DiM | “Mended” by Matthew West

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disapproveCCM Edition.

September 27, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Mended” by Matthew West which currently sits at #20 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

This song is written as a sort of love song from God to the Christian. As such, Matthew West is speaking in the place of God to offer encouragement to the listener. I generally advise against this approach because it leaves room to speak in God’s Name what He hasn’t spoken (runs the risk of blasphemy). There are some themes in this song that I have no doubt many find personally engouraging and even precious. Please understand that we understand there are specific hurts that need to be addressed, but we need to address them Biblically. I’m not discrediting the hurts that this song is targeting. We all have real hurts. Rather than having someone like Matthew West put words in God’s mouth, we really should be pointed to God’s Word and His Promises. Let’s watch the lyric video and then dive into the lyrics.

MatthewWestVEVO (Lyric Video)

Another hyper-individualistic music video. One hurting person struggling alone, the singer (also alone) offering words of comfort to the hurting person. Christianity isn’t an individualistic thing. Christians are not individuals unto themselves; rather, we are members of the Body of Christ. Interconnected and corporately engaged as the Bride of Christ. We are the sheep, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. A sheep on its own is lost. Wolves seek to islate and seperate a lamb from the flock, so that they can devour it in solitude without having to deal with the Shepherd. We’ll deal with the lyrics now, but I wanted to address what seems to be a growing trend. A spirituality that marginalizes the Body of Christ and emphasizes the individual experience leads into the snare of mysticism. This is a dangerous trend in American Evangelicalism.

Lyrics (via KLove)

How many times can one heart break?
It was never supposed to be this way
Look in the mirror, but you find someone
You never thought you’d be

Oh, but I can still recognize
The one I love in your tear stained eyes
I know you might not see it now
So lift your eyes to me

When you see broken beyond repair
I see healing beyond belief
When you see too far gone
I see one step away from home
You see nothing but damaged goods
I see something good in the making
I’m not finished yet
When you see wounded, I see mended

You see your worst mistake
But I see the price I paid
There’s nothing you could ever do
To lose what grace has won

So hold on, it’s not the end
This is where love’s work begins
I’m making all things new
And I will make a miracle of you

I see my child, My beloved
The new creation you’re becoming
You see the scars from when you fell
But I see the stories they will tell
You see worthless, but I see priceless
You see pain, but I see a purpose
You see unworthy, undeserving
But I see you through eyes of mercy

Publishing: © 2015 Highly Combustible Music/Atlas Music Publishing/House Of Story Music (ASCAP) All rights administered by Atlas Music Publishing obo itself, Highly Combustible Music and House Of Story Music.
Writer: Matthew West

Discussion

The song is presented in a parental tone like a song of encouragement. I think the first time I listened to the song I was hoping the singer was going to be in the role of parent, big brother, or even a Pastor. But the final line in some of the stanzas remove that understanding of it, lines like “So lift your eyes to me” and “I will make a miracle of you”. So, the singer is speaking in the place of God. The listener is someone who is hurting. No mention of repentance, faith, just hurting and what society would call a “broken self image”. Is the hurt real? Yes. Do Christians still suffer from broken self image? Yes. Christians still struggle with sin and its consequences. We still live in a broken world and walk in broken flesh. So whether the person being sung to (the woman in the video) is a believer or an unbeliever the answer to the struggle being presented is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repentance and the forgiveness of sins. For the Christian, it becomes ever so important to emphasize “your sins are forgiven”. When Satan cannot prevent the Gospel from being preached to an individual, he shifts into full accuser mode, lying to the believer prompting and prodding him to believe that now its up to the believer to maintain his own salvation. But that is not how the enemy is conquered. Christ has already defeated sin, death and the devil.

Revelation 12:10-11 (ESV) And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, forthey loved not their lives even unto death.

The word of their testimony is not a testiment of themselves or who they’ve become; rather, it is the word of their testimony of who Christ Is.

Verse 1
The first four lines are odd as far as who is the one voicing these thoughts. Is the singer anticipating the questions in the audience’s mind? We’ll suspend this question a bit for the sake of artistry. What’s the dilemma being presented? Disappointment. We could assume “failure” or “misfortune”, but the wording is intentionally vague, because the point of this lyric is to apply to as broad a spectrum of emotional hurting as possible. Right or wrong, at this point we can only put our finger on disappointment in what the listener sees in the mirror, because it doesn’t match what the listener thought “should be”. The next four lines facilitate the turn from the problem to the proposed solution without offering any clarity. The song is banking on the listener finding their own struggle in this first verse and then rightly coopting the solution for themselves. Is it a sin to turn out differently from what you thought you’d be? Not necessarily. In some cases, the sin could be in what you’ve become… or the sin could be in the desire of being something you aren’t.  The song is vague and completely wide open for any interpretation… because the focal point isn’t a knowlege of sin but the emotion of disappointment.

