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Can God Use Rock Music?

by Keith Green

Introduction

This is a hard article for me to write, mainly because I'm afraid people will think that my opinions would have to be prejudiced by the fact that I am involved in (what has come to be known as) "contemporary Christian music." As you might guess, the title of this article is no new question to me. Since I myself have been somewhat "guilty" of using the medium of rock, I have heard just about every opinion about it - and have received no limit of warning, exhortation, and outright rebuke from many a well-meaning soul. Since I take my negative mail very seriously - always reading each negative and corrective letter as a possible word or warning from God - I have had to listen closely to each argument - praying and thinking the whole thing through with eternal values in mind.

Although I have always wanted to address this subject publicly, I have only just answered the questions privately, seeking to avoid controversy. But now I believe the time has come for me to openly tackle this question, mainly because the Lord has been teaching me so much lately about motives and how they are the bottom line in just about everything!

Please realize that these are just my opinions, I am certainly no authority on scriptural truth - or music (except maybe my own). These are just some of the answers I have come up with after many years of studying this question with fear and trembling before the Lord. But like everything else, you should seek the Lord on your own for answers to difficult questions. I only hope to give you some things to think about.

The Prevailing Opinions

There seem to be two different and widely opposite schools of thought concerning whether or not God can use something as questionable as rock and roll as a tool for evangelism, or even (forgive me!) in worship.

One line of reasoning believes that rock and roll, whether secular or "so-called gospel," should not ever be listened to, or used as a medium by Christians. The reason given is simply that it is "of the devil." There are many statistics and "proofs" used by adherents to this position to prove that rock music itself is the direct cause of everything from drug abuse to teen-age pregnancy. And most people who hold this view are sincerely convinced that anyone who indulges in the use of rock music in any form cannot truly be used or blessed by God.

The other school of thought is the one that believes that God can redeem and use anything - and just because rock music is so prevalent in the world doesn't mean that God's people can't use the same medium to reach those still lost in that world. After all (the people who defend this position say), "Christians are supposed to be "in the world, and not of it!"¹ and didn't Paul say that he "became all things to all men that he might save some?"²

The View From Here

Of course, I have always leaned toward the second school of thought, but I think that sometimes this group has taken things a little too far, doing a lot in the name of "freedom" that I believe is grievous to the Lord, because it tends to stumble a lot of little ones. We should not forget that Paul also said, "Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh."³

It is because of these abuses of freedom that I have chosen to remain silent on this issue. I have not taken up my pen to defend the "Christian rockers" because frankly, I have been just as much offended by most of what I've heard and seen as any sweet ole Christian grandma who accidentally stumbles into a blaring-loud gospel concert.

It isn't the beat that offends me, nor the volume - It's the spirit. It's the "Look at me!" attitude I have seen in concert after concert, and the "Can't you see we're as good as the world?" syndrome I have heard on record after record. Jesus doesn't want us to be as good as the world, He wants us to be better! And that doesn't mean excelling them in sound, style, or talent - it means surpassing them in value - in our motives for being up there on stage, in our reasons for singing our songs, and especially in who we're singing for! If there's anything wrong or worldly at all about so-called "Christian rock," it's the self-exalting spirit and attitude that comes across so loud and clear in many of the records and concerts today.

(Please don't get me wrong. I do not want to appear self-righteous, or to be saying - "All those musicians and artists should have such exemplary attitudes and motives as I do!" Believe me, I have struggled over these same things myself for many years, and these are things that the Lord has taught me for my own life and public ministry.)

But What About All Those "Jungle-Rhythm" Stories?

You've probably heard one of those stories about the missionary family that was stationed near a tribe of cannibalistic, voodoo warriors? Well, as the story goes, the missionary had a couple of teen-agers who just loved to listen to "Christian rock." And one day, as they were playing one of their albums up real loud, a witch doctor came running out of the jungle and said, "Why are you trying to call up devils with that music? Don't you realize that those are the same rhythms we use to contact demons in our rituals?" I've heard this story many times, and in many different forms, but it always seems to prove that, "There you have it! Rock and roll is a product of hell - even if it is called "gospel rock!"

