Levi Deatrick

I’ve inherited the family trait of being a “do-it-yourself-mechanic.”  Whenever I get a “new-to-me” vehicle, I usually purchase a Haynes or Chilton’s mechanic’s manual for doing anything from basic maintenance to major overhauls.  My first full sized van was a 1997 Dodge Ram Wagon (with 8 children, a mini-van is too small).  I purchased the manual that was associated with the van that I had and used it as a reference to change the brakes, the water pump, the alternator, and a couple of other various parts.

The manual that I purchased was not just intended for the particular make and model that I had.  In the full sized Dodge van, there was a short 8 passenger model (my dad had one), the medium 12 passenger model (which I had), and the extended 15 passenger model (that many churches possess).  My dad’s short van had a V6 engine in it, mine had a 318 V8 and the church van had a 360 V8.  My dad’s van had a 1/2 ton chassis, mine had a 3/4 ton chassis, and the church van had a 1 ton chassis.  Those vans ranged in year from 1994 to 2001, yet all of them were covered in the same manual.

When I needed to replace the water pump on my van, the first thing I had to do was go to the section that dealt with the 318 V8.  The instructions for changing the water pump on the V6 were different from the instructions for the V8 and so I had to make sure I was studying the instructions that related to the type of vehicle that I had.  I would have become very confused trying to use the instructions intended for a different model than what I owned, even though the instructions came from the same book.  

The Bible is quite similar to the illustration mentioned above.  One of the first steps of Bible interpretation is to determine to whom a passage/book of Scripture was written and for what purpose.  Unfortunately, many believers are constantly trying to find instructions for their life in a book/passage of Scripture that deals with a different “model” than what they are.  Specifically, the instructions to Old Testament Jews are not mandates for New Testament Gentile believers.  Confusion is the most likely result.  For example the dietary restrictions for Old Testament Jews prohibited them from eating pork.  However, that restriction is clearly not mandated for the life of a New Testament believer (Paul told Timothy that “every creature of God is good” and that Timothy was doing his job as a pastor well if he taught this to the brethren).  Another example is the book of Leviticus which prescribed all kinds of animal sacrifices for the restoration of fellowship for Old Testament Jews.  But for a New Testament believer those are not required, it is in the confession of sin in which we find that He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us – Christ was the eternal sacrifice.

So, Christian, which part of the “manual” deals specifically with your model?  It would take too much time and space to give an overview of each book of the Bible on this post, however, concerning the New Testament Epistles, the following are directed specifically to Gentile Christians: Romans, 1st & 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, Philemon, 1st, 2nd & 3rd John, and the Revelation.  1st & 2nd Timothy and Titus are “pastoral epistles” which are special instruction to pastors.

There are also Epistles that were written to New Testament Jewish believers; these Christians faced unique challenges due to their being Jews and Christians.  These books are: Hebrews, James, 1st & 2nd Peter and Jude.

The gospels each had a different audience: Matthew was written with Jews in mind.  Mark was intended for Roman believers (who were obviously Gentiles).  John was essentially written to everyone.  Luke’s gospel as well as the book of Acts was written to a Gentile believer named Theophilus.  The book of Acts was a history of the beginning of the church.  It is important to note that the book of Acts is descriptive in nature and not prescriptive.

One might legitimately wonder, “what is the purpose of the Old Testament then?”  In a very basic sense, it records the working of God throughout history which culminated in the coming of the Messiah.  It lays the foundation for the coming of Christ.

We also learn principles of the life of faith from Old Testament characters.  The apostle Paul stated that these things were written “for our learning” (Romans 15:4) and “for our admonition” (1st Corinthians 10:11).  But these books did not and do not hold explicit instruction for New Testament Christians.

Delineating the specific books of the Bible does not exempt any of them from our study.  Rather it helps us to understand which ones apply directly to us.  The Old Testament lays the foundation for understanding the work of God in history; The Old Testament is full of examples of men and woman of faith from whom we can learn.  The gospels record the God-man, Jesus Christ, on the earth and His work in accomplishing the redemption of men who would believe upon Him.  It is the New Testament Epistles which become very explicit in explaining the life of faith and its practical outworking in the lives of New Testament believers, Jew and Gentile alike.

Confusion will be the result if you try to live by the commands given to the Old Testament Jews.  If you have a repair that needs to be made in your life, or if you are just thinking of routine maintenance, you need to realize your make and model (New Testament believer) and go to those sections first which apply to what kind of person you are.  In the Old Testament, you will find principles which will help you as a person of faith, but the commands of God for you, come from the New Testament Epistles.

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My spiritual life took a radical change about a year and a half ago.

When we chose to put our children in the local school system, my discipleship of my children moved to a much more intentional level.  It was easy, while homeschooling them, to trust their spiritual growth and religious training to the homeschooling Bible curriculum.  Clearly, Bible is not a part of the curriculum of the public schools and so it was something that we would have to continue at home as a part of our education of our children.  Furthermore, the increased exposure to the world in various ways required equipping them for the daily issues they would be facing.  We could not afford for their spiritual well being to be neglected.  I knew that they must have the Word of God in their hearts and minds all of the time.

I was teaching through the book of Proverbs in our church at the time.  The first 9 chapters are a personal exhortation to Solomon’s son for wisdom, especially the first 7 chapters in which the words “my son” are used 15 times.  So, during the fall of 2012, I made a deal with my children, “if you memorize the first 7 chapters of Proverbs, I’ll buy you a new bicycle.”  (At the time, I didn’t know enough about Scripture memory to realize what a difficult task that was – I’ll explain later.)  Several of them got through the first couple of chapters, but it didn’t work the way I had hoped it would.  As the next school year approached, I was again thinking of all of this when I was convicted of something that I already knew.  The bishop is to be “one that ruleth well his own house.”  This is not a dictator, but a leader – one who stands before, as an example.  I was expecting my children to memorize Scripture, but was not intentionally doing it myself.  So, I started memorizing with them.  I would get the older 4 children up at about 5:45 each school day and we would make the short trip down to the church and spend about 30 to 40 minutes memorizing Scripture each morning before they went to school (this was not including our regular family Bible reading).  Something amazing and sweeping happened . . . to me.

