Archives For Discipleship

On “Cultural Racism” and Christian Opposition to “Holy Hip-Hop”

December 2, 2013

As an American of Indian origin, I have personally experienced on various occasions suffering caused by genuine racism. As a dedicated Christian who has had to learn to submit to God’s ordaining of those painful experiences for my life, I have learned about my own sinfulness in various respects through these difficulties.

Given my background and life experiences, I was appalled to read recently that some Christians are asserting that “cultural racism” is a root cause of opposition by many believers to “holy hip-hop.” Having viewed the NCFIC video,[1] read several blog posts concerning it,[2] and worked through a vast number of comments on these posts, I feel compelled to respond biblically in a specific respect to this charge of “cultural racism.”

Scriptural Data concerning God’s Judgment on All Aspects of Many Cultures

The validity of the assertion that “cultural racism” is a leading cause of opposition to “holy hip-hop” hinges upon a belief that all cultures have certain neutral or even positive elements worth either preserving or “redeeming,” including especially their musical art forms. Does Scripture support such a belief?

A careful examination of Scripture reveals that on multiple occasions God decisively and comprehensively made known his appraisal of all aspects of many cultures. Three passages show this divine appraisal unmistakably.

Genesis 6-9

At the time of Noah, God infallibly assessed that all humanity had so profoundly debased itself that God was going to annihilate all humans from the earth (Gen. 6:5-7). Out of all humanity living on the earth at this time, only Noah and seven members of his family found grace from God to escape this universal destruction (Gen. 6:8-9; 18).

In light of earlier Scriptural references, we know that there were a vast number of other peoples living at this time (Gen. 4:16-24; 6:1-4) from whom there were no survivors after the Flood. Not only did all those people perish, but also everything about their cultures, societies, lifestyles, etc. was obliterated.

We have no basis for holding that Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives had ever had comprehensive exposure of any kind to all of these other cultures that were annihilated. We further know that at least some of these people were instrumentalists whose music had considerable time to degenerate (Gen. 4:21 cf. 6:5; see my post Are All Musical Styles Inherently Moral? for a full explanation of this important point).

Through the Flood, God thus rendered comprehensive judgment on all aspects of many cultures, including their musical art forms. Genesis 6-9 therefore refutes the notion that all cultures have had musical art forms that were worth preserving or “redeeming.”

Genesis 18-19

In the time of Abraham and Lot, the Lord noted that “the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah [was] great” and that “their sin [was] very grievous” (Gen. 18:20). Because of the profound wickedness of these people, God annihilated them:

Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

God spared only Lot, his wife,[3] and their two daughters from this judgment (Gen. 19:16).[4] We have no basis in Scripture, however, for holding that Lot and his two daughters somehow preserved all the musical art forms of Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction because those art forms were of some supposedly inherent worth.

God’s total obliteration of everything about Sodom and Gomorrah does not support holding that they had musical aspects of their cultures that were worth preserving or “redeeming.” Both Genesis 6-9 and Genesis 18-19 show that God has assessed many cultures in human history as having no aspects of their cultures that were worth preserving or “redeeming,” including their musical art forms.

Joshua 6-8

God ordained that the Israelites were to conquer the Canaanites (cf. for example, Josh. 3:10) and place whole cities and everything in them under a ban (cf. Josh. 6:17-18). Although God did graciously preserve and redeem Rahab the harlot and all who were with her in her house (Josh. 6:17) from His destruction of Jericho, everyone else was utterly destroyed (Josh. 6:21).

We have no indication in this passage or anywhere else in Scripture that God preserved Rahab and her household because He desired to preserve or redeem some supposedly inherently worthy cultural aspects of the culture of Jericho. We furthermore have no basis to hold that Rahab and her household were proficient at all the musical art forms of Jericho and served as a means of preserving them.

Rather, God’s judgment of Jericho was a judgment of all aspects of it, including its musical art forms. What transpired next in Ai provides a striking implicit confirmation of this interpretation.

When the Israelites attempted to conquer Ai, they were soundly defeated (Josh. 7:4-5) because Achan, one of them, had violated the ban and sinned by taking some things that God had forbidden (Josh. 7:11-13; 20-21). Among the forbidden items that he coveted was “a goodly Babylonish garment” (Josh. 7:21).

God does not provide any explanation for why this beautiful garment had to be destroyed. Even though this garment was apparently in at least some respects a valuable work of human artistic ability, God did not want it to be preserved or “redeemed.”

