This is a production of World Video Bible School.
To God be the glory!
Michael Buble sings the song
"Save The Last Dance For Me."
Whitney Houston sang
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
Lady Gaga sings
"Just Dance."
You know, it's amazing how many songs there are that have the word "dance"
in them.
On television these days,
dancing is the latest primetime rage.
FOX has its program "So You Think You Can Dance."
ABC has the program "Dancing With The Stars" which is
boasting an audience of 22,500,000 viewers on Monday nights.
And the point is that
dancing is extremely popular. And it's something that
young people have to deal with.
I'm standing here, right now, in a high school gymnasium.
But, pretty soon this could be the scene
of a high school dance.
And young people have to ask the question,
"Should I go?"
And there's the prom, "Should I attend the prom?"
These are very real issues. And for a teenager to stand up and say "No, I'm not
going to go to the prom," or, "No, I'm not going to go to the dance"
could make them seem kind of out of touch and
maybe old-fashioned and would likely bring ridicule from their peers.
And so, I think it's good that
we talk about this issue and see what the Bible has to say about the subject
of dancing. What does God think
about this issue.
And you know, questions like this
really come down to our attitude toward the Bible.
And so, as we begin,
I want us to ask ourselves,
"Am I a person
who seeks to avoid questionable decisions in my life?" Or,
"Am I a person who tries to get away with as much as possible and sacrifice
as little as possible
for the Lord?"
Alright, let's talk about dancing.
Dictionary.com defines dancing this way:
"To move rhythmically
usually to music,
using prescribed or improvised steps and gestures."
Now, the word "dance," including "danced,"
"dances," and "dancing"
is use 27 times in the Bible.
There are six Old Testament (or Hebrew) words translated as "dance;"
and two New Testament (or Greek) words.
When you go to the Bible,
and you read the 27 occurrences,
you will find that these words are used basically in two different ways.
Now, the first usage
means:
"To jump up and down with joy."
Like you might do when your team scores a touchdown.
This is a
celebratory type of thing.
You know, when the Ark of the Covenant was finally
returned to Jerusalem,
the Bible says David danced, in
2 Samuel 6, 14 through 16.
In Exodus 15,
Miriam led the women in dance and song, praising God for bringing them safely
through the Red Sea.
Now, when dance is used in this sense,
it is a synonym for
happiness
or celebration.
And most of the references to dance in the Bible fall into this category.
Now, the second sense in which dance is used
is in the sense of men and women interacting together
like they would at a party,
like a dance club, or the prom, or something like that.
In Exodus, chapter 32, while Moses was on the mountain receiving the
Ten Commandments,
you might remember that the children of Israel made an idol,
a golden calf.
And they engaged in immorality.
And the Bible says
they danced around it.
And you remember when Moses came down, he strongly condemn them for it.
In fact, every time that men and women danced together in the Bible, in the Old
Testament and the New Testament,
it was condemned.
And that's the type of dancing that we're talking about,
the type that would take place at a nightclub or a high school dance.
What does the Bible say about
this type of dancing?
Now, somebody might respond, "Nothing. The Bible doesn't say anything about that.
There's no passage that says 'Thou shalt not dance.'"
And that's true. There's no verse like that.
But, there are certainly passages that address dancing.
And there are certainly principles
that address dancing.
I want you to consider with me four reasons why this type of dancing is
wrong.
Number one comes from Galatians, chapter 5, and verse 19.
Galatians 5:19 begins listing the works of the flesh.
Now here's how it reads:
"Now the works for the flesh are manifest,
which are these;
Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness..." Now, I want you to notice this word "lasciviousness."
This is not a word that we use much anymore.
Probably when you leave to go on a date, your mother doesn't say, "Drive carefully
and don't be lascivious."
Now the New King James uses the word "lewdness."
Other versions use terms such as
"sensuality"
and "lustful pleasure."
