It would have been almost impossible to imagine a few months ago that we would be where we are today. Viruses and viral police stories have become the catalysts to bring to the surface deeper spiritual issues within the culture. Equally difficult is to anticipate all the ways these crises will affect our life and culture in the days to come. One of the interesting effects of COVID-19 up to this point is the way in which we gather to worship as God’s people. Not only has it forced us to worship differently as the body of Christ, but it has stirred many questions regarding the way in which we are to worship. Living in a nation that was built upon the principle of religious freedom, the church in America has not had to wrestle much with the tension between faithfulness to God in worship and obedience to the State as citizens. That tension is quickly and inevitably tightening.
A recent example of this growing antithesis can be found, unsurprisingly, in California. It started several weeks ago with the suggestion from various sources that Christians should consider not singing within the corporate worship gatherings. The suggestion itself was not altogether surprising given the ignorance and obstinacy of the culture. But the fact that some churches and individual Christians actually considered such a suggestion should have been astounding. Now the soft, steady beat of suggestion and persuasion has risen to sound more like the drums of war.
Speaking of war, I am the first to caution my brothers and sisters in Christ against the temptation to fight every battle, to make every bump a hill to die on. If Christ indeed rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to sit down at the right hand of the Father, if He is truly and presently ruling over all creation as King of kings and Lord of lords, then I think Christians should respond to the worldings around us from a position of strength. We have the high ground of truth. We are not called to live in a defensive position, reacting to the thorns and thistles that poke and prod us as we go.
So when someone, well-meaning or otherwise, suggests to us that maybe refraining from singing in our worship services would be wise and considerate, the proper response should be nothing more than a dismissive chuckle. It should be the same kind of response you would give to the suggestion that air-borne illnesses would disappear if we all just started holding our breath.
For the Christian, one who is not only created in the image of the Triune God but is being conformed into the image of the Son and is indwelt by the life-giving Spirit, singing is as natural as breathing. We should no more be able to stop singing than fish can stop swimming. If you see a fish that is no longer swimming, it is not going to be a fish very much longer. Its fish-life is either ebbing away or gone altogether. Christians sing together because it is in our very nature to do so. To cease from singing is to cease from being. I don’t care how ridiculous that might sound to the “wise fools” who pretend to sit in judgment over such things.
However, there are fights worth fighting. There are hills upon which we can and must be willing to die. And when silly suggestions grow into perverse requirements, the people of God must remain steadfast in our faith, knowing that compromise and capitulation to our thornbush leaders would result in the life being choked out of us. a If you want to know what that looks like, there’s a great little parable about it in Judges 9. Therefore, as we anticipate the fight before us, here are a few things to consider.
First, we must fight out of love for Christ and in a way that loves our enemies. This is a tricky one for us in the current cultural climate. There are many voices in these conflicts that are antagonistic to the truth. Some are deceptive in nature, speaking in ways that tickle the ears of the culture for their own gain. Others are deceived in their motives. They think they are actually loving people by what they stand up for or affirm, but their words are empty of life.
At the same time, we who love the truth can also fall into a deceptive trap. We can become more enamored with winning the fight than pleasing God in the struggle. If the false prophets are shouting, we will shout even louder. We can become motivated out of frustration at losing rather than maintaining faithfulness to God. And we can easily end up fighting worldliness with self-righteousness rather than simply being bold witnesses to His justice and mercy.
Jesus commanded his disciples to live in such a way that others would see their good works and become worshippers of God themselves. b Our ultimate desire as Christians is not to sing and praise God loud enough to drown out the cries of our enemies. Our desire is to worship in such a way that God would overcome our enemies by His grace and they would join the loud refrain.
Second, we need to remember that conflicts are gifts from Christ for the good of His church. It can be easy for us to get all worked up in a righteous frenzy when we feel the squeeze. It is helpful to be reminded that in every conflict there is opportunity for growth. In every crisis there is opportunity for clarity. These are God-given moments in the washing and beautifying of Christ’s bride. Let us not waste these trials, but use them to increase the depth, passion, quality, frequency, unity, and diversity of our singing together. There is much fruit to be gained here across all denominations and traditions.
Third, we must sing out of a clear understanding and deep appreciation of our history and our future. Not only is singing a part of our nature as God’s image-bearers, c but singing has been a primary means by which we praise and magnify who God is and what He has done from the beginning.
We find Adam poetically expressing his delight in God’s gift of Eve after being resurrected by Him from the death-like sleep. d We find Moses and the sons of Israel singing a song following the exodus of God’s people out of Egypt. e This song would be sung generation after generation to remind them of God’s faithfulness and power. It was a corporate preservative of their identity as a people chosen by Yahweh and called out of bondage to worship Him.
Creation itself is commanded to sing to its Creator in response to God’s redemptive actions toward His people. “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.” f The Psalms command us again and again to sing to the Lord, g and as we do so in the assembly, it reorients our thoughts and affections rightly as the covenant community of the Risen Christ. h
And at the final consummation of the age when Christ comes again to bring to completion the new heavens and new earth, we find the saints singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. i
These are difficult and unusual times to be sure. The church is not without its challenges and concerns ahead. But it has always been this way and will continue until that final day when all presence of sin is eradicated from our midst and the bride of Christ stands in all her perfected beauty radiantly reflecting the glory of her Groom. Until then, we must remain “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” j Singing is an indispensable part of that work. We sing in victory, we sing in tragedy, we sing in the light, we sing in the dark, we sing as a means of warfare, we sing in expectation of peace. We will sing the great story of redemptive history from generation to generation, and we will continue to sing into eternity when time no longer matters.
- Matthew 13:22 (back)
- Matthew 5:15-16 (back)
- Zephaniah 3:17 (back)
- Genesis 2:23 (back)
- Exodus 15 (back)
- Isaiah 49:13 (back)
- Psalm 30,47,51,67,68 (back)
- Colossians 4:16 (back)
- Revelation 15:3-4 (back)
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (back)
