Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).

November 24, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Alone (Feat. TRU)” by Hollyn which currently sits at #7 on the Air1’s Top 10.

We’ve covered all of the songs on the Klove top 10 and 20theCountdownMagazine charts. Today we are looking to Air1’s Top 10 chart. What we have here is another “wooing your boyfriend song”, and the only one who mentions Jesus is the featured rapper, TRU. This song is a trainwreck. Let’s get this over with.

Hollyn Official Lyric Video

Lyrics (via Air1)

Alone (Feat. TRU)

Fell for you first day that I met you
Never dreamed that I ever could forget you
But black and white make a mess
When it turn to grey

Sunlight came sweepin’ cross the window
Rewind to the time when we were so close
Got me longin’ for yesterday

But Lord You, know me, so well
I can be a little punk sometimes

But don’t leave me, leave me alone
Bust down the door to my heart like it’s Your home
Don’t need no keys
I’m on my knees
Begging You please
I’ve gotta settle this thing once and for all
You got my heart my soul You can have it all
I’m on my knees
Beggin’ You please
Beggin’ You please, Lord
Don’t leave me alone

Through the tears, through the pain comes a new day
Blown away still amazed You pursue me
Ain’t no limit to the way You love

Don’t stop
Lord I need You like a heartbeat
Concrete
Rock solid under my feet
And You’re callin’ me You’re callin’ me up

[Rap Lyric]
I said You had me in your arms but I fell through the grasp
But yep I had You in my heart but I guess I relapsed
Like I’m livin’ for the wrong reasons, through the seasons
Tryna fall for you but then they put me on blast
It’s like I try to speak my mind because I know that I’m His
And yep I try to speak my mind but it don’t fly with them kids
Man if I’m not talkin’ bout the newest Nikes or releases
They put the mute on me
I can’t speak about my Jesus?
Like I’m living for Him
I’m slippin to sin
I turn around and make the amends
I try to fit it
I mess it up and stumble again
I’m takin’ this pen
And writing everything so I remember just how sweet that it is
Yeah man I got issues I can’t even lie
My only saving grace is knowing I got You inside
I’m done with (saving face) I ain’t gotta thing to hide
So don’t leave me alone
Keep coming day and night

Don’t leave me leave me alone
Bust down the door to my heart
Lord it’s Your home

Written by Holly Miller, Toby McKeehan, Bryan Fowler, Truett McKeehan.

© 2015 Capitol CMG Paragon/Songs of Gotee (BMI), Capitol CMG Genesis/Christopher Stevens Designee (ASCAP), Achtober Songs (BMI), Offwite Creative (BMI) all administrated at CapitolCMGPublishing.com. Produced & Mixed by Bryan Fowler for fabmusic.

Discussion

First, let’s scan through the lyrics sung by Hollyn (skipping the rap portion for now) and everywhere you see “Lord” in bold, replace it with “baby” or “boy”. And just like that, you have a Pop40 love/makeup song. That’s a big problem, because the message of wooing your boyfriend/girlfriend does NOT mirror our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, epic fail on this point. Jesus is not your boyfriend or bearded girlfriend. 

The artist is describing a feeling we all know but using all of the wrong words to do it. Probably because her theology isn’t rooted and grounded in the Written Word of God. Confessing that “I can be a little punk sometimes” is a whitewash of the truth, that we are sinners deserving of destruction. That even when we’ve been regenerated by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ, our flesh is still corrupt and we still sin. Our flesh is week, but through faith in Christ Jesus we hold onto the Promise of the forgiveness of sin and being resurrected into eternal life as heirs and joint heirs with Christ by His Blood. This song doesn’t convey that truth of God’s Word. Instead, this song presents the notion that we need to woo God not to leave us, like the boy/girlfriend who has finally “had it” with us and is threatening to leave.

The closes this song gets to pointing to a remotely Christian message comes in the rap portion performed by TRU. Again we see a lack of understanding of our sinner/saint duality while we walk this earth in corrupted flesh. That leaves a very anemic understanding of sin and grace that will inevitably lead to a man-centric, works-based approach to repentance and the forgiveness of sin. As we see in the lines “I guessed I relapsed… tryna fall for you… I turn around and make the amends”. That’s not the Gospel of Grace, that is a recipe for penance and works-based religion. We aren’t tryna fall in love with God… either we’ve been saved by Grace, or we remain enemies of God.

I find the line “I can’t speak about my Jesus” particularly frustrating. Why? This is an entire song, produced and published by a promoter of “Christian Music”, that has made its way to the top 10 of a “positive hits station” and the only line about Jesus is the line talking about how the artist is supposedly not allowed to speak about Him. Seriously? This entire song is squandered specifically because you AREN’T speaking/singing about Jesus. As is typical of mainstream rap/hip-hop, the artist isn’t “being real”, he’s merely addressing a caricature of reality that fits beat and fills the out the stanza. Even in that pseudo-complaint about being muted… the focus is on him and his career as a performer, not on preaching the Gospel to the lost and the hurting.

When we lack the proper understanding of the war that wages within Christians between our fallen flesh and the Spirit, we are left completely vulnerable to a man-centric religion of works. The book of Galatians is addressed the Judaizing heresy which sought to enslave Christians of the New Covenant of faith by the Blood of Jesus back under the Mosaic Covenant. Is the Law evil? No, but its purpose isn’t to prove your righteousness; rather, it is to prove your unrighteousness and need for a Savior, Jesus Christ. The Promise of Salvation is a gift from God. He opens our eyes and ears to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He grants us faith.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

He seals us with His Holy Spirit, safeguarding us in Christ Jesus until the Day of Resurrection

Acts 2:37-39 (ESV)

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

We are not yet made perfect in body, for we still live in corrupted flesh and walk this corrupted earth. We still have to deal our sinful nature, not by works, but by faith.

1 John 1 (ESV) | The Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

It is by faith alone, that we are made righteous before God. And that faith does produce good works, but the good works that flow from the Gospel of Jesus Christ are not to make amends to God, or to prove to God our love for Him, or to “give Him our hearts” as suggested in this song… our good works are to serve our neighbors.

Galatians 5:1-14 (ESV) | Christ Has Set Us Free

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ² Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. ³ I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. ⁴ You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. ⁷ You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? ⁸ This persuasion is not from him who calls you. ⁹ A little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰ I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. ¹¹ But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. ¹² I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! ¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Dear Christian, stop stabbing blindly in the dark at some form of penance, or good work that will finally grant you rest… rest can only be found by faith in Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Repent daily, forgive and love your neighbor, and trust God to carry you through the Resurrection by His power and might, not yours.

Conclusion

I’m very disappointed in this song and its position on Air1’s charts. I used to listen to Air1 all the time… but so little of what they play and promote is sound Christianity. Society has completely screwed up the concept of marriage and sexual fidelity. Society has a perverse view of dating and courtship. The last thing we should be doing is taking a carnal dating song and trying to make it fit the Gospel. Jesus is not your boo. He is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Revelation 22 (ESV)
The River of Life

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Is Coming

⁶ And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸ I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, ⁹ but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”

¹² “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge