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WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO ROCK MUSIC? Pastor James J. Barker
Text: I SAMUEL 16:23; EPHESIANS 5:19 INTRODUCTION: 1. There was an article in yesterday’s NY POST about a Senate resolution honoring the 30th anniversary of an album by a rock singer named Bruce Springsteen. You would think the United States Senate had better things to do! 2. Well,
apparently the resolution didn’t go forward. “At this point, we're unable to clear
it,” said Senate Republican leader Bill Frist's spokeswoman, Amy Call, adding
that the Senate will try to get to it after Thanksgiving. (I hope they forget
all about it and take care of more important business.) 3.
New Jersey’s two liberal Democratic
senators, Frank Lautenberg and (Governor elect) Jon Corzine are the ones
responsible for this foolish resolution. 4. Sen. Lautenberg said, “I can't understand why anyone would object. Even if the Republicans don't like his tunes, I would hope they appreciated his contributions to American culture.” 5. This is precisely the problem. Mr. Springsteen has contributed nothing worthwhile to American culture. Rock music is what is wrong with today’s American culture. 6. The last time I preached against rock music was about one year ago. The situation has not improved. In fact it has gotten worse. Apparently most of the young people in our church are listening to it. In fact, there are probably quite a few adults in our church that listen to worldly music. 7. I use the words “rock music” to refer to all worldly, sensual popular music - rhythm and blues, rap, hip-hop, and so on. It is all the same worldly trash. And so-called “Christian rock” is even worse because it is mixing the things of God with the things of Satan. 8. Many years ago, Ray Charles got popular singing Gospel music in a vulgar jazzy way. Many decent people were appalled but nevertheless Ray Charles went on to become very successful. 9. Even though Ray Charles was an adulterer and drug addict, he was fairly respectable compared to the big rap and rock singers today. 10. God’s Word has much to say about music. It is mentioned more than 550 times. A large portion of the Bible is composed of spiritual songs. 11. Music is an important part of our lives. It can be either a very positive force or a very negative force. 12. Approximately 400 BC, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “If one listens to the wrong kind of music, he will become the wrong kind of person.” 13. Unfortunately, many people (even many Christians) listen to the wrong kind of music and if they do not deal with this they will become the wrong kind of person. 14. Some worldly Christians try and defend their listening to rock by throwing around terms like “soft rock” (“soft sin”?) or “pop” or “CCM” or “Christian rock,” etc. It does not matter whatever label you put on it, it is still the same worldly garbage. 15. Most people say rock music started in the 1950’s. That is true but Satan has always had his worldly music. Before rock there was the blues and jazz and other types of worldly nightclub music. 16. Plato, the Greek philosopher, lived 400 years before Christ. Plato was so concerned about the dangerous effects of bad music that he proposed outlawing it. He feared “citizens would be corrupted by weak and voluptuous errors and led to indulge in immoralizing emotions.” 17. It sounds like he is describing rock music! Maybe rock and roll led to the fall of the Greek Empire! 18. Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-220) said sensual and lascivious music “must be banned.” He said bad music “injures souls and draws them into various states of feelings, sniveling, impure, and sensual, even a bacchic frenzy and madness.” 19. We can go back further than Clement of Alexandria, and further than Plato. Let’s go back to Moses (Exodus 32:15-19, 25, 26). 20. Moses cried out, “Who is on the LORD’S side?” (Ex. 32:26). Indeed! 21. More recently, AW Tozer, a 20th century preacher, said, “If you love and listen to the wrong kind of music, your inner life will wither and die.” 22. Pastor Tozer was right. You show me some one who is hooked on rock music and I will show you someone who is messed up spiritually. And if you think you can “straddle the fence,” forget about it. It won’t work (cf. Matt. 6:24; Rev. 3:15, 16). I.
ROCK MUSIC IS WICKED (I COR.
