Discernment in Music

DiM | “One Thing” by Hillsong

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Evangelical Worship Edition

January 25, 2016. In this edition we are going to be taking a look at the next song on the top new song list for 2015 found at Worship Together. Today’s song is “One Thing” by Hillsong Worship. If you’re idea of a worship song is to take the typical “woo your girlfriend for romance” type of song and replace “girlfriend” with “Jesus” and “romance” with a mystical experience (or just leave it as it is and call it ‘passion’), then this is the song for you. *sigh* 

This should never be played in a church service… but what worries me is that this was probably aggressively pushed at youth conferences/rallies/retreats.

Hillsong Worship Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via Worship Together)

Verse
I tasted the world, seen more than
Enough, it’s promises fleeting.
Of water and wine I emptied the cup
And found myself wanting
But there is a well that never runs dry
The water of life, the blood of the Vine

Chorus
And all I know is everything
I have means nothing
Jesus, if You’re not my one thing
Everything I need right now
All I need is You right now

Chorus 2
‘Cuz all i want is
Everything you are and nothing
Jesus if you’re not my one thing
Every thing to me right now

Verse
Just one thing I ask
And this I will seek, if
Only to know You
To be where You are and
Go where You lead, my God, I will follow
The things of this world, I’ve counted as loss
I lay it all down to take up this cross

Chorus

Chorus 2

Bridge
And I’ll sing, Whoa , whoa
I want nothing but to know
You and Be with You, my God
|2x|

Chorus
Instrumental
Chorus
Chorus 2
Bridge

Writer(s): Joel Houston, Aodhan King, Dylan Thomas
Theme(s): Call to Worship , Commitment & Dedication , Faith & Trust , Peace & Hope
CCLI #: 4869957
Scripture Reference(s): John 4:14; Psalm 27:4

Discussion

Let’s begin with its Scripture Reference(s):

John 4:14 (ESV) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Clearly this single verse isn’t the complete thought. However, this passage wasn’t torn out of its context for this song. The passage is referenced in a manner consistent with its context… though I really wish they’d reference the full passage. The point of the first verse of this song is an attempt to place the singer in the shoes of the adulterous Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s read it in its context.

John 4:1-42 (ESV) | Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Such a powerful story. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Christ, to the Samaritans. But what is the water that flows from Jesus and becomes a spring of water in us unto eternal life? The Gospel of Jesus Christ, of forgiveness, of the waters of Baptism, of the resurrection and the Life in Christ Jesus. Does this song faithfully convey this? No… true to Hillsong teaching, it’s switched from the Gospel to some emotional worship experience that comes as a result of “making Jesus your One Thing”. What does that even mean? We’ll get to that, but for now lets move on to the other referenced passage.

Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

This passage is used to explain the rest of the song. This one isn’t kept as contextually based as the other. The Seeker-driven approach to corporate worship connects exuberance and excitement to attend a Hillsong concert, or “worship experience” to dwelling in the house of the Lord and inquiring in his temple. They don’t focus on preaching the Word of the Lord, Law and Gospel. They are selling the exuberance, the emotion, the passion of the moment. Hillsong preaches the prosperity false-gospel, so they didn’t include the rest of the Psalm that demonstrates hardship and hard times. No, they pulled verse 4 to turn it into a formula that the song is presenting… If I make Jesus my One Thing, then I’ll have everything I need and nothing else will matter. The problem with this formula is the “if I make Jesus my One Thing”. No one is capable of making Jesus their one thing… for we are all sinners. We sin. This is LAW (do this to be righteous). The Samaritan at the well was familiar with the LAW… it wasn’t the LAW that forgave her, it was the Gospel. In this Psalm, David has asked for permission to dwell in the house of the Lord… and committed himself to seeking Him in His House. But he asked, because the LORD gives by His Grace and Mercy… it cannot be granted us by our merit, for we don’t merit anything and our vows are worthless. Only in Christ are granted access to God, adopted as sons through Him.

Verses. These verses are quite pious in their claims at rejecting earthly living. Notice there isn’t a mention of sin, guilt, shame, or repentance… there’s just a sense of “well, I’ve tried the world and am left empty and wanting more… I’m not satisfied”. This is the problem that Prosperity doctrine tries to remedy… not sin and the Wrath of God, but mediocrity, blandness, unfulfilled living. I don’t like throwing out the “pelagian” card, but that philosophy is here… as if to say that we are somewhat neutral at our core, but we’ve been looking to the wrong places for fulfillment… when what we should be doing is ignoring everything but Jesus so we can finally be fulfilled.  That’s not preaching neither God’s Law nor His Gospel… it’s scratching itching ears and teaching for shameful gain what ought not be taught.

