Musica Cristiana en Casa

¿PUEDO EN MI CASA ESCUCHAR MUSICA CON LETRA QUE HABLEN DE CRISTO Y QUE TENGA INSTRUMENTOS MUSICALES?

Alguien explicó en una ocasión que Dios nos ha dado una boca para hablar menos y dos oídos para escuchar mejor. De una manera acertada este autor anónimo recalca el hecho importante de escuchar. Santiago en 1:19 exhorta a la hermandad a estar prestos o listos para escuchar. Jesús enseña sobre la importancia de escuchar en Mateo 7:24 y la lista de pasajes sigue y sigue pero el punto es: ¿Cual es la razón  específica por la que hay que prestar atención a lo que escuchamos?. Médicamente hablando el oido es el órgano que convierte los sonidos en impulsos eléctricos para enviar la información captada al cerebro. Poniéndolo de otra forma amigo lector es importante lo que escuchamos ya que esa información que nuestro cerebro recibe  muchas veces actuará en base a tal información. Entonces tanto las canciones del mundo como las canciones con música instrumental y letra que hable de Cristo, tarde o temprano terminarán haciendo un efecto al subconsciente del cerebro y usted terminará actuando de la manera en la que lo expresa tales canciones aún muchas veces sin darse cuenta. El hermano Willie Alvarenga de una manera acertada sobre este tema propone 8 preguntas  basadas en Fil. 4:8 que debemos hacernos al escuchar una canción y sacar nuestra propia conclusión si somos honestos observe: 

¿Sabe usted cual es el origen de los instrumentos musicales?

¿Sabe usted cual es el origen de los instrumentos musicales?

