Faith Baptist Choir and Music Philosophy

It is the desire of Faith Baptist Church to worship, honor, and glorify the Lord in every aspect of its music ministry. Music is important in the life of the believer, and in the collective worship in the church. We believe God is the Creator of music; and that He designed music for two specific purposes: Pleasure & Entertainment (I Timothy 6:17 - Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;) and Praise & Worship (Psalm 150:1-6 - Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.).

 

The type of music heard at Faith Baptist Church is deliberate and by design. It is meant to praise the Lord, contribute to an attitude of worship, teach sound biblical principals, and prepare the hearts and minds of the listeners for the preaching of the Word. It is not meant for entertainment and should not detract from the worship service. However, too much emphasis is placed on instrumentation in today’s conservative Christianity. This leads to inconsistency of practice, and abuse of noted musicians and musicologists to establish ground-rules for music that are not based on Scripture or scriptural principles, and the honing of all music to the type or style that suites their certain tastes in music, or best lines their wallets.

 

Whether the music is used for pleasure or praise, there a few guidelines that Scripture gives us to use in the discerning between good and bad music.

 

1. If there are lyrics, what are they saying? (Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.)

 

2. It must not violate the internal protections given to you by God.

 

a. The Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30 - And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.)

 

b. Your Conscience (Acts 24:16And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and [toward] men.)

 

3. It should not harm your body. (I Corinthians 3:16-17 - Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are.)

 

Ephesians 5:18-20 states And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and Colossians 3:16 states 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. There is a common phrase in both of these passages. The phrase is “ to the Lord” , and it indicates the type of music that should be used in the praise and worship of our God.

 

1.       Psalms - Direct quotes, varied excerpts, or mildly reworded passages of Scripture.

 

2.       Hymns - Songs recognizing a particular attribute of God; usually performed in a slower, more worshipful attitude.

 

3.       Spiritual Songs - Songs of praise; songs that teach other important doctrines, sometimes upbeat and cheerful, other times slow and worshipful.

 

True praise and worship music will enhance the mood and meaning of a worship service. True praise and worship will naturally be in the heart of every Spirit-controlled believer (Colossians 3:16 given above). True praise and worship music will bring with a genuine spirit of thankfulness (Ephesians 5:20 given above). We hope you will join us in taking part in the genuine praise and worship of our precious Lord.