Chorus
Well, this chorus could almost be a Joel Osteen lecture set to music. Rather than offering up the objective truth of God’s Word, the song engages in reshaping what we “see”. This is supposed to be voicing from God’s perspective. The problem is it’s still speaking of things only as potential truths. God’s Word isn’t written in potentials. God has revealed Himself in Scripture, and His Promises are True. Our forgiveness is assured in Christ Jesus. Our resurrection is also assured in Christ Jesus. What is this song offering as the solution to the problem? An unseen progression of mending and goodness. It’s a very “positive” declaration of “you’re looking at it the wrong way”. Just change how you look at it, how you think about it, and you’ll see. Seriously, this is very Joel Osteen here.

Verse 2
At least here we’re getting close to the idea of sin. Sin is the central problem to all of this temporal life. All of it. Sin. Not mistakes, sin. Our flesh is sinful. Our hearts are sinful. The solution isn’t some hidden potential within us… the solution is Christ and His Blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sin. The song that won’t name sin, cannot offer forgiveness. We get that here, too. Still a perception only sort of problem here. You see it one way, but God sees it another way, so it’s all good, you’ll see… someday. The last four lines of this verse are quite bold. This is where love’s work begins? In this emotion? No. Constantly moving the goal posts is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t encourage Christians to keep looking for the moment they feel saved, we point them back to the It is Finished when Christ secured their salvation.

Romans 6:1-14 (ESV) | Dead to Sin, Alive to God

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old selfwas crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Notice how Paul isn’t talking about your baptism or your Salvation in “potential” terms; rather, he’s working forward from what God has already done for you. This is what it means to preach the Gospel to believers. To remind them of what God has already done for them, that He has already paid the penalty, forgiven you of sin, and sealed you in His Righteousness. We do look forward to the Last Day, not for our own earthly perfection, but for the Day of the Resurrection.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Instead of constantly looking for an indication you are saved, or an internal aknowledgement that you’ve been mended, trust in the Work Christ has done to save you.

Now, to the hurting, the discouraged, the disappointed, and even the depressed… place your hope and trust in Christ Jesus, who laid down His life for you, for the forgiveness of your sin, so that He can clothe you in His Righteosness. So that by His Grace, through Faith, God no longer sees your unrightousness… He sees His Son, Jesus Christ. He’s not relying on your “potential”, He sees Christ.

Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV)
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

We, the Church, the corporate Body of Christ, are His Bride. He washes us, cleanses us, sanctifies us, clothes us, and covers us in Salvation and Righteousness, to present us to Himself holy and without blemish. This is made objectively clear in God’s Written Word, despite what you feel. When your feelings betray you, hold onto the objective Word of God.

Conclusion

This song is trying to do a good thing, but going about it sloppily. The hurting and the lowly in spirit need to be comforted. But we need to do so in Truth and we need to point them to God’s Word. It’s dangerous to start creatively speaking in God’s place. I disapprove of the approach and focus of this song, but not the goal. The goal was to offer encouragement to the broken and the weary. There is hope and comfort for all, and it isn’t something that has to be imagined, preach the Gospel to the believers, too. We need to hear that our sins are forgiven in Jesus’ Name, that we’ve been clothed by His righteosness. Call the haughty, arrogant, and proud to repentance through the preaching of the Law… but one who is aware of his/her sin needs the healing balm of the Gospel preached.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mysterythat was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Magnify” by We Are Messengers

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Presentation1CCM Edition.

September 20, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Magnify” by We Are Messengers which currently sits at #20 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

Musically, the song is quite nice. Emotionally impactful. The singer has a great voice. Lyrically, the song is missing one major ingredient, the Bible. God’s Written Word. The revelation of Christ to His Church. This sort of Bible-less Christianity is the result of American Christianity having been infected by gnostic mysticism. To rescue this song, the listener needs to already know where to look to see Christ. Not in our emotions (not even the positive ones), not in nature (though it declares His Glory), but in the Word of God. As we read Scripture, we rely on God the Holy Spirit to open up our eyes to the Truth that is there, in plain sight. Let’s take a look at the Official Music Video and then the Lyrics.

Official Music Video

 

Lyrics (via Air1)

Verse 1
I’ve been trying to make sense of the sorrow that I feel
Holding on for life to the only thing that’s real
I’ve only scratched the surface, I’ve barely had a taste
But just a glimpse draws my heart to change
And one sight of you lays my sin to waste
I don’t need to see everything just more of you

(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you

Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you

Verse 2
My sight is incomplete and I’ve made you look small
I’ve been staring at my problems for way too long
Re-align where my hope is set, until you’re all that’s left
But just a glimpse draws my heart to change
And one sight of you lays my sin to waste
I don’t need to see everything just more of you

(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you

Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you

Bridge
Oh God be greater, than the worries in my life
Be stronger, than the weakness in my mind
Be louder, let your Glory come alive
Be magnified

