Trending
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord
Colossians 3:16
The apostle Paul tells us to sing and encourage other Christians through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Now if you have read many of the psalms, you know they can be weighty, full of substance, doctrine, and revelation about the Creator God of the Universe. Psalm 33 is full of praise and adoration as it informs us that "by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth."
The psalms also tell us a lot about ourselves, and man in general. In contrast to the holy, righteous God that made us, we (His creatures) are corrupt from birth. We have turned aside to our own ways, to the point that every man does what is right in his own eyes, Judges 17:6.
By nature, we often deceive ourselves and think that we are good people by nature. We like to have a light, fuzzy, feel-good, superficial religion where we try to make everyone feel at home, at least on the outside. This is certainly something that Christ did not do to the rich young ruler of Mark 10, or the scribes and Pharisees. He didn't change His expectations or demands of people; He confronted the Pharisees and scribes for their hypocrisy.
If we are going to be like Christ (who is the head of the church), maybe we should reflect His character in and through the Sunday morning worship service. Instead of singing "Kumbaya," maybe we should focus on God-glorifying hymns and songs like, "Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty." Or the song, "I sing the mighty power of God."
Now why is a proper, God-glorifying, type of worship so important? Because it shows the spiritual depth of individuals and the entire congregation. If you have a man-centered religion that focuses on feelings and superficial activity, there is not going to be much spiritual depth or growth. The church (congregation) will not become strong because the foundation is based on feeling rather than doctrine through grace.
John MacArthur makes this statement about the local church. "If the right kind of Spiritual attitudes are present in the church, the structure will take care of itself, because Spirit-controlled people are going to do Spirit-led things." In other words, if you have a strong church that is based on the Scriptures, and applying that knowledge by the grace of God (as taught in Colossians 1:9-10), that congregation will exist and continue, even in hard times.
So here's the point of application; the song "Kumbaya," or "I want us to be together in heaven," can be campfire songs or children's songs. But if we are joining in congregational worship of our Great God on Sunday morning, our songs should glorify the Great "I am" of the Scriptures. Contact the author at thoughtsonword@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.
•••
Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published four books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016, Eye of a Needle in 2017, Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019 and A Bridge Between in 2023. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.