EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND: Is It Wrong for Christians to Dance and Listen to Secular Music?

By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD

(Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version)

I. PURPOSE.

For many Christians it is a cardinal sin to listen to secular music or dance. For other Christians they see nothing wrong with it. While this LESSON may not have all the answers; the WORD does. We will stick with Scripture, as much as possible, to get the “mind of God” on this matter. The whole purpose of these lessons is to move Christians away from opinion and personal thoughts; and move them toward what GOD says in the BIBLE.

A. The Bible is clear on what is sin.

1 John 5:17 ¹⁷All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ⁹Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Colossians 3:8 ⁸But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Galatians 5:19-21 Contemporary English Version (CEV)[1]

¹⁹People’s desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. ²⁰They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are ²¹envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God’s kingdom.

B. The Bible is clear on who is going to Hell.

Psalm 9:17 ¹⁷The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Isaiah 5:8-14 ⁸Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! ⁹In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. ¹⁰Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. ¹¹Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! ¹²And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. ¹³Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. ¹⁴Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

C. We should desire to live close to God and not as far away as we can. If a person asks, “How much can I get away with and still get into Heaven,” one would have to question such a person’s motive and sincerity.

D. Realize some people are called to special consecration and being ascetic. Such was the case with people like Samson, John the Baptist and even Paul who made a special vow to God.

II. INTRODUCTION.

A. Seeker Sensitive. The craze and trend of the late 1980’s through the 1990’s was church growth. Toward the end of the decade/century the trend was to be more secular in order to reach the lost; even to the point of downplaying traditional/historic Christian themes and even incorporating secular music into worship services. While it remains to be seen if this actually drew people closer to God or not; but there are some major flaws in this model, considering the fact that one of the chief apostles of the movement has recently had to resign in shame, for alleged immoral conduct.[2]

B. No separation of sacred in secular. The separation between secular and sacred is not found in Scripture; neither is it a part of biblical culture. Everything, every day and every activity was to be devoted to God. (Note: this was within Jewish and early Christian culture; however, everything outside was considered secular).

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ¹⁹Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

2 Corinthians 5:18 ¹⁸And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Colossians 3:17 ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23 ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for human masters,

Revelation 4:11 ¹¹"You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

III. BODY.

A. Is it a sin for Christians to listen to secular music?

1. We are to think pure thoughts: Philippians 4:8 ⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.

2. All things are to be done for God’s glory: 1 Corinthians 10:31 ³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

3. Some people are called to special consecration: Acts 18:18 ¹⁸Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

4. Music is to be unto the Lord: Ephesians 5:19 ¹⁹speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the LORD,

5. Music carries an anointing: 1 Samuel 16:23 ²³Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

6. Music is connected to the prophetic: 2 Kings 3:15 ¹⁵But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came on Elisha

7. Paul regularly quoted secular poets and artists.[3]

Acts 17:28 ²⁸'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

1 Corinthians 15:33 ³³Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

Titus 1:12-13 ¹²One of Crete's own prophets has said it: "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." ¹³This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith

Acts 26:14 ¹⁴We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

Philippians 1:21 ²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

8. Jesus quoted a proverb (wise saying) that is not found in Scripture.

Luke 4:23 ²³Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself!' And you will tell me, 'Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"

B. Is it wrong to dance?

1. Dancing was done on joyous occasions:

Matthew 11:17 ¹⁷"'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'

Luke 15:22-25 ²²"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. ²⁵"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.

2. Dancing was done on military conquests:

Exodus 15:20 ²⁰Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing.

Judges 11:34 - And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she [was his] only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

3. God was against dancing naked and to idol gods:

Exodus 32:19 KJV.[4] 19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 32:25 KJV[5] ²⁵And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

4. Dancing was done in worship.

Psalm 149:3 ³Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

Psalm 150:4 ⁴praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe,

Ecclesiastes 3:4 - A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Psalms 30:11 - Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

Jeremiah 31:13 - Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

2 Samuel 6:16 - And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

2 Samuel 6:14 - And David danced before the LORD with all [his] might; and David [was] girded with a linen ephod.

Jeremiah 31:4 ⁴I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful.

5. Dancing was done for lewd reasons: Mark 6:21-22 ²¹…On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests…

6. Dancing was done for questionable reasons:

Judges 21:20-23 ²⁰So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards ²¹and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. ²²When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.'" ²³So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.

Judges 21:25 ²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

7. Dancing was done to honor war heroes: 1 Samuel 29:5 ⁵Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

8. The wicked would dance for questionable reasons:

1 Samuel 30:16 (of the Amalekites). And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.

Job 21:11 (referring to the wicked) ¹¹They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about.

C. Does the Bible forbid couples to listen to "love songs?"

1. One of the most graphic love songs ever is recorded in the Bible.

Song of Solomon 1:13 NASV.[6] My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts.

Song of Solomon 4:16 DBT.[7] Awake, north wind, and come, [thou] south; Blow upon my garden, [that] the spices thereof may flow forth. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat its precious fruits.

Song of Solomon 7:7-9 ⁷Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. ⁸I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, ⁹and your mouth like the best wine. She May the wine go straight to my beloved, flowing gently over lips and teeth.

2. The Bible can be a little more graphic than some are comfortable with.

Ezekiel 23:20 NLT.[8] She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse.

D. Will a Christian go to Hell for going to a secular concert?

1. God knows who is going to Hell or not: 2 Timothy 2:19 ¹⁹Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The LORD knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the LORD must turn away from wickedness."

2. A lot of people we think are going to Heaven are not: Matthew 7:21-23 ²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'LORD, LORD,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

3. The Bible does warn us not to pattern ourselves after the world: Romans 12:2 ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

4. In our activities we should remember to be different from the world:

Leviticus 10:10 ¹⁰so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,

Psalm 1:1-2 ¹Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ²but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Romans 14:16-19 ¹⁶Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. ¹⁹Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

2 Corinthians 6:17 ¹⁷Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the LORD. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

E. Is it sinful to listen to any other radio station than a "Gospel station?" According to the Word; we have to check our motive and intent for all that we do.

Romans 14:14 ¹⁴I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the LORD Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

Titus 1:15 ¹⁵To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

F. Is it ever out of order to play secular music in a church sanctuary? There is a time and place for everything. According to the Word (in BOTH the Old and New Testament; wherever God’s people gather to meet God, should be a sacred space and held in high esteem and reverence):

Psalm 69:9 ⁹for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

John 2:13-17 ¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" ¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."

Ezekiel 23:37-38 ³⁷for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. ³⁸They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.

Matthew 24:15-16 ¹⁵"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel-let the reader understand- ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Leviticus 26:2 ²"'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 ¹Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

IV. CONCLUSION. While we try to avoid giving a lot of personal commentary or opinion; the Word has shown us that we must esteem God in all that we do. God must be glorified even in our choice of entertainment.