Bad People…Good Music

How can bad people produce good music? It’s a relevant question. Because not all wholesome, God-honouring music was produced by born again believers. That may be almost too obvious to state, but it is an important place for us to start. There are even fine hymns, true to Scripture, written by unbelievers. For example, what do you think of the following lyric?

All hail to Thee, Immanuel, we cast our crowns before Thee;
Let every heart obey Thy will, and every voice adore Thee.
In praise to Thee, our Saviour King, the vibrant chords of heaven ring,
And echo back the mighty strain: All hail! All hail! All hail Immanuel!

All hail to Thee, Immanuel, our risen King and Saviour!
Thy foes are vanquished, and Thou art omnipotent forever.
Death, sin and hell no longer reign, and Satan’s pow’r is burst in twain;
Eternal glory to Thy name: All hail! All hail! All hail Immanuel!

D. R. Van Sickle wrote that hymn in 1910. Not only was he an unbeliever at the time, he wrote the song specifically to prove you don’t need to be a Christian to write a hymn! But some years later, by God’s grace, a strange thing happened. Van Sickle was in a church service when the choir sang his hymn, and the Lord used it to bring him under conviction and he got saved!

There are other examples that could be cited, but this one surely makes the point. So, how is it that bad people can make good music? Here are a few thoughts.

The Image of God

One factor is that all human beings still possess something of the image of God in their beings, distorted though it is by sin (cf. Gen. 1:27; 9:6; Jas. 3:8-9). The creativity with which God has gifted man has certainly been hampered and hindered by the fall, but it was not utterly destroyed.

Universal Principles

It is also true that the principles upon which God governs His universe are practical and self-validating. That is, anyone, whether saved or unsaved, can put the force of gravity to the test. And anyone, whether saved or unsaved, may discover that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Prov. 15:1). Music–and lyrics–built upon God’s universal principles will benefit the hearer, no matter who wrote them.

The Restraint of the Holy Spirit

Another factor is the restraining power of the Holy Spirit working in society, especially through the people of God. Whether they admit it or not, the unsaved are benefited by the sanctifying influence of godly individuals. Much beauty and grace in the arts is due to this purifying impulse. When that is taken away at the coming rapture of the church, a tide of unmitigated evil will sweep across the earth (I Thess. 4:16-17; II Thess. 2:6-12).

In Spite of the Messenger

Finally, God honours the proclamation of His Word. When Scripture is quoted or its truths are framed in song, that truth has a life and power of its own through the Spirit, irrespective of who composed the music (Heb. 4:12).

Years ago, I got to know a famous Canadian agnostic. In his early years, he was an eloquent and effective preacher of the gospel. People were saved under his ministry–including one of my fellow-pastors. But he told me later, quite frankly, that he never believed a word of what he preached. It was all an act, feeding his own ego. And that may be so. But the Spirit of God can work through the Word of God, sometimes in spite of the messenger!

No Excuse

Obviously this does not mean the spiritual condition of the messenger is irrelevant. None of these factors is meant to suggest that it does not matter whether a person is saved or unsaved, carnal or spiritual. These things are of critical importance–certainly to the individual and, in the particular case under discussion, to the music he creates and presents. However, it is demonstrably true that wicked men are capable of doing some good in temporal terms, and of  producing things of lasting value to both saved and unsaved.

By the sovereign grace of God, He sometimes uses unregenerate or unholy instruments, as He did Pharaoh in Egypt (Rom. 9:17), and Cyrus King of Persia (Ezra 1:1-2). But that is no excuse for us to ignore the matter of our own holy walk, or the use of sanctified means and methods in His service. Blessings will be multiplied when we give attention to these things.