The more I memorized, the more I wanted to memorize.  The more I memorized, the more I realized it’s value.  The more I memorized, the more I wondered how I had gone for years as a Christian and a pastor without consciously committing parts of the Scripture to memory.  The more I memorized, the more I came to believe that it was an indispensable tool for my own spiritual growth.  What else I realized is that all of the same things were true for other believers.  The value of God’s Word in the heart is not just for pastors.  It is an indispensable tool for spiritual life for every believer.  I believe that the ingested Word is the tool by which the Holy Spirit guides believers.  Many Christians have given the Holy Spirit very little to work with in their lives.

Since September of 2013, I have memorized 1st Timothy, Colossians, Revelation 1-3, several Psalms and Isaiah 53; I’m nearly finished with Philippians, and am in chapter 3 working through Hebrews.  I can’t express the spiritual value that this has had in my life.  I’m writing this, because I think that Scripture memory (with meditation) is probably the most under-utilized tool in the lives of most believers.  Did not David say in Psalm 1 that the “Blessed man” is the one who “meditates day and night” in His law?  This man would be the one who was a well rooted, nourished and fruitful tree.  From Psalm 19, is it not the Scripture which “turns the soul” and “gives wisdom to the simple” and “gives light to the eyes” and “causes the heart to rejoice” . . . among a host of other things?  Doesn’t David say that It has more value than gold, and It is sweeter than honey?  David realized that the Scripture “warns” God’s servant and that there is “great reward” for those who “keep It.”  I’m not downplaying daily Bible reading, I still do that in conjunction with my memorization.  But it is memorization which has enabled me to “mediate therein day and night.”  It is memorization which has allowed me to say, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart.”  It is memorization that enables “the meditations of my heart to be acceptable in [His] sight.”

I’m putting out a challenge to anyone who reads this to determine to start memorizing Scripture (I’ll give some pointers on how, shortly).  Anyone who has memorized Scripture, realizes its value.  You will never be sorry if you do, and I’m convinced that you will realize personal, measurable, spiritual growth.

I’m going to write about three things regarding Scripture memory: the problems (perceived), the procedure, and the profit (yes, it’s an alliterated outline).

I.  The Problems.

1.  Time.  I presume that many people would assume that they don’t have the time to commit to Scripture memory.  Believe it or not, it would probably take about 4 months to memorize the book of Colossians if a person spent 35-45 minutes per day working on it.  I’ll explain the method I use a little later.  Would not that time be better spent than the hours spent on Downton Abbey or CSI or NFL or MLB – or even Fox News or Rush Limbaugh?  The value that you place on something is recognized by what you are willing to commit to it.

2.  Retention.  I discovered that memorizing cohesive passages is far better than isolated verses.  When I was in Bible college, I memorized individual verses for various class quizzes and tests, but struggled with reproducing them “word perfect” when the time came.  However, as I memorize chapters and books, the cohesion and context flow like a narrative or theme.  It is far easier to memorize a 25 verse chapter than it is to memorize 25 verses from various locations.  If you struggle with retention, you may want to start working on passages instead of isolated verses.

3.  Expectations.  There is no need to think that you will ever be required to stand up and quote the book of Colossians or any other book.  The purpose for most (non-preacher) Christians is for personal spiritual growth, not public performance.  This is meat for your soul.  If you work on a book for 4 months and are never able to quote it “word perfectly” to yourself, you have still filled your mind with a volume that declares the greatness of Christ!  You have given the Holy Spirit a tool to remind you that you are alive in Christ!

4.  Not every verse or passage is the same.  I mentioned that I wanted my kids to memorize Proverbs 1-7.  That sounds good until you start doing it.  So many of the verses are very similar and the vocabulary is synonymous  that it gets very confusing.  The words “wisdom” and “knowledge” and “understanding” can easily be substituted making for a difficult time keeping words correct.  I would probably suggest Psalm 19 as a good starting point, it flows well.

II.  The Procedure.

I do not have a photographic memory.  I don’t even think I have a good memory (I have trouble recalling all of my kid’s birthdays).  The two keys to memorization (for me) are repetition and consistency.  I’ve also found that the more of my senses that I use, the better I retain what I’m memorizing: I see it with my eyes and I work on my verses out loud and so I’m also hearing the verses (my wife writes verses that she is memorizing).  I’m working on a couple of different methods that will work for various lifestyles, but it will take some time to experiment with them and evaluate them.  In the mean time, I would suggest googling “Scripture Memory Methods” or something like that and you will probably see all different kinds of plans.  One thing I would suggest is that you memorize passages and not isolated verses; I’m sure that you will be pleasantly surprised at how much easier and rewarding that makes the task.

But, in short, here is what I do.  I read/quote a verse twenty times a day for the first week (it often takes me the first several days of reading before I can actually quote the verse without looking at it); the second week, I drop it to 15 times (usually in this week, I have the verse pretty well in mind); the third week to 10 times; the fourth week to 5 times (by now it flows freely and quickly).  In those 28 days, I have read or quoted that verse 350 times.  I add a new verse each day, but as a verse becomes more ingrained in memory, it is quoted more quickly and it drops off the list after 28 days.  It may seem like a lot, but you will reach your peak time after 28 days and however much time it takes you to do that much is about how much you can count on permanently, 35-45 minutes in my experience.  I have a chart that I use to check off each verse for each day.  At the bottom of this page, I’ve put the downloadable chart which I use for memorization.  

III.  The Profit.

This point could not be exhausted.

1.  Spiritual intimacy.  I was driving to a board meeting for a particular organization and was rehearsing Isaiah 53 in my mind.  I was quoting to myself, “He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”  My heart was just overwhelmed by the design of God . . . I was glad that no one was riding with me in the car as I tearfully enjoyed the work of Christ.

