Liberty Gospel Tracts - Bible Study Course - Music

Chapter 2

II. The Control of Music.

A. It should give peace.

1. Ephesians 5:18 commands the Christian not to be drunk, but to “be ____________ with the Spirit.”

Note: What happens when a person is “filled with alcohol?” The person is drunk. The person is controlled by the alcohol. The Bible says a Christian is not to be controlled by alcohol, but is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. What is the evidence that a person is under the Holy Spirit’s control? Read on to find the answer.

2. The next verse says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making ____________ in your heart to the Lord.”

The first evidence listed of being filled with

the Holy Spirit is that you have a song in your heart.

Note: Please notice that it is in direct contrast to the drunkard. The drunkard often likes to sing, but what is true of his music? His words will be slurred; he may be out of tune; and his timing will be way off — probably real jerky (speed up — slow down — speed up — slow down).

The Christian’s music should not be that way, because he is not to be walking in the flesh, like the drunkard. Galatians 5:16 tells us to “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the ________.”

Note: Back to Ephesians 5:19, the Christian’s songs should bring peace. We are to sing “spiritual songs.” As we have seen in Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and __________.”

Spiritual songs will minister to the mind and heart

of the Christian, and will result in peace.

3. According to John 16:33, Jesus has spoken that we “might have __________,” but in the world we will have tribulation.

4. John 14:27 records Jesus’ words again, “__________ I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Note: Does the music you listen to bring peace to your heart, or does it make you moody?

Rock music does not bring a spirit of peace,

but a spirit of restlessness.

If you are driving a car and listening to rock music, you want to go faster. Something about rock music makes you want to see something happen, or even make something happen! It is a music which makes you feel like breaking out of the mold. It is a music which makes you want to experience something more. It is a music which drives a person onward searching for something — something which is unknown, and never found by its listener. Rock music never brings peace, but restlessness.

It is sad to note how many teenagers commit suicide after listening to rock music. Even the rock musicians themselves seem prone to write songs about death. Godly music leads a person to repentance and hope, but the world’s music leads a person to despair and death. II Corinthians 7:10 explains it: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh __________.”

Country/western music does not bring a spirit of peace,

but a spirit of longing, or sadness, or loneliness.

Much of the time it is referring to an immoral relationship that is going on, and how the person is longing for it again. Or it is referring to someone who has just left the person, and the person just does not know what to do. The words of their songs are wicked and immoral, and their beat is now rock, and there is no way such music can bring peace to the listener’s ears. The Bible, in Isaiah 57:20,21, describes the condition of the country/western listener’s life: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no __________, saith my God, to the wicked.” You cannot have peace listening to such music with its wicked talk of immorality, and its rock beat.

— II. The Control of Music.

B. It should be pleasant.

1. Once again, Ephesians 5:19 says that you should be “singing and making ____________ in your heart to the Lord.”

Note: According to Webster’s, the word melody means “harmony, a sweet and agreeable sound, an organized tone.” (Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary @ 1965). Rock music does not meet this standard that God has laid down for music. There often is no melody in rock music — no harmony — no sweet and agreeable sound — no organized tone. This is one reason why “Christian Rock” and “Country/Western Gospel” are not Scriptural music.

Most of the time when you turn on a Christian radio

station, you cannot tell if you are on the right station,

because it sounds just like the world.

That is really strange that Christian music should sound so much like the world’s music, because the Bible says in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: ______ things are passed away; behold ______ things are become new.” Now does it not seem strange that a person gets saved, and his old music is not replaced by new music? Why would his music still sound the same? Remember, old things are supposed to pass away, and all things are to become new.

Note: Sometimes Christians try and justify their Christian Rock or Country/Western Gospel by saying, “The words of the song are the important thing — not the music. We use Christian words in the songs.”

If it is just the words that are so important to them, and

not the music, then why do they not stick with the hymns

(that have such rich, meaningful words)? Because the truth

is that they do not pay much attention to the words at all

— it is the MUSIC, the BEAT that they really emphasize and crave.

