Words Have Meaning

It is ironic that while most Christians believe the words of a song must be right, few consciously check words to songs to see if those words are fit to listen to. The truth is that most people take the lazy way and believe that if words are wrong, these words will just “jump out” at them and no serious work needs to be done. Equally bad is the belief that if a song is in a hymnbook or book published by a “Christian” organization, it must be acceptable; someone else has done the work. Again, Satan wins a battle when one adopts this position. The Christian life is full of hard work and this is one of those areas where hard work is needed. Wrong does not always jump out into full view. Publishers do not always catch everything or have the same beliefs. Satan is an angel of light and a deceiver. He does not flaunt wrong as temptation but uses subtlety and trickery to lead people off the right path. He does not force someone off that path in major steps but rather with little small steps.

This is one of many reasons that each and every believer should have a thorough knowledge of Scripture. This knowledge of Scripture must be coupled with a right relationship with God so the Holy Spirit can speak to the believer. Only under these conditions can a Christian determine whether the words in a song are proper. Some songs may be obviously wrong, others may be wrong in more subtle ways. The Christian must be properly armed with Scripture and the Holy Spirit in order to detect words that are right and those that are wrong. This determination of right and wrong should never be made through emotion, personal preference, or laziness. One short check list from Scripture is from Philippians 4:8. The words should be true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.

In summary, a Christian must know Scripture and have a good relationship with God in order to determine whether the words of a song are acceptable for a church service.