Little Foxes Spoiling the Fundamental Vine – Song of Solomon 2:15

Warning concerning dangers creeping into fundamental churches in the area of music.

CCM is a change agent and the last couple of decades have witnessed seismic changes amongst fundamental Baptists. As mentioned in our last message, these changes tend to be slow and subtle to begin with. The heart of this message is to highlight the more subtle areas of compromise that long term will be the undoing in a fundamental church.

The Groom (Christ), exhorts his bride (the church) to be vigilant and watchful for the damage that the little foxes can do to the vines. The vines symbolize the believer’s fruitfulness and fellowship with Christ. Words that describe a fox’s nature would be ‘sly’, ‘subtle’, ‘cunning’, ‘concealed’ & ‘predator’. The little foxes are the small, seemingly insignificant sins and compromises that creep into our lives almost unnoticed and on the surface seem harmless and almost innocent but can end up doing devastating damage if left undealt with. Illustration: A small deviation off course in navigation over time can end up with you ending a long distance from your intended destination. LITTLE IS BIG!

Hudson Taylor: “The enemies may be small, but the mischief done great. A little spray of blossom, so tiny as to be scarcely perceived, is easily spoiled, but thereby the fruitfulness of a whole branch may be for ever destroyed. And how numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises with the world; disobedience to the still small voice in little things; little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed.”

The solution to the little foxes is found in the text. The believer is to have a watchful, vigilant spirit and a sensitivity to the voice of the Bridegroom through the Spirit to identify the little foxes. Then, he is to “take” them, meaning “to take hold of, seize, grasp”. The same word is translated as follows: Jacob “took hold” of Esau’s heel (Gen. 25:26); Samson “took” the doors of the gate of the city (Judges 16:3); the ram ‘caught’ in a thicket (Gen 22:13).

In relation to the CCM issue, there are a number of little foxes creeping into our churches that we need to be aware of in order to continue the stand for godly music.

Resistance to the Ministry of Warning

Resistance to Sound Doctrine is a Feature of the Last Days

2 Tim. 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

2 Tim. 4:2-4 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Reproof is a Necessary Part of the Christian Walk

1. Prov. 1:23 “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”
2. Prov. 9:8 “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”
3. Prov. 13:18 “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
4. Psalm 141:5 “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.”
5. Rev. 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
6. To receive correction requires death to self and the help of the Holy Spirit as the flesh hates correction.
7. Illustration: Paul’s public rebuke of Peter – “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” (Gal. 2:11; 14)

Artist Focused/Centered Music & Performance

There is nothing sinful about striving for excellence in what we do for the Lord including the production of sacred music.

1. Ecc. 9:10 “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;”
2. 1 Cor. 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
3. There is nothing sinful per say about a professionally produced sacred music video so long as the focus is on glorifying the Lord rather than the artist.

There is a concerning trend emerging in our time amongst some conservative music ministries that seems to draw too much attention to the singer (e.g., world’s music video techniques).

1. Col. 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
2. Is. 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
3. Col. 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.” Remember, the focus is the exaltation of the Saviour and the edification of the saints, not the glorification of self!
4. 1 Cor. 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Sensual Vocal Techniques

Sensual vocal techniques often fly under the radar in fundamental churches. Sometimes a church may not have moved over to drums and a band yet but in the vocal side of things they sound very worldly and sensual. This kind of singing creates an appetite for fleshly music in the church and is part of the CCM slide that will take the church in the wrong direction eventually. Techniques such as:

1. Scooping and Sliding
2. Breathy and Intimate
3. Excessive Ornamentation
4. Vocal Fry

CCM Adaption

1. Definition: “When it comes to music, the philosophy coming into ascendance among IB churches is this: as long as the words are right, we should relax and be edified and not be critical. This philosophy allows the churches to “adapt” CCM by selecting songs that have Scriptural lyrics and toning down the rhythm. It is an attempt to take the “rock” out of Christian rock and to turn charismatic praise music into fundamentalist praise music.”¹
2. This philosophy represents a breakdown in separation from the compromised world of CCM.
3. This philosophy opens the door to the world of CCM and represents the first step in a contemporary direction. It also puts individual church members in touch with the dangerous world of CCM. This is especially true in the YouTube, smartphone age.

“Conservative” / New Evangelical CCM

While on the main, CCM artists are generally charismatic, there are some exceptions with groups within the New Evangelical scene like Sovereign Grace Music and the Gettys. In many ways they present a greater danger, at least to begin with, to a fundamental church as they are not as way out as the typical charismatic music producers. They often have a veneer of conservatism. We will use the Gettys as an example as they are probably the most popular music producers in this category.

1. It is this kind of CCM that is most likely to get into a fundamental church like a trojan horse and begin transforming it from within. When the devil can’t destroy the church from without, he works from within!
2. The story of the Trojan Horse: According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the “Trojan horse was a huge hollow wooden horse constructed by the Greeks to gain entrance into Troy during the Trojan War. The horse was built by Epeius, a master carpenter and pugilist. The Greeks, pretending to desert the war, sailed to the nearby island of Tenedos, leaving behind Sinon, who persuaded the Trojans that the horse was an offering to Athena (goddess of war) that would make Troy impregnable. Despite the warnings of Laocoön and Cassandra, the horse was taken inside the city gates. That night Greek warriors emerged from it and opened the gates to let in the returned Greek army. The story is told at length in Book II of the Aeneid and is touched upon in the Odyssey. The term Trojan horse has come to refer to subversion introduced from the outside. Beginning in the late 20th century, the name “Trojan horse” was applied to deceptively benign computer codes that seem like legitimate applications but are written to damage or disrupt a computer’s programming or to steal personal information.”²
3. The Getty’s music, while having a veneer of conservatism is anything but that when performed by the Gettys themselves (refer slides).
4. The Gettys represent a dangerous bridge to a number of spiritual dangers.
   1. New Calvinism and Reformed Theology.
   2. Sensual, immodest clothing styles.
   3. The Charismatic movement.
   4. Roman Catholicism.

Conclusion

Watch out for the little foxes of compromise in your life!

References

1. https://www.wayoflife.org/database/musicalassociationsandccmadaption.html Viewed 4/9/21.
2. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Trojan horse”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Sep. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trojan-horse. Accessed 5 September 2021.