"Sound Doctrine" or "Sound" Doctrine?

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God is concerned with what we teach and what we say when we open our mouths (cf. Matt. 12:34-37; Jas. 3:1-2). Yet, when we sing songs of praise to him, if the parts and harmonies are really stirring, then often what we teach seems to matter less than the beauty of the music written. Consider the illustration:

A cake decorator notices that the most popular part of the cake is the frosting, so she makes a cake entirely of frosting and does not include one ounce of cake altogether. Sound appetizing? It sounds like a recipe for a bad stomach-ache! Consider that if the church sings a song simply because it has a pleasing melody, stirring rhythms, or neat harmonies and does not consider carefully the words, they have frosting without a cake. It may taste good for a while, but ultimately is not enough to sustain in any meaningful way and will leave the majority empty and sick inside.

This is not a new discussion. In fact, arguments and discussion of the roles that melody and text play in church music have been made for centuries. While a discussion of each would probably be only interesting to me and two other people, here is the conclusion time and time again: The music/melody should always serve to exalt the text and not the other way around.

Look at the biblical evidence for such a conclusion. Thumb through the songs of Moses, Deborah, Solomon, David, or any other Bible musician. There are hundreds of songs sung by Bible heroes given in Scripture. How many have written melodies to go along with them? There are none. In the headers of some of the psalms of David, he has a tune given that he borrows from another song (See Psalm 59-60), yet every melody he wrote is absent from the Scriptures. Instead, we are left with beautiful textual praises of God in his work in the life of his servants. To God, the theology sung has always been most important!

Consider what Paul wrote by inspiration: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). How much of that has to do with the literal melody that we sing? Not a bit. The text is still most important. Yet again, it seems sometimes we have the tendency to hold more dearly to a good melody over what’s proper for teaching and admonition.

So how do we make sure we are singing the song with the right thoughts, right motives, and the right attitudes? How do I know if I’m adhering to “sound doctrine” (no pun intended—see 2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1) or “sound” doctrine (pun intended—see Matt. 15:8)?

Questions I need to ask before I sing any song: Is this song based upon God’s word (Eph. 5:19)? Do I understand all the words and the message of this song before/as I sing it (1 Cor. 14:15)? Would I be drawn nearer to God, Christ or my Christian family by the words of this song, even if there was no melody with it (Heb. 13:15)? Is it easy for me to concentrate on and mean the words of this song as I sing them (John 4:24)? I hope the answer to all the above questions is “yes”. Sing in good conscience!

However, consider these questions: Do I find myself singing the words without really meaning or thinking about what I say (Matt. 15:8)? Does this song make me a liar when I sing it (1 John 1:6)? Does listening to the sound of the song (harmonies, ease of singing, driving rhythm) distract me from singing the song and concentrating on the words (Psa. 19:14)? If the answer to any of these last three questions is “yes”, then we might well consider our attraction to the song and think twice about opening our mouth to sing it. Remember, the text should always be exalted by the tune, and God should be glorified above all!