MUSIC THEOLOGY
LECTURE 7
THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC:
DVD KEY POINTS
Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God wants three things from you: your body [‘bodies’] (physical), your mind [‘mind’](soul, heart), and your spirit [‘will of God’] (spiritual).
It is totally reasonable to give Him these. In every area of life, these 3 should be presented to God; we should be willing to make the sacrifice.
In the area of music, these 3 play a very important part. Music affects your body (rhythm), your mind (lyrics), and your spirit (moral, spiritual quality of music).
1 Sam 16:14-17, 23 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
David played with his hand (on the harp); he played well; it doesn’t say anything about singing here. This shows us that music, without the lyrics, was able to refresh, make well, and cause an evil spirit to depart! Music, without the lyrics, has moral and spiritual qualities!
Saul was refreshed: the music refreshed him physically. Music probably affects your body first. Your body is very sensitive to music.
Saul was well: the music affected his mind. Saul was depressed (mental, emotional). Music can help, or hurt, your way of thinking, your psychological status, and your emotions.
The evil spirit departed from Saul: the music affected him spiritually. This is the deepest effect of music on the person. It is probably the least easily recognized. It is for sure the most dangerous, or beneficial. The music alone was able to cause an evil spirit to depart from a person; and, conversely, it is reasonable to assume that the music alone could cause an evil spirit to come and oppress or even possess a person! Oh what power music has!
Combining Romans 12 with 1 Samuel 16, we see that it is totally reasonable to present the music we listen to in our lives to God as a sacrifice. We need to sacrifice in the area of how music might affect our body; how it might affect our mind/emotions; and how it might affect us spiritually. We need to avoid all music that could potentially hurt us in each of these 3 areas! Make the sacrifice dear Christian…it is your reasonable service to the Lord in the area of music.
Know this for sure, music, apart from the lyrics, affects your body, your mind, and your spirit. It is definitely NOT neutral (amoral)!