Now, I've always joked to myself that this story must have been started by some craggy old missionary who'd been out on the field for 20 years - and when he arrived back in the states, he just about died when he heard the latest gospel music. (Either that, or the witch doctor who came out of the jungle was a recent graduate from a conservative seminary!)

But seriously, I highly doubt that this story is true - and even if it is, it doesn't mean that all "music with a beat" will make your family need an exorcist. What we need to look into now is this question: Is there such a thing as "evil music"? To that question, I would have to answer a definite, "Yes!" but my reasons for calling some music "evil" may surprise you.

What Is Evil Music?

"I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything is unclean, to him it is unclean."⁴

I do not believe that any kind of music is "evil" in itself. I mean, that there are no such things as rhythms or chord structures or melody lines that were born in hell. The idea that the devil has invented certain styles of music so that he could capture the innocent young souls of today's youth is not only without foundation, but is the same kind of ridiculous tale that was told to young people by the church as recently as a generation ago - that "masturbation could cause blindness." Why try to scare the poor little guys into doing what's right? Why not deal with the real problem - selfishness!

The suggestion that there is such a thing as intrinsically⁵ "good music or evil music" seems preposterous to me. I have been involved with almost every aspect of music my whole life, and I have witnessed the various effects it has had on me and other people - and I have to say that I have never once seen a case where music was the direct cause of sin or wickedness in a person's life.

On the other hand, I have seen music be used as a tool for selfishness and egotism in people's lives (as well as my own). I have also seen it be used to create sensual moods by people with lust and manipulation on their minds. I have seen rock groups that were admittedly worshippers of Satan, and were open practioners of black witchcraft, who employed music as a tool to mesmerize their audiences. Yes, I must admit that it would appear to the casual observer that anyone involved with rock music could at least be charged with "guilt by association."

But all the examples I mentioned above have to do with the motives of the heart, not the music itself! That is why I believe that music, in itself, is a neutral force. Let me give you a better example.

Take a knife for instance. With it, you can cut bread, carve a roast, loose someone who's been bound by ropes, or you can do harm and even kill somebody. In other words, you can be creative and productive, or you can be destructive and murderous. The knife itself, when put in an atmosphere of hoodlums, becomes a weapon. But put it in a kitchen, and it becomes a tool that's useful, even necessary, for the preparation of nourishment for your family.

As another example, let's look at "David's dancing." The Bible says that King David was "dancing before the Lord with all his might!"⁶ But today, people dance in bars and discos, and then afterwards, many indulge in alcohol, drugs, and illicit sex. Does that mean that dancing produces a desire for drugs, sex, and alcohol? You and I both know that yes, movement of the body can excite someone. But someone has to have wicked desires to start with to have any outer stimulation increase those desires. I have seen Christians "dancing in the Spirit." I have also seen Christians dancing in the flesh. It wasn't the dancing that was evil, or the music they danced to, but the attitude and motive of their heart.

Should Mexicans Learn English?

Now, we don't make the people of Mexico learn English before we preach the Gospel to them, do we? The only reason that I have ever used contemporary music at all in my ministry is because I believe it is the "language" of the young people. After I have received piles of letters saying things like, "I never would have listened to what you had to say, unless I had first been attracted to the music!" - I am convinced that the only way to reach those who love music is in their own language!

Have you ever heard the stories of how John and Charles Wesley took many of the popular "drinking songs" of their day and put Christian lyrics to them? And it didn't matter how much success they had in reaching sinners using these tunes - most of the people in the church absolutely deplored their methods!

