Learning from “The Cross-Billy Graham’s Message to America”

November 15, 2013

Watching Dr. Billy Graham’s recent message[1] has motivated me to write again about sound gospel ministry that is based fully on all that the Bible says. To that end, I share this assessment of his message.

Biblical Aspects of His Message

Dr. Graham’s message has many biblical aspects to it. The following are things that stood out to me:

1. A moving, proper emphasis on God’s love for sinful mankind

“The Cross expresses the great love of God for man.”

2. A necessary testimony to both Jesus and God the Father that distinguishes them from each other

3. A valuable underscoring of the exclusivity of Christ as the only way of salvation and the only hope for ending the misery of living a sinful life

He quotes John 14:6, and the message makes this truth plain in other ways as well, including through two moving testimonies from people whose lives have been delivered from hopeless entrenchment in sin.

4. An appropriate confrontation of every viewer with the reality that the leading causes of the world’s greatest problems are spiritual in nature

5. A clear declaration that all humans are sinners and worthy of hell and judgment

“The Cross was the most terrible form of execution by the Romans for criminals, and Jesus endured all that in our place because of our sins. We deserve the Cross. We deserve hell. We deserved judgment and all that that means.”

6. An inescapable testimony to the Cross and to the Resurrection

 “In that terrible moment, He and God the Father were separated.”

 “The Cross and the Resurrection of Christ offers forgiveness of sin.”

7. A strong exhortation and challenge  to receive forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith

“The Cross and the Resurrection of Christ offers forgiveness of sin, offers a whole new life, and offers you eternal life, if you come to the Cross by repentance and faith.”

Given that the message has these many biblical aspects to it, some may wonder what could possibly be wrong with such ministry.

Unbiblical Aspects of His Message

Although there are many important aspects of this message that are biblical, it also has many key aspects that are unbiblical.[2] The following are some of the main criticisms that I have of his message:

1. A declaration that God has directed him to friendship with some who belong to a system of belief that has led to the martyring of millions of Christians

“As I look back over my life, it’s full of surprises. I never thought that I would become friends with people in different countries all over the world. . . . I see how God’s hand has gathered me. . . . God has done this.”

These statements are made as various pictures are shown at that point in the video, including one of Dr. Graham meeting a high-level religious official of Roman Catholicism.

A sound understanding of biblical teaching about separation (2 Chron. 19:2; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 2 John 9-11) informs us that such a declaration has no place in sound gospel ministry.

2. A besmirching of the holiness of God (cf. Rom. 12:1-2) by using someone (Lecrae Moore) to testify how he was saved who now employs a depraved worldly means of communication (hip hop) to present the truth to others. The presentation of how and where Moore “ministers” undercuts the call to repentance presented elsewhere in the message.

3. A complete lack of testimony to the infernal role of Satan in bringing about the problems of the world and of all the people in it (cf. Gen. 3:15; Acts 10:38; I John 3:8)

4. A disproportionate emphasis on the Cross

Unlike the gospel preaching of the apostles that highly emphasized the Resurrection, Dr. Graham and the others who testify in the video spend far more time talking about the Cross than they do about the Resurrection. In fact, Dr. Graham’s testimony to the latter is limited to the word “Resurrection” early in the message and to two brief sentences toward the end of the message.[3]

5. A highly objectionable and erroneous explanation of what happened when Jesus died

“And when Christ died on that Cross, He became guilty of lying, He became guilty of slander, He became guilty of jealousy, He became guilty of the most filthy, dirty sins. Christ took the hell that you and I deserve.”

Yes, Jesus Christ took the penalty for our sins, but Scripture presents no evidence that He became guilty of committing any sin!

