By: Marie W. (November 2010)
Have you ever used water to dilute a certain beverage of choice, but ended up using so much water that you forgot what you were drinking? Well interestingly enough, that’s how one individual that I randomly happened to meet, felt about the state of the gospel, and how it’s being presented. I was asked “How do you feel about gospel songs that don’t mention Jesus, or Christ, or God?” My reply was something like this “Well, I think those songs are okay. Sometimes gospel artists try to use catchy hooks (even if it doesn’t mention God) or nice beats to draw in an audience that isn’t necessarily inclined to gospel music; but certain gospel songs will cause them to lend an ear (“Go ye into the world” right? Mark 16:15). For example, Mary Mary’s “Shackles”, or BeBe and CeCe’s “Close to You.” My new acquaintance totally disagreed. “The gospel already contains everything that’s needed, in it. We don’t have to add anything for people to like it.” I stood corrected. Great point.
Songs like “Stomp” (Kirk Franklin) and “God in Me” (Mary Mary) have all gotten backlash to a certain degree (especially from the Christian community), for not being Christian enough, the beat being too “hip hop-ish”, or for minimal reference to God and the message of Jesus Christ. The funny thing is, the body of Christ rejects it, while the “world” embraces it. But isn’t that the whole point anyway? To sort of cross over or be cool enough for the “world” to accept? Pardon me; I have to choose my words wisely, for the world to embrace (much better). But then again, whose job is that anyway? Do we have to come up with our own formulas to grab their attention? Or does the Holy Spirit do that? And also, how much of the real message do we leave out? How far do we stray away to convince others to accept its appeal? Is that a good thing? As long as we pull them in, yes? So many questions and a plethora of perspectives. Some artists even prefer to label their music as “Inspirational”, rather than “Gospel”, for the sake of appealing to the masses (which is totally fine, just saying.). But even select hip hop and R&B songs can be “inspirational.”
I love and appreciate, all of the above songs that I mentioned. I love and appreciate the artists too. Undoubtedly, those songs have their place. But truth be told, the gospel in and of itself is enough. Ultimately it’s up to the individual to either accept or reject it.
2 comments
Great article. I have to wonder however, how many have really been converted to the Gospel, if it is not presented. If we have one shot in front of tens/hundreds or thousands to be ministers of reconciliation, what are we going to do with that opportunity? When we look in Scripture, we see Jesus, Peter and Paul before large crowds. What did they do? Jesus preached about the kingdom of God. Peter stood up and addressed the crowds, preaching to them about the kingdom of God and what they had to do in order to get right with God. Paul preached about Jesus, his life, death and what it meant for their salvation. It seems very odd to me that someone could love you enough to give up their life in order to save you and you don’t mention them on purpose, thinking that will somehow benefit your listeners. That is foolish to me. If it was a parent or some dearly loved relative who gave up their heart for a transplant so that we could live again, would we not talk about them every chance we got? Would we not recount the story, not just for those listening but for us and our remembrance? Now just imagine someone saying, I want you to speak to this group about your life but don’t mention your mom’s (or whomever) sacrifice. That way, your “testimony”, the “world will embrace. But isn’t that the whole point anyway?” I hope we would be highly offended and tell that person that the whole reason I live is because that person died and how dare they ask that I don’t mention it! Furthermore, refuse to speak at this event. It’s the same thing to me. We should be ashamed of ourselves. What this tells me is that we don’t understand the cost of the Church. The blood of Jesus and the blood of our christian brothers/sisters of old who were killed for saying they were Christians and refusing to compromise by not owning up to who they were – followers of JESUS CHRIST! To say they were His followers could cost them their very lives and here we are, making decisions, not to say His name! I can’t imagine the rebuke we would receive from those who have gone before us. To be perfectly frank, I think they would question our christianity and we, when weighed, would be found severly wanting.
Jesus was controversial and when He preached, he laid the truth out. The offensive truth and He let the people decide if they would be His followers. He never compromised in order to gain followership or even compromise so people would listen. That was not His job and it is not ours. Jesus turned to a crowd and told them that if they did not hate their family, even their own lives, they could not follow Him. People left! The beauty is that some stayed. How much do we really believe in the power of the Word, the full Gospel being proclaimed, to convert souls to Christ?
I really believe that as Christians, we need to draw the line in the sand and not compromise. We are here to be ministers of reconciliation, we are not here to cater to the world and make the message of Jesus’ death on the cross, resurrected life and discipleship more palatable for them. Those who are seeking, truly seeking, will not be turned away from Christ. I wasn’t. When I heard the hard truth about what Jesus did and what I needed to do, I embraced the message. I made the decision to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. I got baptized and I’ve been fighting to keep the faith, working out my own salvation with fear and trembling. There are thousands more just like me who were drawn to Him because of the depth of love presented in the full gospel and thousands more who will be if we would just preach the truth.
One last comment. Motives? What is our motivation when we water down the gospel or sing songs and not even mention Jesus, God and the Gospel? Honestly, what are we really trying to achieve? Are we trying to save souls and bring others to Christ? I hope we all agree that only the full Gospel message is what saves, the beautiful as well as the offensive, all of it. If that is the case, then how arrogant of us to think that we are “ministering” to lost souls and working for their salvation and we purposely leave out and not mention Jesus, God or the Gospel. I wonder?