Nigerian Gospel Songs Can't Lead You To Christ

Just like our Nigerian pastors, Nigerian gospel songs cannot lead you to Christ. You can hate me all you want for saying this. After all, the early Christians were hated by the world for speaking the truth. Jesus himself warned us of this in John 15:19, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

The truth is that Nigerian gospel songs are not spiritually uplifting. They are mostly about the things of the flesh’ about riches and fame. The simple use of religious terms and phrases here and there is not enough to lead anyone to Christ. I dare you to go to any Nigerian gospel musician’s website and see if you will find a simple plan of salvation. You won’t. Most of the songs being sold to the public as “Christian songs” are religious rubbish. You must have heard some gospel artistes claiming that people are coming to God through their music, but are they coming to Christ to be born again? There is a huge difference in singing in the name of God and singing for people to be born again in the incorruptible word of God. The Bible said in 1 Peter 1:23 that, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

Satan loves all the religious songs that don’t mention the truth of God’s word. So, beware brethren, all this wishy-washy, ear-tickling and worldly gospel songs won’t take you anywhere near Christ.

Most of them are songs without the truth, Churchianity and not Christianity. Because most of the Nigerian gospel musicians are themselves not Christ-like. They carry as many babes as the worldly hip hop stars. Fornicate on Saturday night and minister to you in church on Sunday morning, tasking you to wave your handkerchief in the name of the lord. Do not be deceived my brothers and sisters, God is no author of confusion. Most of the people who sing and produce these gospel songs are not living in Christ. In Ephesians 5:11, God commands us to expose the works of darkness, not repackage them to make lots of money. Today in Nigeria, we hear of pastors and gospel artistes involved in sex scandals and visiting native doctors. While in America, some gospel artistes have been rumoured to be members of known fraternities; selling their souls to the devil at the church of satan. You may argue that we should focus on the music and not the singer, forgetting that music generally is a very powerful force that has a way of breaking down barriers. And the same powerful force can be tainted with negative lyrics and ungodly lifestyle that can pierce through the hearts of the listeners and reshape their values. As a gospel musician, it is very important to bear in mind the fact that God’s word is the sole criterion for evaluating your music. It is very wrong to assume that the musical instrumentation itself apart from the lyrics is morally neutral. Tunes and melodies communicate messages regardless of lyrics. There is always a message implicit in the music itself. Bad music that contains “good” lyrics still conveys a bad message. Matthew 9:16 says, “Neither do men put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out and the bottles perish.” Let me clarify something. I am not saying that most gospel artistes are not of good intentions. Some even sincerely think that what they are doing is right. But let us also note that good intentions and sincerity do not translate to being right.

So it would be a very foolish thing indeed if we blindly assume that gospel artistes are mature spiritually or that gospel music can lead us to Christ. The Bible says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate or think on them.

This verse also applies to music because music is something that we meditate on and allow our minds to dwell upon. This means that a gospel song must be true, honest, morally excellent and worthy of praise if it is to be acceptable to God. It also means that the music must be of good report. In other words, the music and the singer must be of good reputation and be wholly dissociated with things that are wrong and contrary to God’s word. If a good thing is connected to a bad thing, then the good thing becomes contaminated. The book Mathew 9:16 says, “No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.” Most of these gospel songs are written in a fashion that is strange to the principles of Christianity. Gospel singers and pastors are now covering themselves in glory. Dining with politicians who evidently display everything the Bible condemns. The Bible says in James 1:27 or 2 Peter 2:20, that the world taints and makes impure. So as a gospel artiste, God commands that you cannot live in sin like men of the world. You cannot live like the worldly musicians. If your music sounds worldly, seems worldly, and promoted like a worldly music, then it is not gospel. When you glorify anything other than God in your music, it is called idolatry. And you are giving satan a great satisfaction. The message is the most integral part of the gospel. The gospel is good news, but it can also be bad news to sinners. All sinners will go to hell. That is part of the gospel too, and if that is taken out, then it ceases to be gospel. God wants us to be speakers of the truth at all cost. And a gospel artiste who does not sing or speak of it shows that he or she does not believe it. Now the industry is celebrity driven. The focus is now on man and not God. Have we forgotten that, ‘that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God? Luke 16:15 says – “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but knoweth your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” At this juncture, my brothers and sisters in the lord, I rest my case. Just like Apostle Paul says in Galatians 4:16: “I am therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth. So before you condemn me with you comments, remember the Bible says in 1st Chronicles 16:22, “Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” Amen

Story Credit: Punch News