Oh God be greater, than the worries in my life
Be stronger, than the weakness in my mind
Be louder, let your Glory come alive
Be magnified

(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you, to you

Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you, to you

Publishing: © 2015 Dayspring Music, LLC (BMI) / So Essential Tunes, Not Just Another Song Publishing (SESAC) (All rights on behalf of So Essential Tunes and Not Just Another Song Publishing adm. by Essential Music Publishing LLC) Produced by Jonathan Smith & Casey Brown
Writer(s): Darren Mulligan/Casey Brown/Jonathan Smith

Discussion

The problem being presented in the song is real. We, sinners, are distracted by our temptation to sin. To worry. To despair. It’s a very real problem that is addressed in Scripture. Let’s look at what Christ taught.

Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV)“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? It means to seek Christ and Him crucified for your sin, repent and be forgiven in His Name. The righteousness of God is the forgiveness He gives to you in exchange for your sin. This is by faith alone in Christ’s finished work on the cross. When our flesh tempts us to earn our own righteousness by lawkeeping, well… that’s when the anxiety, fear, and condemnation sets in. Such is the concern we see the Apostle Paul having for the Galatians who were misled back into works-based righteousness by submitting to the Law of circumcision. Paul isn’t only concerned about this unnecessary surgical act, but in the return to Mosaic Law-keeping rather than faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 5:1-12 (ESV)  | Christ Has Set Us Free

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 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. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

These are extremely strong words from Paul, because this is a serious issue.

But, Jorge, what does this have to do with the song? Good question. This is only the first point I want to drive home, that Scripture teaches us to look to Christ and His kingdom rather than ourselves, our good works, our provisions… because to look to anything else is to be severed from Christ. If we’re giving this song its best construction, we have to view the over arching appeal of the song to be anchored in this truth. So, this is a strength in the concept of the song, that we are to be focused on Christ, not our circumstances, emotions, fears, or our own good works (or utter lack thereof).

The problem with the song is in its offered solution. It suggests that we are somehow supposed to see Christ directly. There is absolutely no mention of finding Him in His Word. The video doesn’t suggest it in any way… nor does it even suggest finding Christ among fellow believers gathered around the Preaching of God’s Word (definition of the Church). This is a giant hole in the theology of this song. To presume to see God apart from where He has revealed Himself is to engage in Mysticism. There is a bit of gnosticism rumbling in the background of this American ideology that is currently driving this closed-Bible Christianity, or even anti-Bible preaching of Andy Stanley.

It is important that we counter and guard against this gnostic mysticism. God has revealed Himself to us. Let’s examine this in steps. God the Father has revealed Himself fully in God the Son, Jesus.

John 14:1-9 (ESV) | I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

We don’t see Jesus in the flesh today, for He is in Heaven at the Right Hand of the Father. He will return. His Promise is sure. What we have is Christ fully revealed to us in Scripture. To make this case, I’d like to first pull a very clear teaching of Christ to His disciples, one from Luke’s account of the sending out of the Apostles, and another from John’s account of the night He was betrayed.

Luke 10:16 (ESV) “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

John 13:20 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

And where do we find the teaching of those whom Jesus sent? In the New Testament. Most of the Epistles were written by the Apostles themselves, and the others contain their teaching. Receive their teaching and you receive Christ. Receive Christ and you receive God the Father. How do we receive this? By the work of the Holy Spirit in preserving God’s Word, drawing us, granting us Faith, and delivering the forgiveness and the Righteousness of God (Jesus Christ) to us. He saves us by Grace through Faith.

Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The flip side of this is that if we reject the teaching of Christ’s Apostles we reject Christ and God the Father. Sidenote: There are no living Apostles. Only charlatans and blasphemers claiming a level of authority they weren’t given, making promises in the name of God that He doesn’t make, twisting scripture to gather disciples unto themselves. These are the same as those against whom Paul was writing to the Galatians. 

Is it wrong to want to see Christ? Absolutely not. We all long to see Him return in the way He has promised in His Word.

Acts 1:10-11 (ESV) And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

But to attempt to reach around where Christ has told us to find Him (In His Word and in the teaching of His Apostles) is to repeat the error of Thomas.

John 20:28-31 (ESV) Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.

So this is the great error of this song. The attempt to skip right over the Scriptures and to demand to see Christ directly. Those singing the song haven’t seen Him directly, yet they present this as the goal or solution to the problem being presented in the song.

Conclusion

On its own, the song lyric fails to present the Gospel in any meaningful way. However, if we reshape the arch of the song to have all points leading to the Scriptures as the sole solution to the problems presented, we can rescue most of the themes in this song. I’m happy that this song can be rescued, but frustrated that it relies solely on the listener’s solid theology to rescue.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will,working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

 

DiM | “Higher” by Unspoken

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CCM Edition.disapprove

September 12, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Higher” by Unspoken which currently sits at #19 on 20TheCountdownMagazine. This song is all about how awesome I am, or will be, because I’m committed to “lifting God higher”. It’s an anthem for “being committed to being a great Christian”.  It’s a Law song, with no Gospel.

