Not Every Christian Song Is a Worship Song to Be Sung in Church

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite and most dreaded topics.

MUSIC.

This is truly an area of deliverance in my life. God delivered this music head from the bondage of worldly music. 😂

I tell people all the time, in the world I wasn’t some crazy sinner. I was actually kind of boring lol. I didn’t sleep around. I can count how many times I’ve been high or drunk. My body count is two. I’ve never masturbated or watched porn.

Nevertheless…I was still sinning.

Because the enemy is smart and strategic .

He understands that he has to use different tactics for different people. For some, it’s fornication. For others, masturbation, porn, drinking, material things, ratchet & show-off lifestyles .

Then there’s a category we don’t talk about enough: Perverse entertainment.

That’s where he got me.

My mentality was: I can listen to it. I can watch it. As long as I don’t actually do it.

LOL. Really???

“It’s just a movie.”

“It’s just a song.”

“What’s the big deal?”

Oh, it’s deep.

I’m giving you this context so you understand I’m not a novice when it comes to music. I genuinely had a passion for music.

Actually, let’s call it what it was: Music was an idol.

So Let’s Put Music in Order

This blog came from a video I saw where a lady was talking about the sounds we’re bringing into the church.

I agreed with some of her sentiments, but I also felt some of the arguments weren’t well defined.

So let’s bring some order to this thing called music.

Music has many functions, but as believers it should serve only two major purposes.

1. Music as worship unto God

The highest purpose of music is worship.

And worship isn’t only singing about what God has done for us.

It is adoring Him for who He is.

His holiness.

His power.

His majesty.

His wisdom.

His faithfulness.

His character.

Think about marriage. You don’t only tell your husband or wife, “I love you,” when they do something for you.

Sometimes you adore them simply because of who they are.

How much more God?

There is music that is specifically directed unto Him, and that worship should carry reverence and awe.

2. Music for other areas of life

Then there is music for what I’ll call our “extra-curricular” life. 

Celebrations. Weddings. Birthdays. Working out. Driving.Chilling. Family gatherings. Just enjoying life.

The song could be about love.

Marriage.

Friendship.

Politics.

Overcoming hardship.

Forgiveness.

Family.

Joy.

Life.

You can dance. You can vibe. You can celebrate.

But even then, the song should still align with God’s principles and standard. And we still tie God’s name back to the song….

I shouldn’t be singing about love and suddenly start glorifying fornication.

So now we have two categories:

Music specifically directed unto God in worship. And music about other areas of life that still operate within godly principles.

Both can be Christian. But both do not serve the same purpose.

And THAT is where I think we are getting confused.

A Christian love song about a husband and wife may be completely clean and beautiful.

Would I play it at a wedding?

Absolutely.

Would I play it during corporate worship when we have gathered to reverence and worship God?

No.

Not because the song is bad.

Wrong purpose. Wrong setting.

Every Christian SONG  does not automatically belong in a church worship service.

Now Let’s Talk About the Sound

Here’s where I think another problem enters.

This issue mostly affects the second purpose of music I highlighted: “extracurricular music for life”—Christian songs that aren’t necessarily meant to be played during church service . Let’s talk about it.

Some people only accept “traditional-sounding Christian music” for both worship unto God and everyday life.

The moment Christian music sounds UPBEAT or modernized ( for lack of a better word), it’s automatically associated with secular music: “That’s worldly.”

But some of those same people will turn around after worship and listen to actual worldly R&B, hip-hop, or Afrobeat where the lyrics glorify fornication, lust, pride, drunkenness, violence—and everything else they just sang against in the worship song UNTO GOD.

Hmmm. 🤔

That’s where it becomes hypocritical.

You reject the Christian modernized or upbeat song because the sound reminds you of the “world”, but accept the worldly song carrying an ungodly message?

I’m still establishing my point, please stay with me….  Let’s paint a picture….

Imagine a Christian becoming president.

Would you say: “Presidents have done wicked things, so Christians shouldn’t become presidents”?

No.

You would expect that Christian to use the position differently.

The problem isn’t necessarily the position. The problem is what the person occupying it does with it.

Now apply that principle to sound.

The enemy did not create sound. God did.

The enemy’s specialty is perversion.

He takes something and twists its purpose.

So yes, some sounds have absolutely been partnered with darkness. Some music is created in environments of drugs, sexual immorality, occult practices, rebellion, and ungodly inspiration—and then those sounds are partnered with lyrics that glorify the same things. The sound and the lyrics were birthed from the kingdom of darkness….. We should not be naive about that.

But here’s the other side we cannot ignore: just because the world introduced you to upbeat music doesn’t mean the world owns upbeat music.

Sometimes something sounds “worldly” to us simply because the worldly version reached our ears first. The enemy got there first and perverted it.

That doesn’t automatically make upbeat music itself evil. The real question is: By what spirit, what spirit is behind the inspiration?

God can definitely inspire upbeat music.

Music you can dance to.

Music you can celebrate.

Music you can work out to.

Music you can play at your wedding.

Music you can enjoy without filling your ears with fornication, lust, pride, violence, drugs, and everything else God is trying to remove from you.

Why should Christians have to go back to the world every time we want to chill, dance and celebrate?

That makes no sense to me.

There can be Christian music where the beat, sound and lyrics are inspired by the holy spirit. 

Hopefully we are tracking, this is the part I really want us to understand—every Christian song cannot be played for worship in church.

Just because a Christian artist makes an upbeat, clean, God-centered Afro gospel song does not mean I now need to hear it during Sunday worship.

Why?

Because the lyrics may have nothing to do with worshiping the majesty, awe, holiness, and power of God. It might simply be a fun, joyful song with godly principles—and that brings us right back to the two purposes of Christian music we highlighted earlier.

Something can be godly without being appropriate for that particular moment.

Play it at the wedding.

Play it at the birthday party.

Play it at the bridal shower.

Play it at the gym.

Play it after church.

Dance to it at the cookout. 😂

Enjoy it!

But know the difference between Christian music for everyday life and activities and music specifically offered unto God in worship at church.

Not every Christian song belongs in a worship service.

There is a time, a place, and a purpose for things—and that distinction matters. And when we fail to understand that, we create confusion and disorder.

So my point is really twofold:

Stop calling every Christian upbeat music worldly simply because the world exposed you to a corrupted version first. The Holy Spirit is still in the business of inspiring godly music…

But also: Stop bringing every Christian song into corporate worship simply because it has a godly  message.

Those are two different errors.

Some music is unto God for worship.

Some music allows us to enjoy the life God gave us according to His principles.

Both can honor God. But they are not interchangeable.

I’ll close by saying this …. The moment the world leads our understanding of music more than the holy Spirit, we will miss it.

And the moment we lose reverence and forget that there is a proper time and place for things, we will miss it too.

Know the sound. Know the message. Know the purpose. And know the setting.

Music Time

Nathaniel Bassey — “Hungry for You”