And then the Salvation Army came along, and had the nerve to put hymns to marching music - and then proceeded to play and sing these "lewd songs" (as the traditional church of their day called them) out in the streets on Sundays! They even followed in the Wesley brothers' footsteps, taking tunes from the drunk-filled taverns, and "converting" them into worshipful choruses, or ringing appeals for people to surrender their lives to Christ! And never have there been so many "common people" converted in England than through the unorthodox efforts of those early "Salvation Soldiers."

Oh, how harmless those melodies would sound now to our grandparents' ears. But their grandparents thought that the devil himself was on the loose with music-demons!

There are those today who still believe that we should use only nice, "wholesome" music to reach young people. Otherwise, (they say) we are only appealing to their sinful rebellion, and we will later find that any conversions resulting from the use of rock music were not really authentic after all. One well-known evangelist recently went so far as to say that, "No one has ever gotten a blessing from contemporary Christian music!"

This kind of reasoning is as narrow as that of the early missionaries to China. They thought that the best way to "Christianize" the people would be to teach them their European standards of dress and living, and thus "civilize" the heathen - as well as convert them. But a young and zealous missionary by the name of Hudson Taylor changed all that - he knew that the only way to reach people was with the truth of the Gospel. And he knew that it was wrong to add any cultural or "outward" conformity to the precepts of truth he so earnestly believed. And so he discarded his European clothing, and began to identify with the people he was trying to reach by dressing like them and adopting their customs. Although he was initially ridiculed and shunned by his fellow missionaries, his ultimate success proved that God was indeed leading him.⁷

Placing People Under the "Law"

It seems that Paul had these same "cultural" problems in the early Church, with those Jewish believers who wanted new converts to first embrace the Jewish law and customs before they could be considered Christians.⁸ I believe that trying to change people's musical tastes, before we allow them to hear the truth, is just as wrong as it was for the Jews to try to push circumcision on the Gentiles as a necessary prerequisite for eternal life. The Bible is clear that we should put no stumbling blocks in the way of people receiving God's precious gift of salvation!

Conclusion: It's All In the Motives!

I am convinced that the potential of reaching people for Jesus through the media - whether it be records, radio, movies, or television - is monumental, simply because these are the things that have, and continue to hold, people's attention. I truly believe that Christians who are completely sold out to God, using these tools, can bring people to their knees in repentance and lead them into the waiting arms of the Savior. But if their lives are not sold out - if their motives are mixed, and their hearts divided - then I only see ridicule and shame brought to the Gospel. And since this is the case so much of the time, it makes it hard and shines a bad light - even on those whose hearts are clean, and whose motives are pure.

I also want to say in closing that yes, I do believe that the Holy Spirit is grieved by a lot of what is being passed today as "music ministry" and "gospel music" - not so much by the beat or content, but by the lack of commitment and anointing. But just because people with darkened hearts still use rock music as a medium for rebellion and self-exaltation, doesn't mean that the same style of music can't be used by people submitted to God to capture the attention of sinners; and lead them away from self - and to the throne of Christ!

After all, don't many cults use the same Bible that we cherish as God's Holy Word, and yet distort and twist the meaning "to their own destruction"?⁹ And didn't the devil himself quote Scripture to Jesus? As you can see, a wicked heart can pervert even the most holy and beautiful of things. And in the same way, God can take even the filthiest of vessels and use it for His glory.¹⁰ (Just look at you and me!) Believe me, if your heart is right, then your music will be right too. But if your heart is full of selfishness and pride, then even if you sing the sweetest hymn, your song will work death and not life. For...

