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When composers combine sensual music with good words, at best the results are less effective than the same message without the accompanying sensuality. I have a feeling that far more people "cross over" from the church to the world because of this mixture than "cross over" in the other direction. How can pastors effectively warn Christian people about sensual music when they hear it in church each Sunday?

The Possibility of Confusion

Another large piece of the puzzle involves not the songs themselves, but the origins of the music styles. As I spoke in Miami recently, one of the laymen gave me a perfect illustration of this concept. He said, "Suppose I am having a dinner party at my home. I go to the local plumbing supply store and buy a commode. I scrub it, disinfect it and then fill it with punch for my guests. I doubt that there would be much enthusiasm for the drink." The problem is, one does not expect to find wholesome drink in a toilet. Similarly, we should not expect to find in the cesspool of entertainment a wholesome vehicle to carry a sacred text.

Furthermore, we cannot divorce music from its origins. The word "profane" is defined by Webster as, "Not concerned with religion, secular, not hallowed, irreverent, showing disregard or contempt for spiritual things." Music of profane origins has no place in a sacred service.

Ezekiel the prophet was sent to Israel at a time in her history when she had totally assimilated heathen culture, much like many Christians of today. The people had adopted heathen values and heathen lifestyles. They were by all outward appearance no different from those around them. Through Ezekiel, God pointed out how His people became swallowed up by the society in which they lived: "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned my holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and the profane..." (Ezekiel 22:26).

When spiritual leaders do not clearly draw the distinction between the profane and the holy, soon the people lose the ability in a heathen culture to tell the difference. Rather than absolutes in a culture completely saturated with evil, good and bad become a matter of degrees. It is easy in such a setting to embrace the "less profane." When profane things are embraced in a religious environment, they are easily mistaken for holy.

Modern rock of various sorts and degrees--in its origins and normal uses--match the definition of profane. When sincere people bring it into our churches and call it holy, then they consider appropriate that which is actually profane. Once that line is crossed, then other attendant evils must also be evaluated in a different light. On and on it goes until discernment is impossible.

When a Christian sees his music as an offering to God, its purpose as communication of truth, and himself as a channel of blessing, the picture of sacred music begins to come into sharper focus. Once the "why" is firmly established in our minds, the "how" quickly becomes more apparent.

Dan Sweatt is the pastor of Berean Baptist Church outside Atlanta. He is also an accomplished musician and popular conference speaker.

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