It Is About Style: 2 Corinthians 6:17

“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’” - 2 Corinthians 6:17

    “It’s not about the style,” they say; “It’s about the content.” Well in this case I have to disagree. It is about style and here is the biblical standard we need to pursue. I don’t care whether the style is rap music, rock,  pop, or the redundant and inane ‘praise chorus’ songs performed in many churches today. I don’t care whether it’s a puppet show, a juggling act, or role playing on stage. If we need these worldly devices to spread the word of God or to edify ourselves then what we are receiving is not the word of God!
    Paul borrowed from Isaiah 52:11 in an attempt to convince the Corinthians to part ways with “the world.” Such “extracurricular activities” do two things to the worship of God. 1) Despite the best intentions of the heart these songs and shows distract from the message. And, 2) because this type of worship is so often self-indulgent it lacks the reverence that God demands of our worship. I could be very wrong here but it appears there is an irreverent familiarity at play here. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” - Romans 12:2.
    Note too that none of the Apostles, nor Jesus, Himself ever resorted to “song and dance” to spread the gospel! Paul and the Apostles preached the Good News of Christ’s saving act. Go through the history of the church and you will find nowhere that Augustine, Luther, or Calvin ever resorted to their time’s cultural modes of entertainment to preach the message of the cross!
Neither Edwards, nor Whitefield, nor Spurgeon ever brought out “the band” to fire up the crowd - they fired up the crowd by preaching the blood of Jesus Christ!
    No my friends, the Christian church today has fallen far away from the demands for holiness and reverence to God’s holy name. If people refuse to respond to the Word of God because it hasn’t been presented in a colorful form of entertainment for them then perhaps they were not meant to receive an ‘effectual calling.’ The Holy Spirit will regenerate those He will regenerate. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. - 1 Corinthians 2:12.
    I am not suggesting for a moment that these worldly forms of worship cannot be reverent or respectful. It’s just that the temptation to fall away from the proper attitude for worship exhibits itself more frequently within these worldly modes.
    May our worship of our Heavenly Father always be full of reverence and respect.