Unspoken VEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

I gotta try to do right when life’s doin me wrong
Gotta shake the dust off my feet and keep marching on

When trouble weighs me down brings me to my knees
Lord my needs are many but that’s a pretty, yeah a pretty good place to be

Don’t blame it on the preacher cuz the preacher done told
The devil’s got a target on my heart and my soul
But let me tell you brother what the devil don’t know
The lower I go the more I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher

(chorus)
I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher higher
God Almighty, You are Worthy higher higher higher higher higher

I may never get money
I may never have fame
But if I’m ever in the spotlight
I’ll point it back Your way
Cuz standing at the top was never ever my goal
But if you put me on a mountain then I’ll tell the whole world
Singin hallelujah, til I hit the dirt oh

(chorus)
I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher higher
I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher higher
God Almighty, You are Worthy higher higher higher higher higher

Hallelujah He is worthy Hallelujah He is good
Hallelujah He is worthy Hallelujah He is good
Hallelujah He is worthy Hallelujah He is good

Leave me in rags and ruins and I’ll praise you through it
Clothe me in glory and riches
I’ll praise you just the same
All that I have
All I’ve been given
All of my life’s ambition is to worship
is to honor is to bring you praise

(chorus)
I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher higher
I’m gonna lift you higher higher higher higher higher
God Almighty, You are Worthy higher higher higher higher higher
God Almighty, You are Worthy

Publishing: © 2016 Centricity Music Publishing (ASCAP) / CentricSongs & 2 Hour Songs (SESAC) / Jon Lowry designee
Writer(s): Chad Mattson / Seth Mosley / Jon Lowry

Discussion

The start of this song is the singer. This song falls more in the decree and declare camp than it does in the confession of Christ and Him crucified for our sins. What I mean is that this song is all about boasting of what the singer will do for God no matter what He throws at him. If we are going to boast in anything, it should be in Christ, not in we claim we will do for Him. I think this is largely due to a misunderstanding of Paul’s writing in 2 Corinthians 11-12. Paul is engaging in snark to explose the ridiculousness of the Corinthians buying into the lies of the so-called “super apostles” who abused them and took advantage of them. But the part that is being missed can be found in the following section:

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (ESV) Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

You see Paul was addressing the church that had bought into the boastings of the “super apostles” who presented Paul’s weakness, humble appearance and speech, even his charity as disqualifiers. Paul then points out that he has found contentment with his weknesses, because of the grace of God. So, while he does find strenght in weakness, it’s not his strength, it’s the Power of Christ through the Grace of God. Even then, he is boasting gladly of his weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon him. We see a similar concept taught by James.

James 4:6-10 (ESV) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, butgives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts,you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Humble yourself. How is that done? Well, by meditating on the Law of God (draw near to God) which convicts us of sin by the working of the Holy Spirit unto repentance. The Gospel of God then forgives us of our sins and cleanses of unrighteousness. Rather than make bold declarations of what you’re going to do no matter what God throws your way… humbly spend time studying God’s Written Word, and trust God the Holy Spirit to work in you, building up your faith in Christ Jesus. God will lift you up. It is God who began a Good work in you, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit.

The best line in the song is Hallelujah He is worthy Hallelujah He is good, but even that refrain is masked by the simultaneous verse being sung… a verse that brings attention back to the singer.

Regarding the phrase I’m gonna lift you higher, and the repetition of the single word “higher” there’s a vague confusion about what that phrase means. You see, there is a sense of “lifting up your banner” which is turn of phrase for announcing your Name, or raising up the battle standard in a military formation, for identification and communication. But there is also the question of “higher than what”. Higher than all other things? Christ has already been lifted up above all things, all of creation is submitted under His feet, the heavens, the earth, and under the earth. Our praises don’t do any objective lifting up of His Name any higher than He has already been lifted up. So this line ends up turning back inward… I’m going to make God the most important thing in my life… higher, higher, higher. But the truth is, you won’t. You’ll fail. You don’t faithfully uphold the first commandment, your flesh is at war with the Spirit. You’ll need the Gospel in the very next few minutes of reading this. Praise the Lord that the Gospel will be still be there for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

Conclusion

If you’re convinced that the point of worship is to boldly make promises you can’t keep to God in hopes that makes Him happy with you, then this song is right up your alley. While we do fully believe there was nothing but good intent in the writing and performing of this song, it is confused and overly self-focused. Praise the Lord for Who He is and what He has already done for us, and for what He has promised He will do in Eternity. His grace is sufficient. Christ is already lifted up and seated at the Right Hand of the Father. King of kings, Lord of lords, the Alpha and Omega. In closing, let us read through Paul’s wonderful proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his opening of the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:3-23 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should beholy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will,according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinedaccording to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Jesus” by Chris Tomlin

Faithful Stewardship Leave a comment

Presentation1CCM Edition.

