What do you think about using music to help reach the lost? I have heard a lot of discussion that says that Christian music should be used to glorify God and to edify believers and is not for the purpose of evangelism. While unbelievers can hear our songs and be convicted, curious, or what have you, as a side benefit, we shouldn't be writing music with the lost in mind, but with believers in mind. I've heard much criticism of CCM in this regard in that many songs are invitational to the lost to come to Jesus and are somewhat designed as "seeker friendly."
I can see the point that is trying to be made, but I do not see the consistency. I was wondering this recently and started thinking of our own hymnbook, so I went through our church's Majesty Hymnbook I found all these songs directly written to the lost:
Almost Persuaded
Are you Washed in the Blood
Come to the Cross
Come unto Me (Ron Hamilton)
Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
God’s Final Call
Have You Any Room for Jesus
Jesus is Calling
Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart
Look and Live
Only Trust Him
Softly and Tenderly
The Savior is Waiting
There’s Room at the Cross
What Will You Do with Jesus (Ron Hamilton)
Whosoever Will
There are also many songs that are testimonial about the salvation experience like, "Just as I Am" "Pass me Not" "A New Name in Glory", "Whiter than Snow" etc.
Was it ok to use music for the lost in tent revivals but not now? What has changed to make it ok to sing these songs in our hymnbook that are directly sung to the lost written a hundred years ago or more, but now churches that are reaching out to the lost in their music are seen as corrupting the purpose of Christian music.
Just doing some pondering here and wondering what your thoughts are on what I am viewing as an inconsistency.
Joe
psalm 47 and 117 include a call for conversion from pagan nations. granted these are different than the usual revivalist invitation song, but the idea is there.
They are quite a bit different, actually. These are universal calls to worship, which mention all people joining together to worship in the first verse and then the rest of the verses all describe why. So, I don't know if you could look at these as Scriptural precedence for singing to the lost, except maybe to say that they should get saved because God is worthy of their worship and then explain why. But both Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 tell us "speaking to one another..." and "teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs..." So I would take that to mean that our congregational singing is to both edify, teach, and admonish the believer, not specifically the lost.
Having said that, Susan, your questions are exactly what we should be pondering. My personal view is that singing to the lost is not wrong in that I understand many of the prophets would sometimes sing their prophesies, sometimes to unbelieving nations (Psalm 22; 2 Kings 3:15; Habakkuk 3:1), but in our singing I would make sure that the words are dominated by the complete truth of the Gospel rather than just "there's no such thing as perfect people so come as you are" (which is true) but then leaving it there so that the unbeliever is left wondering where they are "coming", who is this Jesus guy, and why do I need Him? Beyond that, I would also say that if our songs are dominated by evangelism rather than edifying and teaching one another as we praise and worship both for who God is and what He has done, then our focus has been moved off the person whom our eyes are continually to be focused on: Christ.