Rock, pop, or jazz?

Without question, the influence of secular music on musicians that profess the name of Jesus is strong. Church musicians and Christian artists will name many secular bands as their main musical influences. Before you think I am about to give the blanket statement that is heard so often - “secular music is bad” - I’ll say that various musical genres in and of themselves are not “bad”, and by no means am I advocating that all modern worship songs should be in a specific, common “style”. Taking such a stand is to, I believe, remove the multi-faceted nature of music as it expresses God’s heart and personality. But the issue I do want to speak into though is the influence of musicians that confess Jesus looking to secular music for that “new edge” on their worship music. I don’t want to point fingers or accuse in any way – I want to call us as musicians and songwriters to a higher standard as we write, play, and sing today at the end of the age.

As I’ve outlined in many previous posts on my blog in my prophetic music category, there are two worship movements being raised up today. Both will use music in a massive way to influence men’s decisions and attitudes. Both will gather multitudes in stadiums. Both will even have signs, wonders, and power connected to them. But one will lead many into giving themselves to Jesus in meekness and humility, bringing them to eternal life and peace - and the other will deceive many into worshipping Satan and his demonic cohorts, sending them to the lake of fire forever.

The last thing we want to do as musicians writing, playing, and leading for the true movement is to give ourselves, even in little ways, to the entanglements and snares of the false movement.

I don’t believe Satan has the ability to create, only counterfeit. As I said in this post, Lucifer is keenly aware of the ways that music influences the human psyche, and is clearly using his knowledge to sway men away from Jesus. Satan’s music is simply a counterfeit of the true - a copy that’s been twisted and altered, sometimes even just slightly. The reason why much secular music has such an appeal is that it comes in a demonically energized package that charges our spirit with emotion and entices the lusts of our flesh. It may not seem outwardly obvious, but if it is not directly drawing us into meekness, humility, love, and a desire to be like Christ, it probably is not influenced from heaven.

One of the ways we give ourselves to the traps of the false worship movement now is by allowing secular influences to mold and shape our music. We may get the latest rock album from the popular secular band and say “wow, that’s a nice drum beat and bass line – I’m going to use something like it in my new song for Jesus.” Since Satan can only counterfeit, he is taking the song he used to lead in heaven and revamping it slightly, adding his demonic influences and twists. My question for musicians who would say that listening to secular music for “creative inspiration” would be this: Why would we want to imitate or find inspiration from a counterfeit when we have access to the authentic?

By allowing ourselves to be influenced by the secular, we have the potential to do much harm – from “dulling down” the authentic that the Lord releases through us to actually being an evangelist for the false worship movement.

I believe that musical genres, as I mentioned already, express the multi-faceted nature of God’s personality. They are not demonic by nature. But why would we learn how they are supposed to sound from a demonically influenced artist when we have been given a Teacher that lives in us (John 14:26) to connect us with the music of heaven? What does real rock, pop, or jazz sound like? Will a generation of musicians arise that abandons all counterfeit influences, allows the Holy Spirit to be their only teacher and fully gives themselves to the true worship movement? I believe we’re seeing that generation arise today, and the music that will come out of it - both in style and in message - will far eclipse what the church has ever seen in the past. Will you be one of those musicians, operating in the spirit of prophecy and declaring Jesus to the nations through melodies and songs? I certainly want to be.