September 06, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Jesus” by Chris Tomlin which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine. There is some good in the song, or that can be made of the song. Where this song suffers is in how these attributes of Jesus are being presented as a veiled promise that calling on the Name of Jesus will yield a temporal fix to your problem. It doesn’t clearly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so it doesn’t stand on its own. This song is only as good as the theology being applied by the listener.

In this long review we’ll spend a lot of time brute-forcing a best construction by looking at the Scripture passages being referenced by the short lines of the songs. If we focus on what Scripture is teaching in these passages, we should be better suited to guard against false teaching.

ChrisTomlin VEVO (Lyrcs & Chords)

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Verse 1
There is a truth older than the ages
There is a promise of things yet to come
There is one born for our salvation
Jesus

Verse 2
There is a light that overwhelms the darkness
There is a kingdom that forever reigns
There is freedom from the chains that bind us
Jesus, Jesus

Chorus
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside me
He roars like a lion
He bled as the lamb
He carries my healing in His hands
Jesus

Verse 3
There is a name I call in times of trouble
There is a song that comforts in the night
There is a voice that calms the storm that rages
He is Jesus, Jesus

Chorus
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside me
He roars like a lion
He bled as the lamb
He carries my healing in His hands
Jesus

Bridge
Messiah
My Savior
There is power in Your name
You’re my rock and my redeemer
There is power in Your name
In Your name

Climax Chorus
You walk on the waters
You speak to the sea
You stand in the fire beside me
You roar like a lion
You bled as the lamb
You carry my healing in Your hands

You walk on the waters
You speak to the sea
You stand in the fire beside me
You roar like a lion
You bled as the lamb
You carry my healing in Your hands
Jesus

Publishing: sixsteps Songs / Worship Together Music / S.D.G. Publishing (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Alletrop Music (BMI) (admin. by Music Services)
Writer(s): Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash

Discussion

Let’s begin by recognizing the good in the song lyric. What is said about Jesus in the song isn’t wrong. That’s a good thing. The lyric pulls from a few passages of Scripture that point to Christ, one of which is a good example of seeing Christ in the Old Testament.

Verse 1. To put the best construction on this song, I thought we’d try a brute-force, heavy-handed attempt at completely super-imposing Scripture over this verse in hopes that whenever you hear this song play on the radio, you think of the Scriptures first, and treat this lyric as a breath of a cliff’s note. Modern-day evangelicalism suffers from post-modern gnosticism (secret-knowledge) infecting everything, so I don’t want to leave vague open ended allusions to Scripture floating without an anchor.

John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

This is the Salvation that Jesus brings to us, the right to become children of God. Christ, who was with God in the beginning and Is God, became flesh and dwelt among us for our Salvation. How did He save us? John the Baptist announces, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29 ESV). How did He take away the sins of the world? By paying the full price of sin, by bearing Himself the full wrath of God against the sins of the world in our place.

Verse 2. For the first part of this verse, we are still in the first chapter of John. But then it shifts to speaking of the Kingdom that forever reigns. Guard yourselves against “kingdom theology” that flows from Dominionism (which is dominant in NAR teaching, and present in Hillsong, Passion theology but is generally more spiritualized in their gnosticism). The error is in looking for an earthly Kingdom (whether political or oddly spiritualized dominion) where the Earthly Church is victorious and in charge, as if she would create a throne upon which Jesus might return. Jesus never talked about returning for a church like that, nor did He speak of a world where the church dominated in such a way. In fact, Jesus gave the opposite prophecy, a world where if He didn’t cut the days short none would survive (Matthew 24). But let’s look now to what Jesus preached at the start of His earthly ministry, as we see recorded in the Gospel According to Matthew.

Matthew 4:12-17 (ESV) | Jesus Begins His Ministry

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The Kingdom isn’t an earthly kingdom of dominion, but the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of the Gospel of Grace, the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of Sins. And this Kingdom is here now, not something we are responsible for building or establishing, or ushering in. Christ came to us, died for us, resurrected from the dead ahead of us, ascended to the Right Hand of the Father for us and will again return for us to judge both the Living and the Dead. We have been baptized into His death and resurrection and have been sealed by God the Holy Spirit. His is the kingdom that forever reigns. Focus on this promise of the Gospel, that you’ve been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection so that in the Last Day you will be with Him in Glory. Amen.

Chorus. The list of demonstrated abilities found in this chorus is out-of-order. We’re going to address them in order, because the point of these events is to point to Christ alone. If we get sloppy with how we pull together references to scripture, we can end up implying promises that aren’t there. All of Scripture points to Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord as both the beginning and the end of the story.

He speaks to the sea. Yes, He does.

