Choose Your Words Carefully
This article is part 2 in a series on Music in Worship.
Filter #1: Examine the text.
Always start with the text of a song.
Words matter. When choosing songs for gathered worship, we must start with the text because if the music is good but the text is garbage, we can’t sing it unto the Lord. Because we are analyzing words there is more objectivity at this point in our 2-step filtering process (text and tune). In other words, we can determine with certainty whether a song’s lyrics are biblically true or untrue, profane or holy.
There are three questions I ask when examining a text.
#1: Is the text doctrinally accurate?
Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to dwell on things that are true. It’s amazing how much bad theology will pass through our lips if it’s paired with music we like. That’s why we must always evaluate the text of any song to the text of Scripture. Furthermore, it’s not good enough for our texts to just barely avoid heresy. (That’s a low bar!) Our desire at Morningside is for the text of every congregational song to build up believers because singing is a major part of our discipleship.
Discipleship is an often overlooked role of music in gathered worship. Most people understand that congregational singing is a form of worship (vertical dimension), but it’s also a form of discipleship (horizontal dimension). When we sing, we are actively encouraging other believers in their walk with God. We disciple through singing by teaching core doctrines of the faith and admonishing when something needs to be corrected (See Col. 3:16).
Examples:
“And when I think that God His Son not sparing sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing He bled and died to take away my sin.”
Folks, there’s a substantial amount of good doctrine being taught in that stanza. When we sing “How Great Thou Art” we’re teaching the vicarious atonement, human depravity, and the necessity of a blood sacrifice for sin.
“May the Lord find us faithful. May His Word be our banner held high.”
When we sing “May the Lord Find Us Faithful” at the end of a sermon, we are responding as a church family to convicting truth. We encourage, admonish, and hold accountable the people sitting next to us to remain faithful in service instead of becoming infatuated with worldly distractions.
Do you see how critical congregational singing is to the mission of the church? Every time you gather to sing, remember that you are playing a critical role in teaching (instruction) and admonishing (correction). To do each effectively we must sing Scripture-saturated, doctrinally accurate words.
#2: Are the lyrics God-centered?
Is there more of God or more of me in this song? In Revelation 4:11 we get a glimpse into perfect worship.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Did you notice those pronouns? Where is the emphasis placed? The focus of worship in this verse is not on my own felt needs or emotions but rather on the holy, mighty God who is worthy of worship.
Man-centered worship is most evident in seeker sensitive churches. Seeker sensitive churches want to build their churches with primarily unsaved people. This ministry philosophy views people as consumers and a worship “experience” as the commodity.
This is a major biblical problem because assembling for gathered worship is not about what I can “get out” of church, but instead how I can serve a holy God and other people. Nevertheless, many churches have songs that may be vaguely biblical (i.e. they reference Jesus or include biblical allusions) but they are ultimately man-centered. This is what some have termed “Jesus is my boyfriend” type songs. The lyrics are highly emotional language talking about the way God makes me feel. (Of course there is a balance between singing objective and subjective songs that Pastor Jones interacts with at length here.)
#3: Is the text explicitly Christian?
1 Corinthians 4:23 assumes that unbelievers will attend worship services at times. If an unbeliever attends our local gathering, would they feel comfortable singing with us? Or would they feel conviction as we sing biblical themes about God’s sovereignty, humanity’s sin, and our need for a Savior. Of course, we want to provide a warm and welcoming environment, but we must never do so at the expense of the truth.
Do the words use biblical language to draw my mind to the one true God or a god of my own making? Are the poetic elements such as metaphors clearly pointing to Jesus and His salvation alone or does it just sound vaguely spiritual?
The songs we sing should celebrate the exclusivity of the gospel and the primacy of Jesus as Lord of all.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I challenge you to critically evaluate the words themselves when you sing. Sing with your head and your heart. In our next article, we’ll discuss the second filter for choosing music for gathered worship at Morningside.
Jeriel Ontoy
Associate Pastor