Worldly Music over Holy Music

Modern Christianity takes popular music from the world (Rock, Pop, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Jazz, Hip Hop, etc.), adds "spiritual" lyrics to it and calls it spiritual music ("Holy Hip Hop" or "New Praise"). The focus of these songs is less on God and more on dancing—making hips hop. They declare that since the words are about God, the music is worthy to praise God; however, this kind of music is better termed Christian Entertainment at best or simply junk. The "whatsoever" in "whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31), does not mean whatsoever pleases the flesh but whatsoever is pleasing to God the Father. Even with new lyrics, the evil spirits that influenced the worldly music will also influence "Christian" worshippers. The issue is not simply the music people listen to; it is the spirit behind the music. Many of the world's entertainers confess that they channel spirits when they perform. If we only knew how many spirits we let inside of us on a daily basis we would stop listening to and watching most of the things we do. Here is what G. Craige Lewis of EX Ministries has to say on this subject:

Because of [its] origin and what Hip Hop originally represented in [its] earlier stages, we cannot embrace it as Christians. [There] can be no Holy Hip Hoppers or no Christian Hip Hop because the culture cannot lend itself to the direction of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we do have very powerful Christian rap groups that preach the word of God through rap, but we must not get confused and call what they are doing Hip Hop. You have to understand that God does not embrace anything that has a corrupt origin. The very word "HipHop" was used by Afrikka Bambatta, the pioneer of the culture and professed Zulu Nation god, to describe the parties that he was hosting in clubs across New York in the early 70’s. Since then, he has developed a religion that rested upon the Hip Hop culture. The culture is not from God, therefore, it should not be used by the people of God to describe anything that is of God!

... God will not embrace what the world has developed as a means of glorifying that which is carnal and sin filled. Therefore, being a Holy HipHopper is just like saying I am a Holy Pimp or a Gospel Gangsta or a Thug for Christ! God forbid. The old man is dead! Come on Christians, stop loving the things of the world and what the world has taught us. God wants to come and totally wipe away the old man, the old thought process and the old carnal identity that we obtained through poverty, sin, abandonment, fatherlessness, hurt, anger, and prejudice. Sure, we struggled, but once we are [made] free, we must walk in the newness of live in Jesus Christ.¹

Thus, through ignorance, pride, and idolatry, "They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not" (Deuteronomy 32:17). "O god, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps" (Psalm 79:1). Here are more scriptures that speak to this adultery:

But I say, that the things which the [heathen] sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? (1 Corinthians 10:20-22)

Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts ... But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. (Malachi 1:7-8, 14)

Even wise men of the world understood the influence of music: "for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light" (Luke 16:8). Here are three quotes from Plato on music:

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.

Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue.

For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.

When we examine the exacting directions for sacrifices in the Old Testament; how can we possibly think we can present something evil (or of evil origins) to the Lord and call it holy?

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats (Exodus 12:5)

Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. (Leviticus 22:19-21)

To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. (Jeremiah 6:20)

"Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions" (Psalm 106:39). "But [Jesus] turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of" (Luke 9:55). Is God not "the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8)? Does he not stipulate in Romans 12:1 that our sacrifices are to be holy: acceptable unto God? Moreover, in Luke 16 does he not stipulate that "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15)? So God says "come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17). Scripture stipulates that true worship requires that we be in one accord with God’s Spirit and truth (John 4:24): "I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments" (Psalm 119:7). We cannot believe in the wisdom of this world or in the wisdom of the devils of this world (1 Corinthians 2:5-6) and think we can truly worship the Lord. "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth" (Psalm 145:18). Moreover, scripture adds the following about musical worship,

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name;

shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. (Psalm 96:1-3)

And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. (1 Chronicles 15:16)

Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. (2 Chronicles 29:30)

As G. Craige Lewis rightly points out, are we so bereft of the Spirit of God that no one among us has the ability to compose psalms, hymns and spiritual songs without sampling worldly music? "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him ... Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:18, 27). Thus God has set members in our midst gifted in lyrics and music. The focus of praise should be on words of truth about God and on music that inspires reverence of God not carnal dance: reverent music befitting adoration of our mighty and holy God. Music itself can speak—influence—separate from the words: "The incredible ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the brain is undeniable, and yet still largely inexplicable"². Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise without blemish: "let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name" (Hebrews 13:15).

