To What Ought We to Listen?
A Discussion of a Christian and His Music
 Can music be good or bad?
 Is music neutral?
 Can music be beautiful or ugly?
 Is beauty and ugliness objective or subjective?
 Does God have an opinion?
The Problem with Discussing Music
 Genesis 1:1-4
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the
surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was GOOD, and he separated the light
from the darkness.
Genesis 1
 Genesis 1:9-12
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one
place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he
called "seas." And God saw that it was GOOD.
11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing
plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according
to their various kinds." And it was so.
12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to
their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their
kinds. And God saw that it was GOOD.
Genesis 1
 Genesis 1:16-19
16 God made two great lights-- the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,
18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from
darkness. And God saw that it was GOOD.
19 And there was evening, and there was morning-- the fourth day.
 Genesis 1:20-21
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."
21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and
moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds,
and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it
was GOOD.
Genesis 1
 Genesis 1:24-25
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according
to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and
wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.
25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the
livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move
along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it
was GOOD.
Genesis 1
God saw all that he had made,
and it was VERY GOOD.
And there was evening,
and there was morning-the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
Conclusion of Genesis 1
God planned what He was going to create
before He created it.
 Genesis 2:18-20
18 The LORD God said, "It is NOT GOOD for the man to be
alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts
of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man
to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each
living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air
and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was
found.
Genesis 2
 Before God spoke light, God intended what light would be.
When light was created, that which was created looked
exactly as God intended.
 It was not God’s intention to leave Adam alone without
creating Eve.
 Thus, goodness is what God intends.
Defining Goodness
 When God created all things good, He created all things
beautiful.
 Genesis 2:8-14
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;
and there he put the man he had formed.
9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the
ground-- trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In
the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was
separated into four headwaters.
Defining Beauty
 God created beauty and has the highest (and only important)
opinion concerning what is beautiful.
 Thus, beauty is that which most closely corresponds to God’s
created order.
 Therefore, beauty is in the eye of the Beholder—
The Beholder is God Himself!
 Beauty is, then, objective (a fact) and not subjective (an
opinion).
Defining Beauty
 Beauty is objective in the mind of God.
 Therefore, the person who best understands what is good
and bad, beautiful and ugly is the person who best
understands the character and nature of God (Rom 12:1-2).
 The person who best understand the character and nature of
God is the person who is a mature believer, one that is
faithfully growing in the Scriptures discerning right from
wrong.
 Hebrews 5:11-14 “have trained themselves to distinguish good
from evil”
 2 Peter 1:3-4 “all things pertaining to life and godliness…[in]
his great and precious promises”
 As a believer examines the Scriptures, that believer’s life
(which includes his music) ought to be a reflection of his or
her view of God.
 What does a holy, majestic, transcendent God like?
 Order
 Peace
 Justice
 Majesty
 Beauty
 Perfect Holiness
Man’s mind is so warped because of Adam’s sin, that he often
thinks that the beautiful is ugly and that the ugly, common,
profane, and banal is actually beautiful.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans 12:2
What is the problem with man?
 Modern Art
 Modern Architecture
 Modern Music?
 Punk
 Shock Rock
 Heavy Metal
 Death Metal
 Etc.
Examples:
 Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth, and that every intention of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
 Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel.
Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
 Ephesians 4:18-19 They are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up
to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Biblical Support: The Fall of Man
The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9
Biblical Support: The Problem of the Heart
 The Body
 Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
bodies, to make you obey their passions.
 The Mind
 Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not
honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became
futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.
 Ephesians 4:17-18 Now this I say and testify in the Lord,
that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the
futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of
the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of
heart.
Biblical Support: Every Part of Man is Sinful
 The Will
 2 Timothy 2:24-26
24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but
kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may
perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of
the truth,
26 And they may escape from the snare of the devil, after
being captured by him to do his will.
Biblical Support: Every Part of Man is Sinful
 Emotions and Affections, Tastes and Desires
 Galatians 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
 2 Timothy 3:1-4 But understand this, that in the last days
there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be
lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen
with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Can we trust the way we feel (about music)?
 The problem: Man is naturally sinful—and needs Christ.
 Sanctification is the process in which God accomplishes His
desire to make the believer more like Christ. You, as a
believer, cannot change yourself; you are transformed by the
Holy Spirit as you willingly submit to his will.
 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all
reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness
with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is
the Spirit.
 Pragmatically, it is necessary to have right thinking and right
actions. Then, right feelings will follow.
 You will be held responsible by God for everything that you
do. This includes every song to which you listen or promote.
 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due
him for the things done while in the body, whether good
or bad.
Sanctification
Example # 1
Rebecca St. James,
God
Example # 1
Example # 1
Example # 1
Example #2
Soundforth Singers,
You Are God
Example #2
Example #3
Toby Mac,
Made to Love
Example #3
Example #3
Example #3
 Revelation 5:12 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honour, and glory, and blessing.
 Revelation 5:13 Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb for ever and ever.
Example #4
George Fredrick Handel,
The Messiah: Worthy is the Lamb
 You have heard examples of beautiful and ugly.
 Remember: God has the opinion. Our responsibility is to
submit to His opinion in joy and thankfulness.
 Ultimately, you will be held responsible before God for your
obedience to Him and your choice in music.
 God’s holiness must be vindicated. He has set His holy
standard in the Scriptures.
 Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then
you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good,
pleasing and perfect will.