The Gospel Concert

Colossians 3:16

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.

Recently I have been thinking about “Christian Music” and the so-called Gospel Concerts. The Gospel Concert or it can be defined as The Good News Musical Entertainment. These concerts are put on, in many incidents, to raise money for worthy causes. There are many worthy causes out there whether it be for a charity, political party or some other needy organisation. Some years back an old brother in the Lord told me that he felt that these concerts were wrong. Back then I came up with all the arguments to defend my position. I could have said that the party needed the money; people could get saved through the singing or is it not better to spend your money to hear Gospel singing instead of on something more worldly. The question is would I have been right?

What is the purpose of music or singing and who decides what it should be used for? We all know from the scripture that music or singing is there to help and to worship God. Singing is one of the many mediums through which God uses to teach us and admonish. For us to sing is for us to worship God in addition to our reading of the scriptures and our prayers.

I do not believe that music is there for us to entertain ourselves with. It is not something that is just to fill our dead air space. The act of worship is “active” and it is not passive. In the past I have heard people making light of God’s word through comedy routine and that is wrong also. We have a tendency to bring everything down to an earthy level rather than us rising to a spiritually level.

The question we as Christians must answer is it right to take something that God has ordained as a means of worship and make it a thing of entertainment? By the very fact that there is a charge to attend such concerts, results in you using God ordained means of Worship to finance some cause or organisation.

Ask yourselves is this Gospel Concert put on to glorify God or to raise funds? Is it there to seek the lost for Christ or is it there to amuse the hearers. Is the “Artists” there to sing to the Lord or are they there to sing for you, to entertain you? So much of our music has become entertainment, so much professionalism but has it become more spiritual? The Christian Music Industry is big but what would Jesus Christ’s view be of it? Would He throw out His arms and accept it or would He throw them out as He did with the moneychangers in the temple?

Young person be not fooled by the title of Christian or Gospel but test everything according to God’s word.