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Reflections on the Ultimate Purpose of Music
I. Man is created to worship God – God created man to value Him above all things; to worship Him and nothing else. This is our purpose—to glorify him by worshiping him. This is a most basic truth, without which we would have no foundation for objective meaning and purpose in life. [If any would differ with this basic understanding, I would recommend them to Jonathan Edwards’ Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the World (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol 1 of 2, Peabody, 4th Printing (Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004 Reprint), pp. 94-119, or the more recent rendition of Edwards’ arguments in the writings of John Piper—particularly in God’s Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1998). The relevant biblical material and the argumentation from it is astronomical, and cannot be delved into on this short post.]
II. Worship includes more than, but no less than, music – In our worshipping of God, we are to consider every action, every thought, every feeling, as an act of worship (Rom 12:1-2). This means that worship involves much more than music. One does not necessarily have to have music to worship God. One can glorify God by the way they talk, by the way they treat my friends and family, by the way they pray, by the way they share Christ with others, etc. Thus, on the one hand, one can worship God in many ways which do not necessarily involve music. On the other hand, the biblical concept of worship includes no less than the praise of God, and as I will argue, this praise should often be offered to God with musical accompaniment.
A. God intends music to be used to his praise and glory – God created music. He created music to be used to His praise and glory. This is not just one of many ways music is to be used, but it is the main and ultimate purpose of music under which all other uses are subordinate. We know this in at least two ways.
1. Everything is created for the glory and praise of God – First, we know God created music for His glory and praise, because He created everything for this ultimate purpose, and in all of His interaction with mankind, this purpose stands out by far as the ultimate purpose of all His works and interaction with His creation. Furthermore, all the good deeds of people are to be done in hope that others will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
2. God commands and delights in having various musical instruments to accompany His praise – Secondly, we know this to be true because we know that obedience gives glory to God, and the Old Testament psalms are sprinkled with commands like this:
“Praise the Lord! … Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing. Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:1,3-6).
Note: It is surely fair to say that we must not interpret these commands crassly and miss the spirit of them. That is, it would be hermeneutically insensitive to conclude from these commands that we are obligated to use the exact type of instruments they used before the 3rd century B.C. (when the psalms were compiled and canonized) such as the lyre, the harp, the pipe etc. (as opposed to more modern instruments like the piano and guitar). However, these commands carry with them at least this: that God desires musical instruments of various kinds to be used in accompaniment of His praise. The alternative is to suppose that although God desired and took delight in the praise of His people being accompanied by various musical instruments, for some unknown reason He has stopped taking delight in such things and would now rather us leave musical instruments out of our time of praise. To deny the force of these commands by refusing to let them carry over this bare minimum continuity of varied musical accompaniment with praise is to leave the commands with virtually no substance; to nullify the commands altogether. Finally, God would not command us to do anything that did not bring Him delight. Therefore, God delights in having musical accompaniment in our praise to Him.
Note: This does not mean that every time we praise God, we must have musical accompaniment as though we were to keep silent unless or until we can praise to the sound of music. That would be another wooden and legalistic interpretation of these commands.
III. Some churches deny their congregation the use of musical instruments for the accompaniment of praise—what’s wrong with this picture? – If it is true that God created music for the ultimate purpose of accompanying His praise, what are to we think of local church leaders who would deny such accompaniment in corporate worship? It would seem (based on the scripture) that since we are created to worship God, and music was created by God to assist such worship of Him, then it should be used to that end. Is this truth not most relevant to the church?—the people of God whom He has redeemed for the very purpose of praising the glory of His grace! (Eph 1:6,12,14). Indeed it is. Various objections, however, have arisen through the years against the use of musical instruments. Next post, I intend to give a critical evaluation (in both senses) to some common objections to the use of musical instruments in worship. I hope that in the time between, you will comment on this blog about objections you have heard—or have—to the use of musical instruments in the local church. If they are substantial, I might treat them in my next post. If they are not, I might examine them in my next post anyway. One objection has to do with the regulative principle and its application. After this, I intend to look at some of the factors each church should weigh in the balance when deciding on what particular style of musical accompaniment will best edify the body of Christ in a given context.
Extra: Some other passages concerning the use of musical instruments.
II Samuel 6:5 – “David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.”
Ps. 150:3-5 – Here we are commanded to praise God with trumpet sound, harp and lyre, timbrel and dancing, stringed instruments and pipe, loud and resounding cymbals.
Ps. 149:3 – “Let them praise his name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.”
Ps. 147:7 – “Sing praises to our God on the lyre.”
Ps. 144:9 – “I will sing a new song to You, O God; upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You.”
Ps. 108:2 – “Awake, harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!”
Ps. 92:3 – “With the ten stringed lute and with the harp, with resounding music upon the lyre.”