6. A lack of biblical testimony to the bodily resurrection of Christ and its significance for all men

It is tragic that Dr. Graham did not take advantage of such an excellent opportunity to communicate clearly and emphatically to potentially multiplied millions of viewers that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead. He does not mention anything about those who saw Him after He arose (1 Cor. 15:5-8), and he does not testify that those witnesses heard Him, touched Him, and ate and drank with Him (cf. Acts 10:41).[4]

Instead of spending so much time focused on testimony to the Cross, Dr. Graham should have used some of that time to provide vital testimony that would have made it impossible for any attentive and honest viewer to come away with a deficient understanding of the nature of the Resurrection of Christ (e.g., Christ only rose spiritually). He also should have borne clear testimony to what God has proven to all men everywhere through His raising Jesus from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

7. A problematic model prayer

At the end of his message, Dr. Graham asks people to follow him in praying to God. He begins that prayer in this way:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that you’ve died for my sins and rose from the dead.”

God the Father did not die on the Cross! The apostles never taught people to pray this way. This is not a biblical way to pray.

Discussion

Dr. Graham’s video message presents many biblical truths that God could use in the lives of unbelievers. It is highly questionable, however, that a lost person with little or no biblical background would understand the truths communicated properly so that he would be genuinely saved.

Lacking sufficient and proper testimony to key truths and presenting an emotionally moving message, the video has significant potential for resulting in false professions. Lost people, however, who have had other exposure to the gospel that has given them a proper understanding of the key aspects that this message does not communicate could be genuinely saved through God’s use of their viewing this video.

Believers who view the video and invest the terminology communicated with proper biblical meaning will likely find the video to be stirring in spite of its serious flaws. For believers who have not had thorough training in biblical evangelism, the video has the potential of misleading them concerning how key biblical truths about salvation should be presented.

Conclusion

In spite of the many flaws in this video message, may God graciously see fit to use the truths that are properly communicated to work in the hearts of many needy people who are lost and need salvation from their sins. From both the biblical and unbiblical aspects of this message, let us who already know Him learn better (and put into practice) how we should properly communicate God’s saving truth to lost people.


[1] The Cross-Billy Graham’s Message to America (a Youtube video)

[2] The points in this section follow the order of what is presented in the video. They are not arranged in any particular order of increasing or decreasing seriousness.

[3] Lacey Sturm, another key person in the video, actually bears more testimony to the Resurrection in the excerpt from one of her songs shown in the video than Dr. Graham does in his entire message.

[4] Moore and Sturm also do not bear testimony explicitly to the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Gospel, Theology
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Toward a Proper Understanding of the Biblical Importance of God as Judge of All

November 13, 2013

The importance of any biblical doctrine can be accurately assessed only within the broader framework of biblical teaching on that subject. The doctrine of judgment includes many passages that correspond to contemporary conceptions of a judge as the one who renders verdicts in court cases (Dan. 7; 2 Cor. 5). The Scriptural data on the work of God as Judge, however, transcends such conceptions, as is clear from key passages such as Genesis 3.[1] None of the main Hebrew words typically studied in treatments of judgment in the Old Testament occurs in Genesis 3.[2] Yet God’s judging in that passage is plain, and New Testament data show that it is an account of His judgment (Rom. 5:16).

In Genesis 3, God’s judging includes confronting, interrogating, and rendering the verdict as well as enacting and enforcing the penalty. His judging also includes directing others to confront sinners: “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations” (Ezek. 22:2).[3] Furthermore, God’s judging goes beyond the pronouncement of sinfulness or guilt: “The Arameans came with a small number of men; yet the Lord delivered a very great army into their hands, because they had forsaken the Lord. . . . Thus they executed judgment on Joash“ (2 Chron. 24:24).

Accounting for the scriptural conception supports defining the work of God as Judge as all the actions that He performs, either directly or through others, in righteously assessing and repaying all those who are under His sovereignty for their attitudes, actions, and words.[4] This approach treats verses as pertaining to judgment even though they do not contain any of the words usually examined in studies on judgment, such as shaphat in Hebrew or those built on a krin– root in Greek, if they include statements of divine actions such as rewarding, punishing, killing, or destroying someone as a consequence of his actions.

In such verses, the occurrence of words that are found in other passages in parallel to the typical words for judgment or as explanations of one of those typical words supports viewing these words in appropriate contexts as part of the doctrine of judgment.[5] If God’s work of judgment is understood in that manner, every book of the Old Testament, except for Esther and Song of Solomon, explicitly speaks of God in some judicial capacity.[6]

In the New Testament as well, every book does so except Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John.[7] These facts show the importance in Scripture of God as the Judge of all.

