WHEN WORSHIP SONGS AREN'T PRAISE
By: C. Mason Davis
Recently, I came upon a church bulletin that had an unexpected chuckle. It read: "At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What is hell like?' So, come early and listen to our choir practice."
Today’s Scripture
Psalm 100:1-2: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”
In most of the churches today, traditional hymns have been set aside or completely replaced by contemporary worship songs. Some contemporary Christian artists create music that focuses on other themes besides praise, such as personal struggle, hope, and reflection, which may be less "biblically accurate" in a traditional sense, or are considered more theologically questionable. 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."
When we talk about music most people think of it as entertainment. Something you put on in the background when you're driving, working out, or relaxing at home. But I need you to understand something; deeper music is never neutral. It is not just sound waves bouncing off the walls, but music is something to make us feel good, something to fill the silence and something to lift our mood. But in the Kingdom of God, music has never been just background noise, it has always been a spiritual weapon in heaven before the fall of Lucifer. Lucifer was believed to having instruments built into his very being as he was designed to lead worship before the throne of God. That's why the enemy understands music far better than we do. He knows its power. He knows how a song can shape the heart and how lyrics can implant ideas deeper than a sermon and how rhythm can carry a message that bypasses the mind and lodges straight into the soul.
The question we need to ask is simple; who holds the pen if music is a weapon and who is writing the songs we sing in church today. God intended music to glorify Him to lift our hearts toward heaven and to anchor us in truth. But Satan wants the heavenly choir director use that same tool to twist truth into lies. Music carries power in the spiritual realm and if God can use it to bring victory, don't you think Satan can use it to bring defeat? That's why he is so invested in what we listen to and what we sing. He doesn't need to get us to deny Christ outright in spirit and in truth when the easiest way to do that is through music. Have you ever noticed how a song can stick in your head for days and sometimes even longer? You might forget a sermon in a week but a lyric can stay with you for a lifetime. That's the power of melody and that's why children memorize the alphabet with a tune before they can even read a book. And that is exactly why the enemy loves to plant half truths, distorted theology, and watered down messages in the songs the church sings because once you're singing it, you're living it. And once you're rehearsing it, you're believing it as well as those around you who keep hearing it.
So, we come back to that piercing question about who holds the pen and who wrote the song you're singing. It’s one of the great dangers facing the church today. The assumption that every song with the name Jesus in it automatically honors him. Zephaniah 3:17 reads: "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." But most believe that every so-called Christian song is biblically sound just because the name of Jesus is in it. Shallow lyrics can stir emotion and still miss the heart of God's word. Just because something that sounds uplifting doesn't mean it's building you up in the faith. And just because the song is sung inside a church doesn't mean it was inspired by the spirit of God, and the enemy knows it.
If Satan can slip deception into worship he doesn't need to fight the sermon as hard because many people have already been shaped by what they've sung. We live in a time where much of what passes for worship is not about truth, but about feelings. Feelings, while powerful, are unreliable guides as to what’s biblical and what just sounds like it is. Some songs today are written with the intention of drawing a crowd and selling albums rather than exalting Christ. They are crafted to be catchy, easy to repeat, and emotionally stirring.
When you look closely at the lyrics, they are built more on vague promises and self-focused language than on the unshakable foundation of scripture. Instead of lifting their eyes to the holiness of God, they often circle back to how we feel about ourselves, our dreams, our moments of struggle, and our desire for comfort. But worship was never meant to be centered on us, or for us. True worship always begins with praise for God. Ephesians 5:18-19: “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.” Biblical praise in worship should always keep God at the center any church service, your praise, your life, and the devil knows this. So, he counterfeits worship songs with just enough truth to make them acceptable but just enough error to keep them praiseless. He doesn't mind you singing about love as long as it's not the love of God. Satan doesn't mind you singing about victory as long as you're not singing about the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death. He doesn't even mind if you sing about blessings as long as the blessings are detached from obedience to God's word. That's how he works.