2.  Changed Conduct.  My wife and my children are probably the ones who could speak of this effect.  Colossians 3 has changed my parenting.  “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”  I have no trouble being a Proverbs kind of Dad – if you know what I mean; discipline has never been hard for me (and according to Hebrews 12, probably not for most dads), but parenting with grace has not been easy for me.  I didn’t do my flesh a favor when I memorized Colossians 3:21.  Do you realize how hard it is for me to discipline my children when they haven’t lived up to my expectations while my Spirit convicted conscience is telling me, “you have provoked them and discouraged them!”?  This is only one example of how it has changed my conduct.

3.  Right thinking.  Glen Jaspers said the “the Bible is God’s mind concerning everything.”  Saturation with the mind of God dictates my philosophy of life.  I filter all situations of life through the Word of God.  Memorized Scripture is the only way that the mind of God is immediately accessible to me all of the time.  Biblical thinking controls fear, delusional thinking and even discouragement.  It has brought me balance; it is easy to get onto a hobby horse with an isolated text, but the volume of God’s Word is very balanced; when I’m inclined to go too far in a direction, other passages correct my equilibrium.

4.  Evangelizing.  I’m not a natural evangelist, but having Scripture in my mind all of the time does make a huge difference in my confidence level when talking to people.  I often quote parts of Scripture verses to people to whom I’m speaking – they may recognize it and they may not, but they are still hearing the Word of God.

5.  Systematic Theology.  This past December on Sunday evenings, I shared “Meditations on the Incarnation” with our church people.  As the Christmas season was approaching, I realized that all of the books that I had worked on during the year had at least several thoughts related to Christology.  Philippians – “Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. . .”  Colossians – “for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. . .”  1st Timothy – “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . .”  Hebrews – “Who is the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power . . .”  Revelation – “I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. . .”  Systematic Theology is basically taking everything that is taught on one of the various doctrines throughout the Bible and putting it all together.  The recall of verses greatly enhances your fluency on doctrinal matters.

6.  Context and accurate interpretation.  I’ve heard people talk about angels and quote from Hebrews regarding them, “are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”  The general presumption is that Hebrews 1:14 is teaching that angels have been sent by God to minister to believers.  This is true, but it is not the context.  The context is proclaiming that Christ is BETTER than angels!  Angels are the servants of God, but Christ – “let all the angels of God worship Him” and again of Christ, “Thy throne O God is for ever and ever!”  Even more, “To which of the angels said He at any time, sit on My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool?” The context of Hebrews 1 is proclaiming the superiority of Christ to angels!  This is just one of many examples.

7.  Facts.  This is probably appropriately placed at the bottom of the list, but it is important to me nonetheless.  I’ve heard people say or have read commentators assert that “Luke was a Jew” (in deference to a misunderstanding of Romans 3:2) and that the “author of Hebrews was Paul.”  I would have remained neutral in those arguments a couple of years ago.  However, as I come to passages of Scripture that give clues to these things, I come to conclusions not opinions.  For example, Hebrews 2:3 states that salvation “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.”  The author of Hebrews was clearly saying that he had not heard Jesus speak; he acknowledged that the gospel which he had heard was confirmed by others who had heard Christ speak.  Yet Paul in his epistles readily acknowledged that Christ had spoken to him.  Therefore, the author of the Pauline epistles was not the author of Hebrews.  Regarding Luke being a Jew,  in Colossians 4:10-11, Paul spoke of 3 men, Aristarchus, Marcus, and Justus – he said of them, “who are of the circumcision [Jews], these only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God. . .”  But then in the next 3 verses he spoke of Ephaphras, who was a Colossian and then Luke the beloved physician.  Luke and Ephaphras were excluded from the previous list, not because they weren’t fellowworkers, but because they weren’t Jews.  Perhaps these are minute details, but as I meditate on the Word of God – even the salutations have profit.

This list could continue . . . I’m sure if you have memorized Scripture you could add other ways in which it has profited you – you are welcome to leave comments so that others may benefit.

The value and necessity of a diet of God’s Word is nothing new to a believer.  Many people read through their Bible on some kind of a reading schedule; they hear it preached and taught in their local church, and they see its applications through devotionals and commentaries.  However, I’ve seldom heard of Christians, or even pastors, committing more than a few isolated verses to memory; usually even this is for evangelism, or if they are struggling with a particular problem, or have found a verse that is of special value to them, or perhaps a proof text for a particular doctrine.  Why is it infrequent to hear of a believer who has memorized chapters or books of the Bible?  A. T. Pierson reported that George Mueller had large portions of the O.T. memorized in Hebrew!  It’s clear that several of the N.T. authors and characters had portions of the Scripture memorized.  I don’t envision Peter holding a scroll as he preached at Pentecost.  Paul frequently quoted from the O.T.  Much of Hebrews chapter 1 is comprised of O.T. quotations – perhaps the authors looked up verses as they wrote, but I think it is likely that the Holy Spirit was using Scripture already in mind as He inspired them.  Previous generations did not have ubiquitous copies of the Scripture like we do . . . dare I say that easy accessibility has made us lazy in memorizing and therefore meditating?  Incidentally, Hebrew was originally a spoken language.  The law was mostly passed down verbally and audibly from generation to generation.  This is why the instruction to Hebrew fathers in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 was so important!

I want to see believers consuming the Word, so that they can meditate on it day and night: when they are shaving, when they are showering, when they are driving, when they are mowing, when they lay down at night, when . . . you name it, you know your life.

In my opinion, meditation and memorization are married.  I believe this combination is one of the best ways, if not the best way to maintain a Biblically calibrated mind and conduct, a clean conscience, an accurate theology, an unforced and relevant evangelism, a vibrant intimacy with Christ, and a demonstration of faith!  I believe God’s Word to the point that I will commit time and energy into meditating on it day and night.  I challenge you to give such weight to God’s Word that you will work to commit it into your heart and mind!  I can guarantee that if you ever memorize the Scripture, you will not regret it – ever!