"A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth what is good, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth what is evil, for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."11

Footnotes:

1) John 17:11, 15-16.
2) I Corintians 9:22
3) Galatians 5:13
4) Romans 14:14
5) Good or evil in itself
6) II Samuel 6:14
7) Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor; Moody Press, Chicago, IL 60610.
8) Galatians 5:1-1

Keith Green, 2/21/2007

Feedback: (page 1 2 3 4)

	anthony (Guest)	06/06/2009 23:27
well interesting debate here i decided to comment. here is a statement for you all. it's harder to take a bad and turn it into a good, then it is to take a good and turn into a bad. but biblical things on what we discuss. i love the scripture about peter, the things which God calls clean don't call unclean. i mean if God is using this type of music to reach people then who are we to say that it is evil. hebrews 4:12 is something we all should read. for the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. which tells me that God is the judge His word is final. look at saul who God changed his name to paul. he was persecuting the body of Christ. but Jesus saved him turned his life around. and he became the person who wrote the vast majority of the new testament. so i mean God can make drastic changes in our lives. in fact does it everyday to His children. we all learn things that we shouldn't do. but to end. let God be the judge for that is Who He is. if God says something is clean. then it's clean.
	Rev. Kyle (Guest)	06/27/2009 13:26
Like Keith said. Its about the spirit behind the music. We get so busy pointing fingers at this and that wondering if its from God when we should be taking the gospel to every corner. Let God be God. If we're following the Lord we will know whats of him and what isn't. We in the body spend too much time cutting off our own fingers, hands and feet instead of walking in the Spirit of the Lord and following the Lords word.
	Dave (Guest)	08/28/2009 17:15
Amen!! Keith Green, Rich Mullins & Mark Heard were musical 'prophets' that were taken way too soon. God's soverign, but their msg was right on. So who will follow in their footsteps? That is the question we should all be asking--NOT if their style of music was evil or good. So who will follow the call???
	Hope (Guest)	09/04/2009 15:57
Jesus didn't put on a show in order to preach the Gospel. He simply stated what was required to enter the Kingdom of God. There are no examples in the Scriptures of Gospel being preached through music. This is manipulation and more often than not produces false converts. We are to proclaim the Gospel not perform it. This simply appeals to the flesh. I am yet to see how music (of any sort) can cause a sinner to repent of his sin and place their trust in Jesus. It is the gospel that brings sinners to repentance, not music of any persuasion. If we need to coat the gospel in some sort of performance, it shows we don't trust in God's simple method of preaching the truth. The Gospel saves and also judges. Those who reject the simple truth of the Gospel have already been judged. The Gospel of Jesus is a hard pill to swallow for some, we must not fall into the trap that we need to sweeten it with some sort of exciting show.
	gerry m. (Guest)	09/05/2009 07:05
When I was lost, music had a great influence on me. I first listened to rock, then metal, then death, then to satan (evil) music. It changed my attitudes and behavior. And in those genres of music I was in to, I was also listening to 'christian' metal but spite of listening to it for countless of times, it did not have much effect on me spiritually but only carnally. But when God saved me, my eyes and ears were opened by how much blasphemous and evil the lyrics were. But my salvation was not through music or a song but on the Gospel of Christ. When you’re lost, you’re totally in the dark and totally blind and deaf despite of listening to ‘christian’ metal or music. But still, out of the blue when I get to hear metal/thrash music, my flesh just take on the riff and even get the temptation to bang my head. But when I start to hear any blasphemy or evil words on that music, it convicts me not to turn away from it. I have to admit that the style of music that I was once in bondage in is still to this day still have an effect on me carnally (to bang my head or jump or do air guitar) whether the lyrics are wholesome or distasteful. So my stand if rock or worldly music can be use for evangelism, I have to say NO. First, there’s no mention in the Bible that God uses music to evangelize people. What was commanded is to ‘preach and teach’ the Gospel of Christ (Luke 24:45-47, Matthew 28:18-20). Second, to use music, especially rock music for evangelism will do much harm than good. Music has a great influence on the flesh and it just causes too many dangers in people motivated by the flesh in responding to the Gospel (if the Gospel is even clearly delivered). People who will respond by this kind of influence or motivation