Present-Day Jamming

The example of the sons of the prophets in II Kings 4:39 is like present-day jamming: “And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.” This is staggering to view: these men were the sons of the prophets, a part of Elisha’s band, and one of them went out in time of the need of food, into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered a lap full of wild gourds. He came back and cut them up and placed them in the pot, unaware that there was death in the pot. Dear reader, we have heard in the past twenty years of the need of Fundamentalist composers to give us good, biblical music. One would think that music coming from a Fundamentalist’s background would be the answer to the famine of music in our churches. How often, in the past, church music directors were starving for fresh music, new arrangements, and the only place they were able to harvest was the Neo-Evangelical publishing houses. But now, after hearing a few prominent Fundamentalist composers, it is evident that some are laying hold of a wild vine and a wild gourd, a little addition of syncopation, contemporary sounds, more and more dissonance in the orchestration, and popular piano accompaniment. And the sad thing is that we are not cognizant of the death that accompanies some of the gourds thrown into the pot. We are hearing modern folk, calypso, soft rock, soft syncopation, and even stronger syncopation. And they give all kinds of reasonings for this subtle change: “We need to get out where the fish are”; “we must become broader in our music in order to reach a broader audience”; “music is simply a matter of taste and has no moral connotation to it.” What we saw in the Pentecostal churches back in the 1960s is becoming the prominent approach in Fundamental churches today. The music of Ralph Carmichael (dealt with later in another chapter), who steered the contemporary church into the contemporary sound, is used by many leading Fundamentalist musicians today as part of their repertoire. God forbid that we are getting so desperate for music we are having to resort to one of the founding men of the contemporary sound! The cry may be, “But we are fundamental in doctrine.” Yes, the words may be all right, but remember, we have been told for years by leading Fundamental music directors, “The music is the message.” Do we remember that statement? Could it be that over a process of time things have begun to change? Most changes away from the light do not take place overnight: they are slow and subtle. Yes, another statement we were told in the early 1970s reveals the process of change: “A frog can boil to death, slowly, without ever knowing it, if the temperature of the water is increased gradually.” Although we will be taking this more in-depth in another chapter, we do want to mention here that the slow mutation is evident in the Christian music world in the past 40 years. The Gospel quartets were certainly getting into the strong beat music in the mid-1960s, and the Thurlow Spurr influence with choirs was spreading like wildfire. But the greater influence upon the more conservative churches was the subtle infiltration of men like Ralph Carmichael with Billy Graham, and likewise the influence of Bill Gaither from the Nazarene church in the late 1960s with songs like “He Touched Me.” Then the 1970s exploded with praise music and children’s music, eclectic in presentation. We heard such men as Gaither state, “It doesn’t matter what type of wrapper you use, as long as the words are Bible.”

At that time prominent Fundamentalist musicians lectured and warned that the music is the message. And that was certainly true! It was the music that was the message, for the music spoke louder in the influence than the words. But we are now seeing that warning go unheeded even among those who warned us of this truth in the first place. Yes, they too have become eclectic in presentation, especially in their children’s music. Such a variety of styles of modern day music is dialectically woven together; and sad to state, it is more evident in the music that has been written for our dear children. Soft, sensual, easy listening, sub-cultured music is pouring into them now. What type of Christians will they be when they become adults? There will be no strength found in their so-called Christian life; moreover, any preachers who are called from their generation will not meet the urgent need of strength against the powerful apostasy that has already loomed its head. The children’s songs that are now coming from the pens of such men have watered down the truth; for example, the goodness of a child is basically synonymous with being a Christian. The truth of their need of Christ, in spite of their goodness, will be lost in the “do good” songs. Yes, we believe we need to teach children to be good, but doing good is not the same as being a Christian. Such a steady diet of those types of songs will place a dislike in the child for the more needed strong hymns of the Christian faith. It is part of the jamming device against the needed truth of our time. Standing for truth is now being viewed as “legalism” by those who compromise. Yes, that is the word: “You’re legalistic, Dr. Spence.” “You’re becoming a fanatic in your views; you’re getting too serious about this thing. After all, it’s only music, don’t you know that music is amoral?” Is not this ironic? The very ones who used to say that music can be played morally or immorally are now saying all music is amoral. Yes, it is part of the jamming effect of truth in the last days of the light.