At God’s direction, the Israelites rendered a fierce judgment on Achan, his household, the garment, and everything that belonged to him (Josh. 7:24-26). They then proceeded to annihilate all the people of Ai (Josh. 8:24-29), showing that God did not preserve any of its cultural art forms.

God’s catastrophic and comprehensive judgment on Jericho, Ai, and many other Canaanite cities and peoples (cf. Josh. 10:29-43) shows that these cultures did not have any cultural art forms that God wanted preserved or “redeemed.”

Is “Cultural Racism” Responsible for Much Christian Opposition to “Holy Hip-Hop”?

Scripture provides abundant evidence for believers to know that it is wrong to hold that all cultures have art forms that are worth preserving or “redeeming.” Christians who are well taught in Scripture and whose thinking is steeped in what Scripture teaches therefore have strong justification for holding that it is legitimate to believe that certain musical art forms of certain cultures are not worth preserving or “redeeming.”[5]

Furthermore, unless a believer has the ability to know infallibly what is in the heart of those believers who oppose “holy hip-hop,” it is wrong and unhelpful for him to charge them with “cultural racism” because they reject this particular musical expression of some human cultures. Injecting racism into the debate about musical styles is illegitimate and dishonoring to people who have suffered painfully because of genuine racism.

 

[1] Available for viewing here.

[2] http://www.mikedcosper.com/home/creation-culture-redemption-and-hip-hop-a-response-the-ncfic-panel; http://www.baptisttwentyone.com/2013/11/death-rattle-or-life-preserver-an-appeal-to-the-ncfic-panelists/; http://brenthobbs.com/index_files/Christian_Rap.php

[3] Lot’s wife perished soon thereafter because she looked back toward Sodom (Gen. 19:26).

[4] At Lot’s request, the Lord also spared a small nearby town called Zoar from the destruction that He had purposed to bring at this time (Gen. 19:17-23). Although He graciously spared this town, we know from the judgment that he had planned to bring on this town at this time (Gen. 19:17, 19, 21) that His assessment of its wickedness was no different from that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

[5] For another helpful article explaining why it is legitimate to reject “Christian rap,” see On Reformed Rap.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Exposition, Theology
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Learning about Thanksgiving from Jesus

November 29, 2013

Thanksgiving is a prime occasion for believers to praise and thank God for all His benefits to them. Jesus teaches us to be thankful for something that probably not many believers often praise God for doing.

The Preceding Successful Mission of the Seventy

Prior to Luke’s recording that Jesus gave thanks to God for something that many believers likely rarely praise God for, Luke records Jesus’ instruction to the seventy after they had returned from their mission:

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

With these words, Jesus taught these believers that they should not rejoice that they had power over demonic spirits but rather they should rejoice that their names are written in heaven.

I have heard other believers praise and thank God a number of times for the glorious truth that their names are written in heaven, and I often do so as well in my prayers. Thanksgiving is a prime occasion for us to thank God for this wonderful reality!

A Striking Record of Jesus’ Giving Thanks to God

After his instruction to the seventy who returned from their successful mission, Jesus uttered some striking words. These statements reveal profound things that Jesus praised and thanked God for doing:

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

In exultant gratitude to the Father, Jesus praised Him as the Lord of heaven and earth that He had both hidden certain things from certain people and revealed those things to others. Jesus then expressed His assent to the Father’s doing these things that were good in His (the Father’s) sight.

A full exposition of these statements from Jesus would require a lengthy treatment; what is unmistakable from this teaching without such a full treatment is that Jesus was thanking God for hiding His truth from certain people and revealing it to others! What Jesus said next to the Father confirms this interpretation:

 Luk 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

Jesus thus thanked God not only for revealing Himself to certain people but also for His hiding true knowledge of Himself from others!

What Believers Should Praise and Thank God for Doing

Based on this passage, believers should be like Jesus by giving thanks to the Father for revealing things to them that they would never have been able to know had He not seen fit to do so. They should also give thanks to the Son for revealing the Father to them.

Should believers also be like Jesus by giving thanks to the Father for hiding things from other people, specifically “the wise and prudent”? Giving God thanks for doing this may go strongly counter to the thinking of even many believers, but Jesus’ perfect example in doing so means that they must learn from Him to honor God by also thanking Him for concealing His truth from the people that He has seen fit to do so.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Interpretation, Theology
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Should We Follow Paul in What Acts 24 Reveals?

November 25, 2013

Acts 24 provides revelation about an aspect of Paul’s life that has major bearing on how believers should conduct themselves in a fallen world. Should we follow Paul in what Acts 24 reveals about him?