God cares about the music, that it has a proper melody to it. God cares about the sound — just like He cares about the words. There is no such thing as neutral music — all music has an effect upon its listener.

Illustration: Film producers have known for a long time (and radio program producers even before that), that the music behind the words is very important — or the audience does not recognize what the scene is leading up to or showing.

For instance, how do you know when a scene is dangerous? You can just feel through the music that something is about to happen. The music is like kindling, or like gasoline fumes. It sets the stage for something ready to explode at any minute!

How do you know when a scene is sad? You can sense it through the music. Before a tear is shed; before a word is spoken; before a face is seen; you know that something very sad has happened, or will happen in just a moment.

How do you know when a scene is comical? The music! It is goofy. It is silly. You know that you are supposed to laugh and not take the scene seriously, because of the music.

There is no such thing as neutral music. All music has an effect upon the

listener — without a word even being spoken. That is why God stated that all music

which Christians listen to must have a melody to it — something with harmony,

organized tones, and a sweet and agreeable sound. Very little of today’s

contemporary Christian music can pass this test.

— II. The Control of Music.

C. It should be pure.

1. Ephesians 5:19 closes by saying, “singing and making melody in your __________ to the Lord.”

2. Amos 6:1 warns, “Woe to them that are at ________ in Zion.”

3. The following verses of that same chapter describe their condition, and verse 5 says, “That __________ to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David.”

These people were coming up with new words and types

of music, and new instruments to play it. They were

chanting like today’s rap music, and God did not like it.

Note: David had also come up with new music, but it was approved of God — unlike the music of these people. There was something different about their words that God did not like. There was something different about their beat that God did not like. There was something different about their instruments that God did not like. Their music was not pleasing at all to God, like David’s was. II Samuel 23:1 says that David was “the __________ psalmist of Israel.”

Illustration: Please read Exodus 32:1-26. The story is a sad one. After just forty days without a godly leader, the children of Israel corrupted themselves.

    a. Joshua thought there was “a noise of ______ in the camp.” (vs.17)

    b. Moses discerned that it was “the noise of them that ________ do I hear.” (vs.18)

    c. When Moses and Joshua got close enough to see what was actually going on, they “saw the calf, and the ______________.” (vs.19)

    d. Another thing that they noticed was that “the people were __________.” (vs.25)

The first thing that Moses and Joshua noticed was the

NOISE. Joshua thought it was the noise of WAR, and

Moses thought it was the noise of people SINGING. Does

that tell you anything about how they were singing?

Stand a little way off from today’s contemporary Christian groups

performing, and see if that is not the same thing that

you notice first — the NOISE.

The sound is cranked way up to a deafening roar. The musicians hold the microphones tight to their lips (Note: A true base does not have to swallow the microphone to reach a low note — he breathes deeply, and a full, rich, loud tone emerges. The same with a true tenor, and a true soprano — they breathe deeply, and a full, clear, high note emerges without the puny, weak sound of a fake. Many of today’s Christian singers would be total flops without their amplifiers cranked up to amplify their untrained, undisciplined voices.) With today’s contemporary music, you often cannot even understand the words until you hear the song several times — which means that all you are hearing is noise. That tells you it is not of God, because:

#1 - “For God is not the author of __________________, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (I Corinthians 14:33)

#2 - “Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he __________________________ not what thou sayest?” (I Corinthians 14:16)

Illustration: When this booklet was first written, Russia had been open to the gospel for 2-3 years. After only about a year of Christian groups going in there from America, they asked churches to quit sending their rock music over there. Does that tell you anything about the spiritual condition of many churches in America? Those Russian Christians had been persecuted much for their faith. To be a Christian in Russia, many times meant the loss of an opportunity for a good job or promotion. It meant a life of sacrifice. But what about in America? Christian Rock musicians are almost as popular today as the world’s rock stars. It does not mean persecution for them, but big money.

Christian rock groups normally charge people an

admission fee to listen to them. How can you call some-

thing a ministry, when you charge people for it?

God was very angry in the days of Malachi, when people were claiming to minister in the name of the Lord, but were doing it for money. Malachi 1:10 says, “Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for ____________? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for ____________. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.”

We now go back to Exodus 32:1-26 again, and pick up at verse 19.

The first thing that Moses and Joshua heard was

NOISE — the first thing that they saw was DANCING.

There is just something about the wrong type

of music that gets you in the flesh.

The people could not sit still, but felt the urge to get up and dance. Is that a sign of spiritual music? Galatians 5:16 says, “This I say then, Walk in the ____________, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

You can give music any name that you want (Contemporary Christian,

Southern Gospel, Praise, Negro Spiritual, Choruses, etc.),

but the TRUE TEST as to whether your music is spiritual or carnal

will be seen BY THE CROWD’S REACTION TO IT. If they just cannot seem to

sit still, but have to move — your music is carnal, it is stirring up the flesh.

Illustration: A group of young people was observed from the rear of a church auditorium by a pastor. It was a youth gathering, and they were being encouraged to take part in an international competition which was coming up for Christian young people, to be held at Niagara Falls. Short excerpts of different nationalities of youth groups were played over the speaker system. All of the nations were singing hymns, except the excerpt from the American group. It had the contemporary Christian rock beat to it, and the pastor immediately noticed that the crowd of young people began to sway to the music. They had not swayed to any of the hymns sung, but they immediately did when the contemporary music was played. Was that music spiritual, or was it of the flesh? Not hard to answer that one, is it? What about your music?

In many Bible colleges and mission board candidate schools,

missionaries are being taught “Do not go and Americanize

the people on your field!” What do they mean by that?

They are normally referring to two areas: MUSIC and DRESS.

9 times out of 10, who you are listening to is a liberal wolf in sheep’s

clothing. Why do we have to send missionaries to other countries?

Because they do not have the gospel, and therefore their culture

is wicked and ungodly. If people there are prone to sway and dance

to their music (or to dress immodestly), it is NOT AMERICANIZING THEM

to teach them that their music and dress is wrong. It is not a nationality issue

— it is a spiritual issue. When a person gets saved, he must be willing to forsake

all — even his culture, when it is against the Bible. Do not associate with the crowd

that is worried about being politically correct — just worry about pleasing God.

Note: Have you ever attended a concert where the people could not seem to sit still? They just had to get up and holler, or scream, or jump around, or dance? That is not spiritual music, that is fleshly music. Romans 8:13 says, “For if ye live after the __________, ye shall die.” Ephesians 5:19 says that spirit-filled singing should be “making melody in your __________ to the Lord.” Spiritual music is geared at the heart — not at the flesh. If your music is not ministering to the heart, then it is gratifying the flesh.

Notice the end result of that music in Exodus 32:25. “Moses saw that the people were __________.” No music is neutral. If it does not minister to your heart and spirit, then it ministers to your flesh — which leads to immorality.

This brings up another classification of music that is

considered harmless by most (because it does not have

a rock beat to it), classical music. Some will argue that

classical music is the same as hymns, but that is not

always the case. The majority of classical music

was not written as hymns.

Just because music does not have a rock beat to it, does not mean that it is inherently good music. It could be evil, but in a different way. Hymns are songs that are set apart to glorify God, whereas classical music is mostly music that was written for plays, ballets (a fancy word for dance music), and other worldly performances (which were often immoral in nature). Remember, no music is neutral.

One finds it very interesting to do a study of the lives of

the famous classical composers. Notice very carefully

what Matthew 12:34 says, “O generation of vipers, how

can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the

abundance of the __________ the mouth speaketh.” Even so,

a wicked, immoral composer is not going to produce

good music, but evil music out of his evil heart.

Just from one source alone, the following can be seen about the lives of famous classical composers.