Matthew 8:25-27 (ESV) And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Jesus is revealing Himself as the Son of God to the disciples and to us who now read the Scriptures and hear them preached. Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ. Not a faith of its own existence, Faith in Christ Jesus, God the Son. Notice how Jesus first rebuked the disciples and then rebuked the winds and sea? They were afraid for their lives, for they lacked faith. Should they have expected Jesus would quiet the storm? No, that’s not what the text is pointing us to, the text is pointing us to Jesus. We are being called to have faith in Jesus through the circumstance, not faith in a favorable outcome in the circumstance. What does it matter if they perish in the storm? They are literally in the presence of God. Christ IS our salvation, that’s is the anchor of our faith, not the notion that “if we have enough faith then God will save us from the storm”. When it comes to perishing or living, the storm is irrelevant. Jesus was sleeping from it, and then rebuked it after rebuking the men for their lack of faith in Him.

Jesus walked on the water. Because He is God, and His disciples needed to understand that Truth.

Matthew 14:22-27 (ESV) | Jesus Walks on the Water
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

I really wish the visible church would stop allegorizing this text and so quickly taking the focus away from Christ, Son of the Living God, and onto some empty promise that you can walk on water just like Peter does in the next portion. That is not the point of the text. Not even remotely. The point of the text is made clear in closing verses of this account:

Matthew 14:32-33 (ESV) And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

That’s the point. That is the only point. Stop with the narcissistic eisegesis that only leads to bondage. Peter failed at walking on water, even with Jesus right there in the flesh. We all fail at walking on water. We aren’t called to do it. Stop trying. Focus on Christ and His promises that are articulated in Scripture.

Who stands in the fire beside me. Okay, so kudos for rightly understanding Jesus in the old testament, but this has already been allegorized a bit in a way that minimizes what the text is saying. We’ll be pulling portions from Daniel 3.

Daniel 3:12-18 (ESV)There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

This is a very real life-and-death trial. It infuriates me to hear this treated allegorically such that whatever temporary setback or disappointment in our daily lives suddenly becomes a fiery furnace encounter. But this story isn’t pointing to the resolve or determination of these three Jews; rather, it is pointing to Christ saving us from an eternal punishment for sin.

Daniel 3:19-25 (ESV) Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God was that fourth man, the one like the son of the Gods. This was before He had taken on human flesh, but Christ is there, the same Christ who later took on human flesh, died on a cross, paid our penalty for sin, and rose again on the third day. This is pointing to Salvation in Christ Jesus, salvation from the fiery pit of eternal punishment. In Christ Jesus, the flames have no charge over us, not even the smell of smoke, because in Christ we’ve been washed clean and forgiven completely.

Daniel 3:26-29 (ESV) Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

Indeed, there is No Other who can Save. In Daniel 3, we see the faith of these men was in God who has the power to save eternally, and temporally, but their hope wasn’t set on God saving them simply from the fiery death. Their hope was in the God who Saves. Contrast that a bit with the men in the boat we looked at, whom Jesus rebuked before rebuking the storm. We serve a God who Forgives and Saves eternally, graciously, and perfectly. These men didn’t even smell of fire… and when God forgives you of your sin, it’s forgiven, buried, forgotten in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christ bled and died on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, for the sin of the World. It is Finished. In Revelation, John recognized the Lamb who was slain, but His return will not be humble, it won’t be meek, it will be as King, LORD, a roaring lion. He will return in the clouds with a shout of command, and this will not be a secret return. All of Creation will stand still and bow… those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life will rejoice, the rest are condemned already for their unbelief. Some may plead, bargain, curse Him, but He has already told us what He will say to them.

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

He carries my healing in His hands. Indeed, He does. The one promised to us is the healing from sin, death, and the grave. The stain of Adam. The condemnation of hell, the Wrath of God. Christ heals us from all of that, that promise is sure, in Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Savior, and Healer. In Christ we will be given new bodies, perfect bodies, eternal bodies, forever healed of sin, suffering, and death. That’s real healing. That’s the healing promised to all who call upon the Name of the LORD. The promise of scripture is eternal. It is often lifted out of context to make it a temporal promise, one that the word-of-faith (WoF) crowd push as they demand your money. But doing so ignores the context found within the single verse, much less the whole chapter 53 of Isaiah:

Isaiah 53 (ESV)

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

And we get a similar teaching, with the same contextual focus, from the Apostle Peter:

1 Peter 2:23-25 (ESV)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

So please, stop tossing this passage around like it’s some sort of blank-check for temporal healing, or worse, some sort of litmus test as to whether or not you are “truly living in faith”. Bondage. Blasphemy. Lies. This promise of healing is of eternity. We will all die here, for our flesh is still corrupt and it must be put off. Some of sickness, some of persecution, some of old-age, but all will die. This Promise of healing is far more important and far greater in value than what the WoF and prosperity-false-gospel wolves are selling you. Focus on the Healing that Scripture Promises, the Healing that is assured. Pray for earthly healing, too, but as a petition, a request. Scripture doesn’t give us room to make demands of temporal healing from an Eternal God.

