The Principle of Communication

Introduction

Last time, we discussed the regulative principle and how it applies to the issue of worship. Tonight’s principle is not a new principle, but its application to the issue we are discussing may not be one you are used to thinking about. Tonight we are talking about the Principle of Communication. Throughout scripture we are giving many principles that apply to our communication. Often when we think of communication, we think of words and usually it is the words we speak.

Conversations between friends

Arguments between spouses

Sermons that are preached

Counsel that is given

But communication isn’t merely spoken word. Communication can also be in written words. Many books have been written by many different authors. I am currently working on my first book. It will be a devotional on what grounds a believer spiritually. Those written words have been used for amazing good (think of the bible) or incredible evil (think of Mein Kompf). Words are the primary means by which we communicate as human beings, but they are not the only forms of communication.

We also communicate by non-verbal body language: Give a couple examples

a. angry stance

b. friendly welcoming wave

c. describe flipping someone off

Another layer of communication occurs in the way we communicate. Older generations may not be aware of this, but if I send a text or an email in all caps that implies I am yelling at you. The shortness of our response communicates multiple things. It could mean I am not interested; or it could mean I am angry with you. When I am texting, the shortness gradually tapers off to imply that the conversation is drawing to a close. We even use symbols to communicate OK or sadness in our texts. This is why Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:15 “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” Not only is it important what we says- speak the truth; but also how we say it- in love.

Communication occurs in many different ways and when we think about the biblical principles of communication they apply to all of them. When the bible says to not let any corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, do you think it only refers to vile speech. Does it not also include flipping someone off? These principles apply to any and every means of communication available to mankind. So we are going to do a brief overview of some of the principles of communication and then apply those to the issue of music.

The Principles of Communication

It matters what you say as well as how you say it. Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: But grievous words stir up anger.” Whatever form of communication we use, there is a wrong way to go about it and a right way to go about it. In Colossians, it is with grace- graciousness, kindness. Key word here is alway: at all times. Proverbs reminds us that it takes discernment to know what the right way to communicate something is. We cannot just go with our gut feeling because in moments of anger, we will respond in anger; but it is the soft answer that diffuses wrath.

2. Our communication is intended to edify- Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” What ever we say, we must consider the benefit it will have on the hearer. Some communication tears down. Example: “You little nit wit.” Some communication build’s up. Example: “I know things are hard right now, but God has never abandoned you so far. He will not do so now.” What is our purpose in communicating? When it comes to music, entertainment is their sole purpose. As long as it makes me feel good, then the song must be good. We forget that the singer is communicating with us either good or evil. With our secular music entertainment is not a bad reason to listen to music, but it must never override what scripture says.

3. Listening to evil is a moral decision- Proverbs 17:4 “A wicked doer giveth heed (listens) to false lips; And a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.” It is not just evil to speak evil, but it is also evil to listen to that evil. Listening is more than hearing. Listening is paying attention to it. It implies by our silence approval, acceptance even enjoyment of it.

4. Our singing communicates by teaching and counseling- Colossians 3:16 “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.”

The Language of Music

When it comes to music in the church, many a modern day Christian will argue that music is neutral. It is not a moral agent. Interestingly, Christians are the only one’s really making this claim. The morality of music is more nuanced than that. It is correct to say music is a medium is neutral like TV is neutral. When I turn on a TV, I could watch a perfectly good documentary or I could watch an X rated movie. The TV isn’t the problem, the program is. It is also safe to say music is neutral because sound, pitch, rhythm are all neutral elements. When I look at the TV, the screen isn’t evil, the light passing through the screen isn’t evil. (I know thats not how it works any more) But this is a gross misdirection. It is in Christian circles often times purposeful misdirection. Yes music as a means of communication is neutral and the pieces that make up music is neutral. Just like literature as a whole is neutral or letters on a page are neutral. The letter A does not send shivers up my spine because most of the time, the letter by itself does not communicate anything. It is merely a piece of a puzzle.

But when you put those letters together I can spell out a moral statement like “F You.” The medium is neutral, the building blocks are neutral but the message is not.

Scott Aniol in his book Worship in Song makes this argument.

Music is not a thing; music is an action. Specifically, music is an action of moral human agents. While God created the “stuff” of music (sound, pitch, rhythm, timbre, etc.), moral human agents create songs.- Scott Aniol

Music Communicates Emotions

Putting the pieces of music together into songs is a form of communication and because those communicating are moral agents what they produce carries morality. When we are talking about music, music communicates emotions. Consider the following verses:

Joy- 1 Chronicles 15:16 “And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.”

2. Calmness- 1 Samuel 16:14–23 “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

3. Victory or defeat- Exodus 32:17–18 “And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.”

4. Wailing- Job 30:31 “My harp also is turned to mourning, And my organ into the voice of them that weep.”

5. Pomp- Isaiah 14:11 “Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.”

Music Communicates by the Words of the Song

Psalm 105:2 “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: Talk ye of all his wondrous works.” This point is probably obvious to many, but I do not want to overlook it. The words to the songs are important. Did you know that not even all the words in some of our hymn books communicate truth? Some of the hymns were written by men who held unbiblical doctrinal positions and so we must beware of singing those messages because we are teaching them when we do. But whether it is secular or sacred, the words are important. Pay attention to what is being said.

I remember one time working in the kitchen at CFA and talking with an employee named Jon. Jon was the one who really helped me become a better breader of chicken. So we would be back there for eight hours at a time working at the breading station and we were allowed to put music on. Jon would often put on his secular rock music with all kinds of immoral messages. When I talked to Jon about changing the music, he said it didn’t matter to him because all he listened to was the beat.

We can become desensitized like that if we are not careful.

Music communicated without Words

Since music is an emotional langauge, it communicates even without words. Why do you think we have instrumental music. We will look at this detail in the next point, but if you go back to those points about the emotions music communicates in the earlier section, you will see that sometimes, it did so without words:

David played a harp without singing 1 Sam 16-

Harp is tuned to mourning Job 30-

Pomp is expressed through the viols. Isa 14-

So there are two layers of communication that occur whenever something is sung. Both the words themselves and the music communicate. They might even communicate different messages. So we need to evaluate what message we are sending.

The Practical Application of the Principles of Communication

In our application, I am not going to delve into every musical style and ask what they communicate, but each style does communicate something. The lines can become grey in the middle; so I am going to use hyperbolic examples to show this to you because I think, if we can agree on the principle we can then discuss the details.

Listen to sound clips and ask how the music makes them feel- horror, triumph, western (slow and easy), Metal

Cool water- calm but weary, slowly moving forward, longing

Hare in the woods- from the soundtrack to the Witch (I picked this song because it uses an instrument called the nightmare machine) unease, fear, hyponotic

Reborn- from hereditary There is a sense of triumphant assencion but continue to listen and you will begin to pick up on a subtle thread that something is wrong. At 2 minutes it takes a twisted wrong feeling.

On the Nature of delight- tender, still, contemplative, sad- its mixed tones convey as Chatgpt describes it: a quiet recognition that joy and loss coexist. Message: “On the Nature of Delight” teaches that true joy is not loud or triumphant — it is the gentle, enduring calm that comes from embracing life’s impermanence with open eyes and a full heart.

The Monaghan Jig- This song is primarily a dance song expressing joy, but musicologists have also picked up on minor notes in the song that imply dancing in spite of tears.

Do you think it is merely an accident that certain topics are sung about with the music that they are? Let me ask you if I sang a song about mistakes made while drunk to the tune of Minuet in G what would you think?

Verse 1 Oh, I spilled my drink again, Laughed so hard I lost my pen. Tripped upon the table leg, Wore a hat I shouldn’t beg.

Verse 2 Tried to sing a song too loud, Ended up in quite a crowd. Dropped my fork upon the floor, Neighbors knocking at the door.

Bridge Every sip brings such delight, Even when I’m not upright. In this minuet so true, Cheers to all the things we do!

Message of words- drinking has led to a lot of problems

Message of music- its fun no big deal

Conclusion

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” - General principle about communication. Do you think this only applies to spoken communication? What about text messages? What about body language? Artistic expression? Musical Expression?

So as we as a church have evaluated our musical standard as a church, we have made decisions based on what musical expression match the purpose of the music we use as a church. When it comes to musical styles, there are some that are never right to use just like there are some emotional and verbal forms of communication that are morally forbidden. Others are just not appropriate to the worship of a Holy God. Wisdom and Discernment are needed in knowing how a certain musical style communicates and what that does to the message of a song. I challenge you as homework to study what was intended to be communicated by the founders of different musical styles. It isn’t an accident that they used the music they did.