 

[1] “Word studies are an important part of Old Testament studies that also are susceptible to simplification and overstatement. Important passages that contribute significantly to a particular concept may be overlooked because they do not contain the word or words being studied [Meador gives Genesis 3 as an example in a footnote to this sentence.]. . . . The modern image of a ‘judge’ is fostered by the concept of strict separation of executive, judicial and legislative functions that pervades western culture. Thus the word ‘judge’ to the modern mind almost automatically conjures up an image of a robed jurist sitting on a bench overlooking a courtroom and presiding over an action at law. The judge is seen as an impersonal arbiter, detached from both the initiation of the proceedings and their consequential execution.” Marion F. Meador, “The Motif of God as Judge in the Old Testament” (PhD diss., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1986), 10-11. Cf. Psalm 75:6-8; James 4:12. In defining krinw, BDAG refers to the important aspect of the penalty as being part of the scriptural teaching on judgment: “Often the emphasis is unmistakably laid upon that which follows the Divine Judge’s verdict, upon the condemnation or punishment: condemn, punish” [italics in original], 568.

[2] For example, Leon Morris discusses shaphat, dayan, palal, yakakh, ‘elohim, paqad, and ribh. Morris, The Biblical Doctrine of Judgment (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960), 7-41. Following that discussion, Morris writes that assessing those main words does not exhaustively account for the Old Testament data concerning judgment. Ibid., 41. The word ‘elohim does occur numerous times in Genesis 3 as a title for God; treatments of judgment in the Old Testament examine its occurrence with reference to humans as judges and not as a title for God (Exod. 22:8; Ps. 82:6).

[3] Cf. Ezekiel 20:4 and 23:36. The teaching of these verses illuminates Christ’s judging for God in His encounters with sinners where He confronts them with their sinfulness and pronounces woes on them but does not inflict actual punishment on them at that time (e.g., Matt. 23).

[4] This definition is based in part on the following statement: “All of the passages associated with God as judge in the Old Testament have been identified and classified . . . The selection shown . . . reflects a broad understanding of God’s role as judge and includes those passages which might imply strict juridical activity, plus any others which present God as assessing the actions or attitudes of persons or groups.” Meador, 13-14. See Psalm 7:9; 94:2; Matthew 12:36; Romans 13:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9; 2:8.

[5] For example, Genesis 18:16-32 presents Yahweh’s conversation with Abraham concerning His intention to judge Sodom. Abraham’s rhetorical question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” shows that the work of God as Judge is in view in that entire discussion. The discussion of His judicial work includes several verbs that are not typically examined in treatments of judgment in the Old Testament: sweep away (sapah, 18:23), slay (muth, 18:25), spare (nasa, 18:26), and destroy (shakhath, 18:28). In Genesis 19, none of the typical words for judgment is found. God’s judgment in that passage is clear from the preceding chapter. Because that is true, God’s raining fire on Sodom and Gomorrah (matar, 19:24) and overthrowing them (hapak, 19:25) are judicial actions and should be viewed as such in similar contexts (Isa. 13:19; Jer. 50:40; Amos 4:11).

John 18:31 reads, “So Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.’ The Jews’ saying to him, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death,’” shows that judging includes putting someone to death (apokteinw). First Corinthians 11:31, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world,” teaches that God’s judgment of His people includes His disciplining (paideuw) them. These passages provide a biblical basis for treating other occurrences of apokteinw and paideuw in similar contexts as part of God’s work of judgment. Cf. Romans 2:5-6; Hebrews 10:30; Revelation 6:10; 19:2.

[6] Although there are no direct statements about God in Esther, the book mentions Nebuchadnezzar’s exiling Jeconiah and many other Jews, which other books of the Old Testament present as the result of God’s judgment, when it speaks of Mordecai as one “who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled” (Est. 2:6).