1. La canción que estoy escuchando o que tengo planes de escuchar, ¿Es algo verdadero?
2. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Es algo honesto?
3. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Es algo justo?
4. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Es algo puro?
5. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Es algo amable?
6. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Tiene buen nombre?
7. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Tiene virtud alguna?
8. La canción que estoy escuchando, ¿Tiene algo digno de alabanza?
ORIGEN 
Regresando a la pregunta original sobre la música “cristiana” con instrumentos. ¿Sabe usted cual es el origen de los instrumentos musicales?. Recientemente  escuchaba a alguien decir que Dios fue quién los hizo y por lo tanto El se agrada de ellos. Sin entrar a fondo sobre el uso de  de los instrumentos musicales en la adoración que es un tema separado, rápidamente analicemos esto como buenos estudiantes. No hay otro mejor libro para buscar respuestas que el Genesis el libro de los principios, de todos y de todo. En 4:21 Moises bajo inspiración divina deja en registro que Jubal fue quién dio inicio al arte de los instrumentos musicales, amigo mío no se deje engañar ¡NO FUE DIOS!. Mientras el tiempo de la historia humana avanzaba se le fue dando diferentes tipos de uso a estos instrumentos.
  1. En las fiestas familiares (Gen 31:27).
  2. En ocasiones de Duelo (2Cr. 35:25; Mt. 9:23).
  3. En acompañamiento a profetas (1 S. 10:5; 16:16, 2R. 3:15).
  4. Como diversión en las cortes y en casa de gentes ricas (2S. 19:35, Ec. 2:8, Is.5:12).
  5. En la liturgia Judia (Sal. 137:3, 2 S. 19:35, 2Cr. 35:25, Ec. 2:8).
En cada uno de estos casos usted puede notar un patrón en común, y es el hecho de que se utilizaba para producir sentimientos o satisfacción  a las personas. En el A.T David fue el primero que toma ventaja de esto y con corazón sincero utiliza instrumentos musicales para dirigirlos a Dios y esta práctica fue quedando. Sin embargo hay que entender aunque Dios los aprobó, al inicio EL nunca los mandó. En la actualidad en propósito de la música sigue siendo el mismo, producir satisfacción propia al ser humano. La llamada “música cristiana” apela a las emociones de las personas y trae satisfacción propia eso y solo eso.
DIOS HOY
En la adoración adoramos a Dios mientras nos exhortamos a nosotros mismos (Colo 3:16). El canto a Dios debe de llevar exhortación para llevar a cabo el “Exhortandoos unos a otros”. Dios quiere melodía que provenga del corazón  del ser humano y que esté en armonía con su palabra y no de un artefacto. Dios quiere que todos en la asamblea de la Iglesia utilicemos un instrumento que El especificó y no que solamente dos o tres usen un instrumento al frente. Estas verdades recaen varios pasajes como Hechos 16:25, Col. 3:16 y por supuesto Ef. 5:19. En este último pasaje Dios aclara que el instrumento a utilizar, no instrumentoS en plural sino uno solo en singular, iba a ser el corazón. Algunos preguntan ¿Bueno y donde, que pasaje prohibe la Biblia el NO utilizarlos?. Es obvio que quién formula esta pregunta está esperando que la respuesta suya y mía sea “En ningún pasaje”. Sin embargo cada vez que se me pregunta tal cosa, esa no ha sido mi respuesta y más bien les ha hecho enojar a casi todos los casos sin excepción, porque la Biblia sí los prohibe y no una, sino muchas veces en el Nuevo Testamento. Lo que la gente necesita aprender con urgencia es que Dios habla de dos manera Explícitamente e Implícitamente. En ambos casos la voz de Dios es igual de importante y tiene la misma autoridad.El silencio de Dios necesita ser interpretado adecuadamente. Cuando Dios especifica que hay que adorarlo con Himnos, cánticos espirituales cantando (NO tocando) con gozo en vuestros corazones, amigo automáticamente o por implicación Dios está prohibiendo el uso de instrumentos musicales en su adoración, así que este versículo es uno de los que sí Prohibe en el Nuevo Testamento los artefactos mecánicos como medio de adoración.
Ciertamente su infinita sabiduría se pone en evidencia; que aunque el cristiano sea el más pobre y no tenga dinero para comprar una guitarra, o como yo, no sepa nada sobre acordes y símbolos musicales, aunque se encuentre en una selva perdido solo y sin una batería o un órgano por ejemplo, siempre iba a poder utilizar este instrumento que es tan precioso para el Señor… a saber el corazón ¡Gloria a Dios por su sabiduría! ¡Gloria a Dios por incluirnos a todos y no solo a los músicos o a la banda de la Iglesia! !Gloria a Dios por su sencillez y hacer esto fácil para que sea al mismo tiempo algo genuino, único, puro y de corazón!. 
Con todo esto en mente, entonces ¿Como se siente usted  escuchando “canciones cristianas con instrumentos”) al saber cual es el plan de Dios para su iglesia gloriosa ya en el N.T, en un mucho mejor pacto, en un pacto espiritual? 
¿QUE ESPERA DIOS DE NOSOTROS?
Obviamente EL ha sido Claro de que es lo quiere que hagamos.  Hay emisoras al menos en Costa Rica tal como faro del caribe, radio Fides entre otras que se dedican las 24 horas del día a tener este tipo de programación y poner en circulación este tipo de música religiosa la pregunta en el titulo es ¿Puedo escuchar música cristiana con instrumentos? Es como preguntar ¿ Puedo escuchar chistes obsenos? ó ¿Puedo escuchar un programa Ateo donde maldicen a Dios? las respuestas están basadas en el mismo hecho… Lo que Dios desaprueba en su palabra. De escuchar, sí puede escuchar, pero en realidad ¿Quiere usted estar escuchando todas es cosas antes mencionadas, cuando usted sabe que Dios ve con desagrado esto? El hecho que mencionen a Cristo o lo hagan por una buena causa No no hace Correcto.  No depende del hombre su camino, ni de quien anda el ordenar sus pasos (Je. 10:23) Es Dios quien establece la manera correcta de hacerlo y los motivos correctos en su palabra, recuerde usted siempre esto.Personalmente mi conciencia se ve gravemente lastimada cuando algo así ocurre y no es bueno herir su conciencia. En nuestros hogares fuera del Domingo y del Miércoles o de cualquier reunión de la Iglesia Dios NO espera que usted encienda el radio para escuchar algo lo cual el no aprueba ¿ O sí?. La siguiente pregunta entonces sería ¿ Hermano es pecado?  yo solamente le invitaría a analizar este pasaje Bíblico con migo para ver que es lo que Dios espera y de ahí usted mismo tendrá que determinar con el pasaje en la mano sí es o no pecado. Santiago 5:13 “¿Está alguno entre vosotros afligido? Haga oración. ¿Está alguno alegre? Cante alabanzas.”. Hermano, hermana sea honesto con sigo mismo y este versículo  y responda a la siguiente pregunta. Esto es lo que Dios establece en el N.T hay que hacer, El se complace cuando lo hacemos, Pablo y Silas hicieron lo que Santiago enseña en Hechos 16:25, entonces ¿Hace usted lo mismo?. Yo espero que usted pueda tomar las mejores decisiones y hacer los cambios necesarios para que con su vida Glorifique a Dios y no a usted mismo.
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Country Club Church