The Greek word here, according to "Thayer's Greek Lexicon," means:
"Wanton manners as filthy words,
indecent bodily movements,
unchaste handling
of males and females." I want you to think about this definition and I want you to
try to envision something that would violate this.
What would it be?
What involves
indecent bodily movements?
What involves
unchaste handling of males and females?
Well it's dancing.
If it's not dancing, if dancing doesn't fit that description,
I don't know what does.
Typically you have
a dark room, low-cut dresses,
males and females holding each other closely rubbing their bodies together,
suggestive music.
Now, I hope you don't watch this show, but
if you've seen "Dancing with the Stars,"
or even if you've seen a commercial for it,
it's this word,
indecent bodily movements,
unchaste handling of males and females.
Now this particular word
is found nine times in the New Testament.
It is translated six times as "lasciviousness,"
twice as "wantonness,"
and once as
"filthy."
In modern language, we would define it this way:
"Conduct which excites lust." In verse 21, Paul writes:
"...they which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God." Now to put it plainly,
those who engage in lascivious dancing
are not going to go to heaven.
I'll tell you what else fits this definition,
and really is a type of dancing,
is cheerleading.
Now, it's not sinful
to cheer for a team.
And cheerleading is not inherently sinful. But most of the time cheerleading
involves young
girls or ladies
in short skirts that
fly up during their routine.
And they're engaging in very provocative movements,
sometimes sexual in nature.
And these days they have boys handling them and holding their bodies.
And again, there's nothing wrong with having team spirit.
But when this type of thing is going on,
it fits the definition that the Lord said
will keep you out of heaven.
Now, somebody might say,
"Oh, you're being crazy. It's not like that."
But you know, there's a reason why cheerleaders wear those skimpy outfits
even in the dead of winter.
I'm telling you that it's more than just team spirit.
Now, reason number two, why this type of dancing is wrong, comes from
Matthew 5:28:
Jesus said,
"But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her
has already committed adultery with her
in his heart."
Jesus said that to lust for a woman, who's not your wife,
is sinful.
And dancing creates lust.
Dancing is sexual in nature.
No healthy man will deny that
it's sexually arousing to watch a girl swing her hips and breasts
suggestively to music.
Now, let me give you a Bible illustration of this.
You're probably familiar with the story of Herod and Herodias.
Mark, chapter 6 and verse 21, listen what it says:
"Then an opportune day came
when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers,
and the chief men of Galilee.
And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced,
and pleased Herod
and those who set with him,
the king said to the girl,
'Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.'"
Now, I want you to notice that the text says that she danced before them. That is
she engaged in suggestive bodily movements and they watched.
Now, what was Herod's reaction?
The text says
that it pleased him.
Now the Greek word here is a word that carries with it the idea of
exciting emotion.
We're being told that he was sexually pleased. He was
stimulated by this.
Now, what was the result?
The result was that Herod made a foolish vow. He did something that he
regretted.
Now somebody said that this type of dancing, this type of arousal,
causes men to do things that they might not normally do.
I want you to think about this. What if Herod had danced with her?
Would that have made it better?
If he had handled her like they do in
modern-day dances,
would it have been less evil?
Of course not. In fact, it would've been worse.
Paul Southern wrote that:
"(Dancing) is like building a fire under a tea kettle
and then daring the water
to boil."
Dancing arouses sexual passions and lust.
Somebody might say,
"Well I just don't buy all this about dancing being sexual. It's just fun,
there's nothing sexual to it."
Well if that's true,
why don't we have a father-son dance?
You know, I have heard of a father-son ball game,
and I've heard of a father-son campout.
But you don't have father-son dances. If there's truly nothing sexual to it,
then why don't we do that?
And if there's nothing sexual to it,
why don't schools have separate dances for boys and girls?
We could have all the girls meet in the cafeteria for a dance,
and have all of the boys meet in the gym.
How long do you think that would last?
We all know that would be the end of the party.
And why?
Because there's a sexual aspect
to dancing.