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Wouldn’t it be nice if one of the N.T. epistles had a concise paradigm by which all the corporate activities of the church could be evaluated?

It does.

While the issues in the Corinthian church were such that most of us who pastor would hope we never have to deal with them, the instruction given to that church is most helpful in our local churches in this 21st Century.

The first six chapters of 1st Corinthians contain Paul’s admonitions to the church regarding divisive quarrels in their midst, as reported by those of the household of Chloe.

In the second half of the book, the Apostle Paul answers six questions that were posed to him by the Corinthian church. Though the questions are not stated, they are implied by the Greek wording introducing the answer to each question.

In 7:1, Paul mentioned the things that had been written to him by the Corinthians, he used the words “now concerning” to introduce his answers to the things written to him. Though the English words vary slightly, that pattern is also seen in 7:25, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, and 16:12.

For an outline of the book beginning in chapter 7 and based upon these phrases, Paul answered a question about marriage (7:1-24), a question about virgins (7:25-40), a question about things offered to idols (8:1-11:34), a question about spiritual gifts (12:1-15:58), a question about the collection for the saints (16:1-11), and finally a question about Apollos’ ministry (16:12). Incidentally, the request by the Corinthians for Apollos to come and minister to them seems to indicate that they were without pastoral leadership at the time. Furthermore, Paul instructed them to be submissive to the apparent deacons of the church (16:15-16). These two nuggets help explain why in 14:26, Paul spoke of the coming together of the church in which “every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. . .”

The issue of music is found in the fourth answer that Paul gave, which is the one regarding spiritual gifts. It is not my intent to give a complete exposition of 1st Corinthians 12-15, books could be written on these chapters by individuals far more capable than I am. Nor is it my intent to say that music in the church is an exercise of a spiritual gift, though psalms are mentioned in parallelism with doctrines, tongues, revelations, and interpretations in 14:26.

However, chapter 14 is the model which governs all activity in the local assembly.

Chapter 12 introduces this entire segment by explaining the body analogy. A couple of thoughts should be understood from chapter 12. First, there is one Spirit which distributes gifts and works according to His will. Secondly, the church is compared to a body in which there are different members functioning in unity.

Chapter 13, often used at weddings to describe the reality of love, is actually written here to define the governing demeanor of the exercise of gifts in the church.

Chapter 14 has one driving purpose – edification! We typically think of this as the chapter on tongues, and it is. However, the reason that Paul spent so much time on this is that the exercise of the gift of tongues in the church of Corinth was missing the point of edification. The gift of tongues happened to be the issue that was causing division at the time. People were enjoying themselves individually, but the body was not being built up as a result of the speaking in tongues. Though the primary writing is the proper exercise of tongues, the broad picture is the edificational exercise of gifts in general, as verse 26 indicates. The principles established by Paul for the corporate usage of gifts in the church are appropriately applied to music in the church. (Paul used music as an illustration in verses 7-8 and 15. He also used the idea of a psalm as one of the vehicles of edification in verse 26).

Chapter 15 is a fitting conclusion. As Paul emphasized that all things were to be done decently and in order (14:40), he moved onto the point that they must keep their focus on the gospel. The majority of this chapter is Paul arguing the reasons for a belief in the resurrection (the foundation of the gospel), which some had begun to question.

I think of chapters 12-15 as being a paradigm for all things that happen in the church. Each of these four chapters has its special emphasis that should be applied to the activities in the corporate assembly of the church, whether it be preaching, singing, praying, or anything else.

Chapter 12 – Spirit empowered.

Chapter 13 – Governed by love.

Chapter 14 – Exercised for corporate edification.

Chapter 15 – Gospel centered.

These four things are what N.T. believers have as the litmus test for music that should be used in the church.

Conclusion: I know that many people will think I should have taken a more distinct stance with more specifics. However, I cannot say more than God has said (Proverbs 30:6). Practically, I have a pretty strict application of these things in my own life and in the church which I’ve been given the responsibility to pastor. I have developed principles from various passages of Scripture, both from the Old and New Testament, which in context, are not referring specifically to music, but I have applied them to my own life and ministry. However, as I’ve attempted to show through these articles, there are only a few limited passages of Scripture that directly relate to music in the N.T. church. Those are the absolutes which we all must accept. The application of principles is left to individual soul liberty and autonomous churches.

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“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16 is one of the three direct references which relate to the practice of church music as recorded in the Scriptures. (If you haven’t read any of these posts to this point, it is advisable to read parts 1-4a first).

The history of the Colossian church is a worthy study! The apostle Paul had probably never been there before writing this letter to them (2:1). The church was most likely a result of evangelism by Epaphras (1:7), who was from Colossae himself (4:12). For some reason, Epaphras had left the church in the hands of Archippus, yet Archippus was evidently struggling with the fulfillment of his duties (4:17). Archippus was probably the son of Philemon and Apphia (Philemon 1:1-2) and therefore the church was meeting in his father’s house. Somehow, after leaving Colossae, Epaphras had ended up in prison with Paul and Onesimus (4:12-13; Philemon 1:23).

Undoubtedly there was some false teaching that was attempting to gain a foothold in Colossae. It is very probable that Epaphras asked Paul to write this letter to them. Clearly Epaphras had great concern for this church in his home town and which was the labor of his own hands.

The false teaching is not named, but there are several warnings given to the believers there (2:4, 8, 16-23). All of the warnings revolve around a wrong view of Christ. While there is no name given to the false doctrine, there is an abundance of Christology taught in this book, so it is quite apparent that the false doctrine had something to do with a false view of Christ. Paul’s letter was intended to explain the person of Christ and then to express the reality of life in Christ for the believer.

