With access to all forms of music on an unprecedented scale, it’s no surprise that Christians have sought to use music not only as an aid in worship (as is present in Scripture), but also as an evangelistic channel. Most people, regardless of age, can appreciate a song that has well-crafted musicality and lyrics that you can relate to. Taking these elements, adding the Gospel to them, and sending them out to the world is (I think) a natural part of the church’s reclamation of cultural artifacts for the glory of Christ, and is to be both commended and encouraged.

However, many well-intentioned attempts by churches and Christian artists to create music that glorifies God have departed from historical Christianity significantly in terms of musical style and theological content. In this article, I will primarily be focusing on the theological side of the issue, but it is worth noting that from Gregorian Chant to 18^th century hymn writers, there is an undeniable consistency of lyrical style, purpose, and structure. Depending on what the music is to be used for (personal/devotional use or for worship services), this is of relatively lesser importance; the absolute hallmark of authentically Christian music is the message that it conveys, namely, the Gospel. In fact, I would dare to go a little further and say that “good” Christian music helps to paint a Biblical picture of the God that we worship, help us reflect on the truth of Scripture, and directs us to relevant points of contact between our relationship with God and our daily lives. In the Bible we see that we are to worship God in our hearts with “songs, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19), and Jesus Himself taught to worship “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24).

A troubling trend amidst these attempts at creating music that points to God is the increasingly prevalent tendency of some more modern churches and artists to strip Christian lyrics down to the point of disparaging theology altogether, running the risk of singing about a god that does not exist.

For the sake of clarity, this issue is one that is on a spectrum; there are songs/artists that radically depart from orthodox Christian theology in their statements about who God is and how He operates, while others are very close to the mark and, at their worst, are confusing or vague. Perhaps one of the most current examples of the latter phenomenon is a song by Bethel Church and Cody Asbury called “Reckless Love.” The first time I ever heard this song was actually in worship at Breakaway, a large worship and Bible study on the campus of Texas A&M University. It came at the end of a Biblical overview of suicide, and how to equip both people with suicidal thoughts and those in community with them to deal with such things in a Godly, loving way. Naturally, the theme and the tone of the evening was very solemn and serious, with a lot of emotional intensity rearing up. As we closed in worship, the band went up and the song was introduced by the speaker in such a way so as to direct particular attention to these words:

“There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me”

The emphasis, I think, was to communicate to those suffering from suicidal ideations that the love of God is actively pursuing them, and that they are genuinely, really, and powerfully loved. Any Christian should be able to get behind this and encourage those suffering in this way with the hope and love that comes only from a deep and intimate relationship with the God of the universe. However, some have criticized the song for its description of God’s love as “reckless,” a word whose synonyms are words like “irresponsible,” “thoughtless,” and “uncontrolled.” Undoubtedly, the Bible speaks clearly of God’s careful orchestration of all events in the universe for His own glory and for the good of those who love Him; something which at its very core intimates a God of ultimate thoughtfulness, preparation, and control! Pair this with the orthodox definition of God’s omniscience and we have what would seem to be a very inaccurate description of the love of God.

Personally, I don’t think that Cory Asbury’s intention was to disparage the love of God as foolishness, but rather declare with violent language the intensity with which God loves His children. Bethel Church posted this video, which provides insight into the composer’s original intent and heart behind the song. Indeed, he seems to focus on the “wildness” of God’s love; how He paid the highest price in the universe for us, and how the Cross of Christ is foolish to the wisdom of the world, which derides self-sacrifice fundamentally.

Regardless of the author’s intention, however, it is more important to be precise and exhaustively intentional in writing about God than it is to be about any other thing in existence. As the Puritans and the writers of old were prone to saying, “there are some things that should only be said with a trembling lip.” When it comes to God, there can be no room for ambiguity. We must work and strive to be as clear and true to Scripture as we possibly can be, lest we run the risk of causing people to think thoughts about God that do not line up with the way that He has revealed Himself in Scripture. So, although I wouldn’t say “Reckless Love” is actually a heretical song, it should at least give us pause when someone begins to anthropomorphize God in a way that Scripture does not do. Particularly to young or ungrounded Christians, calling the love of God “reckless” could be a very confusing and deceiving thing, at face value intimating that God is not wise, all-knowing, or intentional in His actions.

Some songs, however, are downright dangerous. Occasionally you will find lyrical content in songs that is either outright heretical, or at the very least wholly inaccurate in their description of God and His actions. One example of this is the song “What A Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship. On the whole, the song really isn’t that bad; it received a lot of attention in the Christian music community because of its dynamic musicality and focus on the beauty of our Lord Jesus and His work on the cross. However, there is a line in the song that says “You didn’t want Heaven without us… so Jesus You brought Heaven down…” Although it is true that God delights over us as His covenant-loved people and the pinnacle of His creation, He nonetheless was perfectly complete and lacking in nothing before creation. So the lyric “You didn’t want Heaven without us” is not necessarily false. The problem comes with the word “so,” as it implies that the reason God brought Heaven down was because He didn’t want Heaven without us. The inter-trinitarian love between the Father, Son, and Spirit is a perfect and completely wholesome relationship that God has within Himself, and He is in need of no man (Acts 17:24-25, Psalm 50:10-12) and this lyric as a whole strongly implies that God was pandering for companionship, and thus created humanity; something quite opposite of the Biblical picture of God’s self-sufficiency and aseity. This reflects the increasingly popular “me-centered gospel” in which people are directed to their own greatness, to which God’s greatness is a secondary addition, or absent entirely.

Perhaps one of the most well-known and ubiquitous Christian songs in existence is “Amazing Grace,” originally composed by 16^th century Anglican poet John Newton. Despite the song’s age and style, it has remained even to this day a commonly memorized and frequently sung Christian song, both in personal and public worship, which is quite a unique phenomenon given that music has evolved and changed greatly since the time it was published. Granted, the popularity of something amongst people is very seldom a good test of truthfulness or piety, but there is something to be said for a nearly 239-year track record amongst believers of all walks of life.

“A congregation learns its theology by the songs they sing, not just by the preaching they hear.” – John Piper

So how should a 21^st century Christian deal with theologically weak or dangerous songs that label themselves as authentically “Christian” music? The Biblical answer, I think, is discernment. We must carefully audit what we allow into our hearts and minds, as we do when we avoid watching certain videos or reading certain books. Music is no different. Proverbs 4:23-26 instructs us clearly to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Which one of us cannot attest to how easily our hearts are swayed by worldly influences? Perhaps this is the very sentiment that caused the hymnwriter Robert Robinson to write these words:

“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.”

– Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

I can’t help but notice how Robinson implores of God in this song to seal his heart. I can only imagine that he is here asking for divine protection from worldly lies that so easily ensnare us. In the same way, we should pray and ask God to teach us the truth of how we ought to worship Him, both in our personal devotion and our public gatherings. Pay attention to the message that the music you listen to is communicating and ask God to help you surrender any spiritually unhealthy relationships that you may have with music. Not all lies are blatant or market themselves as opposed to Christianity. The most dangerous lies are the ones that claim to be pious and spiritual, but lack a grounding in the truth.