10:31). 1. Few people realize it (or perhaps they just don’t care) but the term “rock and roll” was popularized back in 1951 by a Cleveland disc jockey named Alan Freed. He did not coin the term but he took it from a vulgar blues song called, “My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll.” 2. When Mr. Freed popularized the term “rock and roll,” it was a crude and vulgar euphemism for fornication. That is why the concept of “Christian rock” is blasphemous - “Christian fornication”? 3. Rock music has always been nasty, lewd, crude, dirty, and vulgar. Rock music has always been the devil’s music and it always will be. 4. Elvis Presley, Little Richard and the other pioneers of rock music were all vulgar and sensual. When Elvis first went on television, his suggestive body movements brought outraged letters from viewers all over the country. When he went on the Ed Sullivan show, Mr. Sullivan told the cameramen to film Presley from the waist up. 5. Even today, 28 years after his (drug-related) death, millions of his fans make a pilgrimage to his gaudy estate in Memphis, called “Graceland.” 6. Every day, over 3,500 visitors pay money to walk around
Graceland to pay tribute to their idol. 7. I could not read to you the words to some of the filthy rock songs - they are too dirty. For the rock crowd, the dirtier the better. Listen to this quote from Madonna, “I’m proud of my trashy image” (The Facts on Rock Music, John Ankerberg). 8. Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue said, “Our new album is raw, nasty, sleazy. I think it drips of sex.” 9. Allan Bloom in his book, Closing of the American Mind, said, “Rock music has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal, to sexual desire…This has a much more powerful effect than does pornography on youngsters.” 10. Not only does rock music lead to immorality, it also leads to violence. Kids who listen to heavy metal and rap music have a nasty, antisocial, and disrespectful attitude. 11. Page 11 of Friday’s paper (NY POST) contained two articles about violent rap singers. The first was about a man named Earl Simmons, who changed his name to DMX. He was put in jail for a number of offenses, including driving through a parking gate at Kennedy Airport while high on drugs. 12. The second article was about two brothers named Irv & Chris Lorenzo, who changed their names to “Gotti” in honor of their hero, mobster John Gotti. They are on trial for laundering drug money for the notorious killer and drug dealer Kenneth McGriff. The article said many big rappers have been coming to the trial every day to show their support. 13. There have also been several articles recently about the scandal involving New York Yankee Gary Sheffield’s wife. Apparently she made a dirty video with a rapper named R. Kelly before she married Sheffield. Some phony so-called minister named Derrick Mosley tried to extort money from the Sheffield and has now been convicted. 14. There is nothing good about rap or hip-hop music. There is nothing good about rock music. This type of music is from the gutter and Christians should stay away from it. 15. Many rappers are shot dead on the street, but unfortunately there are many more new ones coming along to take their place. A few months ago a rapper named Russell Tyrone Jones died in Manhattan. He changed his name to “DOB” (Dirty Old Bastard). A big charismatic church in Brooklyn actually gave this man a Christian funeral service. 16. For a while thee was a big billboard on the corner of Hook Creek and Merrick Road with a picture of the rapper Fifty Cents. In one hand he had a microphone and in the other a gun. Ugly tattoos were drawn all over his back. Some one painted over his back, the gun, and the microphone. According to an article in the newspaper this has been going on in other cities as well. Some parents are finally getting fed up with this rap poison. 17. It is not just rap music that is violent. According to the infamous serial killer Richard Ramirez (known as “the Night Stalker”), it was the AC/DC song “Night Prowler” that motivated him to murder 30 innocent people. 18. Charles Manson and his crazy, doped-up followers listened to Beatle records before they went out and killed people. They painted “Helter Skelter” (Beatles song) on the walls of one of their victims. 19. It has been revealed that many teenagers have committed suicide after listening over and over to rock songs that encourage young people to kill themselves. 20. Parents, you need to look and see what your kids are listening to. You may be surprised. And if you know they are listening to this trash and you don’t do anything about it then you are sending your children straight to hell. II.
ROCK MUSIC IS WORLDLY (I JOHN 2:15-17; JAMES
4:4). 1. Do you know why America has not seen revival in a long
time? Why our churches are
dead? Why souls are not being saved
and baptized? Why our young people
are so worldly? I can tell you in
two words: ROCK MUSIC. 2. Rock music (and I am including here rap, hip-hop,
boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, etc.) is worldly because it is identified with the
world. Worldly people feel
comfortable engaging in sin while listening to this type of
music. 3. Let me give you an example. On Saturday nights most nightclubs and
bars and dancehalls are packed with people looking for sin. What kind of music will they be
listening to? 4. Do you think the dance band or the DJ will play hymns
and Gospel songs? No, that will
chase them away! 5. It is an interesting fact that before the Titanic
hit that iceberg the band was playing worldly dance music. But when the ship started going down the
leader of the band told them to play “Nearer My God to
Thee.” 6. A number of years ago, a man named Julius Portnoy wrote
a book entitled, Music in the Life of Man. In this book he wrote, “The Christian
musician is a member of two worlds, the spiritual and the material. The choice is his: to create sacred
music that is pleasing to God because it ennobles character or to defile the
miracle of creation and produce secular music which arouses lust and desire”
(cited by Frank Garlock & Kurt Woetzel, Music in the Balance, p. 91).
III. CHRISTIANS NEED TO REPENT OF ROCK MUSIC
(ACTS 19:13-20). 1. In Acts 19 we read a fascinating story about the apostle Paul in Ephesus. There was much occult activity and many people were possessed by demons (Acts 19:13-20). 2. Notice that “many of them…brought their books together, and burned them before all men…” (Acts 19:19). 3. Some people here tonight might hesitate and say, “But my record or CD collection is worth a lot of money!” 4. That’s exactly what a former member once told me. That should not be an issue if you love God. The magic books that they burned in Ephesus was worth “50,000 pieces of silver” (Acts 19:19). That would be many thousands of dollars today. 5. Let me remind you that victory only comes through complete obedience, not partial obedience. 6. This is how a Christian must deal with the works of the devil - whether it is occult literature, pornography, dirty videos, OR ROCK MUSIC! CONCLUSION: 1. When the Communists were persecuting
Christians in Russia they used rock music to torment them in
prison. 2. Then came freedom and many of the Christians
were released from prison. Many
churches in America started sending evangelists and missionaries and Bibles and
tracts. But not all of the churches
and preachers and missionaries were fundamental
Baptist. 3. The cults came in like a tidal wave and so
did the charismatics and new evangelicals.
And they brought in the same rotten rock music that the communists used
to torment the Christians in prison! 4. In 1991, Vasilij Ryzuk and Peter Peters (both
who were tormented by rock music in prison), representing the unregistered
churches of Russia, signed this statement: For thirty years we have suffered intense persecution. Now freedom is bringing another great harm to our churches. This damage is coming from Christians in America who are sending rock music and evangelists accompanied by rock bands. Our young people do not attend those meetings because we have all committed not to participate in secular entertainment. This is a great burden on our hearts.
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