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The Principles of Wholesome
Music
by Don Jasmin
In sound, wholesome music, the
melody always comes first; then, the harmony; and finally, the rhythm
(beat). Now, God has a logical order for everything He does!
[This truth is seen in everything He does.] God also has a logical,
spiritual order for music. Any music that places the rhythm first is
unwholesome music--it is music that is out of order!
In CCM (Christian Contemporary Music), the emphasis is always first upon the
beat--rhythm. God's spiritual principle for successful Christian
living is stated in 1 Thess. 5:23 where Paul prayed that our "whole spirit
and soul and body" would "be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ." God emphasizes the spirit as being first; the soul,
second; and the body, last. In rock music, both secular and religious,
this divine principle is reversed, as the body is emphasized first. A
heavy bass rhythm always accentuates this unwholesome pattern.
God desires our bodies to respond to a positive, wholesome manner, but in
rock music, secular or religious, when the rhythm is place first, then
distorted, our bodies cannot respond in their normal, God-designed fashion.
Rock music (whether secular or "Christian") is:
1. Erroneous with regard to the spirit (1 Thess. 5:23). It is simply
music out of order.
2. Existential with regard to the soul, composed often of vain words (words
of no profit) (Eph. 5:6).
3. Erotic music with regard to the body. It is music that relates
first to the senses rather than the spirit (Gal. 5:16).
Religious rock music (CCM) has three erroneous facets associated with its
composition and use:
1. The methods of the songsters are always unbiblical (Rom. 3:8).
2. The message of the songs is frequently unclear (Eccles. 7:5).
3. The morals of the singers are frequently undesirable (2 Cor. 7:1).
The music constitutes the message just as much as the lyrics.
Defending the correct message involves defending constructive music.
Carnal sounds will produce carnal saints. With regard to music, the
world and the Word do not successfully mix (Rom. 12:2; James 4:4; 1 John
2:15-17).
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