THE LORDS OF LAODICEA
by
Stephen T. Nieman
Chapter 8
Order One cannot enter into the debate regarding the use of Rock music styles in Christian worship without addressing the issue of order. Consideration must be given to this issue of order in light of the Scriptures. Any honest discussion regarding issues facing the Christian and the local church must primarily appeal to the Scriptures. It is the writer's contention that the Biblical teaching regarding order is systematically suppressed by the elitist Christian.
In Chapter 6 we discussed musical genre. In the discussion it was conceded on all sides by musicologists that the whole of Rock music styles placed a primacy upon rhythm and beat. These Rock music styles included: Jazz, Blues, Rock-n-Roll, Rap, Disco, Pop Rock, and Hip-Hop. Although the list is ever expanding, the musical style is recognizable by its emphasis on the pronouncement of rhythm and beat to the subjugation of melody.
The emphasis in music on rhythm and beat was corroborated among secular musicologists, as well as Christian apologists, to have its primary appeal to the flesh. Here is an example of the documentation given in that chapter.
From its beginnings, rock and roll has been characterized by a preoccupation with the beat. Lloyd Grossman
Rock 'n' roll made you want to move and shake and get physically excited. Janet Podell
The enormous popularity of Rock music styles can be explained simply. They have an appeal to the flesh. It is this very realization which should be sufficient for the New Testament Christian to avoid these music styles altogether. The Bible is clear in placing a distinction between the flesh, the soul and the spirit. There are some who would not hold to this three-fold distinction, but would rather understand the Bible to teach a two-fold distinction, that being, the flesh and the soul. Both views are compatible for the present dialectic, as the biblical conclusion in this matter is not affected by one holding to one or the other.
As the judge in a modern court of law pounds his gavel upon the bench calling an unruly defendant or lawyer to order, so we must call our Laodicean brethren to order. In a court of law, the Constitutional law is the order to which men are called. Christians are called to order by the God-breathed Word of God--a Book we call the Bible.
Because New Testament doctrine is that upon which Christians must base their faith and practice, it is New Testament passages which must be used to support our thesis of order. Consider this passage in the Book of Romans.
Romans 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, explains a most basic truth to the Church at Rome. There is something desperately wrong with this present "kosmos." The Greek word "kosmos", translated in the scriptures as "world," simply means, "this present order of things." This order, as we know it, is, shall we say, out of order. The reason for this is simple...sin.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: In this present order of things, which is out of order, there is a war. This war was being waged in Paul's day, as it is in ours. Paul reduced the conflicts that Christians were facing to two simple opposing camps.
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. The warfare that we face is between the flesh and the Spirit. This present worldly order places a premium upon an appeal to the flesh. Any successful advertising agency will affirm this most basic premise. To sell a product, you do well when you seduce the people through their own lust. The Apostle John warns us of this very attraction.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. Whether it is an appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life it is philosophically inosculated to this present "order of things." Therefore, what are we to say to the religious elite, who, modelling themselves after Madison Avenue marketing firms, peddle their spiritual wares with an appeal to the flesh?
We can say with all authority, that a gospel which appeals to the flesh is a false gospel. Furthermore we must contend that those purveyors of this fleshly gospel come to us in the spirit of antichrist. Those who would charm thirsty souls with the appeals of this world are making merchandise of the very men whom Christ sacrificed His flesh to save.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth. because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. The propensity to affiliate Christianity with either a physical or emotional experience is in reality a witness against the real Spiritual nature of these purveyors. Note this message from the Apostle Paul, again, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God Christianity is not based on experience. Neither does New Testament Christianity hang in the balance until a "God-ordained pragmatist" comes along to make the Gospel more palpable to a given society. Inherent in Salvation is the idea that there is something from which we must be saved. The question must be asked, From what are we saved? Again, the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit supplies us with the answer to this question.
Romans 8:11 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. We are indeed saved from eternal damnation, but it is Scripturally clear that Christians are no longer debtors to fulfill fleshly impulses. What does this mean practically? It simply means that the Spirit of God in us gives us the power to live a Spiritual life. A Spirit-filled life does not show a propensity to seek stimuli in order to initiate its form of worship toward God. The utilization of Rock music forms in worship is simply "out of order!" This form of music, agreed by musicians and musicologists alike to have its primary appeal to the flesh, is unacceptable worship for the New Testament believer.
Do Christian rock music styles have their appeal? Indeed! Yet let us not forsake the injunction of Paul to "mortify the deeds of the body." Mortify simply means "to make die." It would appear that obedience glorifies God far more than our simply feeling good and enjoying ourselves.
It is the writer's contention that the "age of Christianity" which establishes a Christian motif that embraces profane societal norms and practices is laying the foundation for that day when the ecumenical masses embrace the Antichrist.. Woe ! Woe! Woe be to that generation of Christians which places a premium on its feelings to substantiate its worship worthiness.
Please send comments about these pages to stnieman@cs.com. Thank you.