In chapter 1, Paul prayed that believers would grow as a result of the knowledge of the redemption and the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ (1:14). In his praying, he acknowledged that Jesus is the image of God (1:15), that Jesus is the Creator of all things (1:16), that He is the omnipresent Sustainer of all creation (1:17). From his prayer that began in verse 9, Paul launches into a description of Jesus in which he asserts that is the Head of the body, the firstborn from the dead and intended by God to have all pre-eminence (1:18). In Jesus, full deity dwells (1:19). Jesus made peace and reconciliation through the blood of the cross (1:20). Jesus reconciled believers to Himself by His death in order to present them as holy in His sight (1:21-22). The marvelous revelation to saints is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). Christ is the goal of teaching and preaching (1:28). Paul is just getting warmed up, in chapter 2 he continues on with this barrage of genuine Christology!

In chapter 2, Paul’s labor was to see believers have comfort and assurance as to who Christ is (2:2). He is the One in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge exist (2:3). Christ is the foundation of faith and the One in Whom believers are to walk (2:5-6). Christ is the contrast to worldly philosophy, vain deceit, and the elementary principles of this organized system called the world (2:8). Instead, Christ is the fullness of the Godhead (2:9). Believers are complete in Christ, who is head over all principalities and powers (2:10). Paul told the Colossians that their spiritual circumcision of putting off the body of the sins of the flesh was by Christ (2:11). Believers are risen with Christ through faith in the work of God Who raised Christ from the dead (2:12). When dead in sins, Christ quickened them and forgave them their trespasses by nailing their record of sin to the cross (2:13-14). Christ spoiled all powers, publicly triumphing over them in power (2:15). It is by Christ that the body is nourished, held together, and increasing (2:19).

These thoughts are just a synopsis of the Christology presented in Colossians. The content is overwhelming – by design!

Following these theological assertions, Paul dealt with the daily walk of a believer in Christ.

By way of comparison, chapter 2 only contained four imperatives and three of them were warnings, but 3:1-4:6 contains nineteen imperatives which all revolve around the outworking of God or Christ in the life of a believer. These imperatives follow the introductory clause “if ye then be risen with Christ” (3:1) which should be viewed as an accomplished fact and even understood as “since ye then be risen with Christ” then . . . etc.

So, those who have been raised to new life through Christ, should be living out the instructions in 3:1-4:6.

You may be thinking, “this blogpost is supposed to be about parameters for Christian music.” Instead, you see a synopsis of the Christology taught in the book of Colossians and its application in the life of believers – where is this headed?

Think again of the context of this book. False teachers have focused on philosophy, tradition, religion, and etc. apart from Christ. Paul has intentionally overawed the Colossians with the realities of Christ in the first couple of chapters. Now, he is teaching them what practical life in Christ should be.

In 3:1-4, Paul emphasized that the focus and affections of life should be directed heavenly where Christ is seated. The reason for this is because Christ is the new identity of believers and it is when He appears in them that they will shine (I’m not convinced that there is any eschatology in Paul’s mind in 3:4). These verses serve as an introduction to the various, yet – I believe systematic instructions given to the Colossian believers who have risen with Christ and have put on the new man.

Paul wrote about the personal life of the believer in verses 5-7.

Then in verses 8-11, the apostle wrote regarding the personal interaction between believers who have put off the old man, have put on the new man and are being continually renewed in the knowledge of Christ.

In verses 12-14, Paul explains the imitation of Christ’s love by the believer.

Paul then challenges the Colossians, in verses 15-17, to be governed by the peace of God (they had been called to this corporately), then instructs them to be overflowing with the word of Christ as they identify with Him in everything they do.

The remainder of this section, 3:18-4:6, gives instructions regarding the husband/wife relationship, the parent/child relationship, and the employer/employee relationship. Also, there are instructions to aid Paul’s ministry through prayer and to govern their conduct towards the world.)

The balance of chapter 4 is various information regarding Paul’s partners in ministry and their relationship to the Colossian believers as well as instruction regarding the interaction with the Laodiceans. Finally, Paul concludes with an exhortation to Archippus, who was very likely the struggling and overwhelmed pastor of the church in Colossae.

To recap all of this context. Paul wrote this epistle to undermine a false Christology by declaring a genuine Christology. He did so by presenting salvo after salvo of assertions regarding the person of Christ. These assertions affected reality because believers were risen with Christ and identified with Christ. Since Christ was their identification, His person impacted every part of their lives, including personal interaction and corporate assembly.

The exhortation regarding music harmonizes completely with this context. For those who have received Christ, those who have been buried and are risen with Christ, those who have been made alive in Christ, those who are dead to the world through Christ, and those whose identity is with Christ, the instruction in 3:16, makes perfect sense.

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Now let’s look at the verse in a bit more detail.

Though there are a couple of variations on possible divisions, I believe the sentence is divided by the following phrases: First, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Second, “with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Third, “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

The gist of the sentence is that believers are to be abundantly inhabited by the word of Christ. Considering the context of the book in which Paul has emphatically declared the revelation of Christ, one can be assured that the author is asserting that believers should have an accurate understanding of (everything declared of Christ in the previous chapters) and rich relationship with Christ. This abundant relationship with Christ results in “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” and also “singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

An abundant relationship with Christ is worked out in the lives of other believers. The Colossian believers had been warned to “beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (2:8). They had been put on notice that they should not give heed to false teachers whose teachings were not after Christ, but here (3:16) they are told that with lives full of Christ, they should teach and admonish one another. The presumption is that these believers who are full of the word of Christ are to be influencing each other while rejecting the influence of any who do not hold to Christ as the center of their teaching.

The church is strengthened against false teachers by a mutual edification in the person of Christ! “Teaching” and “admonishing” are both participles. Several commentators have implied that these two words are to be understood as commands, the reality is that these flow naturally from one in whom the word of Christ is dwelling. These two words indicate the actions of “instructing” and “putting in mind.” This “teaching” and “admonishing” is to be done “in all wisdom.” Teaching and admonishing is not accidental, but carefully, thoughtfully, and with biblical wisdom, each is accomplished. Paul expected these Colossian believers to make sure that they were protecting and supporting each other in their knowledge of Christ by continually communicating Him to each other.