The rest of the song is intended as a crescendo of repetition building up to the climax of the allegorizing of all of the Scripture passages into the notion that “and Jesus will do all these things for me in my circumstances, too”… at least, that’s how it comes across to me. It is what we should expect from folks whose doctrine of “worship” fits this formula. Every song that ends with trailing musical instrumentals with repeated choruses (or anthemic bridges) is following this formula. It’s emotional manipulation designed to give the impression that the Holy Spirit is moving in the room. If reading the lyrics straight doesn’t convey the message, it’s an emotional experience, not Biblical worship.

Conclusion

There is some good in the song, or that can be made of the song. Where this song suffers is in how these attributes of Jesus are being presented as a veiled promise that calling on the Name of Jesus will yield a temporal fix to your problem. Scripture doesn’t promise to rescue you temporally, His promises are eternal. God is all-powerful, and nothing can tie His hands from acting in time and space, and God’s Word testifies to His Lordship over all of creation. God’s Word also teaches us to focus on eternal things, to lay up treasures in Heaven, not on Earth. We will face trials of many kinds, testing the genuineness of our Faith in Christ Jesus. When we stumble and doubt (we will), we have a God who is ready to forgive and restore those who humble themselves and repent in Jesus’ Name.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “To Live Is Christ” by Sidewalk Prophets

Faithful Stewardship 1 Comment

Presentation1CCM Edition.

August 30, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “To Live Is Christ” by Sidewalk Prophets which currently sits at #4 on KLove’s Top 10 Songs.

This song is built around a line in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. What I really like about this song is that it reminded me of this passage of scripture. What bothers me is that it spends all of its time in lofty hypothetical narrative rather than tease out what Paul was saying in his letter. So this song could have been awesome. As it stands, I think it’s only as useful as its hearer is familiar with the first chapter of Philippians. So, we’ll dive into the text so that from here on out whenever you hear this song play on the radio, you should be all set to meditate on God’s Word directly, rather than the disjointed, vague (and slightly mystical) lines of this song.

 

Official Audio

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

If I rise, let me rise on You
Not on all my successes
My esteem or my pursuits
If I lose, let me lose my life
Cause if I belong to Jesus
The flesh is crucified

(chorus)
For me to live is Christ
For me to live is Christ
For me to live is Christ
To die is gain

If I grow, let me grow in You
Wilt the seeds of wanting more
Ripping pride out by the roots
If I’m still, let me hear You speak
Not the tone of my transgressions
But the song of the redeemed

(chorus)

My great desire is to be with You
But this is the place You chose for me
This is the place You chose for me
To lift my cross and give everything
This is the time You gave to me
This is the time You gave to me

(chorus)

I’ll never be the same
I’ll never be the same
For me to live is Christ
To die is gain

© 2015 Dayspring Music Publishing, LLC, Run Run Milo, Pencil Prophet Publishing (BMI) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Not Just Another Song Publishing (SESAC) (All rights on behalf of itself and Not Just Another Song Publishing adm. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)
Written by: Ben McDonald / Dave Frey / Casey Brown / Jonathan Smith

Discussion

Verse 1. The first verse is vague. There is no clear doctrine being described or supported here, just lofty hypothetical, which serves a form of verbal piety, but doesn’t seem to have an anchor. The closest we get to a Gospel nugget is the line Cause if I belong to Jesus, but it’s in the hypothetical. What does it mean to belong to Jesus? You need to rightly understand the answer to that question for this to serve any comfort. There is a connection being made to having the flesh crucified, but there’s not real meaning and there is no clear order of statements or anchor for faith so what might be presented for the assurance of salvation may also be turned as a weapon of doubt. If I point you to the Word of God and the waters of your Baptism, your assurance is in the fact that God’s Word has declared  you washed, baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit with the Promise of Salvation to be revealed at the Last Day. I realize there is no way to say all of that in a single verse of this song, I’m just being thorough for the purpose of this medium. The lines in the song don’t present a clear anchor in baptism, or in the Promise of Salvation through Faith in God’s Word, none of that. It’s merely a hanging “if”. Now, for those of you fully assured of your salvation, you might take the next line as encouragement… until the next time you are convicted of sin and have to ask the other side of this if. There’s the doubt that needs an object of faith that lies external to ourselves, a faith on the external Word of God, not our own “perfection”. There are concerns present in most evangelical songs, the concern of where vaguely alluding to the Gospel in some way might go wonky, so that rather than lead the hearer to Christ, it simply points the hearer to himself and his emotions and abilities. Granted, lines 2+3 seem to downplay the importance of our own abilities, but only hypothetically. The song isn’t saying my actions have no value, he’s saying “let me be lifted up by You not by my successes, my esteem, or pursuits”. What does that mean? The listener has nearly free rein to give those lines meaning, which is a weakness, not a strength with regards to communicating Truth.