Choruses. Here’s the wooing of “girlfriend Jesus”… where impossible promises are made to secure an intimate experience. No one else matters to me, hun, you’re the only one I see… No one holds a candle to your radiant sunshine… or more directly, Nothing else matters to me than to make you my One Thing right now, in this moment, in this place.

Conclusion

So, the point of this song is to make a promise to Jesus that “you’ll make Him your One Thing” so that He’ll give you an emotional/spiritual experience in this moment… so you can feel Him… and then nothing else in the world will matter. So… what happens if you don’t feel Him? Well, just walk through the song to see that clearly you haven’t made Him your One Thing. You need to give sacrificially of your time or money… you need to do more… let go of more… until YOU’VE made Him your One Thing. Anything less than that is failure, worldliness, mediocrity. Law, law, law…. law. Who benefits from this? Hillsong. Who suffers? the congregant who recognizes his/her own sin and crushed by the LAW but isn’t preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sin.

This song is abusive in its theology, and teens are particularly susceptible, given their fixation on the “here and now” and “emotional intelligence”. But they are not the only susceptible group… millions of people worldwide are held captive under this false doctrine of “experience” and law-heavy, man-centric piety.

Jesus is the well of Life… and you don’t even get to draw the bucket. He washes you, regenerates you, and Saves you. You contribute nothing but the sin that needs to be forgiven.

Jude 24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

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

DiM | “Your Words (feat. Harvest)” by Third Day

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Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

January 19, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Your Words (feat. Harvest)” by Third Day which currently sits at #13 on 20thCountdownMagazine‘s top 20 chart.

I find myself somewhat disappointed with this song, though it isn’t a bad song. When I saw the title of the song and that the song was from a “worship” album, I hoped for more meat in the lyric. I appreciate the general call to listen to the Words of God, but find the lack of definition or even application to be a disappointment. The value of this song hinges upon the understanding of what it means to “listen to and speak God’s Words”. The song doesn’t point to God’s Written Word. I have a problem with that.

Third Day Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Your Words

Above all other voices
Above all the distractions in this world

Let me hear Your words
Above all other voices
Above all the distractions in this world

For Your words bring life
And Your voice speaks promises Lord,
Your love offers more
Than anything else in this world

Your words give us life that’s never ending
Your words bring us love that never fails
Everything else will fade away
But what will remain
Are Your words

Let us speak Your words
More than ours, more than ever
Let us share Your love with all the world

The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever
The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever

Publishing: © 2015 DATAMAMA Music (ASCAP)
(admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)
Writer(s): Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, Mark Lee, David Carr

Discussion

Okay, so if we come into this song with the clear understanding that “Your Word” is pointing directly at the Written Word of God, given to us by God the Holy Spirit, then the song is not bad. The song points us to reading and studying God’s Written Word, it might even encourage Pastors that the reason we come to church isn’t to hear his creative speeches or anecdotes; rather, we come to hear God’s Word faithfully preached. That is how we hear God’s Words, when they are being preached or read aloud. But that understanding of Your Words has to be imported into the song.

The song becomes instantly problematic once the listener is under the impression that God is speaking fresh words that we are somehow supposed to figure out how to dial into to hear them, or worse, that we need to seek out prophets and apostles to tell us what the Lord is saying for us today. The Bible doesn’t promise us we will hear direct revelations from God in any sort of audible voice, still small voice or thunderous booming from a mountain top. That is simply not what the Bible teaches. There are no more apostles, that office is closed, the foundation of the Church has already been laid with Christ as its cornerstone, and we have the testimony of the Apostles recorded for us in Scripture. God-breathed Scripture. Any so-called fresh word from God must be taken to Scripture to see if it is indeed from God the Holy Spirit… and if it is, then it would be good and it pointed us back to Scripture which is where Christ has revealed Himself to us anyway.

What I find most frustrating, is that this song, written for a worship album, squanders an opportunity to actually preach the Word of God. I mean, we’ve already pointed out that it doesn’t point to the Written Word of God, but why not connect what Scripture says about Jesus Christ being the Word made flesh?

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

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 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. 15 (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.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

There’s plenty of scripture to connected these doctrinal points, such that singing this song might do more than simply extol the virtues of hearing and speaking God’s Word.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (ESV) | The Supremacy of God’s Son

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Singing this song, encouraging ourselves and others to desire to hear and speak God’s Words is much like singing a song that uses the word “Gospel” a lot in it without actually sharing the Good News of the Gospel. There is so little scripture in this song, just a vague praise of the Goodness of God’s Words.

Conclusion

We need God’s Word in our hearts, in our minds, and without hearing the Words of Christ there is no hope of saving faith, for faith comes by hearing the Words of Christ. Saying the word “gospel” isn’t the same thing as actually sharing the Gospel, and singing a song that says we should long for God’s Words and how important it is to have God’s Words doesn’t actually accomplish the goal of hearing God’s Word or Preaching it. I think this song was a huge missed opportunity, lyrically. Point the listener to the Written word, or the Preached Word, but don’t leave such open space in the lyric for false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles to step in and supplant the Word of God for their own dreams, imaginations, and machinations.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Preach the Word

4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

 

DiM | “Live On Forever” by The Afters

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

January 12, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Live On Forever” by The Afters which currently sits at #16 on the 20theCountdownMagazine top 20 chart.

Today we get back to working through our original context for DiM, that of the casual listener playing CCM radio in their home, work, or vehicle. Today’s song was a bit of a disappointment, I was hoping we could get an “approved” song before we start having to “disapprove” songs for 2016, but this one simply couldn’t be avoided. There is nothing in this song that is particularly Christian in any way. Christianity is not the only religion that holds to an after life, or a heaven. It’s an eerily spiritual/mystical song with a gnostic feel to the lyric. I don’t like it, and I’m concerned that it is on the top 20 chart.

The Afters VEVO Official Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

Live On Forever

Dark days are gonna go away
They won’t have the final say
These bones were always gonna fade
Cause we were made for another place
The moment of our final breath
When all our fears are put to rest
Every tear will disappear
Heaven is real

We’re gonna live on forever
Forever
Forever
We’re gonna live on forever
Forever
Forever
We are not where we belong
We have a hope that we’re going live on
Forever
Forever
Forever

Breathing air we have never breathed
We’ll see colors we’ve never seen
Every sound like a symphony
Rising up as the angels sing
The arms of grace are open wide
The face of love before our eyes
Where every tear will disappear
Heaven is real

Our hearts have been set in motion
For something more, for something more
Than we could ever imagine
There’s so much more, there’s so much more

Publishing: The Secret Parade / Simply Complex Songs / Songs From The Indigo Room (SESAC); Nashvistaville Songs / Light The Night / Songs of the Casbah (BMI); Vistaville Music / Bad Nacho Music / Music from the Casbah (ASCAP); Sony/ATV Timber Publishing / Open Hands  Music (SESAC)
Writer(s): Josh Havens; Matt Fuqua; Jordan Mohilowski; Dan Ostebo; Jason Ingram

Discussion

There is no mention whatsoever of Law and Gospel, Sin and Grace, Repentance or the Forgiveness of Sin.  There is no mention of God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. The song simply tells the listener he/she will live forever… which is true… but it doesn’t say why, doesn’t indicate there are 2 options, eternal Life or eternal punishment, and doesn’t in any way point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ… not even in part.

Verse 1. So, yes, Heaven is real. So is Hell. It is true that everyone will die, and then comes the Judgement.

Hebrews 9:22-28 (ESV)

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

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.

The first verse is odd and empty. For those without Faith, death will not put to rest their fears, they will become unfathomably increased for they will be judged without the LORD Jesus Christ as their advocate, their covering, their Savior.

Chorus. There is nothing of value here. These are half-thoughts repeated in a bit of a chant. Again, not being where we belong is too vague to be a truth. Unbelievers are born into this world under common grace, so that they might hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, come to Faith and be born-again. At birth, we are dead in sins and trespasses, we “belong” to be judged, but God’s grace delays the judgement and He grants Grace upon grace in opening our eyes and ears to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, washing away our sins, and creating in us a new creature, an adopted child of God. The saints of God, those who are of the household of Faith, do not belong to the world, are not OF the world, this world is not our home, but God has us here by His Will, for His purposes, and for His Glory. Christianity is not spiritual escapism from an ugly temporal existence.

Verse 2. While some of this imagery might hold true if it were connected to the Gospel, as it stands here it is whip cream piled on a plate with no dessert on it. Just whipped cream… no pie, no cake, no fruit, nothing. This imagery is sugary fluff. Nothing more.

Bridge. Melodically interesting change, still utterly lacking in substance. It’s not like being born again is like we’re a wind-up toy being released into a completely foreign world to figure things out on our own. Such nonsense. We are awakened to new life IN CHRIST. It’s not some blank-check “so much more that we can never fathom”… we are brought to life IN CHRIST, to grow IN CHRIST, to be the Body OF CHRIST, the Church.

Conclusion

I won’t listen to this song. I’d rather go channel surfing or turn off the radio to listen to the road noise in my ’02 Elantra. Careful, now… don’t covet my awesome ride, lol. It grieves me that this song is on the top 20 charts… it truly does. Sure, if you like the song it’s because you’ve poured in your own meaning for the song and are somehow encouraged by it. How long does such effort last? The song, on its own, has no value.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) | Doxology

25 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 mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 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— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | Expanding the Concept for 2016

Faithful Stewardship 6 Comments

trebleclefIn reviewing the blog stats, feedback we’ve received throughout 2015, and the limited polling we did over the Christmas break, it was abundantly clear that we need to focus more on expanding our Discernment in Music (DiM) coverage. The problem of poor theology in music is far bigger than what we can cover in our small blog, but we can try to do more by God’s Grace. We will be expanding in two directions, first we will be looking to address Evangelical Worship Songs… songs that are being heavily marketed to church worship leaders for inclusion in their services. We’ll also be shifting our attention over to what is being purchased on iTunes, since this has become the predominant metric for music popularity and penetration.

Evangelical Worship Songs

For now, we’ll be dedicating our Thursday posts to DiM work reviewing the most popular/promoted Evangelical Worship Songs. Our primary source for song selection will be WorshipTogether.com. They have been in the business for a very long time… since I was a keyboardist in the praise and worship band of an NAR church. They are partnered with CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International), Hillsong, Passion, and Jesus Culture. What a winning collection of questionable theology we have driving the evangelical music-for-contemporary-church-worship train, eh? If you search through the page, you’ll find that this is likely a go-to site for every “contemporary worship service” leader in the country… regardless of denomination.

In doing some preliminary research for today’s post, I was worried that I would be starting completely fresh. I’m not sure why, but the fear was there. I found a top new songs for 2015 list on the website, and to my surprise, we have already covered one of the songs on the list, and at least two others I saw pop up on the top 20 charts last month. I didn’t realize churches were playing so many CCM Radio songs in their church services. Let’s look at the list from 2015:

Touch The Sky (DiM Post)
Good Good Father (DiM Post)
O Praise The Name (Anastasis) (DiM Post)
He Shall Reign Forevermore (DiM Post)
This Is Living (DiM worship edition) (DiM CCM edition)
It Is Well With My Soul (DiM Post)
One Thing (DiM Post)
Unbroken Praise (DiM Post)
Heart Like Heaven (DiM Post)
Shout Hosanna (DiM Post)

What this means for our DiM posts is that for the most part very little will change in our format for covering these songs. I will need to be more explicit in the evaluation of these songs within the context of corporate worship, so I’ll have to work out how we go about that. We will work through chart over the next week in an attempt to play a bit of “catch-up” on the new year and to work out how we might distinguish the corporate worship context to that of individual listening that has been our paradigm.

iTunes Top 100 Gospel & Christian Songs

The other area in which we’d like to expand is that of the top iTunes songs being purchased and downloaded. This is the metric that drives the industry because this connects the questionable theology to real dollars for the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) Industry. There will undoubtedly be some overlap between what is the most popular music on the radio and the most played music in “contemporary worship services”, but keeping an eye on these charts is important for understanding not only what “those who should know better” are pushing onto the public, but for seeing what the public has bought into, both literally and figuratively. This approach will also expose us to cross-musical-genre metrics that we don’t get when we track pop station lists alone. We won’t be going to iTunes directly, we’ll be using a site called popvortex for their Top 100 Gospel & Christian Songs chart. Let’s take a look at the top 40 songs on the list to see how much of it we’ve covered thus far:

1. Good Good Father – Chris Tomlin (DiM Post)
Release Date: October 2, 2015

2. The River – Jordan Feliz (DiM Post)
Release Date: October 2, 2015

3. Just Be Held – Casting Crowns (DiM Post)
Release Date: January 24, 2014

4. How Can It Be – Lauren Daigle (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 14, 2015

5. First – Lauren Daigle (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 14, 2015

6. This Is Amazing Grace – Phil Wickham
Release Date: September 24, 2013

7. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong UNITED (DiM Post)
Release Date: February 26, 2013

8. Holy Spirit – Francesca Battistelli (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 22, 2014

9. Trust In You – Lauren Daigle
Release Date: April 14, 2015

10. Same Power – Jeremy Camp (DiM Post)
Release Date: February 3, 2015

11. My Story – Big Daddy Weave (DiM Post)
Release Date: September 18, 2015

12. Alone (feat. TRU) – Hollyn (DiM Post)
Release Date: October 16, 2015

13. Flawless – MercyMe (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 8, 2014

14. Touch the Sky – Hillsong UNITED (DiM Post)
Release Date: May 26, 2015

15. Come As You Are – Crowder (DiM Post)
Release Date: May 27, 2014

16. Tell Your Heart to Beat Again – Danny Gokey
Release Date: June 23, 2014

17. Fix My Eyes – for KING & COUNTRY (DiM Post)
Release Date: September 16, 2014

18. Wanna Be Happy? – Kirk Franklin (DiM Post)
Release Date: November 13, 2015

19. He Knows My Name – Francesca Battistelli (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 22, 2014

20. We Believe – Newsboys (DiM Post)
Release Date: May 27, 2014

21. Lift Your Head Weary Sinner (Chains) – Crowder (DiM Post)
Release Date: May 27, 2014

22. Feel It (feat. Mr. Talkbox) – tobyMac (DiM Post)
Release Date: August 7, 2015

23. No Longer Slaves (Live) – Bethel Music, Jonathan David & Melissa Helser
Release Date: January 26, 2015

24. I Can Only Imagine – MercyMe
Release Date: December 31, 2000

25. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong UNITED (DiM Post)
Release Date: September 10, 2013

26. Salvation’s Tide (feat. Kristian Stanfill) – Passion
Release Date: January 1, 2016

27. Soul On Fire (feat. All Sons & Daughters) – Third Day (DiM Post)
Release Date: February 27, 2015

28. 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) [Live] – Matt Redman
Release Date: December 31, 2010

29. Redeemed – Big Daddy Weave
Release Date: April 17, 2012

30. Guilty – Newsboys
Release Date: September 25, 2015

31. Grace Wins – Matthew West (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 28, 2015

32. Live On Forever – The Afters
Release Date: August 28, 2015

33. At the Cross (Love Ran Red) – Chris Tomlin (DiM Post)
Release Date: October 27, 2014

34. Even So Come (feat. Kristian Stanfill) [Radio Version/Live] – Passion (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 28, 2015

35. Call It Grace – Unspoken
Release Date: April 1, 2014

36. It’s Not Over Yet – for KING & COUNTRY
Release Date: September 16, 2014

37. Worth (Full Version) – Anthony Brown & group therAPy (DiM Post)
Genre: Gospel

38. God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion) – Newsboys
Release Date: November 11, 2011

39. Greater – MercyMe (DiM Post)
Release Date: April 8, 2014

40. Broken Together – Casting Crowns (DiM Post)
Release Date: January 24, 2014

Conclusion

Looking back, we’ve covered a lot of ground… but as I look ahead I see there is a lot more work left to be done. It is my sincere prayer that this work will be a blessing to the Body of Christ, not in simply following our recommendations here, but in employing the methodologies demonstrated. Practicing biblical discernment in reviewing a song you already love is probably the most difficult thing to do fairly. I don’t recommend starting there. It is best to start with an unfamiliar song by an unfamiliar artist. Listen to the song, then read the words, then listen while reading the words and then open up your bible to see if what the song says falls inline with what is written in Scripture. Pray for us as we look to focus our efforts more on the DiM work here at FaithfulStewardship. As I indicated before, we’ll be posting updates as they are completed, and we’ll probably need to update the DiM Archive page and Resources page as well.

Romans 15:8-13 (ESV) | Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
    and sing to your name.”

10 And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

11 And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
    and let all the peoples extol him.”

12 And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,
    even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”

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

DiM | “Deliverer” by Matt Maher

Faithful Stewardship Leave a comment

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

January 5, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Deliverer” by Matt Maher which currently sits at #10 on the KLove’s top 10 chart.