There is a musical mutation evident in the conservative, Fundamental churches today, and prayerful concern must be given to it. For we are now hearing, as we heard from Bill Gaither in the early 1970s as well as from the powerful innovator, Ralph Carmichael, that there is too much emphasis being placed upon the form of the music; and that we should not be concerned with it, but with the message. In five years, what will be the spiritual state of the church if this presupposition is followed?

When in our youth, we thought that an apostate was a liberal and modernist who denied the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. But it is becoming more evident that an apostate, one who has fallen away, could be preaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith, while his practice is contrary to Scripture. Biblical separation will be one of the first things to be compromised, even though his message is fundamental. This is the wild gourd that will get us; this is the jamming frequency that will come; this is the light that will flash and the bell that will ring; this will be the angel of light to convince us we will not die or that this will not bring the judgment of God upon our churches. But their mailings and advertisements will convince us that this is the way to life, liberty, evangelism, growth, and maturity. The manner of such men is telling us, “Militancy is for the past; we must join in the present trend of praise, joy, and happiness. We’ve been negative for too long.”

We condemn individuals like Amy Grant for her crossover music, but what about the subtle desire for marketing the music to the Neo-Evangelicals? This is the same logic of the CCM artists: “We’ve got to go where the fish are; they certainly are not going to come to us. And the music must have an appeal to them.”

No, we are not stating that the music needs to be starched, funeralized, or slow and dead, but we must be careful how we approach writing it. We must be concerned that the attraction of our music is not because of the contemporary sound. And this word contemporary is being carelessly manipulated. What individuals meant when they used the word twenty or thirty years ago to designate “the sound and musical characteristics of this age” in music, they have now redefined to simply mean, “that which has been written in our time.” With this, they have discarded the term as initially used and skirted the issue. Yes, it is true the word contemporary means that, but it also means “modern,” “the characteristic of our time,” and there is a unique sound identified with our generation that is not good. If this sound is synthesized with Christianity, it will nullify the power of Christianity. You cannot mix this age with the Gospel, or you will destroy the power of that Gospel. It will then be a gospel of another kind. Yes, it may be like it, but it is not the same Gospel.

We are in the days of the greatest deceptions ever to confront the Christian faith; and if it were possible the very elect will be deceived. The jamming stations are being set up all over the Christian world, and the Fundamentalists are not immune to such jamming. When such jamming takes place, the individual becomes more authoritative in his jamming; he becomes bolder in his music. And it seems the more we try to stand for the truth in the matter, the harder that individual becomes.

Unless preachers come to know their age and the music that is creeping into the churches, we will not be far behind the Charismatics and their music. Oh, that God would give us eyes to see, and hearts to discern, and courage to deal with this matter. If we all are of God, we will deeply desire for the music to be proven, to be tested, to run to the light to see if the music is being wrought in God.

Beware of a gospel that is not the same Gospel as that of the Scriptures. For such a gospel is part of the jamming strategy to confuse God’s people in the last days. The Devil tried this strategy against our Lord when He was being tempted in the wilderness for forty days. The Devil quoted from the book of Psalms to prompt our Lord to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple. Yes, he used the “Word” to tempt the “Word.” The Devil knows the Scriptures, but his knowledge of the Scriptures is corrupt, perverted, and twisted. There is no anointing and illumination of the Holy Spirit upon the Devil’s knowledge of it. But he often artistically uses the Bible to lead God’s people away from the truth.

Yes, the CCM crowd comes in the name of Jesus, but they are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing.