I am often asked the question, ''Can I listen to secular music as a Christian?" Then the dilemma spirals into what styles, or genres, are safe? Is only ''Christian'' music the safe choice? Is listening to any style of music joining with the world? I have talked at great lengths with believers about music. While there is no straightforward black and white answer, there is a ''test'' you can use in evaluating this for your life. Let's use seven areas to assess music in our life.
First, there is ''message''. I believe this to be the most important aspect to assessing if a song is okay for us. I need to address the idea that music is ''secular'' or ''christian''. Music in and of itself is neither, its the lyrics that determine this. In my pre-Christ days, I listened to satanic (actually about demonic and evil concepts)and hate-filled songs. Today such messages are literally physically nauseating and mentally troubling to hear. All words are theologically neutral, it's what is being said, the message that guides the appropriateness of a song. Pay attention to the message, if it is contrary to Scripture, the message is bad. I think something of importance ought to be stressed here. Christian family bookstores have declared a couple bands I enjoy to have a ''negative'' message. What is that message? The content has to be pretty bad to be banished from such a godly enterprise, right? Well, the first band deals with the books of Daniel and Revelation exclusively. The other band states Islam, Hollywood, homosexuality, even the current state of the church is morally and spiritually corrupt. Then, there are acts that are approved, because they encourage raising our handed to thee God of love who loves us no matter how we live, though the artist is mormon!
Second, ''purpose''. What purpose does the music/song serve in one's life? Why was the song written and, furthermore, what is it trying to promote or encourage? A song that speaks of ,for example, sexuaal immorality in a bad context has a good purpose whereby one portraying a lascivious lifestyle is obviously antibiblical and thus, bad for the believer.
Third, what does the music bring to the heart (mind) of the believer, what ''association'' does the song/music hold for thhe believer? I read a great example of this when researching the topic, using my least favorite style of music-rap. I may associate rap with being violent and degrading to women, while you might associate it with anger toward sin.
Memories. What does the music bring to us in terms of our past? If we have repented about something and the song brings us back then we may opt to iisten to something else. Never allow a song to take you back to a place in time when things were not so good. While memories rarely are completely eradicated from our mind, don't allow a song or band the opportunity to take you to a pre-repented of event in life. You see, there's a ''seccular'' band I listened to a lot, because the content spoke frequently of death of loved ones, past failures, etc. Sometimes, listening to the band takes me back, and I relive the painful experiences of that period in my life.then, there's another band that discusses life's bad luck. I like the stance, though. If I may, the band I'm referring to has a track entitled ''I was wrong'', in which the lyricist speaks of the bad luck, but thinks about his part in the way bad things came to be in his life. It makes me think f the terrible things I have experienced a and faced in my life, but from the perspective of, ''what part did I play in their coming to be?", ''what role did I play in the way thins played out, my behavior during the events and a a result of them?"
Next, does the music stir emotions I in negative or positive ways? While goth music may bring about depressing or ''dark'' feelings in you it might make me feel happy inside. It might touch upon things I feel or am experiencing and thus, bringing contentment inside me.
Understanding, or interpretation. Do I understand, door relate, to the style of music. While some may feel more at ease, or peaceful, listening to classical versus country, or rock versus blues. It is important to note that your dislike of a style should not be the criteria by which we determine whether the music is ''safe'' for other believers, as people often do. Remember, it is important to always judge a righteous judgment. This very important message read in Jn7:14 reminds us to use Yahweh's perfect Word to judge the world around us and not our imperfect, biased opinions.
Finally, is the music ''singable''? When I listen to a song, and find myself singing along, can I ''rejoice'' in the content? Going back to the band I referred to earlier, the song, ''Jesus Christ'' is a graphic portrait of a saviour who died a brutal death to redeem a lost sinner that I may one day have access to the throne of God. I sing along to this more comfortably than most hymns.
I recently got into a heated discussion with the daughter of a seminary professor over the damning result of rock music. The prof believes country and classical music to be ''safe'' as it is their music of choice. I reminded them the. Psalmist discusses various musical instruments. Nowhere does the bible state one genre is more holy than another. The hymns were written by men. It comes back to message, lyric over style of music. Anything else is purely legalistic.
I would love to hear from you. Who are your favorite artists? What is your genre of choice?
Pastor Aaron
Monday, December 30, 2013
Ministry In 2014!