Ps. 98:5 – “Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.”
Ps. 81:2 – “Raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.”
Ps. 33:2 – “Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of then strings. Sing to him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.”
Isaiah 38:20 – “The Lord will surely save me; so we will play my songs on stringed instruments all the days of our life at the house of the Lord.”
Habakkuk 3:19 – “The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. – For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.”
Stewardship Week Four: Because I’m Greedy
Fourth, I give because I’m greedy. Is it really true that church is not about what we can get, but rather what we can give? Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life” (Lk 18:29-30). I have found it liberating that Jesus himself expressed in this blood earnest exhortation that God’s will for us is to “receive” in abundance.
In this passage, I interpret Jesus to be assuming that whatever spiritual reward we get from our obedience will be “many times” the value of whatever we lose for the sake of the kingdom. I also take this to be the meaning Jesus had in mind when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Thus, even in this present life, I can expect a great spiritual reward for my giving. In addition to my immediate reward I will receive in this life, there remains the promise of eternal reward in the next.
Jesus gives us this exhortation, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6:19-21). The shocking thing to notice about this verse is that Jesus’ exhortation ingeniously appeals to our desire for treasure.
Trusting that God Himself is our treasure and that there will be different levels of reward in heaven, I am therefore greedy to store up as much of this treasure Jesus speaks of as I can (1 Cor 3:13-14, cf. 2 Cor 9:6). Along with my time, energy, mind, heart, talent, I also give of my finances—all because I’m greedy for more of God in my life now, as well as an even greater portion of Him in the age to come.
Stewardship Week Three: Because I Get Pleasure out of It
So far, I have shared two of my five reasons for practicing stewardship: 1) because it’s easy, and 2) because I feel like it. Though initially my third reason may sound selfish, I think you will find that it to be thoroughly biblical: I strictly observe stewardship because I get pleasure out of it.
If I love God I will love to keep his commandments because it is by obedience that my joy in Christ is made full. In this sense, obedience is not the ultimate goal, joy in knowing Christ is (John 15:11 cf. 8-10, John 17:13). The further I get from under the power of sin, the closer I get to Christ. Just as sin hinders my fellowship with God, obedience works to cultivate my communion with Him and consequently my joy.
I want to be like the psalmist who took pleasure in obedience and said, “I shall delight in Your commandments” (Ps 119:47). My goal is to never obey God merely under a sense of compulsion, but because nothing delights my heart more than to Glorify God by keeping His commandments. If I do not delight in obedience I do not delight in God’s glory. I should find joy in obedience because I find joy in glorifying God.
The most intense joy, happiness, and pleasure available to mankind is found in knowing Jesus Christ. Since this pleasure does not come without faithful obedience, I must exhaust my strategies in cultivating a life of obedience to His commands. I argue this point with a simple syllogism: The most intense pleasure is the spiritual pleasure our souls find in God when we live in obedience to His commandments. Stewardship is part of our obedience to His commandments; therefore stewardship helps me experience the most intense pleasure known to mankind.
Before I became a Christian, I spent my time accumulating: accumulating money for drugs, accumulating drugs and alcohol for the night life, accumulating numbers of women I could call for a good time, accumulating respect for myself, accumulating extravagant jewelry for show, and accumulating contacts and friends who can serve me well in times of need.
After coming to know Jesus Christ and the abundant grace of God, I immediately learned that this sort of accumulation was actually counter-productive. Instead of making me happy, this selfish lifestyle catapulted my soul into depression and despair; never satisfied; always after more; constantly under the delusion that the apex of happiness would be right around the corner.
In stark contrast to this, living my life as an offering to God, pouring out my life for others, giving to the poor and needy, giving my time to share the gospel with others, and giving my energy and talent to be abounding in the things of God, all work to plunge my soul into a joy “unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pt 1:8).
It’s actually difficult to explain how intense this joy really is which came only when I accepted the status of a poor slave of Jesus Christ, giving up everything I once counted as gain, and counting it as loss for the sake of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. The joy which comes with accumulation of stuff is not worthy to be compared to the joy which comes with exhausting one’s energy to demonstrate the love of God in concrete ways to further of the gospel and magnify the Glory of God.
Surrendering my life to God afresh from day to day, that He might be pleased to use me for His Glory, is the ultimate pleasure. Since this pleasure does not come without faithful obedience, I must exhaust my strategies in cultivating a life of obedience to His commands.
Stewardship Week Two: Because I Feel Like It
Last time you saw my face on the back of this newspaper I explained the first of five reasons why I practice stewardship: because it’s easy. I confessed that when I compare material surrender to other types of internal surrender, I find financial stewardship to be easier than those more important parts of the Christian life. I also argued that stewardship is just as applicable to time, energy and talent, as it is to money, and therefore our paradigm for stewardship should encompass everything—not just a meager ten percent of our finances. This week will allow us a look at the second of my five reasons for practicing a radical stewardship: because I feel like it.
It is a cruel tactic to lower the biblical standard of righteousness by downplaying the role of feelings in Christian obedience. Godly emotions are commanded on every page of the Bible: joy, heart-felt peace, gratitude, fear, zeal, grief, contrition, and eagerness—just to mention a few (Mt 10:28, Col 3:15, Rom 12:11,15, Ps 51:17, Eph 5:20, 1 Pt 5:1-2). Emotion is inseparably tied to obedience.
Giving is no exception. “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). I realize that we have heard Christian teachers tell us that the Christian life is not about emotions, but my Bible tells me to give “cheerfully.” It’s true that the biblical scope of obedience goes beyond my feelings to include my every action (1 Cor 10:31). However, that doesn’t mean that my emotions aren’t important. I find it biblically necessary to refuse a false dichotomy which forces me to choose between emotions and action. I must give (action) cheerfully (emotion). Both are commanded of me in the Bible—particularly with respect to giving.
If we give just because we have to, we do not glorify God. God demands that we give cheerfully. Therefore, I strive by the grace of God not just to give, but to feel like giving. That is, I strive to have the feeling of cheerfulness at the thought of giving my whole life to the things of God. Money is just one small, relatively easy part of that.
Stewardship Week 1: Because It’s Easy
The following material will be published in the Western Recorder beggining on Feb 15th (a five part series, my first real publication).
My reasons for practicing stewardship are unusual and demand a bit of explanation, though I believe they are all thoroughly biblical: 1) because it’s easy, 2) because I feel like it, 3) because it gives me pleasure, 4) because I’m greedy, and 5) because God doesn’t need my money anyway. Please bear with me; it will take me five weeks just to explain what I mean. This week will only allow us a look at the first of these five reasons: because it’s easy.
Writing a check to the church is easier for me than being broken over my sin, spending quality time with the lonely, listening for long hours while someone entrusts me with their life “issues,” giving my life to serve the poor, spending hours pouring out sincere prayers to God on behalf of others, expending energy in the church’s behind-the-scenes manual labor, being satisfied in my singleness, keeping my mind and intentions pure, joyfully suffering ridicule and social persecution for being bold with my faith around unbelievers, or just being honest with myself and others whenever I am experiencing a time of spiritual drought or struggling with embarrassing sins.
When I compare material surrender to other types of internal surrender, I find financial stewardship to be easier than those more important parts of the Christian life. It would be easy for me to deceive myself by thinking that as long as I am in the pew on Sundays and regularly giving a mere ten percent that I have been a faithful Christian. In reality, tithing and church attendance are more peripheral components of the greater commandments of loving God and loving others.
The Pharisees faithfully attended worship at the temple and gave their tithe, yet instead of patting them on the back Jesus rebuked them by saying, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Mt 23:23).
Stewardship is just as applicable to time, energy and talent, as it is to money. My tithing alone should never be the basis for judging whether or not I have been a good steward of all God has given me. Our paradigm for stewardship should encompass everything—not just a meager ten percent of our finances.
Worship III: Stirring Up Godly Emotions with Music
It’s Not Emotional Manipulation – Why is it called “manipulation of emotions” when worship leaders use the God-ordained means (music) to stir our emotions with the truth about God? If what people mean by “manipulation of emotions” has to do with their trying to use the vehicle of music (which includes lyrics which are accurate about God) to stir up your emotions for God, then “manipulation” is a poorly chosen word. Jonathan Edwards said that God commands the church to sing for no other reason than that it tends to heighten our emotions of joy and gratitude, etc. Thus, if worship leaders are accused of “manipulation” when they seek to help people get emotional (in this sense) over the content of the songs, and they do this through the God-ordained means of music, then I think we should also lay the blame at the feed of God Himself for such “manipulation,” since it was His design.
No Such Thing as Emotionless Worship – Worship is only genuine in direct proportion to the level of vigor in the heart for God. There is no such thing as emotionless worship just like there is no such thing as a material spirit. To worship without emotion is to worship in something other than spirit. Emotionless worship is mere mechanical worship.
Disclaimer – Careful that you do not misunderstand. When music is the root and cause of our emotion rather than a vehicle that stirs our God-rooted emotion, then it is idolatry, not worship. But if music is being used as God intended it (to stir our godly emotions), then we shouldn’t call it “manipulation.” I don’t accuse my Christian friends who try to encourage me when I’m down of trying to manipulate my emotions away from discouragement. And if they do provide biblical encouragement, I don’t think it would be fair for someone to accuse me of finding the root of my encouragement in THEM rather than in God. So why do so many people accuse those who get emotional in times of singing the truth about God and His word of worshiping music or of getting emotional merely because of the music? Just as friends who give biblical council in times of suffering are a means to encourage me with the truth about God, even so music is a God-ordained means to encourage my soul with the truth about God–and this will surely lead to great emotional experiences of joy, awe, contrition, gratitude, etc.