Unjustly Arrested and Imprisoned for His Faith in Christ

Although he had not done anything wrong (Acts 23:29; 24:12-13, 19; 26:31-32), Paul was unjustly apprehended (Acts 21:27), beaten (Acts 21:32), bound with chains (Acts 21:33) and imprisoned (Acts 22:24f.) for his faith in Christ. He endured much unjust suffering at the hands of various authorities over a period of several years (cf. Acts 24:27).

Extended Contact with a Corrupt Governmental Authority

One of those authorities was Felix the governor (Acts 23:24, 33). Paul plainly testified to him of his need for faith in Christ (Acts 24:24), but Felix did not receive the message properly (Acts 24:25).

Not only does the Spirit see fit to record that Felix rejected the gospel, but He also deemed it worth to note explicitly another dimension of his interaction with Paul:

Act 24:26 He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.

This telling remark makes known that Felix was a corrupt governmental authority who often sent for Paul and met with him because he was hoping that Paul would give him money so that he might be set free. These meetings continued for two years (Acts 24:27), showing that Paul had extended personal contact with this corrupt governor.

The Stellar Ethical Standards of Paul and Other Believers

Paul was suffering unjustly for an extended period. Had he or the other believers who interacted freely with him during his time of imprisonment under Felix (Acts 24:23) been willing to pay off Felix, Paul would have been set free and would have been able to resume his apostolic gospel ministry that had resulted in multitudes coming to salvation (cf. Acts 13:48; 14:21; 17:4, 12; 18:8) and a vast number of believers being discipled at length (e.g., Acts 14:27-28; 15:35, 41).

Neither Paul nor any of the other believers, however, were willing to pay Felix the money that he hoped for; they all apparently believed that it would be unethical for them to do so. Even though Paul was innocent and had been suffering unjustly for a long time, he would not pay a bribe to this corrupt official to secure his release.

The Contemporary Importance of the Example of Paul and These Other Believers

Faced with the opportunity to pay off a corrupt official to secure his freedom, Paul chose to remain imprisoned rather than to do what was wrong. The other believers who ministered freely to him likewise refused to pay off this corrupt official to free Paul.

Believers today often face situations in which corrupt officials demand that they pay money in exchange for permission to conduct ministry or to be able to go in and out of various countries for various purposes. Many believers go along with these demands so that these officials will not trouble them and will allow them to minister without further hindrance.

Given what the Holy Spirit has chosen to reveal to us about the stellar ethical standards of Paul and other believers when the life and ministry of the apostle Paul was on the line, is it right for contemporary believers to continue to go along with such demands? Should we not rather follow Paul (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1) in what Acts 24 reveals and refuse such demands regardless of the consequences?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
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Beware Dangerously Wrong Thinking about Your Life as a Christian!

November 23, 2013

I am concerned that various influences have affected many believers so that they are approaching their lives with dangerously wrong thinking. Here are two key false notions of which you should beware.

1. I am an ordinary person, so Satan is not going to bother with me. He only targets important people.

Apostolic instruction to all believers warning them about Satan shows that this is a very dangerous false view (Eph. 4:27; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9). Satan wants to devour every believer—you are one of his targets regardless of who you are!

2. I am a Christian and I have the Spirit in me. Satan cannot influence me to do wrong without my knowing that he is attacking me.

David was a believer who had the Holy Spirit upon him for the rest of his life after Samuel anointed him (“And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” [1 Sam. 16:13]). Yet Satan “provoked David to number Israel” (1 Chron. 21:1).

Neither 1 Chronicles 21 nor the parallel passage in 2 Samuel 24 provides any indication that David ever had any idea that Satan had influenced him to do so. In fact, it is unthinkable that David would have done what he did had he known that Satan was moving him to do so.

Something similar also happened to Ananias. He conceived a wicked thing in his heart (Acts 5:4), and his wife conspired with him to do so (Acts 5:2, 9). Luke reveals key information about what else happened to Ananias: “Satan filled [his] heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land” (Acts 5:3).

As with David, we have no indication in Scripture that Ananias knew anything about Satan’s filling his heart to sin against God. Being a Christian and having the Spirit in you does not mean that Satan cannot influence you without your knowing it!

Beware dangerously wrong thinking about your life as a Christian along either of these lines!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exhortation, Exposition, Theology
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Are All Musical Styles Inherently Moral?

