idols or clearly separated?

6. Have a meek and quiet spirit, and live peacefully. (1 Tim 2:2, 1 Peter 3:4, Gal 5:22)

Is it loud, party music?

8. Don’t cause a brother to stumble and fall. (Romans 14:13)

First think, who would it harm or disturb if I used it?

P.S. I must confess, I used to listen to CCM a long time ago, but the Lord changed my heart strongly about it. The problem with Christian Rock and Roll is that it is Rock and Roll, which is associated with partying,  and all kinds of immorality I certainly don’t want to even think about! God calls us to be set apart. See a related Live Sharp post about how the believers song is NEW and DISTINCT from that of the world’s: http://livesharp.org/2012/02/08/proper-worship/.

I understand this topic is controversial and cannot be fully explained in only one post, therefore I provide here 2 wiser sources below if you still have questions:

TO SEE THIS INFORMATION IN A QUICKER WAY, THROUGH PREZI, GO HERE: http://prezi.com/fm3it9lvu7y9/music-and-the-bible-believing-christian/

Sources:

  • First Baptist Church of Troy
  • Dan Lucarini’s book, “It’s Not About the Music.”

Quote of the day – Who Sits On the White House

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“Ultimately it’s not who sits in the White House that matters, it’s who sits on the top of it.” -R. C. Sproul

Give Thanks to The LORD for Our Nation’s Freedom

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May we who are living on the home front and who are the beneficiaries of the fruits sowed by our soldiers hands, always be thankful for their sacrifices for our freedom as One Nation Under God.

For love of country they accepted death. -James A. Garfield

From the very beginning of our country, the LORD has shown indescribable grace to our undeserving nation. May we now, with the power of the Holy Spirit, live in a way that is worthy of the LORD’s grace!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
(Psalm 107:1 ESV)

God Bless America and thank you to all who have served!

The Gospel

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Have you been reading our posts, but have no idea of what we are talking about?

Well then this is the post to read.

What’s the Gospel all About?

“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement.” -Hebrews 9:27

Everyone will die and everyone will face judgement. Why will we face judgement?  God created the world and everything in it in seven days, and all creation is accountable to God’s authority.

Adam and Eve, the first humans, rebelled against God and tried to rule their own lives. That was SIN, and the judgement for sin is DEATH. Since then, every human who has ever lived has sinned.

God is holy and there can not be any sin in His presence. Jesus says “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, [in other words, unless you are better than the religious, devoted people of Jesus' time] you will  certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 5:20). There is no such thing as a “basically good” person. Jesus’ standard is higher. That’s why the Bible says, “all have sinned and FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.” Our sin defiles us and makes us filthy. Our sin separates us from God. All of our efforts to be good are not good enough; we need to be perfect. But how can we?

God mercifully did something about our helpless state: He sent His only Son Jesus- who was also fully God- into the world as a human baby, born of a virgin, therefore fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies. Jesus lived a perfect life without sinning. Since He was sinless, He was the only One able to pay for sin. He gave His Own life as the payment for our sins at the cross and rose after three days, conquering death.

God gives us a second chance to submit to Him, our Creator and rightful King. If we accept His free gift and submit our lives to His authority, God promises to accept Christ’s death instead of ours and to forgive our sins; He will see Christ’s righteousness instead of our sin. We will spend eternity living with God!

If we reject Christ’s payment and His authority again, we will pay for our own sins, dying an eternal death in hell.

One day- no one knows when- God will come back to earth to judge His people. Until then, He invites everyone to accept His free gift of salvation.

Recap

-God is Holy and Creator, so we are accountable to Him.

-Our sin separates us from God.

-Christ suffered for our sin in order for us to be saved. God offers that exchange as a gift.

-To be saved you need to surrender and trust in Christ.

If you have done so, take courage and start reading your Bible regularly!

So let’s go back to Hebrews 9:27,28 it is a great summary verse!

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.“

[This was written by: Janaya Richards and Mafe Quijano.]

Quote of the Day- Sinners or Saints?

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“We say, “Oh, we’re just sinners. Sinners saved by grace.” You want to get Biblical with the term “sinner”? In the New Testament that term is NEVER used for a Christian in relationship with God. “Sinner” is used for those who are unregenerate and “sinner” is used for those who are backslidden, double-minded. You know what we’re called? Saints. Not sinners. God doesn’t view you as a sinner. Yes, you struggle with sin, but you are not a sinner. You are a SAINT that struggles with sin. There’s a difference. You are not sinners. You are simply saints that are bound with sin in your flesh. But that will be overcome through the blood of Christ.”-Jason Cunninghammer

(Via:http://jonathonwebb.org/)

Paul often starts his letters with:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.  Amen! (Colossians 1:1-2 ESV)

 

Verse of the day- Power

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
(Romans 1:16 ESV)

The gospel is not only powerful but it is God’s power for salvation. The gospel is real, alive and it can change people’s lives. Wow. That’s why Paul was not ashamed of it, because He saw what the gospel could do and because the gospel was not from Paul but it is from God Himself… Praise the Lord!