January 28, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is excerpted from the book CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC: SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND SOME WARNINGS GIVEN. This book begins with the author’s own experience of living the rock & roll lifestyle before he was saved and of how the Lord dealt with him about music in the early months of his Christian life. The next section of the book expounds on four REASONS WHY WE ARE OPPOSED TO CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC and the contemporary praise music. The third section answers 27 QUESTIONS THAT ARE COMMONLY ASKED ON THIS SUBJECT. These include the following: Isn’t music neutral? Isn’t the sincerity of the musicians the important thing? Isn’t some of the contemporary Christian music acceptable? Didn’t Luther and the Wesleys use tavern music? Isn’t the issue of music just a matter of taste? Doesn’t the Bible encourage us to use cymbals and stringed and loud sounding instruments? Since God looks on the heart, why are you concerned about appearance? The final sections contain TIPS FOR KEEPING CONTEMPORARY MUSIC OUT OF THE CHURCHES and SUGGESTED RESOURCES FOR SACRED MUSIC. 177 pages. $5.95. Available from Way of Life Literature, 866-295-4143, http://wayoflife.org

One of the challenges of the contemporary Christian movement is that we shouldn’t be concerned about appearance since God looks on the heart.

In reply we say that while it is true that God looks on the heart, the same passage of Scripture also reminds us that man looks on the outward appearance.

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).

The Christian must be concerned about how his appearance influences others.

Further, God’s Word has something to say about man’s dress and appearance. When Adam and Eve sinned, one of the first things God did was clothe them properly (Gen. 3:21). He put coats on them. Before man sinned his mind was pure and his nakedness was not a problem, but after he sinned his mind became impure, and in this sinful world steps must be taken to avoid sinful temptations. The Lord Jesus warned, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Mat. 5:28). The Bible forbids a man or woman to look upon the nakedness of someone other than one’s own wife or husband (Leviticus 18, 20). Therefore it is wrong before God to dress in such a manner that our bodies are displayed to the view of others or in such a manner that they would be tempted to lust. The Bible identifies nakedness even as the revealing of the thigh of the leg (Isaiah 47:2, 3).

A person can be right in his external appearance and not be right with God in his heart, but when a person is right with God internally he or she will be concerned about dressing modestly and not causing others to stumble.