How do Musical Worship Leaders Get People Emotionally Engaged with God? – Leading musical worship involves more than vocal participation, but it is a skill of couching songs in the right kind of format; one that tends to be helpful in moving the heart to sing with heightened emotion. It requires maintaining focus through thoughtful transitions and continuity between the content of the song and the content of the accompanying prayers. For a leader, it is not only a skill of stirring up one’s own affections, but it is a skill of stirring up the affections of others by causing them to dwell on the person of God; His kindness, His goodness, His holiness, His patience, His loving faithfulness, etc.
Anything But Indifferent – The goal is not always to get every person excited and joyous (though this is a major part of the goal), nor is it to get everyone in a remorseful mood (though this is also one aspect of the goal), but to get people to be stirred by the Holy Spirit in either direction. One leading worship hopes that the people will be anything but indifferent. A worship leader hopes that through skillful facilitation of songs, the music will help move the hearts of the people in some way as they sing.
Planning to Stir Hearts – This takes thoughtful planning. It is not as simple as vocal participation because we don’t have buttons on our heart with corresponding emotional labels (press here for joy, here for contrition, here for awe, here for gratitude, etc.). This does not necessarily mean that the concerned participant shouldn’t sing unless they don’t perceive the appropriate feelings in their heart—nor should worship leaders discourage those with such concerns from singing. Often our emotion finds an on-ramp through the singing.
Praise God For Music – Music is designed by God and commanded of his people because it tends to stir up afresh the appropriate emotional response to His revelation of Himself. Therefore a worship leader’s goal is much deeper than vocal participation. It is ultimately to stir the hearts of the people with the truth of God with the God-ordained help of musical accompaniment. What a great gift from God this musical aid which tends to stir up our hearts. Let the music play, and let His people sing with heightened affections for Him. The emotion of the participant cannot ever be intense enough to accurately reflect the supreme value of the living God—but let us try with all our might to raise our affections as high as grace will take them! Only then will we maximize our pleasure in worship, for where our pleasure in God is maximized, there God is most Glorified.
Worship II: Emotional Worship is the Goal
Feelings Matter to God
Those who carry the official title of “Worship leader”
(those who lead in musical worship) of all people should understand that the ultimate goal of praise goes far beyond mere singing. Though a lack of vocal participation may be an indicator of a lack of ready hearts, if the people don’t feel a certain way then they sing—they are not worshiping. That’s right. That’s what I said. Feelings matter to God. We cannot be indifferent to the words we sing. Our hearts must be moved as we sing or we offer empty praise. If our singing is not attended with the appropriate emotions of joy, awe, fear, gratitude, contrition, etc., then we are clanging symbols. These emotions are commanded of us in the scriptures. They are not optional.
Emotionalism vs. Emotional Worship – The difference between emotionalism and emotional worship is the difference between emotions which are commanded of us in the scriptrues that are in conformity with truth, and emotions which have their source in somthing other than the truth. To say it another way, it is the difference between finding our emotional high in God by the power of the Holy Spirit vs. finding our emotional high merely in the music.
Emotion is of the Essence of Worship – Nevertheless, emotions have everything to do with genuine worship. Stirring up the emotions is not a bad thing, unless it is either not based on truth, or used for a mechanical manipulation (external conformity) of the audience. Stirring up thankfulness in the heart to God, stirring up tear-jerking joy in God, stirring up contrition over sin, stirring up feelings of awe at the Glory of God, etc. are in fact, the ultimate and highest goal of musical worship, and are therefore of the very essence of musical worship. These are not things you do (joy, awe, contrition, etc.) but things you are and feel in your heart.
Our Emotion Must Be Rooted in the Truth About God – The two key aspects of worship are 1) to worship in Spirit – namely that one worships not just by external conformity (like the Pharisee’s), but in the heart (which involves the affections and emotions–all of our internal activity), and secondly 2) to worship in truth – that our hearts are stirred up by the truth rather than aimless emotion. Again, this is the difference between emotionalism (aimless emotion) and emotional worship. Emotional worship has a defined foundation: the truth about God; and a definite object of affection: the glory of God. Emotional worship (that is, worship which moves the heart to godly emotions based on the truth about God) is the only kind of worship there is. Everything else may be called worship, but it cannot be genuine unless it flows from a state of heart which has been affected by the truth about God.
