“Does Listening To Secular Music Affect Your Faith As A Christian” (Read And Comment)

We just stumbled upon this interesting but helpful conversation about which type of music you should or should not listen to.

There are many secular songs that have catchy melodies, thoughtful insights, and positive messages. Does The Music You Listen To As A Christian Lead you To Glory Or Away from the Glory Of GOD? After Listening to a song do you feel uplifted or the same way you were IN SPIRIT.

Does It Make you want to know more about GOD and meditate upon his word daily ? and share his Love with Others.

We look at

1) the purpose of music, 2) the style of music, and 3) the content of the lyrics.

1) The purpose of music.

Is music designed solely for worship, or did God also intend music to be soothing and/or entertaining? The most famous musician in the Bible, King David, primarily used music for the purpose of worshiping God (see Psalm 4:1;6:1,54,55;61:1;67:1;76:1). However, when King Saul was tormented by evil spirits, he would call on David to play the harp in order to soothe him (1 Samuel 16:14-23).

The Israelites also used musical instruments to warn of danger (Nehemiah 4:20) and to surprise their enemies (Judges 7:16-22). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul instructs Christians to encourage one another with music: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). So, while the primary purpose of music does seem to be worship, the Bible definitely allows for other uses of music.

The style of music.

Sadly, the issue of music styles can be very divisive among Christians. There are Christians who adamantly demand that no musical instruments be used. There are Christians who only desire to sing the “old faithful” hymns. There are Christians who want more upbeat and contemporary music. There are Christians who claim to worship best in a “rock concert” type of environment.

While the Bible does not specifically mention drums, it does mention other percussion instruments (Psalm 68:25;Ezra 3:10). Nearly all of the forms of modern music are variations and/or combinations of the same types of musical instruments, played at different speeds or with heightened emphasis.

Whatever a person allows to occupy his mind will sooner or later determine his speech and his actions. This is the premise behind Philippians 4:8 and Colossians 3:2,5: establishing wholesome thought patterns

2nd  Corinthians 10:5 says we should “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” These Scriptures give a clear picture of the kind of music we should not listen to.

Obviously, the best kind of music is that which praises and glorifies God. Talented Christian musicians work in nearly every musical genre, ranging from classical to rock, rap, and reggae.

The Content Of The Lyrics

The question should be does this song lead you more to Christ or Away from Christ. If not then you probably on the wide path to destruction.

The lyrics determine whether a song is “acceptable” for a Christian to listen to. If anything leads you to think about or get involved in something that does not glorify God, it should be avoided.

While not specifically speaking of music,Philippians 4:8 is an excellent guide for musical lyrics: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

If we should be thinking about such things, surely those are the things we should invite into our minds through music and lyrics. Can the lyrics in a secular song be true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy? If so, then there is nothing wrong with a Christian listening to a secular song of that nature.

However, much of secular music does not meet the standard of Philippians 4:8. Secular music often promotes immorality and violence while belittling purity and integrity. If a song glorifies what opposes God, a Christian should not listen to it.