False worship looks and sounds close enough to the truth to pass in many churches but it does not carry the power of truth and without truth, worship cannot please God. It may please some of the congregants and it may fill more seats, but false praise does not please God. Be cautious of content that is sexual, vulgar, or that promotes greed, as it can lead to temptation and harm. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 states: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The devil is writing songs and some of them are being sung in churches every Sunday. Music is powerful because it moves us. It can make us cry. It can make us lift our hands. And it can make us feel close to God, but emotions alone are not the evidence of true worship or praise.
Many churches today have equated an emotional high with spiritual depth when in reality, those are two very different things. The problem with emotional Christianity is that it builds faith on a shaky foundation. But the truth of God never changes. Real worship is rooted in truth, not in how well a song makes me feel. The enemy knows this which is why he works so hard to capture our emotions through music. He doesn't care if we cry as long as we never repent. He doesn't care if we raise our hands as long as we never lift our hearts to Christ in obedience. Worship was never meant to be a matter of taste, it was meant to be a matter of truth. When worship is built on feelings instead of scripture, it creates shallow faith that cannot stand when life gets hard and that is exactly where the enemy wants us. That's why the devil loves emotional Christianity because if he can capture your feelings, he can weaken your faith.
The Bible tells us in Acts 17 and 11 that the Bereans were more noble than others because they received the word with eagerness but they didn't stop there. They examined the scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true that same principle applies to the songs we sing in church. It is not enough for a melody to move us or for the lyrics to sound spiritual, for every word must be tested against the word of God. If a sermon must be examined for truth then surely the songs we repeat over and over must be tested as well because here's the reality when we sing something week after week. If our worship songs don’t match scripture, then what we're singing isn't worship, it's deception. A song that contradicts or waters down the truth is no different than a preacher who twists scripture. If we wouldn't tolerate false teaching from the pulpit, why should we tolerate false teaching in our music. If we are not discerning, we will find ourselves repeating words that sound comforting but lead us away from the solid ground of scripture.
God has given the church leaders a sacred responsibility and one of the greatest responsibilities they carry is to guard what comes into the hearts of God's people through the songs that are sung as worship. That's why pastors and worship leaders are not simply performers or program directors, they are gatekeepers. They are called to watch over the flock to make sure that what enters through the music and sermons glorifies Christ and strengthens the believer. 1 Corinthians 14:26: “How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”
But sadly, in many churches today the gate has been left unguarded. Songs are chosen for their popularity, their emotional impact, or their ability to draw a crowd and very little thought is given to whether the lyrics are biblically accurate. 1 Corinthians 10:23: “ All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
The devil knows that the easiest way to influence people is not always through the pulpit but through the music because when people sing, they lower their guard their emotions. Worship should be a place of refuge from the lies of the culture, not a place where those lies are dressed up in Christian language and repeated in harmony. This is why discernment is essential. The church cannot afford to sing the devil's lies and then wonder why believers are weak, confused, or easily led astray. Leaders must guard the gates diligently because once error slips into worship it is far harder to remove than it was to allow in. When the church loses control of its worship it risks losing the very heart of its people. Jesus said in John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
The tragedy today is that many churches have replaced truth with entertainment, light, sound, and an atmosphere that have taken center stage. Almost like a rock-n-roll concert. And in the process, the holiness of God has been overshadowed. On the other hand, some churches cling to truth through traditional hymns, but have lost the fire of the spirit by turning worship into a cold routine. Neither extreme pleases God. He does not delight in empty noise nor does He delight in empty rituals. He delights in worship that flows from heart, set ablaze by his spirit and anchored in the unshakable foundation of his word. This is where revival begins. Not with a new song on the charts or a bigger crowd in the sanctuary, but with a return to worship that is centered on Christ alone. Revival happens when the church stops singing about ourselves and starts singing about Jesus.
Revival happens when worship leads people to repentance. That’s when the songs bring us to our knees, instead of simply lifting our hands, we need to remember that worship is not about what pleases us it is about what pleases God. When we sing, we are not performing for the crowd, we are bowing before the throne of heaven. That perspective changes everything suddenly. Faith is deepened when the presence of God becomes unmistakable. If we long to see revival in our generation it will not come through songs written by the devil or through worship built on emotions alone. It will come when the church returns to worshipping in spirit and in truth. 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.” Where every lyric exalts Christ and every heart bows before him. And this I pray for all of us. Amen!