While we’ve looked only at concerns in some of the wording, overall the first verse is disjointed from the passage in Philippians being invoked by the chorus. The hypotheticals in the first verse are not connected to the context of Philippians.

Chorus. For me to live is Christ, To die is gain. I’m not sure the repetition here is helpful. However, this line comes from the opening chapter in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the saints in Philipi. So let’s look at that chapter and focus on it before continuing through the song.

Philippians 1 (ESV)

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3-11 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul is writing to the Church in Philippi, all the saints with the overseers and deacons. There is a bad habit in popular evangelicalism to read scripture through our American hyper-individualism. While we do have individual responsibilities within the Body of Christ, these Epistles are primarily written to the Body of Christ, not just the hands or the feet. We are all connected by the body and blood of Christ, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is how Paul is talking to this church body, their partnership in the gospel, they are all partakers with Paul in his imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. We are all one body, united in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

12-14 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Here, Paul is instructing the church in how to properly view the trials of this life through the lens of the Gospel. This isn’t prosperity teaching nor is it some obnoxious “power of positive confession” nonsense, this is faith in the Gospel framing a proper worldview. Paul’s imprisonment is for Christ and for the sake of His Gospel. Paul is encouraging the Philippians in this Truth.

15-26 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

So, the first part of this section is often misused to silence any who would rebuke false teachers or seek to mark them publicly. I’ve highlighted the important phrases which highlight the key to rightly understanding the left and right limits of Paul’s statement here. Christ is being preached, Christ is being proclaimed. As long as Christ is being preached, Paul doesn’t care if those doing so are harboring some sort of ill will toward Paul, personally. It’s like saying, “yeah, I know that guy doesn’t like me, my personality, or the way I talk… but he is preaching and proclaiming Christ (rightly, is implied) so I can rejoice in the preaching of Christ and I don’t care that he’s doing it to spite me or anything”. Whenever Christ isn’t being preached rightly, Paul isn’t rejoicing in that nonsense… he’s quite aggressive, just read the letter to Galatians.

Now, noticed the line in the middle of the above passage which is where the chorus of the song is pulled. Paul goes on to explain what he means. He’s in prison, and is legitimately torn between wanting to be put to death so that he can be with Christ, but also wanting to remain so that he might be able to visit the church in Phillipi to encourage them in the LORD. He has even come to the conclusion that since his continued presence on this earth will serve the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he’s certain he will not die in prison at this time. This is why I consider the first verse to be disjointed from this context. Could it be forced into this context? Possibly by hyper spiritualizing some of the words, but that’s doing a lot of manipulation of meaning by the listener not a natural flow of communication from the songwriter. Let’s close out the chapter and move on to the rest of the song.

27-30 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

This encouragement is to the plural “you”, all the saints in Phillipi with their overseers and deacons. Is Paul saying each and every person will be put in jail? Not necessarily, but he is saying that the church body will suffer, and a body that is united in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will share in that suffering as one body, not a loose collection of individuals.

Verse 2. I really don’t like this verse at all. It seems to be dancing around the primary fruit of the Christian Life, repentance. How does God rip out pride from us by the roots? God the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin through the preaching of the Law. How does God wilt the seeds of greed? God the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin through the preaching of the Law. How do we tone down the sound of our transgressions? Believe in the Word of God, Repent, and Be forgiven in Jesus’ Name. Those who have been Redeemed by the Grace of God through Faith in Jesus Christ sing the song of the Redeemed. How does God speak to us? Through His Written Word, not through mysticism (silent prayer, visions, goosebumps, dreams, omens, divination, horoscopes, astrology, numerology, etc). Can God speak to us directly?  Yes. Is that where God promised to meet us (direct revelation)? No. He has promised to be found in His Word, so that is where we ought always to seek Him.

Verse 3 / Bridge. Now this verse/bridge seems properly tied to the Chorus and to our Philippians text. So, I like it. It’s still vague and open-ended, but in a useful way because there is no mysticism or vaulty hypothetical… it’s left open-ended a bit so that we who are in Christ can claim this Gospel mindset for ourselves. We, the Church, are exactly where God has placed us, and that as long as we live we have an opportunity to be partakers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through the preaching and enduring persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

Conclusion

If we can focus on the instruction of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1, we can rightly enjoy the chorus and the bridge (or last verse) of this song. The other two verses are throw-away verses, really. So this song lands in the upper level of the middle-ground. Please remember that the final disposition of the song (Approved/Disapproved) is not the main focus of these DiM posts, the point is to go through the exercise of evaluating the lyric of what is being put forward as “Christian” music. We are looking for proclamation of Christ in all that bears the label “Christian”. When we find it, we rejoice. When we don’t, we lament.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (ESV) Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge