“Should we listen to or sing the songs of bands with porous theology?” It’s a legitimate question and one that came to me, in similar form, this past week. From the dancing Israelites on the eastern shore of the Red Sea in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus, I had drawn lessons on worship for the church at our weekend gatherings. Lesson 2: “Our worship should be accurate.” In other words, what we sing to or say about God should be Biblically-informed. With so much of modern “Christian music” bordering on doctrinal disdain or flirting with Biblical neglect, a question such as the one above was sure to follow lesson 2. So, here is my answer to the inquiry…
This is a terrific question. I am all too aware of the hollowed out anthems of “modern worship;” or the erroneous, if not heretical, teaching that exists in several of the churches behind the most popular of Christian artists. I’ll offer my response as succinctly as possible.
When lifting our voices in adulation to the Lord the most critical component is not the origin of a song, or even our intent to worship through the song, but is rather the content of the song. The lyrics themselves must, without fail, acknowledge our Sovereign for who He is and what He has done – without compromise. This does not mean that every anthem must completely explain intricate Gospel depths or unpack weighty Divine attributes. Instead, what this does mean is that however many or few lyrics are contained in the song, these lyrics must convey a Biblical expression of salvation, glory, brokenness, redemption, dependence, and the list rolls ever onward and upward. Anthems, should recount the excellencies of our Savior far more than the experiences of the subordinates. The question then is really quite simple: Does the song in question – not the band who sings it, or the artist who wrote it, or the teacher who shaped it – agree with the testimony of Scripture? If the answer is “yes” then, I believe, we are completely at liberty to sing.
With that said, our affirmation of a song must, at times, come with mature and honest instruction and dialogue. Caveats and clarification are hardly a bad thing in a day of relativism, secularism, and fanaticism. There are remarkable anthems at times produced by musicians who are Biblically compromised. We certainly need to protect fellow believers, and even those scoping out the faith, from the egregious nature of much modern Christian doctrine – or lack thereof – communicated through music.
The easy conclusion is always elimination – of liberties, music, delights, or anything that has even the slightest potential to offend; but that is not, I believe, to what we are called. Instead, we are called to discernment, humility, wisdom, discussion, and tough decisions.
Semper Reformanda