Country Club Church

They had works.
They labored.
They showed patience.
They could not bear those who were evil.
They were able to detect false teachers.
They demonstrated perseverance.
They labored for the name of Christ and had not become weary.
And yet, according to Jesus Christ—the Great Physician, Who is able to accurately diagnose the heart, this group of Christians in Ephesus had left their first love. (Revelation 2:2-4)

What treatment plan did Jesus give this group of people? He first told them to “remember from where you have fallen.” In other words, reflect back to why they came together—go back and look at what your original priorities were. Spend time reflecting on the true mission of the church. Then He commands them, “repent.” Too often, Christians who have been baptized look at the word “repentance” as a step of salvation. Yet, Jesus here was addressing Christians—telling this sick church that if it wanted to get better then they needed to repent. Lastly, He tells them to do the first works. This group of people was busy working and laboring, but they had moved away from the things that were truly important.

The Great Physician then revealed what their fate would be if they did not follow his medical treatment: “or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Revelation 2:5).

I suspect this exact same diagnosis could be given to hundreds of congregations across our nation today. We are busy with works. We are laboring. We don’t bear with those who are evil. We can identify false teachers. And yet, we have left our first love. Our focus is no longer on Christ and what He has done for us, but rather, our focus is on the next big program or event—in order to please the masses and get numbers up. We’ve detached ourselves so far away from our sin that we don’t spend much time actually reflecting on where we would be without Christ and the cross.

What many modern congregations have actually done is created vast “social clubs” or “country clubs” full of people who want to be surrounded by moral people of the same socio-economic status. We want to feel like we are doing good, involved in lots of works, and have someone to go to lunch with on Sunday. Sure we love God, but deep down we have grown comfortable. We have built massive buildings, all the while we are surrounded by thousands who are lost and hurting—yet, these people will never hear the Gospel because our social club is too busy with internal programs. Our mentality has become, “We will build bigger buildings and they will come to us.”

Don’t believe me? Take a moment to consider how much time, energy, sacrifice, and money are spent actually going out into your local community. Now compare that to how much time, energy, sacrifice, and money are spent on “internal” programs—programs for people who already know about the saving blood of Christ. We wave the banner of “edification” broadly, as justification for these programs, but the reality is in most cases these programs are simply tools that keep the church convinced they are busy and active. A serious look reveals a much deeper problem—Christians who have lost their first love, and no longer desire to “go” and reach the lost.

I have probably heard every excuse in the book: “Door knocking doesn’t work anymore.” “We don’t think advertising in the local paper will work.” “We don’t really know how to reach the lost in this technological age.” Etc. So instead of trying something, we add a few more internal programs and comfort our guilty consciousness. Or maybe we justify it by saying: “We stream or record our services for everyone on the internet” as if there are thousands of people sitting by their computers or televisions who will stumble across our site with the intention of learning the Truth.

Yes, in too many cases we have become country club churches. It’s with tears in my eyes that I point out this truth. I love the church. I love the people who make up the church. But the truth is we are comfortable. We are busy in the building. But we are about to have our lampstand removed. It is time leaders and members repent and get busy doing what God really expects us to do. It is time we return to our first love. It is time we get out of our comfort zones and do the hard things.

As for me and my house? We’re tired of social club church. We desperately want to serve. We want leaders to blaze a trail into our community. We want to stop wasting money on frivolous internal programs. We want to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty. We want the waters in our baptistery to be rippling every week—rather than growing stagnant. We want to return to our first love. And that, my friend, is what we shall do. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

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Refusing to Finish the Race

Advancing Age & Weary Saints

It is so difficult for us to imagine the following events happening. Think about a boxer who had thrashed his opponent in every round and is far ahead on the scoring cards of all the judges, then he refuses to fight the last round. Think about a marathon runner who has spent years in training for the Olympics and is far ahead of all other competitors in the final race, then she simply stops one hundred feet short of the finish line, refusing to finish the race.

Weary from life? Eternity is longer. Finish the Race.

