Music and Corporate Worship: the balance between spirit and truth

“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge”
- Proverbs 19:2

“God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth”
- John 4:24

Worship of God is directed by God in His Word. In our fervor to worship as His people, we often make mistakes in the manner in which we bring our worship. Music, because it is an emotional vehicle for worship, and one which is subject to preference, can present some challenges. Yet with a biblically balanced foundation we can have God-honoring music in worship. Here are some pitfalls to avoid as well as some balance to promote:

Reckless abandon (spirit without truth).
“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge”
- Proverbs 19:2

“God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in . . . truth”
- John 4:24

Reckless abandon in regard to song choice for worship, is music with no restraint. It sounds very spiritual. The attitude from advocates might be that we do not want to stifle the Holy Spirit's leading. We ought to allow our Spirit-controlled emotions to move how we worship. How is this controlling God?

Basically, reckless abandon is setting our emotions as the criteria for right worship. Emotions, though, then become the prime principle for right worship over and above God's Word. Thankfully God has given us His Word which directs how our hearts ought to worship. Hopefully, we strive to worship in spirit (yes), and truth. The truth of the words ought to move both the music which accompanies, as well as the emotions which follow. His truth oversees, or guides, our spirit. Our hearts are sinfully drawn to worship selfishly but the Word draws us to a balance of truth and spirit.

Liturgy for the sake of safety (truth without spirit)
“God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit . . .”
- John 4:24

This extreme leads to dead orthodoxy, or cold religion. If reckless abandon is dangerous in its lack of Godly truth-control, blind liturgy is dangerous for its cold form from too much control.

We can become so fearful of change or doing the wrong thing, that a knee-jerk reaction takes place and we find no place for emotion. The words become sterile and unfeeling and we are discouraged from emoting. This too is controlling God by keeping Spirit-induced emotion at bay.


Closing the canon on hymnody. Using preference as main criteria for biblical worship.

There is a real temptation to not shake the tree any more than necessary by not allowing for any diverse music into the church. Yet this is irresponsible to the continuing work of God in and among the Church. Granted, there has been little music composed in the last century worth utilizing. But this is a new day!

We are seeing a revival of hymnody. A resurgence of Reformed theology has brought with it a hunger and thirst for rich words accompanied by engaging music. In my own denomination's ministry, pastors and congregants alike, have been instrumental in writing new music and offering it to the Church. Students, pastors, and church musicians have come in contact with old hymns and have re-worked them so that they are more singable to today's ear and have given us a vast quantity of songs from which to choose.

A new love for old hymns.


Hymns are didactic by nature. That is, they teach us theology. Putting new tunes to old hymns has caused new and old ears alike to love hymns and to love what they say and stand for. Folks who thought the hymns of old were cold and boring, now embrace the richness of the historicity and theological depth of the hymns.

So what is our responsibility as a church in relation to God?s working today through music in the church?

Biblically responsible

We are to be biblically responsible for the music we sing. "Spirit and truth" worship means that we sing songs which convey the deep soul-refreshing words of Scripture so that people are brought before the throne of grace. We also utilize music which accompanies the words well, conveying the rich sentiment of the words so that it helps, not hinders, a proper understanding of the text of the song.

Culturally relevant

What?! Christians live in culture too. Cultures change. Music changes with culture. There is nothing especially sacred about 18th century hymnody as opposed to 21st century hymnody. The musical styles within our own Trinity hymnal show the wide diversity between eras. Look at the dates of the songs in the hymnal and you will see some written as far back as the 4th century and as recent as 1984! Listen to the different tunes for those eras and you will hear distinct cultural differences.

The revival of hymnody within our culture is catching on!

Teachable

We need to be willing to learn. Are you one who is more prone towards newer tunes? Learn the hymns! Don't neglect the work of God among the Church throughout history. Are you one to disdain change and things new? Try it. See the end goal. Help the church to teach well the richness of our faith through song.

Hummingbirds and Kamikaze Hearts

Recently the church’s administrative assistant kindly suctioned a hummingbird feeder directly to my office window.  It’s one of those bright red feeders that has four “flowers” to, in theory, provide for four birds at one time.  What a kind gift for these birds - an endless supply of sugar water to inject carbs into the rapid heart-rate and wing-beat so necessary for survival.  And what a treat for me to be able to watch these amazing living avions dart to and fro.  

But then something struck me as peculiar.  As I watched one of these creatures alight to flick their tongues into this succulent gift, another dropped from a nearby perch like a kamikaze pilot to knock him off the faux flower thereby denying him his meal.  What a selfish beast!  And it happened again and again and again as these winged wombats tussled over the right to the sugar water.  To make matters worse, remember, there are four flower opportunities, not just one, yet they couldn’t seem to get along.  There was abundance of gift but not the grace within their minuscule hearts to share.

James 1:14-20

14  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18  Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. 

19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

So we learn a lesson about the human heart as well.  God has given us more than enough (think twelve baskets of bread leftover from feeding the five thousand) yet our own sin carries us away into a selfish rebellion against the Gift-giver and our fellow man.  When we should be the most esteemed creature of all God’s creatures demonstrating His own righteousness through merciful and grace demonstrating hearts (verse 18), we are the foulest of all beasts (we are the only creature that rebelled against God thus bringing the curse upon all other creatures).  James 4:1-2 asks and then answers, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” 

The requirement of God is righteousness - the opposite of un-right-ness.  We are un-right.  That’s why we bicker against each other.  If I am truly right about something and someone takes issue, the reason I enter into an argument is because my attitude is un-right.  I have used something right against someone for the sake of being right!  Who’s wrong now?

Only Christ is truly righteous.  Therefore, I must find my identity in Him rather than in my need to be right on my own merit.  I need to be reminded of this daily as people knock me off the flowers upon which I feed.  I need to be reminded of this daily as I seek to knock others off the flowers God has given them.  To know Him and to have my identity in Him is greater than any food, literal or figurative, that I think I must have to feed upon at any given moment for my sustenance.  I’ve got to ask myself what I need so much that I am willing to boil with anger, steal with malice, covet with passion, guard with paranoia, and kill with my heart in order to get it.  And then I must go to the One from whom is every good gift and every perfect gift  . . . from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change and ask for forgiveness and for thankfulness of heart and for the power to change through faith in Jesus.