will surely produce more false converts than true converts. Thirdly, there are many Christian songs today that lack theological content. They’re singing on a Jesus as if they’re his lover, or a Jesus that they casually call a friend, than the Jesus of the Bible. Yes, the Bible mentions Jesus as a friend and a loving lamb but the Bible also mentions Jesus as the Holy One and the Lion of Judah, and He will not be a tamed Lion when He comes back. Just because the song mentions the name of Jesus or God doesn’t mean that it’s a Christian song. I salute Christian songs (rock or contemporary) that have biblical theology on it. I’m not knowledgeable about the Wesleys methods of putting Christian lyrics on ‘drinking songs’ but this I know, that John Wesley produce many true converts by the preaching of the Gospel. So if it didn’t matter to the Wesleys how much success in reaching sinners in using these tunes is maybe because they we’re not concerned in using these songs to reach the lost. John Wesley preached two to three hour sermons in the open air preaching the Holiness of God, the Law of God, the Righteousness and Justice of God and the Wisdom of His requirements and the Justice of His Wrath and His Anger. Then John Wesley would turn to sinners and tell them the enormity of their crimes and their open rebellion and their treason and their anarchy. Because of John Wesley’s preaching, the Power of God descended upon the company that on one occasion it is reliably reported that when the people dispersed they were 1,800 people lying on the ground utterly unconscious because they had a revelation of the Holiness of God and in the light of that, they’d seen the enormity of their sin. So how did these people come to know they we’re condemned sinners? Through the method that God commanded John Wesley to do, through Preaching. When you look again the above contents of John Wesley’s sermon, compare that in today’s evangelism campaign. From what I’ve heard, it’s nothing more but hours of concert music and less preaching. And if there be any preaching, it’s all a ‘loving God shallow Gospel’ presentation. No wonder there are numerous false converts in churches today. Again, my stand if God can use rock music, I have to say YES to Christians but NOT for the lost. What I mean is that biblical theological Christian music (rock or contemporary) can be enjoyable to Christians and should not be used as an evangelism tool to save the lost. Christian music must be used in the gathering of the saints to worship the God of Glory. So why use it to reach the lost. God does not need props to accomplish His will. Bottom line is, “be faithful in preaching the Glorious Gospel, and let God do the saving.” If every evangelist, pastor or minister will chew and swallow this simple truth, they will not be concerned about numbers or methods. "No Compromise is what the whole Gospel of Jesus is all about... 'For I tell you...no man can serve two masters...' (Matt. 6:24). In a day when believers seem to be trying to please both the world and the Lord (which is an impossible thing), when people are far more concerned about offending their friends than offending God, there is only one answer...Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him!" — Keith Green
	BuySignulair (Guest)	09/14/2009 11:48
alt of intresting info here. thx
	Brian Anderson	09/18/2009 16:36
Hey Melody and guys at LDM. Grace and Peace be unto you! I got born-again way back in about 1980, I think this was just about the time that CBN first started. I remember watchin TV and seein this curly-headed, bearded guy singin and playin piano and jumpin around. he was so intense it seemed like he had just accidentally plugged into a hundred million volts. For some reason I remembered that. Years later, after a friend turned me on to Keiths music, I realized that the guy I seen on TV that day was Keith Green, and since then have come to love Keiths music. Forget legalism, Keiths music is as annointed today as it was when it was first recorded. AS a matter of fact I have listened to Keiths music so many times over the years I pretty much have the songs memorized and because these songs are based on the Word,the Lord uses these song to help me and bring to rememberance his Word. I thank God for Keiths obedience. Keith was dead-on. I send this word of encouragement to you guys, maybe as Paul would have in past times ; "forgetting what is behind, we reach forward to the upward call of Jesus"!
	Danny Wilder (Guest)	10/06/2009 20:13
This is so funny to me, since Keith's music today seems so tame to what they currently call 'Rock'. "You will know a tree by it's fruit."
	Robson Scofield (Guest)	10/20/2009 13:47
Very nice. God love Keiths, becouse Your great Love
	Jeff (Guest)	10/21/2009 18:08
There are some good opinions on here, but unfortunately God does not accept our opinions at judgment. The Bible is clear on the way believers are to conduct themselves music of this nature is against The Bibles teachings.

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