Worship I: All Christians Should Be Worship Leaders
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.” – Psalms 63:1-5
Worship is more than just music. Those known as “worship leaders” should know this better than anyone. Leading worship is leading people in a lifestyle; an attitude; a state of heart and mind. But we recognize that the word “worship leader” is generally used to refer to one who leads in musical worship during corporate local church (or para-church) gatherings. We should not split hairs over this title as long as we understand that the pastors/elders of a church (the ones who bear the chief responsibility of leading and shepherding the sheep) are most responsible for leading the people in worship. They are the main worship leaders. I don’t say this to in any way belittle the responsibility of a musical worship leader; I say it to remind anyone in a pastoral role of their mutual responsibility to lead others in a lifestyle of worship. The more responsiblity one has in leading others, the more responsible they are to lead them in worship. Anyone in any type of Christian leadership is automatically more responsible to lead others in worship; to be a worship leader.
Many leaders who may lead in bible study, small group, evangelism, prayer, preaching, teaching, etc. (especially preaching pastors) may excuse themselves from the responsibility of leading in worship just because they are not known as “worship leaders.” But surely that is a fatal mistake. For example, it is absolutely essential that teachers of God’s word lead the people of God to go beyond comprehension of God’s word to a cherishing of God’s word. This kind of worship (the cherishing of God’s word) should be their ultimate aim. It’s not as though the teacher’s responsibility is to cram their minds with understanding and leave the “worship” up to the “worship leader.” God is not glorified by merely being accurate understood, but by our being so sufficietnly satisfied and pleasured by what we understand that we are full of joy and praise. Preachers must not simply aim at condmning the sins our our culture or of the church (though we see a great lack of this to our own destruction), they must chiefly aim at exalting God as the inexhaustibly glorious supreme being of the universe. They should have a transparent love for the truth of God they are preaching so that the people can see they feed their souls on God’s truth. They should preach God as the alternative to sin. Evangelists should not make hellfire damnation their main emphasis in sharing the gospel. Rather, they should make their point of emphasis God’s glory in Jesus Christ (though they cannot be separated—they can be distinguished). Evangelists ought to teach others to do evangelism unbegrudgingly; in a spirit of worship rather than a spirit of “we have to do this or people will go to Hell.” We should evangelize with this spirit: “We are privileged with the great pleasure of spreading the praises of the glorious grace of God in the gospel.” Those who lead in prayer should lead with a passion which communicates the supremacy of God in the way they pray. No Christian leader is exempt from a special responsibility to lead others in worship.
All Christians are ought to be worship leaders by example. People learn from others very early in life where they can find enter- tainment for thir souls. By our example we should be demonstrating to others where to go in order to have the thirst of their soul’s satisfied. It should be obvious to those who know us that we seek our satisfaction in life from knowing Christ and cultivating our relationship with Him. There are many ways we communicate this. When others see that we avoid sin at all costs, this demonstrates to them that God is our cheif joy because we are ready to give up anything which hinders the quality of our relationship to Him. If we are always speaking of Chirst, people will see that He is what we love most; but if we enjoy talking about sports, trival matters of entertainment, the latest celberty news, cars, polotics, our boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. more than we enjoy talking about the things of God–it will surely convince people as a dead giveaway to where our hearts are really at. We should live in such a way that others not only see that our hearst are consumed with the things of God (and that all else is rubbish in comparison), but that God makes us so happy in Him that we are not looking to find our joy in others things. We should seek our satisfaction solely in God, becasue only He is dependable. The stock market may crash, terrorists may blow up our country, our loved ones may perish unexpectedly, our jobs may be taken away from us, even our own lives on earth may vansih as a vapor–but God is our hope; our life; our only certainty; our sure source of joy; the umovable ancor of our souls; and unshakable foundation of peace. Though all else in this life may and indeed eventually will certainly be taken away from us, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Are we living in such a way as to make it obvious to others that our hope is only in God? Does our life scream to others, “Come here to drink, for all other fountains are incomparable and unworthy of our devotion!”?
There is a sense in which everyone worships (even unbelievers) because everyone seeks to be happy. Everyone judges the value of things based on how helpful they are in obtaining happiness. Part of what it means to worship something is to trust in it for satisfaction in life. I used to worship money, sex, drugs, music, and many other unworthy things. This was my lifestyle of worship. I assigned too much value to these things in their ability to give me happiness. They all let me down and destroyed my life (just as the scripture says, Galatians 6:7). By example, I taught others to drink from the fountain of sin in order to obtain the goal of happiness—all to their destruction. After tasting of the Lord’s living water, I have not desired to turn back and drink from other fountains. They are like broken cisterns. I have long since been satisfied by the water of this new well. The water from this new well quenches far better the thirst of my soul. It is the supreme fountain because it satisfies supremely. If biblical worship is coming to the divine well and satisfying our souls on the Glory of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel, then let us indulge ourselves at this fountain while leading others to it, and let us channel the waters of this fountain to every area of our hearts and lives—for only then will we know joy in all its fullness; only then will maximize our pleasure in quenching our thirst for this all-satisfying water. If we as Christian leaders care about quenching the thirst of the souls of others, we will seek to be as full of this living water as we can possibly be, that it might overflow and spill out on others. This water and this water alone is able to give the soul everlasting pleasure.
Biblical Confrontation: The Potential Blindspot of a Christian Hedonist
Confrontation is a Neglected Practice – Confrontation is a very neglected practice in the church (and I don’t just mean by the elders or deacons of the church). It is especially unfortunate in America where so many people claim to be Christian. We should take their claim as free reign to confront them if they are living in a way which is inconsistent with their claim to know Christ. Youth who claim to know Christ but enjoy listening to music which glorifies violence, sexual immorality, and drug abuse. Mr. So and So who claims to be a Christian but calls people who look different than he does “niggers” (and the like) in a condescending and prideful way (or churches that are opposed to “blacks mixing with whites” in worship or marriage). That girlfriend of yours who claims to be a Christian but seems to totally disregard the apostles teachings on modesty. That guy who claims to be a Christian but is living with his girlfriend (i.e. sleeping with her). What is our responsibility in when we see such phenomenon? This is a highly relevant question for all Christians (at least in America), because this phenomena is not the exception in the American church—it’s typical. When did we begin to excuse ourselves from this practice of confrontation?
Is This Type of Confron- tation Biblical? – By no means should we expect any Christian to be perfect, but there is a lifestyle clearly consistent with such a claim and one which is not (see I Cor 6:9 for example, or I John 2:4). It’s impossible for those who accept the Bible as their authority to explain away all the verses which bind the Christian conscience about confronting professed believers who live in sin (Mt 18:15, 1 Cor 5:1-12, 2 Thes 3:6, Jn 8:11, Acts 8:20, 2 Thes 3:14, Titus 3:10-11). Sure church discipline is a lost practice in the local church today, but it doesn’t have to be a lost practice in your life. Besides, the rank and file Christians outnumber the leaders. Rank and file believers like us have the ability to change the face of Christianity. Many of us are fighting to make it a revived practice. Many churches are now awakening to church discipline as a healthy mark of a local church (thanks in large part to Mark Dever)—but it’s supposed to be the norm.
How Can You Say Confron- tation is For the Sake of Our Pleasure? – Confron- tation is not only biblical, it is necessary for the preserving of pleasure in at least two ways. 1) The spiritual pleasure of intimacy with Christ is proportionally dependant on the purity of the church, which seems to be Paul’s main concern when he confronts people in his epistles, 2) the goal for the one being confronted and/or excommunicated is to see him restored if he is a true Christian (i.e. to the spiritual pleasure of intimacy with Christ which sin hinders and dilutes). Purity in the corporate body as well as in the individual entities magnifies the work and worth of Christ, glorifies God, and demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit—all of which is the ground of our pleasure. If only we were more committed to our own pleasure, the pleasure of the church, and the pleasure of those who need confronted, we would suffer a great deal of opposition and uncomfortableness to see to it that we confront our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are in sin, or could use a bit of gentle, loving, gracious confrontation about something.
P.S. – The pictures I posted have no real connection with the topic, but the new safety net on campus filters all pictures on google, so I couldn’t get access to anything ideal.
The Gospel: Good News for a Hedonist
Unbelievers: This is the gospel, which means “good news.” It is the message of Jesus Christ and all his apostles. According to the scriptures, faith in this gospel saves the soul. Without belief in this gospel one cannot be “saved” (in the biblical sense), nor can one call themself a Christian. If you desire to maximize your pleasure and experience what God created you for–the everlasting quench of the thirst of your soul–here is where it all starts. For the sake of your own soul, I hope you will put your faith in the gospel!
Believers: Your comments are also welcome. This presentation may be in need of refinement (I would be eager to receive constructive criticism). Just remember that this is a gospel tract–not an abbreviated systematic theology (I don’t explain everything or mention everything, but only that which I deem necessary to understanding the basic message of the gospel).
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I. The Doctrine of God – God Created the World and is distinct from it, and He is King Over the World, and Does as He wishes, He is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 47:7-8, 82:8, 115:3, 134:6, Proverbs 16:4-5, 9, 33, 19:21, 20:24, 21:1, Isaiah 52:7, Daniel 4:34-35, 5:21, Acts 17:25, Romans 13:1).