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

Let us rid ourselves of songs that glorify our flesh ("Christian" Entertainment) and songs that focus on us and what we get from God (Christian Inspiration); rather, praise is a sacrifice—a form of worship . Due to the false doctrine of the Trinity, praise songs are incorrectly being directed to Jesus or to the Holy Ghost because the Trinity espouses that Jesus is God and the Holy Ghost is God. The subject of praise songs should be God the Father—who he is according to his Word—and the audience for praise songs should be God the Father: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 12:29). Like prayer, we address God the Father: "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9). Jesus, when talking about his resurrection, told his disciples "in that day ye shall ask me nothing. ... ye shall ask the Father in my name" (John 16:23). The question is not whether a song moves us or whether a song identifies with us; the question is whether the song pleases God: "do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (1 John 3:22). "Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely" (Psalm 147:1). "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

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1	G. Craige Lewis, Explore Truth (Fort Worth, EX Ministries), http://www.exministries.com/truth.html (accessed January 22, 2010).
2	Duane Shinn, Music & Emotions: Can Music Really Make You a Happier Person? (Artspace2000), http://www.artspace2000.com/executive_match/Luxury_Guide/music/36001.php (accessed January 22, 2010).

The Doctrine of Baptisms

Sermon Video » The Doctrine of Baptisms III: Baptism with the Holy Ghost and Fire
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Sermon Video » The Doctrine of Baptisms II: Need and Provision
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Sermon Video » The Doctrine of Baptisms I: Water Baptism
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Tolerance or Christian Weakness?

Supposedly if Christians live according to the Word of God as it relates to homosexuality, they are branded judgmental, homophobic, bigoted, intolerant moralists. "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). True Christians are persecuted for supposedly not operating in love; however, the love of God "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6); homosexuality is iniquity, it is sin (cf. Romans 1:26-32). True Christians know that "If a man therefore purge himself from [iniquities], he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21). True Christians cannot take a stand against lying, hypocrisy, and fornication yet tolerate homosexuality because the world says so. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19). "For I am the LORD, I change not" (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8): "the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Let the world do what they will--they are the children of disobedience; God will judge them. It is not for true Christians to dictate righteousness to unbelievers; homosexuality and other forms of uncleanness are only issues for Christians when they are tolerated within Christianity.

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

The issue is that many that claim to be Christian are not even born again and therefore have not the Spirit of God in them. "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). Without the Spirit of God, their ability to obey the Word of God is limited: "I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27). It is these false Christians that have infiltrated the ranks of true Christians and have seduced many to follow the ways of the world.

Update (05/15/2012):

Last Wednesday (May 9, 2012), President Obama said of he and the First Lady, in an interview with ABC: "We are both practicing Christians, and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others, but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing Himself on our behalf, but it's also the golden rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated."

True Christians put the Word of God first, not politics, civil rights, or the ways of the world. Loving others does not mean you have to agree with their sins (cf. John 3:16). Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also" (John 15:22-23). A person cannot claim to be a Christian yet deny the Word of God. To deny the Word of God is to deny Jesus Christ and to deny Jesus Christ is to deny God the Father. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:9).

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:32-38)

Thus, the message from the Lord is clear: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Romans 16:17). "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Update (05/17/2012):

Current welterweight champion and politician Manny Pacquiao, a Roman Catholic, said recently (May 16, 2012), "I’m not against gay people ... I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way. What I’m critical of are actions that violate the word of God. I only gave out my opinion that same-sex marriage is against the law of God." The first issue is that both homosexuality and same-sex marriage are against the law of God. Secondly, this popular claim that people are born gay also does not stand up to the Word of God.

There is a direct correlation between the spirits in us and what we know and obey. This correlation between a spirit that is in us and what that spirit enables us to know and do is expressed in Ezekiel 36: "And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27). It is also expressed in Paul's writings: "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). Thus, just as it is necessary for us to have the Spirit of God in us to obey God and to know the things of God; it is necessary for us to have the spirit of Satan in us to know the things of Satan and to obey him: "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1-3; cf. Colossians 3:5-7).

Scripture reveals that every human born after the flood, except John the Baptist and Jesus, are all born with three devils in them and a fourth—a lying spirit—is added immediately after birth. "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies" (Psalm 58:3). Unclean spirits—a spirit of disobedience and a lying spirit—cohabit our spirit, which is called the spirit of man, and work together in opposition to the things of God.

A spirit of disobedience undergirds our carnal nature—our sin nature; it pushes us to resist the truth and emboldens us to refuse to obey God. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). Spirits of pride and of lust both cohabit our mortal bodies: pride begets self-interest and causes us to love ourselves (2 Timothy 3:2) and our own purposes (Job 33:17); and lust begets self-gratification: to desire those things that satisfy the flesh and the carnal mind (Ephesians 2:3). Together, these devils provoke us to live to please ourselves (Romans 15:1-3) and drive us towards self-sufficiency. Ultimately, pride attempts to get us to deify ourselves and lust attempts to get us to deify our desires. A spirit of disobedience combined with pride and lust draws us to focus on ourselves and on fulfilling the desires of our flesh and carnal mind, and not focus on God. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:15-17). The lust of the flesh encompasses those things that the body desires: food, water, sleep, excretion, sex, comfort, safety, security, love and belonging, and respect. And, the lust of the eyes encompasses those things that we desire because we see them in the world.

With these four spirits in every human that is not born again, infestation by a fifth spirit is easy. It is a spirit of sodomy which "markets" fornication (heterosexual or otherwise), lesbianism, homosexuality (gay), bisexuality, transgender sins like cross-dressing, taking on the affectations of the opposite sex, and surgically altering bodies by sex reassignment surgery, bestiality, or other forms of uncleanness. This spirit—a devil—is the culprit not some innate trait or a lifestyle choice.

See Romans 1:22, 24-28, 31-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Colossians 3:5-7; 1 Timothy 1:9-11; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Leviticus 18:22-28; Leviticus 20:13, 15-16; Deuteronomy 22:5.

Hence, the need for conversion; disobedience and lying are vanquished when a child of disobedience—an unbeliever—is born again: repents and chooses Jesus Christ as Lord instead of Satan. "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15). In this context, the rod of correction is the Word of God: "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3; 2 Timothy 3:16). God replaces the corrupt spirit of man in the person with a new spirit: "a new spirit will I put within you" (Ezekiel 36:26) and within this new spirit God puts his Spirit—the Holy Ghost. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). It should be noted that pride and lust will not be vanquished from our bodies until death or translation (1 Corinthians 15:51); hence, the need for resurrection: "this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53).

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Elders' Bible Study #63

The verses below seem to suggest that in earth, the Spirit represents the Father, the water represents the Word, and the blood repesents the Holy Ghost. Is this wrong?

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (1 John 5:5-8)

See also Elders' Bible Study #16

Elders' Bible Study #62

Hierarchy among Elders: What is the organizational structure among elders?


Exodus 13:21-22; Numbers 3:2-10, 17; Numbers 3:29-32; Numbers 4:16, 28, 33; Proverbs 11:14; Proverbs 15:22; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Jeremiah 3:15; Jeremiah 23:3-4; Matthew 18:19-20; Mark 6:7; Acts 13:1-2; Acts 14:23; Acts 15; Acts 20:17-18, 28; Galatians 2:6-9; 2 Corinthians 13:1; James 5:14


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Elders' Bible Study #61

Is the temple in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 the body of Christ or a building made with hands (a new temple that is to be built)?

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

Ezekiel 28:1-10, Daniel 11:21-45, Mark 14:58, Matthew 23:1-3, Acts 7:47-49, Acts 17:24-25, Revelation 2:12-14, Revelation 13:1-3

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Elders' Bible Study #60

Is it Michael, the Holy Ghost, or someone else who is being referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:7?

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:20-21, Daniel 11:21-23, Daniel 12:1, Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7-8

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