[7] God’s judgment is implicit in the apostolic warning, “Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward” (2 John 8), and the assessment of the works of false teachers (2 John 9) as “evil deeds”(2 John 11). It is also implicit in the apostolic promise to deal with the unjust accusations of Diotrephes (3 John 10) and the following instruction not to “imitate what is evil” (3 John 11), which implies that John assessed his actions as evil.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Dissertation, Interpretation, Theology
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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 © 2011-2025 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 © 2011-2025 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 © 2011-2025 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 © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In CCM, Evangelism, Exposition, Music
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Schnabel on Forgiveness of Sins through Jesus as the Judge

November 1, 2013

What is the content of the message that brings forgiveness of sins to any sinner? Are you sure that your sins are forgiven?

At the climax of his gospel message to many lost people in Caesarea, the apostle Peter proclaimed how they could have their sins forgiven:

Act 10:42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Why did Peter end his gospel message with these words, which to many people seem an odd way to climax a message about the good news through Jesus Christ?

In his commentary on Acts, Schnabel helpfully explains these verses:

The content of the proclamation is “the good news of peace through Jesus Christ” (v. 36) and Jesus’ role as “judge” (κριτής) of “the living and the dead” (v. 42c-d), i.e., of all people. This is the role of the heavenly Son of Man of Daniel’s vision, to whom God gave the authority to execute judgment (Dan. 7:13-14; Luke 12:8). Presiding at the last judgment is a divine function. The reference to Jesus’ role as judge may at first sight seem surprising, but note the connection with the beginning of Peter’s speech (which began with a reference to God’s impartiality, v. 34) and with its center (in which Jesus was described as “Lord of all,” v. 36). The universal scope of Jesus’ role as judge is tied to the universal scope of his status as Lord, which in turn is connected with the fact that forgiveness of sins—the decisive factor for the divine verdict on the day of judgment—is found only through Jesus Christ. This is the emphasis of the next verse. . . . 

At the end of his explanation of the message of Jesus and its significance, Peter emphasizes that forgiveness can be obtained by everyone who believes in Jesus. God grants forgiveness of sins “through” (διά) Jesus (cf. 2:38), God’s appointed judge of all people (v. 42). If the Judge himself is involved in forgiving sins, the accused will certainly go free since the sins that have been committed will not affect the outcome of the trial. 

However, people must receive (λαβεῖν) forgiveness of sins; it is not simply “declared” as a reality that affects all people. It can and will be received by “all people,” whether they are Jews, Greeks, or Romans (note the context of the speech), who believe in Jesus (πιστεύοντα εἰς αὐτόν), i.e., who acknowledge Jesus as Lord of all and as Judge of all and as the one through whom God makes forgiveness of sins possible.

—Eckhard J. Schnabel, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 503-504; bold added

Based on what Peter preached at the climax of his gospel message, have you believed in Jesus properly to receive the forgiveness of your sins?

For more help with this all-important matter, please see The Gospel of God and His Christ and The Good News for All.

For other scholarly comments about this vital passage, see Scholarly Comments on the One Who Forgives

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Evangelism, Gospel, Interpretation, Quotes
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Learning from a Biblical Chronology of Early Music: Part II

October 31, 2013

In Part I, I treated Genesis 4:21, Job 21:12, Job 30:31, Job 35:10, Job 38:7, and Genesis 31:27 to bring out several points about what Scripture reveals about music early in the history of mankind. This article brings out a key truth seen from comparing these passages both among themselves and with other relatively early references to music.

Comparing These Passages among Themselves

Genesis 4:21 reveals that Jubal in the ungodly line of Cain may have invented two musical instruments:

Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר; a stringed instrument] and organ [Heb. עוּגָב; a wind instrument].

Job 21:12 reveals that wicked people used three different instruments at the time of Job:

Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? . . . 12They take the timbrel (Heb. תֹּף; a percussion instrument) and harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר; a stringed instrument], and rejoice at the sound of the organ [Heb. עוּגָב; a wind instrument].

Job 30:31 shows that Job either played two of the same instruments as the wicked did or had someone in his household who did so:

Job 30:31 My harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר] also is turned to mourning, and my organ [Heb. עוּגָב] into the voice of them that weep.