II. The Doctrine of Sin – Sin is rebellion against God, Adam was the first one to do this. When Adam sinned, he plunged himself and all mankind into a state of condemnation; and we, being his offspring, are like him and have been 
born with a sinful nature, doing that which God forbids because we do not Love God enough to obey Him, and we enjoy sinning against God more than obeying Him. Adam’s sin we call “The Fall,” which is the reason for the current fallen state of humanity (Genesis 2 & 3, Romans 3:9-19, 5:12-21 cf. Romans Ch’s 1:18 – 3:20, See also John 3:19-20, Acts 17:26, I Corinthians 15:21-22).
III. The Doctrine of Man: Man’s Condition – The consequences of sin are death and suffering: the curse. This suffering takes many forms. The source of our suffering from which all sorrow flows is our relation to God after the fall of Adam. Rather than being children of God and having a loving relationship with Him (for which we were created and designed), we all have become Children of His Wrath and have therefore been cut off from any loving relationship to Him (Ephesians 2:1-3,11-12). In short, we are under condemnation, and we remain in this cursed state whether we realize it or not (John 3:36). If this condition does not change in an individual before death, he enters into a state of everlasting punishment at the just hands of an angry God (Heb 9:27, Revelation 20:11-15, John 5:28, 8:24).
IV. The Doctrine of Christ: God’s Intervention
A. God Remains A Just Judge
1) Punishment as Necessary For the Preservation of Justice – It would have been unrighteous and unjust for God to let rebels off the hook without any punishment for sin. God’s wrath for sin had to be satisfied, because God is Holy, Holy, Holy , unlike any judges of our day, he is perfectly righteous and therefore executes nothing less than perfect punishment for sin (Is 6:3). God, being just and sovereign over His Creation, could have reigned down wrath and consumed the earth altogether. That is, He could have solved the problem of sin by destroying all of creation and sending all of mankind to endure His wrath forever.
2) The Alternate Way of Satisfying Justice: Substitutionary Atonement – Rather than this, He has chosen to save the human race from utter destruction by sending someone else to bare the guilt and punishment for the sins of the earth (John 3:16). The necessary preservation of justice is the reason why Jesus had to become a substitute for the human race. It was necessary for God, being just and rightly angered by Sin, to punish all sins (Romans 3:21-26). The punishment was unavoidable, so God came to us in the form of man, which we know as Jesus Christ the Son of God, lived a perfect life in
obedience to the Law of God, then took the punishment due for sins. In doing this, Jesus became our substitute in two ways: 1) he bore our sin (II Corinthians 5:21) and 2) became our righteousness (Romans 4:2-8, 5:17, Philippians 3:8-9). After He made it possible for humans to have their relationship to God restored, He rose from the dead, setting an example for the future resurrection, being raised in a glorified state He was taken up to heaven where He reigns at the right hand of the Father as King of the Earth (Ephesians 1:20-23, Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus has accomplished a state of reconciliation by a Substitutionary Righteousness and a Substitutionary Atonement. Together, these two works of Christ make it possible for God to remain just, yet also justify the pardon of sinful people.
B. God Justifies the Ungodly: The Double Exchange
1) He took the Hit for Us – Our sins were counted as His on the cross, and God’s wrath was then appeased for sin: this is Redemption, the paying of the price. The price was suffering of God’s wrath, which Christ underwent on our behalf. It is as if Christ has pushed us out of the way of an oncoming train (the train of God’s necessary justice) and took the hit of this train in our place.
2) He earned our Righteousness – At the very moment we put our faith in Christ, His righteousness is counted as ours so that we stand before God on the day of Judgment as though we had lived a perfect life, even as though we were clothed with His righteousness. This is called imputation: that God imputes to us His Own righteousness through Christ. This does not mean that God forgets that we have sinned against Him, rather, God accepts work of Christ as sufficient for our being accepted before Him.
V. The Doctrine of The Gospel: Redemption Applied 
A. Salvation is Based on Grace – Because man is guilty of crimes against God, he does not deserve to be saved form God’s wrath, nor does he deserve any blessings from God. Thus salvation is by Grace (unmerited favor).
1) Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And that is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God; not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
2) Grace as Undeserved Favor – Grace is undeserved favor. It is undeserved because no one deserves it. For anyone to receive anything less than eternal punishment for their sin is grace. It is favor because it saves us from God’s just wrath and entitles us to a host of blessings (forgiveness, reconciliation with God, satisfaction of the soul, eternal joy, a resurrection body, etc.).
3) The Purpose of Grace: So That God Gets the Due Credit – Lest anyone should boast as though they had done anything to deserve the gift of salvation, God has ordained salvation only by means of grace. So that Christ gets all the due credit for salvation, it is through faith in Him and His work that one become saved. If it were not by grace, no one would have a chance at being saved (Romans 4:2,16).
