Hillsong and especially Bethel Church seem to have lost the gospel plot. Many of Hillsong’s teaching and practices go beyond what the Bible teaches and at times distorts what the Bible teaches. Many of Bethel’s beliefs and practices are simply Christianized paganism.
And yet, within these two umbrella church organizations, there are many Christians, Christian song-writers and Christian artists writing and performing many songs that are sung in many churches across the world.
Given the general concern about these two church’s creed and conduct, should we at our (evangelical) church still be singing their songs?
I would argue, yes.
1. Because singing is important
We find singing throughout the Bible.
For example, in Exodus 15 we have Israel’s foundational song which is the celebration of God’s great act of salvation in rescuing his people from Egypt.
In the book of Psalms, we have Israel’s Hymn Book; an entire book dedicated to all kinds of songs and prayers.
In Isaiah 42:10, Isaiah says that God’s people will sing a new song because God will act again to save his people from an even greater enemy.
In the New Testament, in Luke 1 after Mary is told that she will give birth to Israel’s Rescuing-King, we find Mary singing about God’s new salvation.
In Revelation 15:2-4, we find God’s people singing the new song. The new song is sung to mark a new stage in salvation history. The new thing has been done. God has accomplished his greatest and mightiest act of salvation in and through Jesus, which means that God’s people must update and modernize the old song. They sing the new song about salvation through the Lamb.
In Colossians 3, we find singing in the church to teach and admonish one another in thanks to God. Singing is horizontal and vertical. We sing to instruct one another and in praise to God. We hear Christ’s Word in song and sermon.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
(Colossians 3:16-17)
Singing is vitally important and one of the appropriate responses of God’s people to God’s salvation.
2. Because singing was important in the Reformation
During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther was one of the biggest proponents of singing. He often used well known songs and melodies and wrote new Christian lyrics to accompany them.
Martin Luther said:
“The devil should not be allowed to keep all the best tunes for himself.”
“Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. No greater commendation than this can be found — at least not by us. After all, the gift of language combined with the gift of song was only given to man to let him know that he should praise God with both word and music, namely, by proclaiming [the Word of God] through music.”
“I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people joyful; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor.”
3. Because we believe that all truth is God’s truth
According to Anchorsaway, in order for something to be true, it must be discoverable, transcultural, unchanging, unaffected by attitude, absolute, and knowable. For example, 2+2=4. It is a truth that can be discovered (not created by one person), transcends all cultures, never changes, cannot be affected by feelings, is absolute in its factualness and is knowable by all.
These same qualities and attributes can be ascribed to the God of the Bible. God is truth and all that is true proceeds from God. As Augustine famously said, all truth is God’s truth.
So when a mathematician works with Euler’s equation ( 𝑒𝑖𝜋 = -1) or when a marine biologist discovers a new species of deep-water fish, they’re dealing with fundamental truths of how God has ordered the world.
In a world full of relativism, deception, sentiments and opinions, it’s good to know that truth exists.
Ultimately, to embrace Jesus is to embrace truth.
This is why the Apostle Paul could rejoice when other were preaching the truth about Jesus, even though they preached from and with wrong motives. Cf. Philippians 1:15-18
Subsequently, we can sing a theologically true song from any song-writer, artist or publishing house because the song is true, and all truth is God’s truth.
4. Because we believe in God’s common and saving grace
God’s common grace extends to all kinds people. The sun shines on Christians and non-Christians. God gives grace (common grace, not saving grace) to all people, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Secular Humanists, Arminians, Jehovah Witnesses, and Atheists. Therefore, all kinds of people can discover and celebrate truth.
God also gives saving grace to his people in all kinds of church traditions. Often people are saved by God’s grace, despite the skewered, wrong or false teaching of their umbrella body or church.
While we would hope that these Christians would grow in faith and discernment, and later leave any ungodly ministry or church, nevertheless we recognize that there are many Christians operating and serving in church traditions that we would disagree with.
John Calvin wrote in his commentary on Titus 1:12: “All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God.”
Calvin elaborates on this in his Institutes of the Christian Religion:
“Therefore, in reading profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears (II.2.15)”.
Someone does not need to be a Reformed Evangelical to be saved or to write a good Christian song.
5. Because we hold to the 39 Articles of Religion
At the time of the Protestant Reformation, godly Christians understandably were upset with the ungodly lives of many Roman Catholic priests. Many Christians unwisely accepted the arguments of the Anabaptists who said that Christians should therefore be (re)baptized by a godly minister.
Article 26 addresses this issue. Article 26 states the principle that because all truth is God’s, having an ungodly messenger of the truth does not change the truthfulness or efficacy of the truth.
Therefore, if we discover that we were converted under the ministry of a minister living in unrepentant sin, it does not change the reality of our conversion. It also means our baptism, even by an ungodly minister, still counts as Christian baptism.
Although in the visible Church there is always a mingling of evil with good, and at times evil persons hold the chief positions in the ministry of the Word and sacraments, yet, because they do so not in their own but in Christ’s name and perform their ministry by His commission and authority, we may avail ourselves of their ministry both in hearing the Word of God and in receiving the sacraments. The effect of Christ’s ordinance is not taken away by their wickedness, nor is the grace of God’s gifts diminished in the case of those who receive the sacraments rightly and by faith; for, although ministered by evil men, these are effectual on account of Christ’s institution and promise…
Article 26: The unworthiness of ministers
By implication, if we discover that a true song we sing was written by a non-Christian, or an ungodly song-writer or possibly released through a ministry whose theology we differ with, it does not alter the truth or encouragement of that song.
6. Because singing a song does not indicate that we endorse an entire ministry
Many Christians love listening to Elvis Presley or Imagine Dragons. By listening to their music they do not subscribe to Elvis’ or the Dragons’ philosophy of life. They simply enjoy the music at face value.
The same is true for Christian worship music. By singing a song, we can enjoy the song for the truths declared in its lyrics and not subscribe to the song-writers, or artists’, or publishing house’s right or wrong theology.
7. Because we want to avoid hypocrisy
Christians don’t only buy goods at shops owned by Christians. Christians often buy goods at shops they know are owned by non-Christians, people of other religions or secular corporations. We buy the goods because we like the goods and place value in them.
We can similarly sing songs written, performed or published by people or organisations we may otherwise disagree with because we like the songs and place value in them.
Indeed, by shopping at Brights Hardware or eating at Simply Asia it does not imply that we support the worldview of the store workers, umbrella organization or shop owner.
By singing a particular song at church it does not imply we support the theology of the song-writer, artist or publishing house.
8. Because younger church members are listening to the songs anyway
Instead of excluding good songs by not-so-good organizations, we should teach all church members in all our churches to listen to all songs (and all sermons) with discernment.
***
As a consequence of all the above, at Christ Church Tygerberg we endeavour to sing regularly, and to sing songs that are:
- Biblically true (all our songs are vetted)
- Singable
- A good mix of old and new songs to cater for all ages and preferences
(Updated 18 March 2023)