Regardless of which way we understand the verse, we see that God’s people used the same instruments at this time that the wicked did.

Moreover, Job was the most righteous person of his time (Job 1:8; 2:3). His use of the same instruments as the ungodly used forcefully supports the propriety of doing so.

Comparing These Passages with Other Early References to Music

Some later passages both confirm this conclusion and go beyond it.

After God destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea, Miriam and all the women used timbrels to extol God in dance and song:

Exo 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel (Heb. תֹּף) in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels (Heb. תֹּף)and with dances.  21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

These Israelite women used the same instrument (“timbrel” [Heb. תֹּף]) that the ungodly used back in the time of Job (Job 21:12). More importantly, these women used the timbrel in a sacred setting!

Other relatively early references show God’s people using in sacred settings all the instruments mentioned in earlier references to the music of the wicked:

1Sa 10:5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret (Heb. תֹּף), and a pipe, and a harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר], before them; and they shall prophesy:

Psa 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel (Heb. תֹּף) and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs [Heb. עוּגָב].

Whereas First Samuel 10:5 attests that specially consecrated people of God used these instruments in his service, Psalm 150:4 attests to the propriety of all of God’s people doing so.

This analysis of music in the early history of God’s peoples conclusively shows that God’s people used the same instruments as the wicked did, including serving and worshiping Him with those instruments. What’s more, He commanded them to use those very instruments in their serving and worshiping Him (e.g., Ps. 150:4)!

The Contemporary Significance of These Passages

Some believers today object to Christian use of the guitar because of its “paganistic origins.”[1] Some believers also object to its use in Christian worship because of how ungodly people have used it to play ungodly music in ungodly settings.

A careful examination of Scripture, however, shows that these are invalid objections because God’s people have used in their service and worship of God (1 Sam. 10:5) instruments that the wicked may have invented (Gen. 4:21). In fact, God commanded them to do so (Ps. 150:4).

Furthermore, they did so at the same time that the wicked were using those same instruments to play music in their ungodly lives (e.g., Job 30:31 cf. 21:12).

Believers today who choose to use the guitar appropriately in Christian worship have abundant and conclusive Scriptural basis for doing so.

 

[1] One person voiced his concern this way: “Do you know that guitars have paganistic origins. Maybe you should research more into the history of classical guitars before you promote it so much.”

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Guitar Music, Interpretation, Music
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Guitar Music for “The God of Abraham Praise”

October 29, 2013

“The God of Abraham Praise” is a beautiful hymn that is adapted from a traditional Hebrew melody. This PDF provides the melody notes, first stanza, and guitar chords for this hymn in the key of Em.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Guitar Music
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Learning from a Biblical Chronology of Early Music: Part I

October 28, 2013

The inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture guarantee the absolute truthfulness and reliability of everything that it records and reveals concerning the history of the world. Two books, Genesis and Job, provide the earliest inspired historical information about music. An examination of that information reveals several important facts.

The Earliest Information about Human Music

In the first canonical reference to music in Scripture, we learn that people in the ungodly line of Cain may have invented two musical instruments:

Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר; a stringed instrument] and organ [Heb. עוּגָב; a wind instrument].

We know that this verse gives us the earliest inspired historical information that we have about human music because all other references to musical instruments used in early human music present people using one or both of these instruments (Job. 21:12 and 30:31 have both the same instruments as in Gen. 4:21; Gen. 31:27 has one).

The Earliest Information about Singing accompanied by Instruments

Job bemoaned that the wicked enjoyed themselves by singing to accompaniment provided by the use of instruments, including the same two instruments mentioned in Genesis 4:

Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? . . . 12They take the timbrel (Heb. תֹּף; a percussion instrument) and harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר], and rejoice at the sound of the organ [Heb. עוּגָב]

Job, therefore, knew of wicked people who were skilled musicians in his day who knew how to sing to musical accompaniment.[1] Because Job presents this information in a matter-of-fact statement and not as some new development in his time, we can be certain that by this time humans had extensively developed the ability to sing to the instruments that may have been invented by Jubal.

