Thursday, March 27

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Years ago I had conversation with a man who was reluctant to join his family in attending our church.  He told me that the was glad his wife and kids were connected, and that he liked the preaching (the few times he had come), but that he just wasn’t into going to church services.  I asked what was holding him back, and he told me that he really didn’t care for all of the standing and singing...he said that it felt childish, like he was at a kids camp.  I think that many men feel the same way, but it’s not because they hate music or singing...I think, for many men (and women), it is because they don’t know what they are doing or why they are doing it when they sing in church.

Christians sing together during corporate worship gatherings. Colossians 3:16-17 helps us understand why...

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul tells us that worshiping God together in song is meant to deepen the relationships we enjoy through the gospel. This happens in three ways (or three R’s):

1. Singing helps us remember God’s Word.
Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly…singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” The “word of Christ” mostly likely means the word about Christ, or the gospel. Songs whose lyrics expound on the person, work, and glory of Christ tend to stay with us long after we’ve forgotten the main points of the sermon.

2. Singing helps us respond to God’s grace.
While no one is exactly sure what “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” refers to, we can at least infer some kind of variety in our singing. No singular musical style captures either the manifold glories of God or the appropriate responses from his people.
We’re also told to sing with “thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Singing is meant to be a whole-hearted activity. Emotionless singing is an oxymoron. God gave us singing to combine objective truth with thankfulness, doctrine with devotion, and intellect with emotion.

3. Singing helps us reflect God’s glory.
Doing “everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,” implies bringing God glory. Worshiping God together in song glorifies God.  Did you know that all three persons of the Trinity sing?

The Lord your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing. - Zephaniah 3:17

Finally, it anticipates the song of heaven when we’ll have unlimited time to sing, clearer minds to perceive God’s perfections, and glorified bodies that don’t grow weary.

Worshiping God in song isn’t simply a nice idea or only for musically gifted people. The question is not, “Has God given me a voice?” but “Has God given you a song?”
If you trust in the finished work of Christ, the answer is clear: Yes, He has given you a song to sing!

So let us remember His Word, respond to His grace, and reflect on His glory!

Jeff Frazier