November 21, 2013

Some believers hold that all musical styles are inherently moral. I have been investigating for many months now all that I can find in Scripture that might pertain to this position.

Meditating on various passages about music early in human history led me recently to examine Genesis 6:5, a verse that I had never previously considered for its relevance to the issues of our day concerning music. In particular, does this key statement about all humanity support the view that all musical styles are inherently moral?

Musical Development before the Time of Noah

Genesis 4 provides the earliest information in Scripture about human music. Jubal, the eighth in the ungodly line of Cain (Adam, Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusahel, Lamech, Jubal [Gen. 4:17-21]), “was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” (Gen. 4:21).

This text reveals that Jubal and others played musical instruments, but it does not mention that they sang as well when they played. Although it is likely that these people were also singing at least some of the time when they played their instruments, lack of any Scriptural mention about human singing at this time or at any time prior to it requires that we focus on the nature of their playing the instruments that they possessed.

In order for any musical instrument to be played intelligibly, the player must produce a distinction of tones with the instrument (1 Cor. 14:7). How he chooses to make those distinctions is guided by his thought processes.

Regardless of whatever style or styles of music Jubal and those who followed him devised for playing the harp and the organ, we can be certain that those styles were the products of human mental activity. As such, they would necessarily reflect what was in their hearts.

Extensive Musical Development by the Time of Noah

Genesis 4:21 is the only explicit information in Scripture that we have about human music prior to time of Noah. As we saw, it teaches us that men in the ungodly line of Cain were playing musical instruments in the eighth generation from Adam.

Genesis 5 reveals that Noah was the tenth in the godly line of Seth (Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah [Gen. 5:3-29]). Given that Noah was two generations later in his line than Jubal was in his line, we can be certain that human musical ability in playing those instruments had developed extensively from the time of Jubal to the time of Noah.

Can we know anything more about that development? Because Scripture does not give us any explicit revelation about human music in the time of Noah, some would say that we are unable to know anything more about that development. A close examination of Genesis 6 in comparison with Genesis 4-5, however, proves otherwise.

Profound Musical Degeneracy by the Time of Noah

Genesis 6 does not provide any explicit information about music. It does provide, however, key implicit information that has profound relevance for our understanding of music by the time of Noah.

From when Jubal originated playing the harp and the organ to the time of Noah, human beings had degenerated so profoundly that God assessed them to be only continually evil in every intent of their thoughts:

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Does this statement include the musical imaginations of the thoughts of their hearts? As discussed above, human production of music necessarily reflects the thinking of those who produce the music. For this reason, this statement must also pertain to their musical imaginations.

Moreover, because God had already explicitly noted earlier in Genesis the musical activities of ungodly men who lived long before this time, we know that God wants the reader of Genesis to have in mind that humans had been playing music for quite some time by the time of Noah.

Based on both of these considerations, we have no basis to think legitimately that Genesis 6:5 does not also apply to human musical endeavors at the time of Noah. We must understand rather that every imagination of the thoughts of human hearts in Noah’s time concerning music was also only evil continually.

Were There Profoundly Degenerate Musical Styles at the Time of Noah?

When Jubal became the father of all that play the harp and the organ, he and the others who learned to play those instruments obviously had to use their mental abilities to use those instruments to produce the sounds that they wanted to create. By necessity, whatever music they did play had to be of one or more styles because musical styles are nothing more than “distinctive man-made musical patterns of sounds that the player uses his mental processes to create for whatever purpose or purposes he desires to use those sounds” (my definition).

Because playing the harp and the organ originated in the ungodly line of Cain, we might infer that the styles that they played on those instruments were also ungodly (in keeping with their character). Although this inference may be valid, we do not have enough information to prove its validity rigorously.

By the time of Noah, however, much time had elapsed and mankind became increasingly evil. In fact, all humanity had profoundly degenerated to such an extent that God infallibly declared that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.

Because musical styles necessarily reflect the thought processes of those who originate or use those styles, we have no basis for saying that there were not musical styles of corrupt humanity at this time that matched the corruption of their hearts. On the contrary, man’s profound degeneracy at this time guarantees that there were profoundly degenerate musical styles at the time of Noah.

Discussion

From what we have learned through studying Genesis 4-6, we conclude that Scripture does not support holding that all musical styles are inherently moral because immoral musical styles certainly existed at the time of Noah. People may nevertheless raise various objections to this conclusion and the reasoning from Scripture employed to arrive at it.

Some may say that the musical degeneracy of the people in Noah’s time was in the words that they sang but not in their styles of playing the instruments. This is an invalid objection for at least two reasons.