Well, I am back! In the months since I posted last, much has happened. As y know, I had become sick in 2009. Though there's no explanation for what had caused it, I am at the end of the road, at last! I lost my right leg in June. I admit I was quite scared of going into that operating room, but I had a good prayer buddy with me, before and after the surgery. After the surgery, she was waiting to pray over me. My wife stayed with me, at my side, through the whole process. I've had infections, many hospitalizations, treatments, weekly trips to the wound center. It has been a grueling four years, to say the very least. I really struggled, though, after surgery. I believed my life would not be the same again, and not for the better. Well, .ife has changed, and drastically, but I am okay. The Lord has brought me through! I think a big part of my struggle had to do with my already being wheelchair dependent, since childhood. Ministry is a blessing and a challenge. Unfortunately, like every other part of life, image is important, yes even in the church! It was tough enough with two legs, now I look very different! As it was, I had been a tattooed, mohawked, jeans and tees kind of guy before entering the ministry.
All this being said, iI had a phenomenal church and counseling practice for the seven years before the illness began. I have been working with a woman for about a year, and active online in a ''web-pulpit''. I teach people in the building, those who contact me on line,people I meet in the community, etc. I receivers an inbox message in July from a girl I had been talking to in Nigeria. She said that when she had been contacting ministers in the U.S., they either blew her off or simply didn't respond at all. She told me that my kindness and honesty had brought her to a crucial, dangerous, blessed decision --she renounced Islam and accepted Christ! Amen, I led a devout Muslim to the Lord! Though I moved and much has changed in my life, it seems Yahweh has been using me all allong!
Things have been a challenge, but, things are moving in a mighty way! I have renewed my accreditation with the American Association of Christian Counselors, renewed my confirmation of communion with my licensing and ordaining body.. I will also be completing my last two and a half finals to earn my doctorate in theology, Biblical Counseling. I am going to be rebuilding the church in my community and reaching out to people as a counselor. There is so much work to be done, which leads me into a sort of ''deep'' area....
As I look around both in my community and into the world, I see there is much to be done. The church is in trouble. Christ's return is near, very near, and the church neither speaks of it nnor warns unbelievers of this blessed event. The rapture (1Thess4:16-18) is about to happen and many, too many, are completely oblivious. I am going to press even harder the message of biblical pprophecy. Anyone who has been to my church services know very well where we (both the church and unbelievers alike) are in the prophetic timeline and what is to come. The message of love is awesome, as the apostle John tells us God is love. However, raising our hands while singing happy songs, hearing prosperity, ''I'm OK you're OK'' messages, in our fluffy pews is damning to the church. We exalt ''famous'' preachers so high that they become idols. We attack each other for the way we look, books we read, movies we watch, etc. and don't abide in the Word, teaching, correcting, guiding our lives and helping each other when we see others fall. The churchis in trouble and ''cChristians'' are to blame.
This is a personal post, but also a sort of ''letter of intent''. I'm going to get deeper in the Word in 2014, and lead others accordingly. I want the church and the world to know where we are on Gods timeline. I don't have all the answers on everything, but see where we, the church, has gone astray.
If you have questions, observations, etc. ask me anytimeanytime. I am at the pulpit 24/7, contact me.
Email : reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Aaron.mathews1
I'm back, healthy and ready to serve! May God bless you in 2014 as you serve Him and each other.
God be with you,
Pastor Aaron
All this being said, iI had a phenomenal church and counseling practice for the seven years before the illness began. I have been working with a woman for about a year, and active online in a ''web-pulpit''. I teach people in the building, those who contact me on line,people I meet in the community, etc. I receivers an inbox message in July from a girl I had been talking to in Nigeria. She said that when she had been contacting ministers in the U.S., they either blew her off or simply didn't respond at all. She told me that my kindness and honesty had brought her to a crucial, dangerous, blessed decision --she renounced Islam and accepted Christ! Amen, I led a devout Muslim to the Lord! Though I moved and much has changed in my life, it seems Yahweh has been using me all allong!
Things have been a challenge, but, things are moving in a mighty way! I have renewed my accreditation with the American Association of Christian Counselors, renewed my confirmation of communion with my licensing and ordaining body.. I will also be completing my last two and a half finals to earn my doctorate in theology, Biblical Counseling. I am going to be rebuilding the church in my community and reaching out to people as a counselor. There is so much work to be done, which leads me into a sort of ''deep'' area....
As I look around both in my community and into the world, I see there is much to be done. The church is in trouble. Christ's return is near, very near, and the church neither speaks of it nnor warns unbelievers of this blessed event. The rapture (1Thess4:16-18) is about to happen and many, too many, are completely oblivious. I am going to press even harder the message of biblical pprophecy. Anyone who has been to my church services know very well where we (both the church and unbelievers alike) are in the prophetic timeline and what is to come. The message of love is awesome, as the apostle John tells us God is love. However, raising our hands while singing happy songs, hearing prosperity, ''I'm OK you're OK'' messages, in our fluffy pews is damning to the church. We exalt ''famous'' preachers so high that they become idols. We attack each other for the way we look, books we read, movies we watch, etc. and don't abide in the Word, teaching, correcting, guiding our lives and helping each other when we see others fall. The churchis in trouble and ''cChristians'' are to blame.
