This may be the most important case I will ever make for God’s music. It’s the very center of what we do at Sacred Song, the foundation of my whole music philosophy, and what I believe is the difference between what we write versus CWM (contemporary worship music) authors. We believe God’s music is to be undeniably and intentionally sacred. We touched on the concept of sacredness in an earlier article: Compromising, Legalism, and Modernizing. But I’m writing this article to present a fuller picture of the most important component of our Sacred Song’s music: sacredness. And just to be clear, while I believe that Christians are to be holy in everything they listen to, in this article I’m making a case for Biblical sacredness only in worship music.
First things first: let’s define sacredness. Even though the term itself is not used in Scripture, it’s the best overall description of Biblical holiness in music that I have found. According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, the word “sacred” means “Holy; pertaining to God or to his worship; separated from common secular uses and consecrated to God and his service…Proceeding from God and containing religious precepts…Consecrated; dedicated…Inviolable [which means “Not to be profaned…Not to be injured or tarnished; as inviolable chastity or honor], as if appropriated to [suitable for] a superior being.” To boil that down,
Sacredness means holiness, a separation from the world and anything that would tarnish it unto God; consecrated to His worship alone.
This is a high standard—and one that God Himself set. Let’s look at some passages that teach on the subject.
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Basically defining the musical terms Paul uses here,
Psalm = “A striking, twanging (of a string)” (Thayer). Singing with instrumental accompaniment; carries a sacred connotation.
Hymn = “a song of praise, “a sacred song”…also includes the idea of singing (Strong and Thayer).
Spiritual Song = “non-carnal” “supernatural, regenerate, religious” songs (Strong).
Do you see the common denominator? It’s obvious that sacredness is fundamental to the music prompted by the Holy Spirit’s filling. In other words, when a believer is filled with the Spirit of God, sacred music specifically is a result.
1 Peter 1:15-16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
The Greek word translated “conversation” in this verse means “manner of life, conduct” (Thayer). So being “holy in all manner of conversation” means that everything we do and are as Christians is to be holy and distinct from the world. Verse 16 tells us why, and further presses the matter. God says, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Why do we have to be holy? Because we bear the name of Jesus Christ! And as long as we claim Him, we have to reflect His personality and character. I’ll let you and the Holy Spirit work out how far this extends into your personal listening.
1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”.
Do you see how many different times in that one verse God tells us we are supposed to be different from the world? “Chosen,” “royal,” “priesthood,” “holy,” “peculiar,” “called…out”…I count at least 6 different times! God is emphatically stating that we are not the same as those in the world. We have been given a higher calling, and it is not right for us to blend in as if we were not given that calling (check out verse 11 if you need more proof). And just in case you’re skeptical that this verse applies to music, look again! “[T]hat ye should shew forth thepraises of him who hath called you…”
These, among many other verses, teach that any music I create, sing, play, or even listen to for the worship of God, must be sacred in its essence.
Here’s the takeaway: whenever you are involved with worship music, whether it’s in church, with friends, by yourself, singing, playing an instrument, or even writing it, the Bible commands that it be sacred. Make sure that you are consciously creating worship music that is holy like the God it represents. I also encourage you to take inventory of your music library. Many of us have a subscription to some music platform such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, etc. It’s really easy to just let whatever plays next play, but remember that holiness extends to all parts of our lives, including listening.