Amazingly, the tool which Paul stated should be used in this was music! The “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” are the same words used in Ephesians 5:19 and I discussed them in the previous post, so I won’t go over them again in detail. However, a reminder that a psalm is pious praise, hymns are jubilant song, and a spiritual song is spiritual poetry. So, in a church where the doctrine of Christ has been undermined, believers are to use pious praise, jubilant song, and spiritual poetry to teach and admonish each other in Christ.

Actually, the idea of using music as an educational tool is not uncommon. Many of the psalms were considered didactic. My 4 year old pre-schooler can’t say the alphabet to me, but he can sing it to me. As I memorize Scripture, I realize that I have learned many verses of Scripture – almost verbatim, through songs (every now and then I have a difficult time with a verse of Scripture from which the song has varied slightly). Many concepts of doctrine that I learned as a child were learned through congregational music. Try to challenge most Christians at Christmas time about the facts surrounding men who brought gifts to Jesus as a child or the angels singing in the sky to announce his birth and these same Christians will be ready to fight to the death in defense of the things learned through those old Christmas hymns. (I write this light-heartedly). Things taught through music are not easily forgotten or forsaken. Hence, not only is it a tool to be utilized, but it should also be a tool which is carefully guarded because it can just as easily and with the same effect teach wrong doctrine as correct doctrine.

The abundant indwelling of Christ also has an effect in the individual heart. There is “singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.” I’m convinced that “with grace” is not a description of one’s ability in music. Rather, the singing heart is a result of grace experienced and it is singing in gratitude to the Lord.

The final thing I want to point out is the follow up of verse 17. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

This command is that all things are to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Obviously, individuals are going to interpret this in light of their spiritual level. Many will take the side of the flesh, but Paul started out this chapter with the commands to “seek those things which are above” and “set your affections on things above” because your identity is with Christ and “put to death the things of the flesh which bring the wrath of God on the children of disobedience, those things which you used to walk in when you lived in them (before you lived in Christ)!” An honest application of these verses by a spiritual person is going to govern much of the music in which he or she will participate or use.

The main point of this post is that music is a tool that the Lord has given to help instruct other believers in their understanding of Christ as well as their relationship with Christ. The theme of Colossians is a vibrant Christology, both in an accurate knowledge and relationship – music is an instrument towards that end!

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To this point, I’ve tried to remove as much subjectivity as possible from the music debate (though that will never be entirely possible): I’ve explained that the approach to music should be completely Bible based – instead of personal opinion, philosophical, or technical. I’ve described how people will often misinterpret and misapply the Scriptures by using personally developed principles and turning them into corporate mandates. I’ve categorized music in order to clarify the target of the debate.

By determining to let Scripture be the authority (not opinion, philosophy, or theory), to interpret the Scripture accurately, and to limit the debate to worship music in the church only, we are left with only three passages of Scripture that directly apply to the current debate.

Those three are 1st Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3. (If you have not read the previous posts, you will need to read Part 2 to see why I believe it is just those stated.) This post will explain those passages of Scripture and the expectation that is given to the Church in light of those passages. Part 4 will be subdivided into at least three posts.

The longest and the one that takes the most explanation is 1st Corinthians 14, so I will save it until last.

Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

I used to be afraid of the book of Ephesians. Then, about 4 years ago, as my dad was preaching through the book, he called and asked me a couple Greek questions on the first chapter. To help him, I diagrammed chapter 1 and was so moved by the contents of that first chapter that I decided to diagram the entire book and preach through it myself. It has become my favorite Epistle at this point in my life.

In a very brief synopsis, the book’s purpose is to show that God has taken saved Jews and saved Gentiles and formed them into one body whose purpose it is to bring glory to God by Christ Jesus forever. The first half of the book shows the formation of this union and the second half shows the function of it in life both corporately and individually.

Chapters 4-6 contain multiple exhortations regarding the believer’s walk. Chapter 5 and verse 18, a very well-known verse, is one of those challenges. “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.” There are two commands in the verse: don’t be drunk and be filled with the Spirit. Following the second imperative, there are five participles which modify that command to be filled with the Spirit. Those words that are the expectations of Spirit filled Christians are underlined in the following verses: (19-21) “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

The first three of these participles relate to music, we’ll look at them in order:

Speaking
The word “speaking” in this context represents the idea of “communicating.” Spirit-filled believers are to communicate with one another using the musical vehicles of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. When we get to 1st Corinthians 14 in a little while, I’ll explain more of the idea of edification, but that is the word that can be inserted into this thought of speaking/communicating with one another. Basically, edify one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Believers are to build one another up with three kinds of music:

Psalms – this is generally a word for just pious praise, it was not limited in its usage to Israel or the church. Usually, it was sung with a stringed instrument for accompaniment. It may be the inclination of some to presume that this meant that the styles as well as the texts of Israel’s worship from the Old Testament were to be incorporated into the New Testament church; this is certainly a valid consideration. However, it is by no means a mandate that the New Testament church music be patterned after the corporate worship of ancient Israel. Practically, it is understood that Paul was indicating that there are pious and sacred songs of praise that should be used by Spirit-filled believers.

Hymns – this would be more of an emotional song as it could apply either to festivities or mourning. In secular music, it was the kind of song which was sung in praise of a returning victorious soldier; it could also be like a dirge. An accusation that has been leveled against some Christian music is that it is “too emotional.” Clearly there is some music that is “too emotional,” but the Biblical reality is that music should be emotional – balanced of course. A hymn is music which stimulates godly passion.

Spiritual songs – this was lyric or poetical music. Of course, there is the qualifier “spiritual” that is attached to this particular word. The word “spiritual” here is indicating that which is for the benefit or growth of the spirit; the opposite word would be indicating that which is “fleshly” or “carnal.” Clearly the idea of this particular music is that it is intended to spiritually edify the listener.

