Callings

I feel like a big problem among Christians today is a misunderstanding about our calling.

Romans 14 explains this pretty well.

It seems to me that people have a tendency to take what they are individually called to do, and base the actions of all Christians on them. For example, and I really don't want to give an example, but for example, one person in the unblack metal scene recently left the scene because that person has come to believe that unblack metal (and all metal) is evil. They proceeded to tell other Christians to leave the scene as well, or they would go to Hell.

There is no Biblical evidence that any genre of music is inherently evil. I can understand how metal could become a snare to some people, but it's not a snare to everyone. For me, the unblack scene is one of the most godly things I could be participating in. Unblack metal actually brought me closer to God. I eventually actually left behind all of the pagan/occult/satanic music I used to like, and turned to music that worshiped God instead. When certain things happened in my life, unblack metal led me to question a lot of the occult things I was practicing. When I wanted to listen to dark music, unblack metal was always an option, and there was often some band whose music had a dark enough sound to satisfy me. That's the purpose of evangelism - to call out to people, just as the scene is doing. Unblack metal is a wonderful tool to spread the word to people. I, and many others in the scene, have been led into a right place with God through this.

And on the other hand, you do, indeed, have some people who were misled by the darkness of the overall black metal scene, the stuff I left behind, and were ensnared by it, instead of turning further to the God-glorifying music in the unblack scene.

So the issue isn't that this genre is inherently evil, the issue is that people aren't putting God first in issues like this. And I keep talking about metal, but it's not just about metal - it's about ALL things in life.

If you listen to unblack metal, and find it becoming a snare to you, pray to God about it, and don't be afraid to listen to what He has to say. If you feel unblack metal is becoming a snare to somebody else, don't be afraid to bring it up. Just don't assume that it's universally a sin when there's no Biblical evidence for it. This is how it is for everything in life. Whatever is going on, put God first. Avoid sin as the Bible clearly describes it. And for everything else, pray to God about it.

It's not just a problem with others, either. It can be a problem with you, yourself. We as individual people disagree on a lot of things, and interpret scripture in different ways. The problem comes in when those differing viewpoints aren't based on God's word, or on God's individual plans for us, but instead are based on our own desires, and what we want to believe, rather than what we are instructed to believe. It's important to have an unbiased, scriptural view of things, and not be guided by what you individually are being misled to want by the devil and his demons.

For example, I once believed in reincarnation. The Bible says that man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, which created a conflict with my beliefs at the time. In that case, you couldn't have just passed it off as me "having a different interpretation of scripture", because I was ignoring scripture. Nowadays, I've learned to reject reincarnation. It's no longer a snare to me, and I now understand the truth of that verse. Now, I also used to practice what you could call "sorcery", but Hebrews 9:27 says nothing about that. However, Deuteronomy 18:10 to 11 does, and so does Revelation 22:15. Of course, I've left behind "sorcery" as well. So it's important to be sure your beliefs are backed by scripture.

The best way to resolve that is to think of it this way:
Do you believe what you do because of the Bible, or in spite of it?

Can you back up your views with scripture, or does it contradict your claims?

God bless you all and guide you according to His perfect will! In Jesus' name. Amen.