Beethoven was a sullen and suspicious man. He had immoral affairs with women, but did not want to marry, so he always fell in love with women who could in no way marry him. That meant women who were already married, or who were high above him in social rank. Contemporary accounts say that on his death bed he raised up to shake his fist defiantly at a clap of thunder — which was interpreted as defiance against the elements, and against God Himself. A true interpretation of his music is thought to be a representation of “a strong-minded, even arrogant, reflection of a phenomenal musical intellect who was driven by illness and mental suffering to retreat completely into his own world.” What kind of music would come from his heart?

Tchaikovsky was a sodomite. There is said to be two types of sodomites — one that just plain hates women, and the other that loves women so much, he wants to be one himself. It is said that Tchaikovsky was in the latter group, which “helps explain the feeling of identification conveyed by the long-arched, proud, and sensuous melodies.” “Tchaikovsky and the ballerina were one. The world of the ballet — the romantic, fairy-tale world ...its glamour ...its supple rhythms — this world comes up again and again in Tchaikovsky’s music.” He was a nervous man, because he was afraid his sodomy would become open knowledge. Once again, the biographer notes, “The music reflected the man.” If even the world recognizes that, why can Christians not see the evil in his music?

Verdi, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Brahms, Wagner, Schubert,Berlioz, and Chopin were all believed to be freethinkers or downright ATHEISTS. What music would their hearts produce?

Handel was attracted more to the theater, than to church music. Compare that to buying a record of Elvis Presley singing gospel songs. Gospel songs were certainly not Elvis’ true love, either!

Haydn, Gottschalk, Scriabin, Debussy, Strauss, Puccini, Glinka, Charpentier, Gounod, Brahms, Wagner, Verdi, Rossini, Liszt, Chopin, Berlioz, Weber, Schubert, Gorky, Purcell, Stravinsky, Poulenc, and others were said to have had immoral affairs. Can you honestly say that their music helps you relax? Relax into what — the arms of immorality?

Tchaikovsky, Berg, Shostakovich, Zerev, Ravel, and others were either confirmed or accused sodomites.

Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Chabrier, Wolf, Schumann, and others had mental troubles. Many were heavy drinkers, smokers, and some even used drugs. A great number had long hair. (The Lives of the Great Composers, by Harold C. Schonberg, @ 1970, Norton)

All of the above is cited by Mr. Schonberg, an author who appears to be a fan of classical music, not a foe, lest a person think that such an one tried to make the famous composers look bad. It can only be imagined how much worse the picture would become upon an even closer examination of the composer’s lives.

Upon reading such a book, the Christian will discover that

the world of classical composers is as wicked, vile,

ungodly, and immoral, as Hollywood is in this day.

Many Christians have gotten tired of the vileness of television, but they have now replaced it with constant music — music written and produced by the same type of vile people. We go back to the beginning - MUSIC IS NEVER NEUTRAL. It either appeals to the spirit, or else it appeals to the flesh. Why is it, that classical music lends itself so well to sodomy and immorality?

In the same book noted above, Janacek describes where he got his music: “I listen to the birds singing. I marvel at the manifestation of rhythm in its million different forms in the world of light, color and shapes, and my music remains young through contact with the eternally young rhythm of Nature.”

Note: Please read Romans 1:21-32 very carefully, and answer the following questions.

    a. They changed the glory of God “into an image made like to corruptible man, and to __________, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” (vs.23)

    b. Because of that, God gave them up “to __________________ their own bodies between themselves.” (vs.24)

    c. They began to worship and serve “the ________________ more than the Creator.” (vs.25)

    d. Because of this, “God gave them up unto ________ affections.” (vs.26)

    e. It started with the women (vs.26), and then it spread to the men (vs.27) as they “burned in their lust one toward another; men with ______ working that which is unseemly.”

    f. God then gave them over to a “__________________ mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (vs.28)

Are you beginning to see the picture? Janacek was not

finding his music from the God of nature, but from nature

his god. And what happens when people glorify nature

above God, or nature as their god? It results in sodomy.

Have you ever noticed how feminine-acting musicians and D.J.’s are that are deeply into classical music? It comes from the music they play. What Christian would ever think of playing Michael Jackson’s music (a rock star accused of sodomy, and who sings like a woman)? If you would not play his music, then why would you think nothing of playing a sodomite’s music from a previous generation?