Furthermore, either Job himself was also a musician (Cf. “my harp” and “my organ” in the verse below) or someone else in his household played these musical instruments for him (conveyed by two occurrences of “my” in the verse below) or both Job and others were musicians:

Job 30:31 My harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר] also is turned to mourning, and my organ [Heb. עוּגָב] into the voice of them that weep.

Even if we understand this statement as figurative language for Job’s joy turning to mourning, it still testifies to his knowledge about instrumental music and human singing to instrumental accompaniment.

From the combined teaching of these passages in Job, we know that at the time of Job both the wicked and God’s people knew how to sing accompanied by musical instruments.

The Earliest Information about God in relation to Human Music

Elihu testified about God’s giving His people music in some unspecified manner: 

Job 35:10 But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;

As a contemporary of Job, Elihu attests that God’s people in Job’s time knew and believed that God gave people songs, which would point to the existence of music that was sacred at least from the standpoint of its source.

If, however, we understand this verse to mean simply that God blessed people so that they sang at night, we would still have a statement that shows that His people at this time responded to God’s goodness to them with singing.

The Earliest Information about Angelic Music

Job and his readers also knew that God Himself challenged Job by asking him where he was when he laid the foundation of the earth and angelic beings extolled Him for doing so:

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job, therefore, was directly instructed by God about the existence of singing prior to the existence of man.[2]

The Earliest Information about Music in the Time of the Patriarchs

Laban chided Jacob for secretly leaving without allowing him to send him off properly:

Gen 31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret (Heb. תֹּף), and with harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר]?

Apparently, singing accompanied by musical instruments as part of sending off a relative was a well-established practice for Laban. We also see that this reference presents the use of music positively in a constructive group setting, unlike the negative connotation conveyed by Job’s mention of the music enjoyed by the wicked.

Furthermore, as was the case with Job, we know from this statement that either Laban himself was a skilled musician or someone else in his home was skilled at singing and playing musical instruments or both Laban and others were musicians. In fact, the mention of two different instruments that cannot be played at the same time by one person almost certainly points to at least two skilled musicians in Laban’s household (unless the same person first played one instrument and then the other).

In connection with the musical references in Job, this text further shows us that singing to musical instruments was commonplace among pagan people by this time in history.

Discussion

Scripture presents at least some aspect of music as originating in the ungodly line of Cain (Gen. 4:21 mentions a stringed instrument and a wind instrument). Because God destroyed all humanity in the Flood except for Noah and seven members of his family (1 Pet. 3:20), Noah and his family apparently played a vital role in the preservation of human knowledge about music. All human music after the Flood would seem, therefore, to have to have had in some manner its origins in the musical knowledge and activity of these eight survivors of the Flood.

After the flood, by the time of Job, we know that singing to instrumental accompaniment was commonplace among humans (Job 27:12). Wicked people had at least three types of musical instruments at this time: percussion (“timbrel”), stringed (“harp”), and wind (“organ”) instruments. The greater diversity of instruments mentioned here points to an advance from the two instruments mentioned in Genesis 4.

Both God’s people and the wicked were skilled musicians at least from the time of Job onward. Later, in the time of Jacob, singing accompanied by musical instruments was part of a well-established practice of sending off departing family members (Gen 31:27).

Conclusion

This examination of the biblical chronology of early music reveals that human knowledge and practice of music, both instrumental and vocal, was well developed before the Hebrews departed (in the Exodus) from their bondage in Egypt. This fact has important bearing on how we must interpret the references to music found in the book of Exodus, which after Genesis and Job provides us with the next earliest information about early human music.

 

[1] Cf. NET Job 21:12 They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute. The NET Notes for Job 21:12 explain why this verse teaches us about people singing to musical instruments: “29 tn The verb is simply ‘they take up [or lift up],’ but the understood object is ‘their voices,’ and so it means ‘they sing.’”

[2] The Hebrew verb rendered “sang” in this verse is not necessarily a word always pertaining to music; all major translations, however, render it as signifying singing in this verse (KJV, NAU, NKJ, ESV, NIV, and CSB).

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

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