B. The Word of God – God has chosen to apply his accomplished work of Redemption (the Cross) to human beings through the preaching of the gospel, that is, the good news about Christ as understood in the previous context I have laid out (Romans 1:16-17, James 1:18). He has therefore so blessed the preaching of the gospel (or reading of it) that the Holy Spirit grants faith and repentance through this divine message (Acts 11:18, 16:14, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 1:29, II Timothy 2:24-25), and a radical change takes place in the human heart whereby love for sin is greatly weakened, and a love for God is born. Forgiveness is not for everyone, but only for those who experience this heart change, that is, those who repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ and believe the Gospel of Christ. Those who do experience this no longer remain in their fallen state as enemies of God, but are loved and adopted by God and are no longer bound to suffer the curse forever, though they continue to live in a cursed world (Romans 8:15-25).
C. True Faith and Its Fruits
1) Faith Is More Than Intellectual Assent – True faith is more than mere intellectual belief, but is the acceptance of both the work and person of Christ. It includes the desire to have a personal relationship with Christ, and to know God through Christ (John 13:20). It is not a mere intellectual activity, but it involves the heart, the will, and even the emotions. It is impossible to have an emotionless conversion experience because it is impossible to have an emotionless faith. Part of saving faith is believing that God is more rewarding than sin (Heb 11:6).
2) Repentance: A Crucial Aspect of Faith – This kind of faith includes repentance (II Cor 7:10). Repentance is a change of one’s heart toward sin. When a person repents, this means that he/she changes his/her mind about their sin, recognizing it to be an offense toward God. Rather than having a friendly and comfortable mindset toward their sin, they begin to hate sin in their heart and become uncomfortable with respect to sins they know of in their life. They develop a mentality which is opposed to sin, and they develop a desire to turn from their sins; to fight their sinful impulses. In short, repentance is a change of heart towards one’s sin.
3) The Gift and Fruits of the Holy Spirit – Through the preaching (or sharing, or reading)
of the Gospel message, those who believe receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who posses them in a glorious way, so that they seem to be always guided in righteousness as a result (Romans 8:14-16). The Scripture teaches that those who come to know God through Christ by faith in the Gospel begin to change the way they live, paying utmost respect to the commandments of God out of their love for Him and desire to please Him (I John 2:3-6). Those who believe and receive the Holy Spirit do not become perfect (I John 1:8), but all people who come to faith in Christ are changed by the Spirit of God within them (I Corinthians 5:17).
4) The Essence of Conversion – Conversion is a change from one thing to another. Any time a person is saved, they undergo a conversion experience. True Christian conversion experience involves a change from being indifferent to God and loving sin, to being in love with God and hating sin. The essence of the change of conversion could be described as a change of the human heart in which the believers main source of joy, peace, and fulfillment in life is now found in God rather than in sin (Galatians 5:16-25). It is a change of desires and affections. Those who are saved are saved from the domination of their sinful desires. They develop new desires for God which exceed the power of their sinful desires. They learn to delight in the things of God, they learn that true joy is found in glorifying God (I Cor 10:31). They develop deep affections for God and an intimate way of relating to Him. The Good News is good because God is more satisfying, more pleasurable, more rewarding than the satisfactions, pleasures, and rewards of sin.
VI. The Doctrines of Christianity: Overview of Our Beliefs
A. The Scriptures – The Bible (Old and New Testament Cannon) as Inspired by God, Thus Authoritative and without error.
B. The Trinity – God is One in Essence , but Three in Persons: Jesus is Deity, His Father is Deity, The Holy Spirit is Deity
C. The Sovereignty of God – God is the King of the Earth, All things belong to Him, and He does as He pleases with respect to His Creation, nothing happens without His ordination.
D. The Fall – All Human Beings are Born with a Sinful Nature because we are descendant from Adam, and this is why the world is cursed with suffering and death.
E. The Judgment – All souls will be Judged According to their Deeds on Earth
F. Hell – The eternal damnation of those who are never saved through the gospel, and thus remain in their Fallen State.
G. Exclusivity – Christ is the only way to escape God’s curse on sin and bring humans into a loving relationship with God. That is, faith in Christ is the only way to be saved.
H. The Resurrection – All Bodies will be Restored anew and Raised for the Judgment and either everlasting damnation or everlasting reward.
I. Heaven – Heaven is the eternal reward and blessedness for those who repent of sin and put their faith in Christ.
J. Love For God and Others – Love for God is the most important part of the Christian life and love for others is the second most important of all commands. Love for God is the foundation for loving people.
K. Love For Christ – Because Christ is God incarnate (the person of God untied to a human body) and therefore the clearest expression/revelation of the person of God, love for Christ is most central to loving God.
L. The Glory of God – The glory of God is the end for which the world was created. Man’s purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
T h e o • p h i l o g u e 