The conclusion of this first expectation and outworking of a Spiritual believer is that he communicates, for the purpose of building up other believers, by using pious praise, jubilant song, and spiritual poetry.

Singing and making melody
I will combine the next two participles into one segment. Singing is the basic word describing the process of making notes with the human voice. “Singing” and “making melody” are both modified by the same words “to the Lord.” So, the vocal music to be accomplished by the Spirit-filled believer is ultimately directed to the Lord. Making melody is a word that indicates the action of “plucking the strings” of an instrument. This music takes place in the heart and is also to the Lord.

The inward music of the believer is essentially personal worship to the Lord.

Even the inward music of the believer is directed to the Lord and so it should still be understood that the music’s object is to please the Lord. How is it known what kind of music will please the Lord? Some things are obvious: it must be in harmony with the Word of God and it must reflect the character of God; other generic N.T. principles could and should be applied.

Conclusion regarding Ephesians 5:18-19. This passage of Scripture describes the musical vehicles by which Spirit-filled believers communicate to one another: pious praise, jubilant song, and spiritual poetry. It expects that personal singing in the heart is directed as worship to the Lord.

The above stated paradigm, if kept as simple as Paul wrote it, allows for individual soul liberty and autonomy of each local church without detracting from the character of God or violating the Word of God.

The next post, #4(b) which concerns Colossians 3:16, will be posted soon.

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In the previous post, I explained the problem with each of the different approaches to teaching music in the current Christian music debate.  In this post, I’ll explain the problem with the interpretation of Scripture in the Christian music debate.

 Unfortunately, many people do not properly interpret the Scriptures, even those who accept it as entirely authoritative.  It is very important for you to recognize the difference between a principle and a precept.  When someone takes a principle and turns it into a precept, they have violated the warning in Proverbs 30:6, “Add thou not unto His (God’s) words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

I’ll illustrate.  Fundamental Baptist preachers have, for years, used Deuteronomy 22:5 to teach that ladies should not wear any kind of slacks.  They have turned the principle into a precept.  The fact is that it was written exclusively to the nation of Israel.  Though the command was not written to the New Testament Christian, the principle is clear, “God’s design is that there is a distinction between men and women.”  The proper attitudes of masculinity and femininity can be observed in this verse.  But, since Paul’s words in 1^st Timothy 2:9 were written to a church pastor in order to teach to a local assembly, they apply as a precept to New Testament church ladies.

Another example would be in Deuteronomy 6:7.  The Israelites were commanded to teach the law diligently to their children, talking of it when they were sitting, walking, lying down and getting up.  I have seen this verse on many homeschool websites as a defense for homeschooling and as a proof that neither Christian nor public schools are acceptable for believers today.  Again, this can (and should) be interpreted by New Testament Christians as a principle for good parenting – but not a mandate to homeschool.  However, Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21 are mandates to New Testament, Spirit filled men who are risen with Christ!

(For the record, my family lives by the two principles: we practice a clear gender distinction and we are passionately committed to the discipleship of our children!)

Principles are multi-dispensational, but precepts are restricted to the recipients.  Interestingly, principles allow for much more individual soul liberty than precepts do.  Principles also give more opportunity for one to demonstrate a willing love for Christ than do precepts, which can be obeyed with no love for Christ.  (I’ll write more about this at another time.)

The reason that I bring this up in relationship to music is that there are many principles regarding music that can be observed throughout the entire Bible, but the reality is that there are very few passages of Scripture in the New Testament writings which present precepts regarding music and its practice in the New Testament church.

Now, as an example that relates to music, the book of the Psalms has regularly been referred to as the Hebrew Hymnal.  The book is an invaluable resource as it relates to learning principles of corporate worship.  The Hallel portions especially, 113-118, 120-134, and 145-150, are a fascinating study.  For Israel, this was their hymnal, but the various commands for Israel in their worship would serve only as examples by which we build principles, not precepts.  The instructions in Psalm 47:1 “clap your hands all ye people” and in Psalm 134:2 to “lift up your hands” are not mandates for New Testament Christian believers who are participating in a regular worship service.

Because of the importance of the subject, I’ll elaborate on the rarity of commands regarding N.T. church music.

The Psalms are quoted in the gospels, but these are not songs relative to N.T. church worship.  Instead, they are generally demonstrating the fulfillment of prophecy.

The first place where one of the Epistles uses the idea of singing is Romans 15:9. This verse is a quotation from Psalm 18:49 in which Paul is proving that the gospel has been designed to go to the Gentiles.  In fact, Paul quotes a whole bunch of O.T. Scriptures in a row to prove the point of the universality of the gospel.  Contextually, that verse has nothing to do with N.T. church practice.

James 5:13 gives instruction to the one who is merry to “sing psalms.”  Here, you must remember that the book of James was primarily addressed to Jewish believers – so their worship would have still had the O.T. connection to nationalism and patriotism (though the precept for them should translate into a principle here).  I’ll explain the nationalism and patriotism of Israel in my 3^rd post of this series.

The book of the Revelation has three references to singing: 5:9, 14:3 and 15:3.  The latter two (14:3 and 15:3) are impossible references for the church, it has already been raptured.  The 14:3 reference is the song that only the 144,000 Jewish witnesses knew.  The 15:3 reference is the song of those who survived the tribulation – that eliminates anyone who is a believer now.  5:9 refers to the 4 and 20 elders who probably are representatives of the raptured church, but since that is future and in heaven, that reference can’t really be used determinatively for the music of this dispensation.   The object of the worship and the holiness of the participants, are certainly displayed and creates an awe inspiring picture, but the book of Revelation is hardly prescriptive of N.T. church practice.

Amazingly, that leaves the careful Bible student only 3 passages of Scripture that directly relate to the practice of music for N.T. Christians.  Those are found in 1^st Corinthians 14, Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3.  I’ll explain each passage in the 4^th post of this series.

