Certainly this topic is way too broad and vast to definitively cover in just one post, but here are a few thoughts.
I just finished reading a thread on facebook about traditions and the place of music as it relates to worship and praise in the church. I agree with much of what was written and share a disdain for the traditions of men tainting the true meaning of worship and praise in the church. I remember as a child having a legalistic dogma drilled into my head banning guitars, drums, saxophones, etc. and any music associated with them. (The mentality of, "if it has more than a piano and organ it is of the devil.") I believe this was simply an overreaction by those who loved me and loved the Lord to protect me and keep me from the world. The funny thing about that is, they forgot the passage where God says "ye are in the world but not of the world". And that we are to be the "salt of the earth and shine as lights in the darkness." The only way we can accomplish this is to be different from the world. The world is looking for something different. We all know that. Our spiritual parents would have done many of us a favor to have not necessarily kept us from it, but to teach us the simple truth of God's Word. John 8:32 says "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." How different would our childhoods have been had we known the truth of what God says about music and the place it holds in worship and praise?
"But the hour cometh , and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." John 4:23. The fact of the matter is, that the world "worships" many gods in many different ways. Music is often associated with that worldly worship and therefore church leaders make blanket statements and "rules" against any such music. With good reason. It is widely accepted in Christian circles that Satan (Lucifer) was created as God's minister of music. He has a "corner" on the market, if you will. If we are to be different from the world, how can we worship like the world and yet worship a different God? Is your God like their god? Is he worthy of a worldly style of worship? I challenge you to read Isaiah 55:8-9, and submit to you that He is above worldly worship. Therefore, I believe that music with a worldly beat and sound has no place in a praise or worship service of the church. Conversely, I also believe that many of the hymns so dutifully sung in churches today have lost their savor not because the message is dead, but because many leaders of today's fundamental churches have so fervently embraced their traditions and have removed themselves from the world that they are no longer connected to reality. Mark 7:13
We must be careful about hiding behind sincerity, using it as an excuse to justify worldly practices of worship. Many people are sincere about many things, but often are sincerely wrong. Some are sincere about working their way to heaven, but you and I both know they will never get there on their own. Ephesians 2:8-9. I can be sincere about fixing an electrical outlet but if I just stick the screwdriver in the socket I am in for a shock because that is the wrong way to fix it. Someone can be sincere about fixing a tire, but until they plug the hole, all the air they pump into the tire is a waste of time and energy. Philippians 4:4-8 is a great passage on worship and praise. And notice the first thing God lists in verse eight. Truth. I believe God would have us to look for truth rather than sincerity.
I commend so many for seeing the fallacy in tradition. And I challenge you to search the scriptures and compare scripture with scripture and to not compare yourself with other men's ways. II Corinthians 10:12-13 Find the truth and cling to it. Make it your own and don't let go.
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