This is a personal post, but also a sort of ''letter of intent''. I'm going to get deeper in the Word in 2014, and lead others accordingly. I want the church and the world to know where we are on Gods timeline. I don't have all the answers on everything, but see where we, the church, has gone astray.
If you have questions, observations, etc. ask me anytimeanytime. I am at the pulpit 24/7, contact me.
Email : reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Aaron.mathews1
I'm back, healthy and ready to serve! May God bless you in 2014 as you serve Him and each other.
God be with you,
Pastor Aaron
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Liberal vs. Conservative Christianity
Liberal vs.
Conservative Christianity
Rev. Aaron
M. Mathews, Th/M, D.D.
Pression; favorable to in accord with concepts of maximum
individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by
governmental protection of civil liberties.
“Conservative” is defined as being “disposed to preserve
existing conditions, institutions, etc. or to restore traditional ones and to
limit change traditional in style or manner , avoiding novelty or showiness.
As American Philosopher, Dallas Willard, states, “Toxic
faith such as this can eventually lead to chaos, cults, and all manner of abuse
and evil—destroying the redemptive message of Christ.” The extreme end of conservative Christianity
implements legalistic dictates and detracts from the free gift of grace. The result, then, is that Christians are
“controlled” through the obedience to rules and laws rather than acceptance and
living within God’s grace. This extreme
lends itself to dangerous theology, as can be seen in such members of the
pastorate as Fred Phelps, pastor of Westboro
Baptist Church
On the extreme end of liberal Christianity, believers often
rely on the automatic covering of grace and an avoidance of Biblical
truth. The danger in this end of the
spectrum is that Christians refuse to take a stand for anything. While grace is, in fact, truly sufficient for
each believer, there is such great emphasis on a relationship with Jesus and
“social justice”, the essential integration of repentance, obedience,
discipleship, and righteousness into Christian living is all too often
overlooked and merely unmentioned. As
warned against in Jude’s epistle, the absence of recognizing the absolute
authority of God’s Word (2Timothy 3:16) creates a complete “free for all”
approach to living in the faith. Some
refer to this as “cafeteria-style faith”.
Thus, “the resulting mindset is I am free to do and behave as I see fit
and understand the way of Jesus…and don’t you dare judge me!” Matthew 7:1 states, “ Judge not, that ye be
not judged“, which Christians remember and throw around frequently, I redirect
them to John 7:24, which I believe completes the concept in stating, “ Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge a righteous judgment“. Using judging in matters of outward
appearance, the inward heart, etc. are often misused rather making a judgment
call, then implementing correction [in love] via a good grasp of in depth,
solid Biblical teaching.
The key aspect of liberal Christianity is “Tolerance”. When tolerance becomes the rule, the
foundational tenets of the Christian faith are gradually (and sometimes
quickly) dissolved and abandoned. This,
then, leaves a “religion” based upon one’s own personal preference. Emotional “truths” replace Biblical truths
and sin is done away with.
One additional topic is worth noting, that is a conservative
versus liberal approach to the reading and “interpretation” of scripture. I will do my best to keep this concise yet
definitive. Christians will take one of
two views of the Bible – literal or figurative.
If you hold the Bible in your hands, open it, and take what you read
literally, then you are on the conservative side. If you turn the pages and read, and take it
apart, interpreting it for yourself, then you hold a liberal approach It is
of great importance to state that the Bible does contain allegorical texts, but
Scripture interprets itself, thus, letting the reader know when it is doing
so.
A liberalist reader will hold a historical-critical, or Higher Criticism
method of interpretation. In short,
historical criticism sets out to ascertain the text’s original or primitive
meaning in it’s original historical context and its literal sense, or sensus
literalis historicus. Furthermore, it
seeks to establish a reconstruction of the historical situation of the author
and recipients of the text.
Biblical Literalism, Biblicism, or Biblical Fundamentalism
are terms for the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary
sense of words in the Bible. These
terms describe the conservative method of Biblical interpretation often held by
fundamentalists and evangelicals.