You know, the world understands the sexual nature of dancing.
Mick Jagger the lead singer for the Rolling Stones said:
"All dancing is a replacement
for sex."
Dr. Rita Hollingsworth said:
"Dancing is an exciting and pleasurable recreation as it affords
a partial satisfaction
of the sex impulse.
Dancing, in fact, is such an erotic stimuli that it even works for boys
and girls as young
as age eleven."
In one study,
44 boys were asked what their feelings were
toward young ladies with whom they were dancing.
41 out of the 44, 93 percent of them said
they thought about sex.
An audience of 1,500 men was asked
how many can dance
and not have evil thoughts.
No hands were raised. In another study, 80 percent of men admitted to having
lustful thoughts
while dancing.
Now the point that we're making is that dancing stimulates sexual thoughts and
feelings
and it violates what Jesus said
in Matthew 5:28.
Now, number 3. A third reason why dancing is wrong
is because it's a prelude to
other things.
When you put a male and a female together,
and they handle each other,
and they move their bodies to music, and
they shake their bodies in front of one another, and they hold each other tightly
pressed against one another,
it builds sexual emotions and tension.
And it's begging for trouble.
It's flirting with temptation.
You know, the proverb writer tells his son about the immoral woman
in Proverbs 5:
"Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house." Now, the idea is
get away, stay away,
not to see how close you can get to temptation.
In 1 Corinthians 6:18, the Bible says: "Flee fornication..."
Not entice yourself toward it.
1 Peter 2:11 says: "...abstain from fleshly lusts, which
war against the soul."
You know, orphanages say
that nine months
after-school proms
they have extra babies to care for. Now, why is that?
Because dancing is a prelude that leads to other things.
The Roman Catholic confessional reveals that 19 out of 20 of their
girls who go wrong
attribute it to dancing.
Sometimes people will say,
particularly with reference to school dances,
"How can something that is
so tightly supervised be wrong? Nothing's going on there."
Well first, that's not true. I know of situations, I've heard of situations
where things
did go on.
And secondly,
chaperones can only control what goes
on outwardly.
They can't control your thoughts.
They can't control what kind of lust might be building
inside those young boys.
And they can't control what takes place after the dance or on the way home.
Now, somebody said:
"When you turn a guy on,
he can be awfully hard to turn off."
Reader's Digest had a survey from 1999 that said:
"Over 75 percent of young women and 65 percent of young men who
had not yet had intimate sexual relations
planned to change that
on prom night."
And have you seen some of those prom dresses?
I'm not trying to be crude,
but some of those dresses they wear make them look like prostitutes.
I want you listen to this ad,
it's about prom dresses. It's from CyberGown.com,
on their web page, that says prom fashion 2009.
It reads like this:
"The sexy necklines... look good
but try not to wear a necklace for a more astonishing sexy look...
This time the prom dresses have become more and more
enduring
and seductive..."
Now is that what you want for your daughter? Notice the words
"sexy necklines,"
"sexy look," "seductive." Is that what you want for your daughter, for her to be
seductive?
Promgirl.net provides a
list of workouts for young girls that they can do prior to the prom
and it says:
"Performing these prom workouts and exercises
can assure a phenomenal body just in time for the event of the season. With
time and effort you will undoubtedly turn some heads with your terrific
toned look!"
And let me make one more comment with regard to this chaperone issue.
You know, if something needs to be so tightly supervised in the first place,
that ought to tell us something.
Number 4. Fourth reason that this type of dancing is wrong
comes from 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 33. The Bible says: "Be not
deceived:
Evil companionships
corrupt good morals."
Now, I want you to use your imagination for just a minute;
and, I want you to think about one of the type of people
who participates in modern dance.
I want you to think about the people who would be at a dance club.
You know, they're going there
expecting to engage in things that are enticing and titilating.
And I want you think about the companions of dance itself.
What do you usually find along with dancing?
Well, one is alcohol. Almost always alcohol goes with dancing.