Once again, the relaxation of classical music is not a spiritual relaxation. Ezekiel 16:49 says the problem of Sodom was “pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of ________________.” Isn’t it rather ridiculous that a Christian would even think that the world’s music could relax him/her better than God’s music? After all, can the world give true peace to a person? How does a person get true peace, and thus able to truly relax?

    a. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in ______________ peace, whose ________ is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Perfect peace does not come from a mind stayed on nature, but from a mind stayed upon God.)

    b. I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your ________ upon him; for he careth for you.” (The sounds of nature cannot take away your cares, only God can.)

    c. Philippians 4:6,7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by ____________ and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto ______. And the __________ of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

It is not the peace of nature’s sounds that you really need

in your life. Nature cannot give you peace — you need the

peace of God. That is the peace which will set your heart

and mind at ease. It is utterly absurd for a Christian to think

that classical music can help him relax better than hymns.

Hymns will give more peace than classical music, because

they put a person’s mind upon God — the Giver of Peace.

d. John 14:27 says, “__________ I leave with you, my __________ I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

e. John 16:33 also says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have __________. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Note: Any of the world’s music is going to have a negative impact upon your life in one way or another, whether you realize it or not. I John 2:15 says, “Love not the __________, neither the ____________ that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

REVIEW:

1. The Bible says that a Christian is not to be filled with alcohol, but to be filled with the _________________.

2. The evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that you have a ________ in your heart.

3. We are told to “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the _________.

4. Jesus has spoken that we might have __________, but in the world we will have tribulation.

5. Rock music does not bring a spirit of peace, but a spirit of ________________________.

6. Country/western music does not bring a spirit of peace, but a spirit of longing, ______________, or loneliness.

7. Ephesians 5:19 tells us that we are to be “singing and making _____________ in your heart to the Lord.”

8. That is really strange that Christian music should sound so much like the world’s music, because II Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: ______ things are passed away; behold ______ things are become new.”

9. God cares about the music, that it has a proper melody to it. God cares about the __________ — just like He cares about the words.

10. Film producers have known for a long time (and radio program producers even before that), that the __________ behind the words is very important — or the audience does not recognize what the scene is leading up to or showing.

11. There is no such thing as neutral music. All music has an ____________ upon the listener — without a word even being spoken.

12. With today’s contemporary music, you often cannot even understand the words until you hear the song several times — which means that all you are hearing is __________.

13. You can give music any name that you want (Contemporary Christian, Southern Gospel, Praise, Negro Spiritual, Choruses, etc.), but the TRUE TEST as to whether your music is spiritual or carnal will be seen BY THE CROWD’S ________________ TO IT. If they just cannot seem to sit still, but have to move — your music is ____________, it is stirring up the flesh.

14. it is NOT AMERICANIZING people on the mission field to teach them that their music and dress is wrong. It is not a nationality issue — it is a __________________ issue. When a person gets saved, he must be willing to forsake all — even his ______________, when it is against the Bible.

15. Just because music does not have a rock beat to it, does not mean that it is inherently good music. It could be ________, but in a different way. Hymns are songs that are set apart to ______________ God, whereas classical music is mostly music that was written for plays, ballets (a fancy word for __________ music), and other worldly performances (which were often immoral in nature). Remember, no music is neutral.

16. Matthew 12:34 says, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the __________ the mouth speaketh.” Even so, a wicked, immoral composer is not going to produce good music, but ________ music out of his evil heart.

17. Upon reading such a book, the Christian will discover that the world of classical composers is as wicked, vile, ungodly, and immoral, as ___________________ is in this day.

18. Janacek was not finding his music from the God of nature, but from nature his ______. And what happens when people glorify nature above God, or nature as their god? It results in ____________.

19. It is utterly absurd for a Christian to think that classical music can help him relax better than hymns. Hymns will give more peace than classical music, because they put a person’s mind upon ______ — the Giver of Peace.

20. John 14:27 says, “__________ I leave with you, my __________ I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

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