Shall We Dance?
Text: Romans 6:1-2
I. Dancing covers a broad range of action
A. It can be rhythmic movement in time to music
B. It can be movement that expresses feelings, such as joy or enthusiasm
C. It can be complex movements designed to create emotions in another person
II. Dancing in the Bible
A. We can find approved examples of dancing in the Bible, but each is an expression of joy or religious enthusiasm.
1. After the defeat of the Egyptian army, Miriam led the women in a dance - Exodus 15:20.
2. Jepthah’s daughter greeted her father with a dance when he returned from war - Judges 11:34
3. David danced before the ark of the Lord as it was brought into Jerusalem - II Samuel 6:14
B. But since dances express thoughts in movement, it can also summon images that are not good.
1. The people worshiped the golden calf - Exodus 32:6, 18-19
a. The exact nature of the dances are not mentioned, but by its reference, it was not proper.
2. The daughter of Herodias’ dance so appealed to Herod that he promised her anything, up to half his kingdom - Matthew 14:6-7
III. Modern dances and the Bible
A. What makes some dances acceptable and others not?
B. As we said, dance express human emotions, thus where people are involved we can expect dances which express sexual thoughts.
1. Christians are not to be involved in lustful passion - I Thessalonians 4:3-5
2. Passion is to be put to death - Colossians 3:5
3. Such thoughts are not to be associated with Christians - Ephesians 5:3
C. We also must consider the associated activities
1. Israel’s dance at the foot of Sinai was a part of idolatry
2. “One of the many things that parents need to be concerned about is what their teenagers do on high school prom night. Kids will be kids, yes, but that philosophy won’t necessarily bode well if something outrageous happens. Parents, if you are clueless, listen up! What do you think a lot of teenagers do on a Friday or Saturday night, especially if it’s Prom? For some, Prom is just another reason to get wasted with their friends. .... For other teenagers, Prom night may mean experiencing sex for the first time because they want the night to be special and they want to do it with ‘the right one,’ whatever that means.” [Keeping Your Teen Safe]
3. Principle Kenneth Hoagland of Kellenberg High School recently canceled the spring prom at his school. Why? “It is not primarily the sex / booze / drugs that surround this event, as problematic as they might be; it is rather the flaunting of affluence, assuming exaggerated expenses, a pursuit of vanity for vanity’s sake – in a word, financial decadence.” [Family Research Council, Issue #22, 3/16/2007]
4. 74 percent of teens surveyed report pressure to drink. [Teens Report Pressure to Engage in High-Risk Behaviors on Prom and Graduation Nights]
5. “45 percent report pressure to drink and drive or ride with someone who has been drinking.” [Teens Report Pressure to Engage in High-Risk Behaviors on Prom and Graduation Nights]
6. 49 percent of teens report pressure to use drugs [Teens Report Pressure to Engage in High-Risk Behaviors on Prom and Graduation Nights]
7. “Prom and sex are too often linked in the minds of young people seeking independence and maturity in adult behavior. Along with this rite of passage can come significant pressure for both boys and girls to engage in activities they may not really want and may not be ready for.” [Stephen Wallace, chairman and chief executive officer of SADD]
D. We have to realize that dancing can be dangerous just by the side issues revolving around it.
1. Avoid the appearance of evil - I Thessalonians 5:21-22
2. Avoid evil companions - I Corinthians 15:33
3. Instead of sharing, expose them for what they are - Ephesians 5:11-16
IV. Questions to ask before attending a dance:
A. Can you attend or participate in the dance and keep yourself pure in conversation, conduct, and thought? - I Timothy 5:22
B. Will your attendance or participation in the dance increase or decrease your influence as a Christian on others? - Matthew 5:13-16
C. Will the atmosphere, actions, language, clothing, and activities at the dance promote or reduce opportunities for lust?
V. Reasons given for dancing and their answers
A. “Dancing is fun”
1. Yes, but many sins are fun - Hebrews 11:25
2. Fun doesn’t determine right or wrong
B. “Dancing isn’t sexual to me”
1. Then why don’t boys dance with boys?
2. Abstain from fleshly lusts - I Peter 2:11
C. “Dancing doesn’t affect me in that way; I’m able to handle it”
1. But dancing does affect others “that way”
2. We are responsible for our affect on others - Romans 14:15
D. “Boys will have those thoughts anyway”
1. Perhaps, but do you throw matches at dynamite just because it will explode anyway?
2. Isn’t the idea reduce sin and not to encourage it?
E. “I won’t fit in if I stay away. Everyone else is going”
1. The way to heaven is not found by searching for the popular path - Matthew 7:13-14
2. Christians stand out from the crowd, they do not blend into the crowd.
F. “I’ll be laughed at if I don’t go”
1. Probably so - Matthew 5:11-12
2. It is not a shame to suffer as a Christian - I Peter 4:16
G. “There will be chaperones there”
1. If dancing is sin, then it will be chaperoned sin.
2. Chaperones can’t control your thoughts or others.
H. “I’m just going to watch”
1. If it is wrong to dance, then why would it be proper to watch others sin?
2. Imagine telling your parents, “Sure there is a steamy sex scene in that movie, but I’m just going to watch.” - Matthew 5:28
VI. You know, perhaps it would be better to find something more conducive to acting like a child of God.