Secondly,
you find very revealing,
sexually provocative, clothing.
Thirdly, music. Music always goes with dancing. And oftentimes it's very
suggestive,
crude, crass music.
I looked up, on the internet,
the top ten prom songs for 2009.
Number one is "Just dance,"
by Lady Gaga.
Now I want you listen to some of the lyrics from this song:
"Show me
I can see that you got so much in the jean.
The way you twirling up them hips round and round.
There's no reason,
I know
why you can't leave here with me.
In the meantime
stand, let me watch you break it down."
And you know, this song pretty well sums up what we've been saying about dancing.
She's saying I like the way you fill out your jeans. I want to stand and watch. We
can go home together, but in the meantime,
I'm just going to observe you.
Number three on the list of the top
dance songs for the prom
was: "I kissed a girl."
It's a song about two females kissing each other.
Number seven of the top ten prom dance songs is: "Sexyback," by Justin Timberlake.
Now, here's an excerpt of its lyrics"
"Dirty babe (uh-huh),
You see the shackles?
Baby I'm your slave (uh-huh),
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave (uh-huh).
It's just that no one makes me feel this way (uh-huh)."
Now these are listed
as the top dance songs for the prom,
for kids.
Not that it's right for adults, but this is for kids. This is what accompanies
the dance.
Now let's take a minute to consider some random questions about dancing.
Number one: "What about dancing for exercise?"
You know sometimes people have said,
"Oh, I just like to dance because it's good exercise. Not for any of those things
that you're discussing."
You know if a person wants to dance alone, in the privacy of his own home for
exercise,
I guess that's fine.
But you know, as soon as other people come into the picture, other people
become involved,
then you run into the problems that we've been discussing.
Now somebody says,
"What about dancing when it's just between a husband and wife in the
privacy of their own home?"
You know, I have been asked this question several times over the years;
and I think it's because we talk so much about dancing being wrong that people
wonder about this.
But you know, dancing is not inherently wrong.
It's the sexual things. It's the immodesty. Oftentimes the environment. Those are the
things that make it wrong. But, if a man and woman who are married,
want to dance in their own home,
more power to them. Certainly nothing wrong with that.
It might even be good for their relationship.
Nuber three: "What about things like
the 'Hokey Pokey?'"
Believe it or not, I've had people object to things like this.
But I have never seen the Hokey Pokey
performed in such a way that it would fit the description of the things we've been
discussing.
You know, we've got to use good sense about things like this. And there's nothing wrong with
doing a game like that, that children involve themselves in.
Now I know as soon as I say that, someone's going to come out with a dirty
version of the Hokey Pokey. But I've never seen it done in an inappropriate way.
There's a story told of a young girl
who was going to take a tour of a coal mine.
And she came dressed in a spotless white dress.
And her friends kind of harassed her about it, and they told her how
ridiculous it was to take this tour in the white dress.
But she said, "It will be alright. I'll be careful not to touch anything."
And so, before they enter the mine,
she asked the coal miner who was giving the tour,
she said, "Is there anything that would prevent me from wearing a white dress
into the coal mine?"
And he responded, "No, there's nothing to keep you from wearing a white dress in,
but there are many things
that will keep you from wearing one out.
James 1:27 says that: "Pure and undefiled religion..."
involves keeping yourself
"...unspotted from the world."
But you know, that's awfully hard to do
when we surround ourselves with filth.
Dancing is lasciviousness.
It is sexual in nature.
It promotes lust.
It's a prelude to other things.
And it involves wicked companions.
It is impossible for a Christian to keep himself unspotted from the world
while participating in the modern day dance.
In Sherry Burgess' tract "Shall I Go To The Prom,"
she writes these words about the prom.
She says: "One night was hard,
God held my hand,
He gave me courage to take a stand.
It doesn't hurt me anymore,
I'm stronger than I was before.
One night was hard,
I made a stand,
and now there's left
the Promised Land."