As Christians, we must understand that the scriptural theology of music does not offer music as a whimsical art form. Unlike the secular world, which has the unbounded liberty to use music without regard for discipline, the church is lovingly constrained by a higher mandate. To quote Martin Luther:
We have put this music on the living and holy word of God in order to sing, praise, and honor it. We want the beautiful art of music to be properly used to serve her dear Creator and His Christians. He is thereby praised and honored and we are made better and stronger in faith when His holy word is impressed on our hearts by sweet music.
More than at any time, the Divine blueprint for music used in worship demands skill, knowledge, a watchful eye, an attuned ear, and spiritual discernment to avoid music that could cause spiritual harm or confusion in a congregation populated by seekers and new Christians. When the church takes theological direction in its highest, purest, and most creative form from Scripture, it has a refreshing license for a fulfilling and exalting sacred and spiritual music experience. The church must never envy, welcome, or mimic the world’s predisposition to do as it desires with music. As Igor Stravinsky, 20th-century pianist, composer, and conductor said:
The Church knew what the psalmist knew: Music praises God. Music is well or better able to praise him than the building of the church and all its decoration; it is the Church’s greatest ornament.
Secular music plays to the pleasure of the culture, but church music serves the purpose of the Almighty. The music in worship services must serve the will of the Creator because worldly and sacred music have different functions and serve diametrically opposite purposes. Within the worship function, music has to be a vehicle for the serving of grace. But can music serve grace when it assumes an undisciplined, even a wayward manner? Maybe Johann Walther, composer and Martin Luther’s cantor, offers a direction in the introduction to his poem, “In Praise of the Noble Art of Music”:
I have just named two reasons why,
God gave us music from on high,
Those reasons teach us we must use,
the gift from heaven as God would choose,
By it let God be glorified,
Then let it be our help and guide.
Since this high art most certainly,
Was given by God, as all can see,
It outshines other arts in name,
Nobility, and lasting fame.
For music and theology,
Were given by God concurrently,
No other arts with it compare,
For it breathes purest Gospel air,
Exalting Holy Writ on high,
And earning highest praise thereby.
Richard C. Resch, associate professor of pastoral ministry and missions, and cantor of Concordia Theological Seminary offers ten points for a scriptural theology of music that can provide a foundation upon which to build:
- Music is a divine gift.
- Music is a gift in which all angels and heavenly hosts join mortals without ceasing.
- Music is ordained for use by the church.
- Music teaches doctrine to the church.
- Music carries the confession of the faithful.
- Music is to be a full-throated response of praise and thanksgiving to God.
- Music heals, soothes, and drives away the devil.
- Music is powerful.
- Music in the church requires understanding and a proper spirit.
- Music in the church is led by those who are skilled.
Dr. Resch also suggests that certain elements be removed from church music practice to more closely align with a scripturally based theology of music:
- All music that serves other gods
- All music that has the goal of pleasing men rather than God
- All manipulative uses of music
- All that regards the church as a business and thus exalts the methods and ingenuity of man
- All that brings the world’s influence into the gathering of saints around the means of grace
- All inconsistency in doctrine and practice
- All that refuses to point heavenward
Truths about appropriate music for use in worship service result from discovery of scriptural tenets and from what tradition bequeaths to us; it is not an invention to be used as a means to an end. Truths about appropriate music for worship services remain static and fixed; however, our beliefs about those truths can be dynamic and can change because of external (temporal, cultural) influences and pressures. Truth is unchangeable when assailed by beliefs, no matter how sincere. The roar of scriptural prescription for music in worship services is louder than any attempted worldly justification to the contrary.
There is room for both the old and the new in congregations, whether we offer centuries-old church music or works created by contemporary church music composers/musicians. However, we must continue to rely on spiritual discernment to ascertain that which is appropriate for God’s glory and not use it to justify the veneration of man (that is, our “personal preferences”).
Charlotte Kroeker, director of the Church Music Initiative for the University of Notre Dame, writes that:
Perhaps for the first time in history, the amount of religious music available has never been greater, requiring a level of discernment not always demanded by prior generations.
The church musician–whether serving as choir director, choir member/vocalist, accompanist, instrumentalist–is an important filter through which the byproducts of that discernment are manifested to the congregation.