Weary from life? Eternity is longer. Finish the Race.

Your response would be, “Such could never happen,” but almost all of us have seen people doing this spiritually. Far too many Christians draw back in their devotion to the Master in their latter years. They were faithful to the Lord for many years, but for unexplained reasons they quit. Look at the following words from heaven encouraging us to never quit.

Jesus spoke to the church at Smyrna and told them, “Be faithful until death” (Rev. 2:10), and then gave the motivation for faithfulness—”…and I will give you the crown of life.” We must run the entire race and never think about stopping short of the finish.

Jesus said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt.24:11). These words are surrounded by descriptions of adversity—famine, earthquakes, lawlessness, wars and false prophets. They describes the worst tribulation of all times which His disciples would soon face. His message? Do not give up! Endure! Endure to the end! Regardless of what it costs, finish the race!

Paul repeatedly urged Christians to endure whatever may come for the reward awaiting them is so great.  “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). Pay special notice to the contrast he makes between the labor and the reward. “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).

The writer of Hebrews described the end of those who give up. “We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of our souls” (Heb. 10:39). The reason we cannot give up? Because Jesus, our forerunner, waits in heaven to give us eternal rest (Heb. 4:11; 6:19-20). Keep your focus on all that awaits you. The events of the past do not really matter! What matters is that which lies ahead! Don’t give up!

Make application of this to your life. As long as God gives you breath, give yourself to Him even, though advancing years rob you of the energy you once had. Be determined that the zeal which burned in your heart to serve Him when you were baptized will be the zeal you have at your final breath.

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An Appeal to Sacrifice

An Appeal to Sacrifice

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

What first jumps out at me is the “appeal.”  Paul (and therefore God, since Paul was writing under inspiration – 1 Cor. 14:37) is appealing to us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  God doesn’t force us to do anything (Josh. 24:15).  Rather, he appeals to us.  What love!  What consideration!

What next gets me thinking is that Paul is making this appeal to us “by the mercies of God.”  That tells me that not only are we forgiven by the mercy of God, but even our obedience of God, our spiritual growth and progress, our walk with him, only happens due to his mercy.  That makes sense, when you stop and think about it.  We all have sinned, after all (1 John 1:8), and we deserve death for our sins (Rom. 6:23)…not the opportunity to serve and glorify the One whom we have wronged.  Again, what love!  What consideration!

What is the appeal?  To present our “bodies” as “a living sacrifice.”  In other words, All To Jesus I Surrender.  None of Self and All of Thee.  Christianity is not just a weekend activity or an extra-curricular activity.  Our Christianity is not our alter-ego, and it does not revolve around our lives.  No, our lives revolve around our Christianity.  The kingdom and the righteousness of God come first, above everyone and everything else (Matt. 6:33; 22:35).  Christian, is your life like that?  Do you want to be “holy and acceptable to God”?  Guess what you have to do?

What is our “spiritual worship”?  He was just talking about dedicating our entire lives to God.  Does that mean all of our lives consists of worship to God?  No, because the Greek word translated “worship” here could also be translated “service.”  (Plus, consider this.  Are we worshiping God while we’re sinning?  While we’re sleeping?  While we’re eating?  There’s no biblical example of anyone doing that, and the more examples we think of the more absurd the notion becomes.  Worship in spirit and truth [John 4:24] consists of purposeful actions which he has commanded us to do in praise and honor to him [Col. 3:16; 4:2; Acts 2:42]).  So here’s what God’s really telling us.  Do you want to really be “spiritual”?  Do you really want to serve God?  Dedicate your entire life to obeying his revealed will in the Word of God.  That’s true spiritual service.

In order to do that, we can’t be “conformed to the world.”  Ask yourselves this, Christians.  How different from the world are you, really?  God’s not talking about not liking tacos because your non-Christian neighbor likes tacos.  God’s talking about not watching porn like the majority of this country does.  God’s talking about not cussing or gossiping like the majority of the people around us do.  God’s talking about dressing modestly at all times when you’re in public…unlike most people in our society.  God’s talking about your Facebook “About” page having “Christian” under the “Religion” section…and not having dirty jokes, foul language, and immodest pictures in the “Status” section…get the picture?  Would the people you work with, go to school with, and hang out with be surprised to see you with a Bible in your hand, or if they got an invite to come to church with you, or to see you with bowed head in prayer?  If so…why is that?