The point is that you must be careful to make sure that your interpretation of Scripture is correct.  There are principles that can be learned from the Old Testament, but you only have the authority to say, “God said” where God actually said something.  The warning of Agur bears repeating, “add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6)  Furthermore, when preachers misuse a passage of Scripture, they have essentially emptied the Word of its inherent power.  When the Word of God is used according to the original intent of the Holy Spirit, it is “quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword . . .”

Part 3 will be posted in a couple of days.  Check back soon!

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Several years ago, I learned a valuable lesson from Dr. Surrett, a professor from college.  He and I, along with Alton Beal (then the Dean of Men, now the President) were selected as the judges for a contest deciding who – on the Ambassador Baptist College staff – had made the best homemade ice cream.  Dr. Surrett taught logic and he practiced it.  Alton and I huddled in a corner with Dr. Surrett, and though no one was chosen to be the chair of our little committee, Dr. Surrett just immediately stated, “now, we need to judge the ice cream based on 3 criteria: taste, texture, and consistency; and remember that flavor may be somewhat subjective!”  I almost think he had been planning on judging that contest for days.  I was so amazed by his analytical approach that I almost forgot about the ice cream.

The lesson I learned was this, “define a problem before trying to solve it!”  Or in the case of the ice cream, set the standards before just yelling, “this one tastes the best!”  What if Dr. Surrett liked peach, I liked Heath, and Alton liked chocolate?  There had to be objectivity and Dr. Surrett lifted us beyond our favorite flavor.

By the way, based on his criteria, it was pretty easy for us all to agree on which ice cream was the best.

Where am I going with this?

In the Christian music debate, people are yelling “this is the best flavor” or “I can’t stand that flavor” because the whole debate is lacking in objectivity.

My purpose in this writing is to help set some parameters by which Christians can judge music.  I intend to speak (write) the truth in love!

First, there is a problem with the approach used in the debate.

There are three problems that I see with the typical approaches to teaching on music.  Here is each one and a corresponding example of a phrase that illustrates it.  By the way, these are not straw men; I have heard each of them.

1.  The personal approach . . . “that music is just too sweet” (subjective) – who defines sweet? Who is the authority?  Is that not just personal preference?  What one person likes, another may not.  One may say it is too loud, or too peppy, or too slow, or too fast, or too quiet . . . etc.  In a subject as emotionally charged as music, not many thinking people are going to be persuaded to change or accept a musical style just because the pastor or teacher says, “I don’t like it.”

2.  The philosophical approach . . . “is music moral or amoral?”  While I do have philosophical opinions regarding whether music is moral or amoral, that particular question makes the issue of music an ongoing debate.  Whoever can craft the best argument and state it the most eloquently or persuasively seems to be the de facto winner.  The problem with a debate is that it is usually a rhetorical war between two sides which have no intention of ever changing positions; the goal is not to listen to the merits of an opposing side with an open mind, but to listen with the intent of finding the weakness of his opponent’s argument in order to be able to undermine it!  Sometimes, the wrong side is able to destroy the assertions of the correct side because of superior debating abilities, but it doesn’t make his position correct (just reminisce about a couple of our last presidential campaign cycles and debates).  In the philosophical method, it is too easy for the wrong side to look like the right side; human rationale is the persuader instead of the Scriptures.

3.  The technical approach . . .  “a syncopated beat appeals to the flesh.”  The majority of people do not know enough musical theory to be able to determine what is technically good or bad.  I agree with the assessment that certain kinds of music are theoretically and technically incorrect.  Most Contemporary Christian Music will manipulate chords and harmony as well as rhythm and beat in order to affect a person’s senses.  Again, most believers, including preachers, do not have the musical training to determine what is good or bad according to music theory.  For the sake of illustration, I probably have more musical training than most pastors – including college level music theory, but I cannot immediately analyze complex timing, harmonic surges, and chordal resolutions (or lack thereof).  How many church members could?

In reality, the technical approach is almost the spirit of Gnosticism because it leaves the common person at the mercy of the trained musical analyst.  The following is a true story of which I’m a firsthand witness.  A preacher said that he didn’t understand what good music was and wasn’t.  So, his daughter, who was a musician, was able to help him determine what was acceptable Christian music.  In fact, he testified of finding some music, purchasing it, and enjoying listening to it until his daughter came in with shock and said, “Dad, what are you listening to?”  I was grieved at that conversation and thought to myself, “that is not right!  There must be principles by which any Christian, musician or not, can use as a filter to determine what is acceptable and what is not.”  You do not have to be a musician to know what kind of music either pleases or displeases God – you need to know the Bible and the character of God.

Pastors and leaders should recognize the failures of these three approaches, either too much subjectivity (which makes the teacher/preacher seem silly and shallow), too much philosophy (which makes the teacher/preacher seem like a debater who has lowered himself to the humanist’s level), or too much technical theory (which makes the teacher/preacher seem aloof and the listener ignorant and dependent).  I will present a fourth approach, which is the proposition that the Bible sufficiently empowers believers to determine what is good and what is not good regarding music, apart from undue dependence on subjectivity, philosophic assertions, or theoretical acumen.  I’ll call this the Simple approach.

4.  The Simple approach . . . regardless of skills in musical theory, “every believer has the potential to discern that which is good and that which is not.”  There are two tools which play into this potential.  One is the Word of God, the other is the Holy Spirit which convinces of sin, righteousness and of judgment.  This will be filled out later.

The teaching approach must be determined!  Will the topic of music be addressed personally and subjectively, will it be addressed philosophically and rhetorically, will it be addressed theoretically and academically, or will it be addressed simply, Scripturally, and Spiritually?  Granted, the first three approaches may be utilized and are not necessarily wrong, but the last must be the primary and the others used only for very limited support.

Having determined the teaching approach, we are prepared to move to the next problem.  Check back soon!

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