Bible verses about "listening to secular music" | Moffatt

¹⁶ So your light is to shine before men, that they may see the good you do and glorify your Father in heaven.

¹ Thus, I may speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but if I have no love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal; ² I may prophesy, fathom all mysteries and secret lore, I may have such absolute faith that I can move hills from their place, but if I have no love, I count for nothing; ³ I may distribute all I possess in charity, I may give up my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I make nothing of it. ⁴ Love is very patient, very kind. Love knows no jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no airs, ⁵ is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, never resentful; ⁶ love is never glad when others go wrong, love is gladdened by goodness, ⁷ always slow to expose, always eager to believe the best, always hopeful, always patient. ⁸ Love never disappears. As for prophesying, it will be superseded; as for 'tongues,' they will cease; as for knowledge, it will be superseded. ⁹ For we only know bit by bit, and we only prophesy bit by bit; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will be superseded. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I argued like a child; now that I am a man, I am done with childish ways. ¹² At present we only see the baffling reflections in a mirror, but then it will be face to face; at present I am learning bit by bit, but then I shall understand, as all along I have myself been understood. ¹³ Thus 'faith and hope and love last on, these three,' but the greatest of all is love.

¹ Well then, my brothers, I appeal to you by all the mercy of God to dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated and acceptable to God; that is your cult, a spiritual rite.

¹ PAUL, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God ² (which he promised of old by his prophets in the holy scriptures) ³ concerning his Son, who was born of David's offspring by natural descent ⁴ and installed as Son of God with power by the Spirit of holiness when he was raised from the dead — concerning Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom I have received the favour of my commission to promote obedience to the faith for his sake among all the Gentiles, ⁶ including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ: ⁷ to all in Rome who are beloved by God, called to be saints, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because the report of your faith is over all the world. ⁹ God is my witness, the God whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I always mention you in my prayers, ¹⁰ asking if I may at last be sped upon my way to you by God's will. ¹¹ For I do yearn to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift for your strengthening — ¹² or, in other words, that I may be encouraged by meeting you, I by your faith and you by mine. ¹³ Brothers, I would like you to understand that I have often purposed to come to you (though up till now I have been prevented) so as to have some results among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ To Greeks and to barbarians, to wise and to foolish alike, I owe a duty. ¹⁵ Hence my eagerness to preach the gospel to you in Rome as well. ¹⁶ For I am proud of the gospel; it is God's saving power for everyone who has faith, for the Jew first and for the Greek as well. ¹⁷ God's righteousness is revealed in it by faith and for faith — as it is written, Now by faith shall the righteous live. ¹⁸ But God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the impiety and wickedness of those who hinder the Truth by their wickedness. ¹⁹ For whatever is to be known of God is plain to them; God himself has made it plain — ²⁰ for ever since the world was created, his invisible nature, his everlasting power and divine being, have been quite perceptible in what he has made. So they have no excuse. ²¹ Though they knew God, they have not glorified him as God nor given thanks to him; they have turned to futile speculations till their ignorant minds grew dark. ²² They claimed to be wise, but they have become fools; ²³ they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the semblance of the likeness of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds, and of reptiles. ²⁴ So God has given them up, in their heart's lust, to sexual vice, to the dishonouring of their own bodies, — ²⁵ since they have exchanged the truth of God for an untruth, worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed for ever: Amen. ²⁶ That is why God has given them up to vile passions; their women have exchanged the natural function of sex for what is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way the males have abandoned the natural use of women and flamed out in lust for one another, men perpetrating shameless acts with their own sex and getting in their own persons the due recompense of their perversity. ²⁸ Yes, as they disdained to acknowledge God any longer, God has given them up to a reprobate instinct, for the perpetration of what is improper, ²⁹ till they are filled with all manner of wickedness, depravity, lust, and viciousness, filled to the brim with envy, murder, quarrels, intrigues, and malignity — slanderers, ³⁰ defamers, loathed by God, outrageous, haughty, boastful, inventive in evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ devoid of conscience, false to their word, callous, merciless; ³² though they know God's decree that people who practise such vice deserve death, they not only do it themselves but applaud those who practise it.

¹⁴ Whereas solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by exercise to distinguish good and evil.)

³ Never let any sexual vice or impurity or lust be so much as mentioned by you — that is the proper course for saints to take;

²⁴ Also he said to them, "Take care what you hear; the measure you deal out to others will be dealt out to yourselves, and you will receive extra.

¹⁴ [Keep out of all incongruous ties with unbelievers. What have righteousness and iniquity in common, or how can light associate with darkness?

