I have been hearing quite a bit about Reformed Rap in recent days. Many of these rappers have gained quite a bit of notoriety and publicity, and they have been publicized by ministries such as Desiring God, Way of the Master, and others. I have quite honestly been puzzled as to what to think about the movement: can it really be wrong if so many good men are approving of it? I have given it some serious thought, and I have come to the following conclusions.

Before I begin, though, I want to make something clear. Music is not a simple issue and should not be treated with canned answers. My philosophy of music is more detailed than I will get into here, but my conviction is that music itself–not lyrics–undeniably has a spirit. The spirit of music has an extremely powerful influence on the hearer. If you don’t agree, ask any writer of music soundtracks, and I assure you, he will agree with me. No one writing a funeral song is going to use the tune of “Yankee Doodle.” So music itself has a message, and it is my belief that the message that the music conveys must suit the message of the lyrics, as well as the occasion.

I also want to emphasize that any observations relating to the culture of Hip Hop do not apply just to it. Undoubtedly, genres like heavy metal, rock, punk, and others have many of the same qualities. Indeed, the whole world system embodies many of the qualities I will refer to. Since Christian rap is the topic, though, I will be referring to the hip hop culture.

The first problem I see with Christian rap is that rap as a genre has a lot of baggage. I don’t think anyone would deny that. Secular rap celebrates and glorifies things that are antithetical to the gospel; things like drugs, crime, promiscuous sex, hate, rebellion, and violence. In addition to these more obvious things, rap, and the culture that surrounds it, celebrates pride and arrogance. The clothing, the cars, the attitude, and more, all reflect self-centeredness and self-glorification.

That is not to say that God couldn’t possibly use rap as a tool for His glory. What it does mean, however, is that anyone attempting to become a Christian rapper, regardless of his heart, will be faced with the very large obstacle of imitating and assimilating himself into that culture without imitating its associated sins– especially the more subtle sins of pride and self-promotion. The same is true for anyone attempting to reach the culture by becoming like it. Imitate the world in appearance and speech, even with the best of intentions, is a slippery slope that will almost always lead to imitating the world in morality and values (Rom. 12:2).

The second problem I see is that mediums such as Christian Rap are often justified because they are “reaching” people. This is a big problem– it is clearly unscriptural to view music as a tool for evangelism. Scripture unequivocally states that God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe for the very reason that it shouldn’t work (1 Cor. 1:21). When it does, God gets the glory and not man.

Third, I believe justifying Reformed rap creates an unhealthy, even hypocritical, double standard. I cannot count the times I have heard Reformed preachers decry the cultural compromise and unscriptural worship and evangelism methods displayed by the evangelical church at large, and yet when Reformed lyrics are put to a rap song, all that changes. Why?

I believe it’s because my Reformed brethren have a bad habit of putting correct doctrine on a pedestal that it should not be on. Doctrine is important, vitally so, and yet it is not the only test of a godliness and holiness. I fear that proper doctrine has become the test of all things in Reformed circles. If a rap song has doctrinally sound, even doctrinally rich, lyrics, it must be OK, since no one could ever communicate sound doctrine in a way that is ungodly, right? Wrong. God, through Paul, commands the young pastor Titus to teach conduct that is fitting for sound doctrine. In other words, right doctrine must always be followed by right attitudes and actions.

Finally, where do we draw the line in becoming like the culture to reach the culture? Is Reformed hip hop, OK, while Reformed death metal is not? If music really is morally neutral, which I have heard many Reformed brothers say, can we use any genre or style to communicate the Gospel?

The reason this concerns and troubles me is because God saved me out of the punk rock culture. Punk rock glorifies rebellion and anarchy. The music– again, not just the lyrics — is in your face, aggressive, and loud. Is it really possible to communicate the glorious truths of the Gospel through a medium that reflects anger, rebellion, and even hatred? Coming from that background, I would say no. I can’t fathom God receiving glory from music that sounds like it was born in hell.

Please understand that my comments are no reflection on individuals and their walk with the Lord. I am absolutely sure that there are Reformed rappers, Shai Linne, for one, who love the Lord and desire to glorify Him. Nor am I saying that it is impossible to be a Christian and rap about the truth. What I am saying, though, is that I believe extreme caution is in order. It is far to easy to get burned when playing with the fire of cultural conformity and relevance. Again, where you draw the line? God warns against cultural conformity for a reason (Rom. 12:2, etc.), and it is foolish to think that sound doctrine makes anything and everything acceptable. We must test the spirits, and be sure that the flesh is not creeping in.

Why did I write all this? The following video bothered me. It has a very fleshly spirit about it, from the dancing girls in tight shirts, to the practically moshing audience. The performers, as well as the music and the way the lyrics are sung, exude a spirit of pride, arrogance, and look-at-me-ness. I can’t imagine Jesus Christ being at the event and being pleased– and no, I don’t say that just because I’m white. Ignore the lyrics entirely, and I believe you will see little difference from any other secular rapper. Watch the video and come to your own conclusions.

A Note: I know there are many Reformed folks who say that music is morally neutral and cannot be right or wrong. I would answer that by saying that it is a postmodern lie that should be rejected. Individual letters on a page are not sinful, but they can easily be combined to communicate ungodly and sinful ideas. To deny that words have meaning is to deny the authority of Scripture. Likewise, individual musical notes and sounds are not right or wrong in and of themselves, but the message they convey, and the spirit of that message, can have moral significance.