In order for us to not be conformed to the world, we have to “be transformed.”  How?  “By the renewing of our mind.”  We have to change the way we think.  We have to change our worldview, our priorities.  How do we do that?  Read Psalm 1.  Want to be like the man described in verses 1 and 3?  Want to not be like the people described in verses 4 and 5?  You have to be like the man described in verse 2…every single day.  Do that…with an open and honest heart (Luke 8:15)…and you’d be surprised at how quickly the transformation starts to occur.  Don’t, and you’ll just keep on being a Christian-In-Name-Only…and you won’t like what happens to you on the Day of Judgment (Matt. 7:21-27; Heb. 10:26-31).

(Here’s a test.  If you’re truly interested in transforming your mind and are unfamiliar with Psalm 1 and the other scriptures I’ve cited thus far, you will have already turned to them in your Bible or looked them up on the Internet by now.  If you just nodded your head and moved on, you have a ways to go before you’ll start to look different from the rest of the world.  This is real, people.  It’s not going to happen to you by accident, and not without dedication and hard work.  Just sayin’…)

If you work very hard at transforming your mind (cf. 2 Pet. 1:5-11), guess what you’re doing?  You’re “discerning what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  You won’t have to wonder about where God stands on things, or what would Jesus do.  You’ll know, because you are storing up God’s will in your heart in order to avoid sin (Ps. 119:11; Heb. 5:12-14).  Not only that, but you will be finding out what Proverbs brings out time and time again…that doing things God’s way really is the good way, the acceptable way, the perfect way.

This is what Christianity is all about, folks…

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Anything in the Truth

Can the Bible Mean Just Anything?

We live in a society that seeks to interpret everything. When the President or some other important official makes a statement, news commentators are quick to point out what was said and what wasn’t said. Did he mean this or did he mean that? The analysis is endless. Many take words that were said, rip them out of their context, and sound bite them giving them an entirely different meaning than when they were originally uttered. And this is, more or less, an accepted practice among some because of the failure of many to believe that there is such a thing as truth. If there is no truth, then the words that I say can mean anything that you want them to mean and what you say can mean anything that I want it to mean and we just end up believing what we want to believe regarding someone else’s statements without ever having considered the possibility that someone might have meant something different than what we thought they meant.

The Bible cannot be interpreted correctly to show just anything.

The Bible cannot be interpreted correctly to show just anything.

The truth of the matter is that words have real significance or, as Rush Limbaugh says, Words mean things. Many people believe that they can say what they want without consequence until they are forced to face the facts of the words that they used and the meanings that those words have. At that point, many don’t like the idea that you have pointed out to them what their words truly mean because if words have objective meanings and their words don’t line up with truth, then they might just be wrong and that would be something that they couldn’t accept.

In that regard, the Bible is no different. The Bible has words and those words have meanings. Those words were originally uttered in a specific language and in a specific context, which, when we properly investigate, will render for us the objective meaning of the word. It’s not up to us to redefine those meanings to fit our own interpretations; it’s our task to understand what those words meant when originally uttered. So, the Bible just can’t mean anything. The Bible must mean certain specific things.

The Bible is a book that claims to be truth, not truth as we filter it through our subjective mind, but truth in the objective sense; it is true for everyone. Jesus said, Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31-32). It was through abiding in the word of God that the disciples came to know the truth. So, since the objective truth is in the words, then that puts objective meaning in those words. The implication of that is that the Bible can’t just mean anything.

And we can’t just understand the Bible to mean anything that we want it to mean. Look at what Paul said regarding revelation in Ephesians 3:3-4: how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ. God’s words can be understood, Paul says, just as he, Paul, understood them. That means that there is no reason not to understand the Bible alike. That the Bible can’t mean just anything.

Yet, there are millions today who are convinced that the Bible can mean just anything. When individuals say things like, You can interpret the Bible for yourself as long as you don’t force your opinions upon me, they are in essence saying that the Bible can mean anything. When someone says, Well, that’s just your interpretation they are in essence saying that the Bible can mean anything. When others say things like, This is what the Bible means to me, but it has its own meaning for you then one is saying that the Bible can mean anything.

If the Bible is God’s truth for man, then it can’t just mean anything. It must mean that which God intended it to mean. And we can KNOW what God intended it to mean because he has revealed these things to us through the Mind of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12). It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to learn and believe God’s objective truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

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