DiM | “Drops In the Ocean” by Hawk Nelson

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

March 24, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Drops in the Ocean” by Hawk Nelson which currently sits at #15 at 20theCountdownMagazine.

We’ll continue using this top 20 song list until I find a better list. Your feedback in this would be greatly appreciated.

Last week’s song was quite good, this week’s song is a disappointment. Seeker-sensitive, God-pleading-with-man drivel. The fleck of truth that might be inferred in this song is better told overtly: In Christ alone, by the atonement of His finished work on the Cross, we are forgiven and made righteous in God’s sight by grace, through faith. We are to repent and put our faith in Him and in Him alone. Try as we might to redeem vague songs with proper reading of scripture, this song has one glaring issue that cannot be glossed over and ignored.

VEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLOVE)

Drops In The Ocean by Hawk Nelson

I want you as you are, not as you ought to be
Won’t you lay down your guard and come to me
The shame that grips you now is crippling
It breaks my heart to see you suffering

Cause I am for you
I’m not against you

If you want to know
How far my love can go
Just how deep, just how wide
If you want to see
How much you mean to me
Look at my hands, look at my side
If you could count the times I say you are forgiven
It’s more than the drops in the ocean

Don’t think you need to settle for a substitute
When I’m the only love that changes you

Open your heart
It’s time that we start again

Publishing: Atlantis Underwater Music / Fairtrade Tunes (SESAC) (admin. by Music Services, Inc.); Sony/ATV Timber Publishing / Open Hands Music (SESAC); Forest For The Trees Music (SESAC)
Writer(s): Jon Steingard; Jason Ingram; Matt Bronleewe

Discussion

The song starts out vague on who is speaking and to whom. By the end of the first verse, there are only 2 options, either this is a song from one believer to his/her neighbor, or it is God singing to a sinner. The one being addressed is gripped by shame. Once you get through the chorus, it is clear that the speaker in this song is Jesus (Look at my hands, look at my side). Now we have a problem. But before we get to the problem, let us acknowledge what might have been intended by the song.

The song seems to want to skip ahead to Romans 8:31-39 without dealing with the first part of Romans. Typical of modern-day easy believism, we want to jump to the “God is love” and “He forgave you” without dealing with our being dead in sin and desperately in need of a savior.

Romans 8:31-39 (ESV) | God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is a wonderful promise of God’s everlasting love for those who are in Christ. But we aren’t born that way. None of us are born in Christ. We are all born dead in sins and trespasses. This is normally when I would jump to Ephesians 2, and would be justified in doing so given that the Apostle Paul wrote both letters. But let’s look at what Paul wrote at the start of this same letter to the Romans and then we’ll address the problem of this song.

Romans 1 (ESV)

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

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

Longing to Go to Rome

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

You cannot simply skip over our sin, our rebellion against God, or the Might of His Wrath against ungodliness and unrighteousness and fast-forward to God’s Love and Grace. So many well-intentioned (yet woefully misguided) individuals think that buy skipping over God’s wrath they are highlighting His Mercy and Love. Sadly, what they are doing is devaluing the Grace and Mercy of God. The purpose of the Law is to convict the sinner of his/her need for a Savior, Jesus Christ.

  “It is because God’s wrath is real that His mercy is relevant.” – Alistair Begg

This song is a prime example of this. Not only have the writers skipped all of the Law in Paul’s letter to the Romans, they have written a song that presents Jesus Christ as one who must plead with and negotiate or convince the sinner that he has already been forgiven. That is clearly not the picture Paul painted of the Lord God, Our Creator, in Romans 1. Was Jesus pleading with or wooing folks to accept His forgiveness when He walked the earth? We see in Matthew 4, at the start of His earthly ministry (after His time in the wilderness), Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Why is it that our music today completely avoids the call to repent? Was Jesus begging folks to follow Him? To accept Him?

Luke 9:18-27 (ESV) | Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered,“John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying,“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 14:25-27 (ESV) | The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

This is the glaring problem of today’s song… and it is inescapable. God the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of men by the hearing of the Word of God so that in so hearing they might be granted faith, for God’s Glory. The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is One with the Father and is the Only Way to the Father. Jesus isn’t begging the sinner to “give Him a chance to forgive them”. This anthem is narcissistic and it presents a false picture of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as one who is pleading with us to accept His forgiveness. Those who reject Jesus, reject God to their own demise and remain condemned in their sin and death. Read Romans 1, again, and understand our rightful place in His plan of Salvation. We need Him, not the other way around.

John 3:16-18 (ESV) | For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Amen. I pray this song’s presence in the top20 is short-lived. Regardless, we have addressed the error and in so doing have clearly shared both Law and Gospel. God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace are in equal measure with His Holiness and Justice.

Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.
– A.W. Tozer

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

CTT | Forgiveness by Faith

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Dear friend, have you (or a friend) been led to believe that if you petition the Lord for something “with all of your heart” and fast and pray with enough faith then He will grant you your petition? Are you sometimes tempted to measure your faith or your forgiveness by your circumstances? What happens when your petition is denied or the opposite of what you ask for happens? When something you desire doesn’t come to pass, how quickly do you wonder if God is punishing you, or worse, that your faith and your very salvation are in jeopardy? Dear Christian, look not at the circumstances… but rest on the Word of God. Place your trust in Him. That’s not a throw-away feel-good line. Place your trust in Him, even when you don’t get your way, even when times are hard, and even when you feel your heart will break from the strain.

When it comes to Old Testament champions, King David is a top contender. A man after God’s own heart. It is on his throne that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sits for all eternity. A man of great faith, but a man nonetheless guilty of sin. What separated King David from King Saul? He was a man of Faith and repented of his sin. Today, we are going to look at a terribly low point in King David’s life, one that often gets paraphrased. We are going to read through the account and its aftermath, and we will see the faith of the man after God’s Heart, Kind David.

2 Samuel 11 (ESV)| David and Bathsheba
1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

One of the biggest problems with paraphrasing this story, is that in so doing we sometimes lose sight of the fact that Uriah was an honorable man, faithful to his God, his king, and his people. He was a humble man. He did not suspect anything, nor did he see fit that he should lie in his own bed while the Ark, Israel, and Judah dwell in booths and his commander (Joab) and Joab’s men slept in the open fields. David tried to cover up his sin by having Uriah sleep with Bathsheba, so that he would think the child was his. Uriah acted nobly, and David was deeply in sin.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

First adultery, then deception, now murder.

2 Samuel 12 (ESV) | Nathan Rebukes David

1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

And the Lord sent Nathan to David, to rebuke him and pronounce judgment for his sin. David repented, was granted forgiveness, yet judgement remained. The child would die. Why must the child die? Because this sin utterly scorned the Lord, but beyond that we are given no further explanation. This is where we must learn to trust in God by faith, and not by circumstance or by sight. If David was forgiven, his life spared, then why would God take his son from him? What is David to do now? Let us pause the story and turn ahead to Psalm 51, written by King David after being rebuked by Nathan.

Psalm 51 (ESV) | Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

We see here David’s complete confession of his sin, and we see his repentance. Nathan had already pronounced forgiveness and judgement. David isn’t just pleading for his life, he is petitioning God for something far more precious… that he remain God’s servant. That he not be cast away. David saw what happened to King Saul once the Spirit of the Lord was removed from him. He was now well aware of the full penalty of his sin against God. David is also learning what forms of worship truly matter to God… in verse 16, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Repentance, in humility to God is a prerequisite for the burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings in worship.

2 Samuel 12 (ESV) cont… | David’s Child Dies
15b. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” 24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

King David pleaded with the Lord on behalf of the child. He fasted and prayed day and night and would not be moved for 7 days. The child died, as Nathan had prophesied. Does this mean that David wasn’t forgiven? No, it doesn’t. Was it hard? Absolutely. And God made it clear that the child’s death was a direct result of David’s sin. It is also clear that the child’s conception was a direct result of his sin. David had no business staying behind while the armies of the Lord waged war, he had no business looking upon Bathsheba as she bathed, and he had no business taking Bathsheba. Uriah was an honorable man, murdered to cover up David’s sin. Yet, in all of his sin, God forgave David when he repented… and the innocent son paid the price for David’s sin.

As we fast forward to the future… we see another son born of the house of David, only He was born of a virgin. His Name is Jesus, the Christ, Son of the Living God. He was truly born without sin, lived a perfect, sinless life, and laid down His life for you and for me.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (ESV) 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It is by faith that we receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By faith are we healed of our unbelief and forgiven for our sin. Circumstances will change, and we will face many trials and tribulations, many of which will be of our own doing (sin). Bear fruit in keeping with repentance, by faith in the One True God and His Son, Jesus. Walk in Him, Trust in Him, and rest in Him.

Romans 8:1-11 (ESV) | Life in the Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Amen. Dear Christian, don’t measure God’s forgiveness of your sin by your earthly circumstances; rather, measure His forgiveness of your sin by Christ’s death and resurrection. This forgiveness is by faith, not by works. Trust in Him to carry you through this life, even when the world distracts and condemns you.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | Shepherds’ Conference Session 17 by Kevin DeYoung

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inerrancy-summitOur sermon today is actually a lecture given by Kevin DeYoung at this year’s Shepherds’ Conference (2015).

The mission of the Shepherds’ Conference is to provide the opportunity for men in church leadership to be challenged in their commitment to biblical ministry and to find encouragement as together we seek to become more effective servants of our chief Shepherd. Visit the inerrantword.com website for more information on this year’s topic.

These sessions don’t seem to have titles, so I wanted to give sort of an overview of Kevin’s lecture. After starting with a brief anecdote over Ikea instructions, he asks the question, “Is the Bible like a set of Ikea instructions? Helpful overall, but in the details not completely accurate or helpful?” The answer, of course, is “no”.

Matthew 5:17-20 (ESV) | Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Kevin then guides us through this passage by looking at it from the following 2 perspectives:

1. Christ and the Bible

2. The Christian and the Bible

Kevin DeYoung is an engaging speaker with a quick wit. I think you’ll find this lecture enjoyable to watch: https://vimeo.com/121722834

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV) | Prayer for Spiritual Strength
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “What If” by Prince (?)

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disapproveNo, Prince isn’t a Christian artist. I don’t follow him. I also don’t read/follow Christianity Today. My personal Facebook News feed has news stories from theBlaze, which is how I came across this “news”. It seems Prince has released a cover of this song originally by Nicole Nordeman. Christianity Today was all over it in their article, “Prince releases cover of Christian song ‘What If’“. If you’d like to take the time to read the article now, that’s fine, we’ll discuss it after we lay some groundwork looking at the song by Nicole Nordeman first and then dealing with some of the comments in the article.

(Unofficial) Nicole Nordeman Lyric Video

[youtube https://youtu.be/rUhnoralqVA]

Prince version Lyrics (via Genius)

What If?

Prince Ft: 3rdeyegirl & Hannah Welton

[Verse 1: Prince]
What if you’re right?
And He was just another
Another nice guy
What if you’re right
What if it’s true
They say the truth
Will only make a fool of you
And what if that’s true?

What if He takes His place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends, what then

[Chorus]
But what if you’re wrong
What if there’s more
What if there’s hope
You never dreamed of hoping for
What if you jump?
Just close your eyes
What if the arms that catch you
Catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?

[Verse 2: Hannah Welton]
What if you dig
Way down deeper
Than your
Simple-minded friends
What if you dig
And what if you find
A thousand more
Unanswered questions down inside
That’s all you find

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Cause you’ve been running
As fast as you can
And you’ve been looking
For a place you can land
For so long but what if you’re wrong

What if you jump?
Just close your eyes
What if the arms that catch you
Catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?
What if it’s love?

Discussion of Song

What if. The entire song is a “what if”. How is that in any way an Evangelical song? This song doesn’t make any Truth claims. No declaration of the Truth of God’s Word. No declaration of Jesus Christ or Him crucified for our sin, no call to repentance and no promise of forgiveness. Nothing but a “what if you’re wrong”?  This song would fail a DiM review, but it hasn’t really been on the radio or any top-20 chart recently, so it really wouldn’t come up anyway. What I find troubling is how this “news” is being covered in the self-proclaimed Christian magazine.

Discussion of News

From the Christianity Today article, Prince releases cover of Christian song ‘What If’:

Nordeman expressed her excitement about the cover on social media. “I don’t really have the appropriate words for what an honor this is,” she said on Facebook. “If you are a musician on any level, you will immediately absorb the weight of it. This man’s talent is otherworldly. What’s the non-musical equivalent? Tiger Woods asking to borrow your clubs? Neil Armstrong calling and asking if you’d like to take a walk?”

I won’t fault a musician for feeling honored and excited that a world-renown musician is making headlines by choosing to cover his/her song. I don’t fault the emotion of excitement. But how you speak about these events (and your emotions), and how you write about it in social media is important. We have a problem with this praise of Prince’s musical talent. Is it a gift from God, freely given? Yes, as are all of God’s gifts to mankind. Has Prince honored God with his talent? A review of his work throughout his career suggests “no”.

She added that she had been most impacted by the fact that Prince had heard it on a Christian radio station, and used it as an opportunity to encourage those working in Christian broadcasting.

“Far too often Christian radio is accused of existing solely to preach to the choir. Solely for the minivan driving mother of three who wants a safe listening choice for her family. But Prince heard a song about the transforming love of Jesus on Christian radio and now has given it a much wider audience than I ever did or could.”

This portion of the article is poorly written, particularly in the progression of pronouns. The Blaze makes it clear that it was Nicole who was using this news about Prince as an opportunity to encourage Christian broadcasters (see below). My question here is, “are we talking about the same song”? Can that song that never leaves the “what if?” into the “what is!” truly be about the transforming love of Jesus? Perhaps she is talking about her intent behind the song.

Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001 and has talked – and sung – about his faith for a number of years.

.:sigh:. I’d expect this type of citation from a secular magazine or even theBlaze, but in something labeled “Christianity Today” one should expect a clear distinction between Christianity and cults like Jehovah’s Witness. I am deeply grieved by this article’s praise of Prince (an unbeliever) simply because he chose to cover a “Christian” song.

From theBlaze:

“To my friends in Christian radio, let me take this opportunity to remind you that what you do matters,” she said. “Your morning shows matter. Your afternoon drives matter. Your listener appreciation pledge drives matter.”

Nordeman added that she believes too many people accuse Christian radio of preaching to the choir, but that Prince’s discovery of her song shows that there’s another perspective worth considering.

“Prince heard a song about the transforming love of Jesus on Christian radio and now has given it a much wider audience than I ever did or could,” she wrote. Thank you, radio friends, for what you do. The world is listening.”

To that last point, I agree. The world is listening, and we need to be proclaiming the Truth of God’s Word, not merely settling for “what if” songs or “spiritual positivity” loosely connected to Christian themes. The choir needs biblical preaching, just as much as the World does. The difference (by God’s Grace) is that the choir has faith, while the world remains condemned in their unbelief.

The last thing we need is to give ascent to the notion that our youth should take note of Prince and his version of spirituality. This is sloppy treatment of evangelism, journalism, and discernment by the folks at Christianity Today.

Jude 1:24-25(ESV)

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Matthew 6:25-34

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bibleLast week we looked at Jesus’ teaching of the Law as it pertains to Worship. How we are to be about good works, prayer, and fasting. Jesus commands His audience not to lay up treasures for themselves on earth. Our focus is NOT to be earthly prosperity, for it is temporary. Instead, our focus is to be on treasures in Heaven. Over the past several weeks as we’ve studied Matthew, it should be abundantly clear that any notion of pleasing God by keeping the Law is futile and presumptuous. No man born in sin has a hope of maintaining the righteousness of God by avoiding sin. Jesus begins transitioning into more and more Gospel preaching. We know that before the cross, a veil remained over their understanding, and even His own disciples failed to grasp the full Gospel until after Jesus revealed Himself to them after the resurrection.

It isn’t up to You

As we close out Matthew Chapter 6, we see Jesus offering encouragement to those who are being killed by the work of the Law on their hearts. Everyone who heard His words were dead in sins and trespasses and were being shown their sin in the authoritative preaching of the Law by the very Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV) | Do Not Be Anxious

25 “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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Therefore… Therefore what? Well, they were totally, and utterly sinful men, completely separated from and unworthy of God. They were told to worship God in secret, not looking to men for recognition and not even looking to God for earthly reward; rather, they were to worship God laying up treasures in Heaven. They have no power on their own to affect their daily lives, and they were not to focus on earthly vindication, riches, or the praise of men. Therefore, do not be anxious about your life. The Gospel side of the “you are powerless” coin is that you serve a God who is able, where you are not. He is mighty in your weakness. His Goodness makes everything else evil by comparison. King Solomon was wisest man to live, and was blessed with all manner of earthly riches. Let’s look at one of his Psalms.

Psalm 127  (ESV) | Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
    are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

God gives His beloved sleep. God watches over His people, not because they’ve earned it, but because He Loves them. And because He loved us, God sent His Son to pay the penalty of our sin, so that by His blood, we might be reconciled to Him.

Until Next Week…

I will be doing some traveling next week, but I hope to have posts ready up to Gospel Wednesday, where we will close out the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 and skip ahead the following week to Christ’s finished work on the cross leading into Easter weekend.

Romans 15:13 (ESV)

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Amen. In Christ Jesus,
Jorge