¹ Copy God, then, as his beloved children, ² and lead lives of love, just as Christ loved you and gave himself up for you to be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ Never let any sexual vice or impurity or lust be so much as mentioned by you — that is the proper course for saints to take; ⁴ no, nor indecent, silly, or scurrilous talk — all that is improper. Rather, voice your thanks to God. ⁵ Be sure of this, that no one guilty of sexual vice or impurity or lust (that is, an idolater) possesses any inheritance in the realm of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with specious arguments; these are the vices that bring down God's anger on the sons of disobedience. ⁷ So avoid the company of such men. ⁸ For while once upon a time you were darkness, now in the Lord you are light; lead the life of those who are children of the light ⁹ (for the fruit of light consists in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ verifying what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless enterprises of the darkness; rather expose them. ¹² One is indeed ashamed even to speak about what such men do in secret; ¹³ still, whatever the light exposes becomes illuminated — for anything that is illuminated turns into light. ¹⁴ Thus it is said, 'Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead; so Christ will shine upon you.' ¹⁵ Be strictly careful then about the life you lead; act like sensible men, not like thoughtless; ¹⁶ make the very most of your time, for these are evil days. ¹⁷ So do not be senseless, but understand what is the Lord's will; ¹⁸ and do not get drunk with wine — that means profligacy — but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ converse with one another in the music of psalms, in hymns, and in songs of the spiritual life, praise the Lord heartily with words and music, ²⁰ and render thanks to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ at all times and for all things. ²¹ Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²² Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord, ²³ for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also (though he is the saviour of the Body) is the head of the church; ²⁴ as the church is subject to Christ, so wives are to be subject to their husbands in every respect. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to consecrate her by cleansing her in the bath of baptism as she utters her confession, ²⁷ in order to have the church as his very own, standing before him in all her glory, with never a spot or wrinkle or any such flaw, but consecrated and unblemished. ²⁸ So ought husbands to love their wives — to love them as their own bodies (he who loves his wife loves himself). ²⁹ For no one ever hates his flesh; no, he nourishes and cherishes it (just as Christ does the church ³⁰ for we are members of his Body). ³¹ Therefore shall a man leave father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the pair shall be one flesh. ³² This is a profound symbol, I mean as regards Christ and the church. ³³ However, let every man of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife reverence her husband.

¹⁷ Therefore come away from them, separate, saith the Lord, touch not what is unclean; then I will receive you,

¹⁹ converse with one another in the music of psalms, in hymns, and in songs of the spiritual life, praise the Lord heartily with words and music,

¹ Welcome a man of weak faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his scruples. ² While one man has enough confidence to eat any food, the man of weak faith only eats vegetables. ³ The eater must not look down upon the non-eater, and the non-eater must not criticize the eater, for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to criticize the servant of Another? It is for his Master to say whether he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Master has power to make him stand. ⁵ Then again, this man rates one day above another, while that man rates all days alike. Well, everyone must be convinced in his own mind; ⁶ the man who values a particular day does so to the Lord. The eater eats to the Lord, since he thanks God for his food; the non-eater abstains to the Lord, and he too thanks God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; ⁸ if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Thus we are the Lord's whether we live or die; ⁹ it was for this that Christ died and rose and came to life, to be Lord both of the dead and of the living. ¹⁰ So why do you criticize your brother? And you, why do you look down upon your brother? All of us have to stand before the tribunal of God — ¹¹ for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, every tongue shall offer praise to God. ¹² Each of us then will have to answer for himself to God. ¹³ So let us stop criticizing one another; rather make up your mind never to put any stumbling-block or hindrance in your brother's way. ¹⁴ I know, I am certain in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is in itself unclean; only, anything is unclean for a man who considers it unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother is being injured because you eat a certain food, then you are no longer living by the rule of love. Do not let that food of yours ruin the man for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Your rights must not get a bad name. ¹⁷ The Reign of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, it means righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit; ¹⁸ he who serves Christ on these lines, is acceptable to God and esteemed by men. ¹⁹ Peace, then, and the building up of each other, these are what we must aim at. ²⁰ You must not break down God's work for the mere sake of food! Everything may be clean, but it is wrong for a man to prove a stumbling-block by what he eats; ²¹ the right course is to abstain from flesh or wine or indeed anything that your brother feels to be a stumbling-block. ²² Certainly keep your own conviction on the matter, as between yourself and God; he is a fortunate man who has no misgivings about what he allows himself to eat. ²³ But if anyone has doubts about eating and then eats, that condemns him at once; it was not faith that induced him to eat, and any action that is not based on faith is a sin.

¹² 'All things are lawful for me'? Yes, but not all are good for me. 'All things are lawful for me'? Yes, but I am not going to let anything master me.

¹⁰ verifying what pleases the Lord.

⁸ Finally, brothers, keep in mind whatever is true, whatever is worthy, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is attractive, whatever is high-toned, all excellence, all merit.

³¹ So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, let it be all done for the glory of God.

² Instead of being moulded to this world, have your mind renewed, and so be transformed in nature, able to make out what the will of God is, namely, what is good and acceptable to him and perfect.