We need continually to remind ourselves of our basic cautions concerning the music of worship. First, we must guard ourselves against the familiarity of music. It's too easy to assemble with other Christians and sing the great songs of the faith. Quite often the song services of a church become a matter of tradition and ritual rather than of worship and praise. This is true not only among Christians who see themselves as non-traditional. Traditional Christians often find themselves simply mouthing words rather than praising God from the depths of their hearts, but the same is true of those who sing the more modern, non-traditional songs. They sing Scripture choruses that have become familiar to them, but which have lost the essence of heartfelt worship. We must guard against the familiarity of music. 

Second, true worship is rooted in the grace of God rather than in the performance of man. Therefore, we must be careful never to allow our music simply to be a showcase for our talent. The objective of true worship is the glory of God - never the greatness of our gifts. Music is an art that should be finely tuned to express the beauty and majesty of God.

The apostle Paul was an artist. His writings and teachings are those of a master. His epistles are among some of the great pieces of world literature. The great scholars of the church, such as Calvin and Luther, have been deeply affected by them. The great orators, such as Spurgeon, have studied them. World leaders still quote them. Yet Paul said, "My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (I Cor. 2:4-5). In other words, the artistic abilities of Paul were not to draw attention to the artist. They were to bring men and women to a personal knowledge of the power and glory of God.

Music that produces worship will be participatory in nature. True worship has no room for a spectating heart. Worship cannot sit in the grandstands of the church watching the performance of the more talented. True worship flows from the heart that has been graced by God and cries out, "I must sing unto you for my heart is full. You, O God, have filled me with a knowledge of Your love. And You alone must I worship." True worship does not perform for others. It only participates in the grace and love of God.

The third caution concerning music is in regard to cultural misunderstanding. The one source of Christian unity should be the worship of Jesus Christ. Yet many times the music in our worship becomes a point of contention and division among Christians. Because I travel internationally, often I must adjust to new cultural forms of worship. That can sometimes be difficult. I think that my favorite place of worship is the nation of Romania. My personality and cultural upbringing seems to fit there. I love the poetry readings, the orchestras, and the congregational singing of the great hymns among Romanian Christians.

I remember my first trip to India, however. Christian worship there was much less emotional. It took me a while to learn to enjoy it, for I was not used to the chanting and the more laid-back approach to worshipping God. Yet the worship was just as genuine as that in Romania.

Later, I traveled into the bush in Africa. The form of worship was completely different among those people. There was plenty of emotion- much more than I was used to experiencing. Yet the people were worshipping God in spirit and in truth in all three places. They had three completely different expressions of music in their worship. But the essence of worship was the same. It was only the cultural personalities that differed.

I have discovered that Christians in the western world are often divided over the method of worship rather than the essence of worship. It's important for us to recognize our cultural and personality differences. We may feel more comfortable worshipping with those who sing only hymns. Or we may prefer to worship through the singing of Scripture choruses. Some participate more fully in an emotional expression of music. Others truly worship with a subdued, quiet spirit. But we must never forget that the end of true worship is not the method. The objective of true worship is the glory of Jesus. Therefore, let each of us worship Him in the method that fits our cultural personality. But let's not allow that personality to divide an evangelical community that holds fast to the glory of Jesus and the authority of the Scriptures.

Finally, music must never replace the priority of the Scriptures in worship. A renewal of worship is taking place in much of the evangelical community today. Many Christians are rediscovering the beauty of music in worship, and this is a tremendous development. We must be careful, however, to remember that music is a vehicle which transports a response to the revelation of God in the heart. It takes that response to the throne of heaven. There can be no response without the revelation of God. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and Animists all sing, chant, and dance. But Christianity is not just another great world religion. It's the revelation of God to man through the person of Jesus, who is the "radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature" (Heb. 1:3).

Therefore, preaching of the word of God must never be replaced by the singing of the saints. In fact, many of the great hymns were written by preachers such as Luther, Wesley, Heber, and Perronet. Their music was a response to the God revealed to them in the Scriptures. There must be a balance in our worship between God's revelation and the heart's response to that revelation. Such worship will be not only music in the heart but also music in heaven.