Interestingly, a 2011 Gallup
The study of Biblical interpretation is, in itself, a topic
in which I could write an entire volume on, so I won’t do that to you here (you
may sigh in relief, it’s ok!)! You have
to know for yourself which method of interpretation you use in study and
sharing the Gospel. If you do, in fact,
hold a liberal view of Scripture, be very careful so as not to misinterpret or
mislead those who you will be responsible for teaching
I offer you a middle
of the road approach to living and approaching the faith. John best sums this up in the first chapter
of his gospel, in verse 14, where he states, Jesus is “full of grace and
truth” Jesus was loving, yet He acted
boldly and spoke directly and with authority.
He was compassionate and experienced a human range of feelings and
emotions, yet He was righteous and true, without sin. Recall when He saw the synagogue being used
by the moneychangers, He became angry and admonished them, and threw them out
with force. He said “my house is a house
of prayer and you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matt. 21:13I
paraphrased). Notice Jesus did not say, “You guys have
turned my house into a shamble, but that’s just my opinion…” He took a stand against evil with authority,
passion, and confidence. Jesus did not
turn a blind eye to the woman caught in the act of adultery, no He said get up,
go home, and sin no more (see John chapter 8). You see, we are to take a stand, be bold,
while exercising compassion and grace.
We, as believers, are called to be like Him. Christian means “Christ-Like”. If one is to truly be a Christian believer,
s/he is to become just that, Christ like.
Dr. Tim Clinton states, “Will we advocate for our beliefs and actively
influence others? Or are we doomed to
silence – to accept our Christian faith as a completely private matter that has
no impact on our lives in the public square?”
If you or I get wrapped up in going through life tiptoeing around so as
to not offend anyone, we embrace and present a weak and inaccurate, incomplete
Gospel.
In closing, I ask you, the reader, where are you on the spectrum? Once you answered this question, I further
inquire, are you comfortable in your position?
As believers, it is crucial that we be salt and light. Jesus tells us to share the Gospel and be
examples, bodily representations of Him on the Earth, just as He Himself was a
human representation of His Father (and ours), God.
For more information,
further discussion, or any reason at all, you may contact Pastor Aaron M.
Mathews at reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Beyond Biblical Literalism and Inerrancy: Conservative
Protestants and the Hermeneutic Interpretation of
Scripture, John Bartkowski, Sociology of Religion, 57, 1996.
conservative.
(n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved April 30,
2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative
Elwell, Walter A (1984). Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids
King James Version, Genesis Bible Co.
liberal.
(n.d.). © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Retrieved April 30, 2013,
from Dictionary.com website: ictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal
Willard,
Dallas. Early Writings in the Philosophy of Logic
and
Mathematics (Edmund Husserl Collected Works, Vol
5)
(Dordrecht/Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993) 548 pp.,
ISBN:
0792322622. Edited under the auspices of the Husserl-
Archives, Louvain , Belgium
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Most Important Words You’ll Ever Hear
The Most Important Words You’ll
Ever Hear
The Bible tells us clearly and without mystery how we can be
reborn and assured of our etrnal home with Jesus! Jesus is the way the truth, and the life, no
man comes to the Father without going through Jesus, the Son (John 14:6). This is because there is no other name by
which we can possibly be saved (Acts 4:12)
So how are we to be reborn? Romans 10:9 10 and verse 13 says
exactly how to be born again. “That if
thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine
heart at God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
It is not through anything we can do. First, you have to believe that God, in fact,
exists, then that He has a Son who He sent to dwell among us. Then call on
Jesus to save you. We all have sinned,
done wrong, at some point in your life.
Tell Him you are aware of it and tell Him you are sorry (this is called
repentance). When you pray (talk to
Him), you have been reborn! Ask Jesus to
send you the Holy Spirit to guide your steps for the remainder of your
days.
Congratulations on your rebirth! You are a new creature in Christ, and have
been adopted into God’s family, whereby you are now a child of God and can cry
out, “Abba, Father, at anytime!
Next, get a Bible and read it often. Get into fellowship with other believers,
whether it be a Bible study group or a church.
While there are many denominations, versions of the Bible etc. you
should find one in which you feel comfortable.
I, personally prefer the King James Version and a house church
format. It is the type of church
mentioned often in the New Testament.
However, I find the King James Vrsion, New King James Version, or New
International Version to be the best and most accurate translations.
I recommend daily prayer time with your Father and regular
Scripture reading. I have daily readings
I post on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/His-Truth-Ministries/185597828134449?fref=ts
Contact me anytime for more “next steps in your new walk”!
May God bless you as you walk in the Kingdom! Again, congratulations on your decision to
follow Jesus and live for Him.
In His Service,
Pastor Aaron Mathews
(315)520-3152
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