As discussed above, Scripture provides no explicit evidence that these people were also singing when they played. To argue that their degeneracy was in what they sang, therefore, has no basis in Scripture.

Furthermore, regardless of whether they were singing or not, human production of instrumental music requires the use of mental processes to play the instruments, and what people play reflects their thinking. Because mankind was utterly corrupt in its thinking at this time, their musical styles were also certainly corrupt.

Another objection that some may offer to this conclusion is that “common grace” from God “insulated” their musical styles from being corrupt. Genesis 6:5 pointedly refutes this objection by saying explicitly that every intent of their thoughts was evil. We would need explicit biblical revelation or indication to hold legitimately, therefore, that “common grace” somehow insured that their musical styles were an exception to the force of this revelation.

The successive revelation further implies that this objection is invalid. Moses makes clear that Noah and seven members of his family were the only human beings to receive saving grace from God so that they were not destroyed. By the grace of God, Noah alone was found righteous in the sight of God at this time.

Because the rest of humanity did not receive such grace from God, we can be certain that their musical styles were not insulated somehow from the pervasive corruption of their intents concerning all other areas of their lives. “Common grace” did not prevent their musical styles from being degenerate.

Conclusion

Sound biblical reasoning applied to Genesis 4-6 teaches us that there were evil musical styles at the time of Noah because their musical styles necessarily reflected the pervasive corruption of all their thinking. We, therefore, know that the position that all musical styles are inherently moral is incorrect.

In light of this biblical evidence (as well as other biblical data), Christians who wish to continue holding the opposing view have the burden of proof of showing from Scripture that their position is nonetheless valid in spite of what Genesis 4-6 reveals about human music.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Exposition, Interpretation, Theology
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Why Jesus Used Illustrations So Much in His Preaching

November 17, 2013

James Stalker insightfully brings out some key reasons why Jesus used illustrations so much in His preaching:

But the discourses of Jesus had a still more popular quality: they were plentifully adorned with illustrations. This is the most attractive quality of human speech. The same God being the Author of both the world of mind and the world of matter, He has so fashioned them that the objects of nature, if presented in a certain way, become mirrors in which are reflected the truths of the spirit; and we are so constituted that we never relish truth so well as when it is presented in this way. Nature contains thousands of these mirrors for exhibiting spiritual truth which have never yet been used but await the hands of the masters of speech who are yet to be born.

Christ used this method of illustrating truth so constantly that the common objects of the country in which He resided are seen more perfectly in His words than in all the historians of the time. . . .

It was because Jesus had exquisite love and consideration for His hearers that He thus sought out acceptable words to win their minds. But there was a reason in Himself besides. It is when the mind of a preacher is acting on the truth with intense energy and delight that it coruscates in such gleams of illustration. When the mental energy is only smouldering in a lukewarm way inside the subject, then you have the commonplace, prosaic statement; when the warmth increases and pervades the whole, you get the clear, strong, impressive statement; but, when the glow has thoroughly mastered the mass and flames all over it, then comes the gorgeous images and parables which dwell for ever in the minds of the hearers.

—The Example of Jesus Christ: Imago Christi, 186-188

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Preaching, Quotes
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How the Golden Calf Passages Illumine the CCM Debate: Part I

November 9, 2013

Five of the six Golden Calf passages record gold, an inherently good substance created by God, being sinfully fashioned into an idol that was made in the likeness of a calf, an inherently good animal created by God (Exod. 32:4; Deut. 9:21; Neh. 9:18; Ps. 106:19; Acts 7:41). A careful consideration of both what Aaron and the people sinfully did on this occasion and the aftermath of their sinful actions illumines the debate about CCM.

Making a Golden Calf Was Not Inherently Wrong

Created by God, the gold that Aaron used to make the calf was a good substance in and of itself (cf. Gen. 2:12). Because God had also created calves, they were also good in and of themselves (cf. Gen. 1:24-25).

For an Israelite in Aaron’s day to make a golden calf, therefore, would not have been inherently an immoral action. This interpretation is confirmed by noting that God righteously commanded the Israelites later to make a bronze serpent (Num. 21:8-9), which was a human artistic creation (“Moses made a serpent of brass” [Num. 21:9]; italics added) patterned after something that God Himself had created.

Why Making the Golden Calf Was Wrong on This Occasion

Why then was it wrong for Aaron and the people to make the golden calf that they made on this occasion? A closer look at the biblical data points to several considerations.

How All the People Knew that Making an Idol Was Wrong

The Golden Calf passages reveal three ways that all the people knew that making the golden calf on this occasion was wrong. Taking into account each of these reasons is vital for a right understanding of their sinfulness on this occasion.

First, through natural revelation, all the people who were in Egypt at the time of the Exodus knew that making and worshiping idols was wrong (Rom. 1:18-23). In spite of their knowing with certainty that idolatry was wrong, the Egyptians at the time of the Exodus were an idolatrous people with many gods (cf. “gods” [Exod. 12:12]).

Second, in His plagues on Egypt, God judged all of Egypt’s gods (Exod. 12:12). All the people whom God brought out from Egypt further learned through these judgments that the idols of Egypt were sinful objects.

Third, God later warned the people whom He brought out of Egypt that they were not to make any graven images in the likeness of anything that was in the earth (Exod. 20:4) for the purpose of worshiping and serving them (Exod. 20:5). This revelation further instructed them that making and worshiping idols such as the ones that the Egyptians had made and worshiped was sinful.

For the first two reasons explained above, however, it is important to keep in mind that these people already knew conclusively that the idols that the Egyptians had made were sinful before they received this special revelation. They, therefore, would not have needed this revelation from God to know that making the golden calf was wrong.

How Aaron and the People Sinned Greatly by Making the Golden Calf

When Moses was absent from the people for an extended time, the people refused to obey him, repudiated him, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt (Acts 7:39). In rebellion against God and Moses, they demanded that Aaron would make for them “gods” (Acts 7:40; cf. “God” [Neh. 9:18]) to go before them.

Using the gold that the people provided him, Aaron and the people worked together to make the golden calf (Exod. 32:2-4; Acts 7:40). He brought a very great sin upon them through his role in this incident (Exod. 32:21).

The people sinned by making the calf in spite of all the ways that they knew that doing so was wrong, and they sinned further by proclaiming to Israel that these were her “gods” that brought her out of Egypt (Acts 7:40; Exod. 32:4; but cf. “God” [Neh. 9:18]). They did so in spite of their having seen God’s supernatural judgment of all the gods of Egypt (cf. Exod. 12:12) and knowing with certainty that He was the One who had brought them out of Egypt (cf. Exod. 14:31-15:21).

A Closer Look at Aaron’s Great Sinfulness in Making the Golden Calf

When Aaron fashioned the gold into a calf, what he did was very sinful (cf. “so great a sin” [Exod. 32:21]) for multiple reasons. First, it was sinful because it was done in disobedience to God’s command.

Second, it was very sinful because it was done to satisfy the demands of people whom God had redeemed out of Egypt who now in their hearts had sinfully gone back to Egypt. As one of God’s leaders, he should have sternly resisted their demands instead of giving them what they wanted.

Third, because Aaron had lived for many years among the Egyptians, he knew what their idolatrous worship was like and what the gods that they had worshiped looked like. He thus knew what would be an acceptable idol for people who had come out of Egypt.

His making the calf was thus also very sinful because he used his God-given creative powers to form a forbidden object that was patterned after what he knew was used by evil people for evil purposes. God’s profound anger with Aaron on this occasion (Deut. 9:20) undoubtedly stemmed in part from the sinfulness of his fashioning gold into a calf that he knew would be acceptable to them as an idol because it was similar to what they as wicked people had used previously in their evil worship.

Conclusion

Although they used an inherently good substance (gold) to create something in the likeness of a good animal that God had created, Aaron and those who made the golden calf sinned greatly against God by making the gold into an idol. Their sin also included fashioning the gold into an idol that was similar to the idols used by wicked people in their sinful practices.

In making the golden calf, Aaron and the people sinned profoundly in spite of their knowing in multiple ways that doing so was morally wrong. As we will see in future articles, this analysis of the Golden Calf incident has profound relevance for the CCM debate because similar considerations are vital for determining whether CCM use in corporate worship is acceptable to God.

 

For more on the Golden Calf incident, see the five preceding articles in this series under point 11 here.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Exposition, Music, Theology
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Guitar Music for “Jesus Paid It All”

November 7, 2013

Jesus Paid It All is a well-known hymn that is easy to play on the guitar in the key of D because it uses only 5 basic chords: D, A, A7, G, and G# dim. This PDF provides the melody notes, chords, and first stanza of the hymn plus a simplified bass line that advanced students can use to accompany themselves in various ways.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Guitar Music
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Are We Overlooking a Major Cause of Serious Illness in Our Day?

November 4, 2013

Scripture records a number of cases of people who were severely afflicted:

(1) a king who was highly troubled (1 Sam. 16:14-15) and became so suspiciously jealous that he repeatedly tried to murder a loyal subject (1 Sam. 18:8-11; 19:10); (2) a very upright man who was severely afflicted with boils all over his body (Job 3:7); (3) a lunatic son who would often fall into the fire and often into the water (Matt. 17:15); (4) a daughter who was grievously vexed (Matt. 15:22); (5) a man who was constantly screaming night and day in the mountains and in the tombs and cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:5); and (6) a woman who had been sick for 18 years and was bent over and could not straighten herself up at all (Luke 13:11).

Every one of these people was seriously ill because of demonic affliction. In several of these cases, even ordinary people correctly knew what was causing these people to suffer so much:

(1) King Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold, now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee” (1 Sam. 16:15). They somehow knew that a demon was afflicting Saul.

(2) A man from a crowd said to Jesus, “Master I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresover he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away (Mk. 9:17-18; cf. Luke 9:39). Somehow, this man knew that his son was afflicted by a demon.

(3) A woman of Canaan, who was not even a Jew, cried unto Jesus, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil” (Matt. 15:22). This lost pagan woman somehow knew that a demon was cruelly afflicting her daughter.

If these situations were to happen in our day, however, and the same people would suffer the same problems, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other medical personnel would undoubtedly attribute their problems to various causes, but it is highly unlikely that any of them would accurately diagnose the true cause of their problems as affliction caused by demons! They would probably scoff at even the suggestion that demons were responsible for these people suffering in the way that they would be suffering.

Although it is understandable that secular authorities would reject such an explanation of their suffering and behavior, it seems to me that many of God’s people would also reject even the possibility that demonic affliction would be the cause of their problems.

Given what Scripture teaches in many passages about the destructive desires and activities of Satan and his demons, I find it disturbing that many of God’s people are reluctant to consider that demonic activity may be the cause of much illness in our day.

Are we overlooking a major cause of serious illness in our day?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Health, Interpretation, Theology
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Beware Dangerously Flawed Reasoning Used to Justify Using Contemporary Worship to Evangelize People

November 2, 2013

Many justify using certain contemporary worship practices by arguing that they enhance the Church’s effectiveness in evangelizing people. Ezekiel 33 reveals why such reasoning is dangerously flawed.

The Lord’s Exposé of Dangerously Flawed Worship

Addressing Ezekiel as “son of man,” the Lord revealed to him the true state of many who were flocking to hear his ministry of the Word:

Eze 33:30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 

31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

Even as these people were exhorting one another to come and hear the word of God through Ezekiel, their hearts were horrifically iniquitous. They were not coming to worship the Lord with a true heart for hearing from Him and doing what He says; instead, they loved enjoying what was to them a sensuous experience of hearing the faithful ministry of a true man of God:

Eze 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovelya song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

aHol6047 Ez 3332: sensual desire (condemned) Ez 2311 3332. † (pg 264) 

This divine revelation shows that their worship was seriously flawed, and the Lord warned Ezekiel that it was dangerously so:

Eze 33:33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

When God’s judgment would come upon them for their hearing but not doing what He says, they would know the truthfulness of the message and the messenger that they had disregarded because their hearts were wrongly oriented toward enjoying the titillating experience of hearing him preach the word of God to them.

How Much Contemporary Worship Is Similarly Dangerously Flawed

The Lord’s exposé of their dangerously flawed worship explicitly likened what Ezekiel was to them to their hearing a skilled instrumentalist with a beautiful voice who sings a very lovely but sensual song to them (Ezek. 33:32). In both cases, they fail to profit from the verbal message delivered to them because of the sensual orientation of their hearts.

This divine comparison shows that God is very well aware of the immense power that sensual music can have to influence people in ways that do not enhance the persuasiveness of the message that is communicated verbally to them as part of that music. Several commentators concur with this interpretation:

The news of Jerusalem’s fall appears to have given Ezekiel’s message a certain popularity and topicality. He is now the subject of conversation in the cities and the doorways (33:30). To use a contemporary analogy, he is the toast of the talk shows. But the interest is superficial: The people listen to his words but do not put them into practice, regarding them as an interesting phenomenon rather than a life-changing reality. His fame is like that of a pop star, whose declarations on spiritual matters may arouse curiosity but are scarcely accorded authoritative status. People may also have been humming along to his tune, but they are paying no attention to the true meaning of the lyrics.

Time, however, will prove the power of the word of the Lord through Ezekiel: “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them” (33:33). In that day, just as all will know experientially the power of the Lord, so they will also be forced to recognize the authenticity of the Lord’s prophet.” —Iain M. Duguid, NIVAC: Ezekiel, 385-86.

“Your fellow nationals, human one, who are talking about you in the alleys and doorways, invite each other to come and hear what message Yahweh has sent. They come to you in crowds and sit down in front of you. They listen to your messages without acting on them. To them you are just like a fine vocalist, some professional musician who sings erotic songs. They listen to your messages without acting on them. When it finally happens—and happen it will—then they will realize that they have had a prophet among them.”—Leslie C. Allen, Translation of Ezekiel 33:30-33 in WBC: Ezekiel 20-48, Vol. 29, 149.

Ezekiel, long regarded with suspicion and distaste for his defeatism and scolding (cf. 2:6; 3:9), has been vindicated as a true prophet. In spirit he now seems to stand shoulder to shoulder with his compatriots in exile. Ezekiel’s popularity knows no bounds, as the exiles crowd into his home (cf. 8:1; 14:1; 20:1) to hear what this sensational prophet will say next. Unfortunately, it was the popularity of an entertainer, a pop star, that Ezekiel enjoyed, and he was being taken no more seriously than before. His hearers functioned as a concert audience rather than a congregation.

The extended simile of the singer refers . . . to the fact that his words were so welcome that they were music in the ears of those who thronged to hear them. —Allen, 153-154.

At best Ezekiel is like a singer of ‘a sensual song’ (literally, ‘song of loves’), gifted with a pleasant voice and with the ability to handle an instrument ‘well‘. Nowadays, pop singers tend to celebrate one theme only, and normally in a debased manner. It seems that his hearers estimated Ezekiel in this fashion, switching off when he has hard things to say and treating him as no more than entertainment. When the performance was over, and when their ears had been tickled pleasurably, they would disperse and return to normal business. The picture is vivid, and we can readily understand it: although music and lyrics are core entertainment for the masses, they are never taken seriously, the top tune and its singer being soon forgotten because they are only a temporary diversion. Ezekiel was a passing voice that men of sense would not allow to affect their lives (33:32).

How embarrassing for the prophet! Yet he is assured by Yahweh that his warnings cannot be in vain, for which reason Ezekiel must persist in his ministry. One day ‘it’ will come, and then men will appreciate fully that he was a prophet (33:33; cf. 2:5).” —Peter Naylor, EP Study Commentary, Ezekiel, 515.

The Israelites in exile and the remnant in Palestine had looked on Ezekiel’s ministry in mockery. They would gossip that they should go and hear God’s word (v.30). Yet when they came to Ezekiel, or heard his message, they would listen; but they would not act in accord with his warnings (v.31). They orally expressed devotion, but their hearts were greedy for material gain. They were “playing games” with God. To them Ezekiel was no more than a good entertainer. He was amusing to listen to and to watch, with all his symbolic acts and prophecies. But just as an entertainer demands no response, so they did not sense a need to respond to Ezekiel’s messages (v.32; cf. 2 Tim. 4:3). However, as Ezekiel’s prophecies became reality—and such had already begun in the Fall of Jerusalem—then Israel would realize that a true prophet had been among them (v.33). Oh the importance of listening to men of God and acting on God’s word that they proclaim! —Ralph H. Alexander, EBC, Ezekiel, 6:910-11

Choosing to evangelize people in our day with the use of music that has a widespread popular sensuous and sensual appeal puts those people at great risk of experiencing the same tragic dynamic that Ezekiel’s hearers experienced. When people are focused on their love of a popular musical style used to communicate God’s truth, their hearts will be distracted from attending properly to that truth.

Popular Musical Styles Are Not Proper Vehicles for God’s Truth

Contrary to what many believe today, using sensual musical styles that are very popular (such as the styles used in “rock-influenced” CCM) as vehicles for God’s truth hinders lost people from receiving His truth properly. Although God can and at times does graciously choose to work in some hearts in spite of the negative effects experienced by the hearers of such music, God’s people should learn from Ezekiel 33:30-33 that it is wrong for us to put such obstacles in their way.

Let us beware dangerously flawed reasoning used to justify using contemporary worship to evangelize people!

For more help with issues concerning CCM, please see the many resources that I have compiled: Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Evangelism, Exposition, Music
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