Welcome to a new year and our first DiM post for 2016. Over the Christmas holiday there were a few songs that popped up on the top CCM charts, but it seems the charts have reset a bit in the new year, favoring the more popular songs of 2015. We’ll see how the charts are adjusted next week. For today, though, we take a look at the new song from Matt Maher. I have to admit that this song is confusing, theologically. It’s about half-right… but even in that, its tough to pin down the theology being presented since Matt is a Roman Catholic evangelical. We’ll get to that after listening and reading the lyrics.

Matt Maher VEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

Deliverer

I was a drifter, I had nowhere to go
I was hanging by threads of dust and bone
Every angel I knew was singing, son, come home
But the melody was hard to sing along

Oh, God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
God, You’re my deliverer

I was on trial for everything I did
And there’s no way I could make a stand and win
When you realize the verdict is already in
You let go of the brokenness within
Well, there’s only One who could ever stand and win

Oh, God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
Oh, God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us

And now I’m like a child at night
Who never has to think of why
We’re free to love and live and die
And there’s no need to justify
The sinner that’s inside of me
Has lost all his control of me
My God, from the flood and from the fire
You brought me out, I am alive
With a faith just like a child
I’m not afraid, I’m running wild
For everything that will be done
I am Yours and You are my

Deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
Oh, God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
Oh, God, You’re my deliverer
The One, the One who carries us
God, You’re my deliverer

I was hanging by threads of dust and bone

Publishing: © 2015 Sony/ATV Tree Publishing / I Am A Pilgrim Songs (BMI) All rights on behalf of Sony/ATV Tree and I Am A Pilgrim Songs administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. / Belton Bronco Music (BMI) (adm. by Bluewater Music Services Corp.) / Holy Smoking Gun Music (BMI) (adm. by Bluewater Music Services Corp.)
Writer(s): Matt Maher, Bo Rineheart, Bear Rineheart

Discussion

Who is the target audience for this song? Who is the singer representing? I can’t quite make it out. When was the singer a drifter? When he was an unbeliever? Before hearing the Gospel? Before his baptism? Before he was a Christian? Or is this some sort of drifter phase where the individual is only partially saved. I say that because of the Roman Catholic synergism, where its faith+works (sacraments + purgatory) that leads to heaven. The reason this is a question is because the song has a dramatic shift or supposed correction of the singer’s confession from one of being condemned to having been delivered. That point of conversion isn’t expressed at all. That’s a problem unto itself, but for now if we could establish the starting point of the song it could help to rescue the song at least for some. Sadly, it just isn’t clear where he’s put the starting point. This is intentional in decisional evangelicalism, where the altar call is like the New Year countdown on New Year’s Eve… just come to the front and make your “new life resolution” of becoming a totally committed follower of Christ or rededicating your life to the Lord. But this is not a Biblical understanding of regeneration and salvation.

Now the line, Every angel I knew was singing, son, come home, is lyrically interesting. Perhaps due to my recent study of Revelation, but here Matt is using imagery to convey a lot of meaning in a short line. I don’t think he’s going the route of Beni Johnson by claiming he knew actual angelic beings, I think he’s borrowing a bit from Revelation where the angels of the 7 churches represents the leadership of those churches.

Revelation 1:12-2:7 (ESV)

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works ofthe Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Jesus didn’t have John write a letter to an angelic being, nor was the letter addressed to a symbolic church, it was written to the leaders of the church of Ephesus and their disciples… to that congregation of believers, to the Body of Christ in Ephesus. Likewise, I think Matt Maher is using “angels” here to represent faithful believers who were calling to the singer to come home. I think it was a masterful lyrical tool. Sadly, I’m still not clear if these were calling to the singer to faith in Christ or just to get his act together (meaning he’s a believer who is struggling).

The biggest problem in this song is the lack of Repentance. I’ve been slow-playing it a bit, but ultimately that’s where it all leads. Whether the singer is an unbeliever at the beginning or a believer who is struggling with sin, the remedy for the sin is the same… repent and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name. Those who have not yet been baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit need to be, but what I’m getting at is that solution to the problem of sin in our lives is the same, penitent faith in Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:37-40 (ESV)

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Wow, we are not making much progress on this song. The next section begins with I was on trial for everything I did. Not completely accurate, but it does fit Roman Catholic theology on sin (particularly how they separate categories of sin. source). What I’d like to draw attention to here is in the half-truth that we are condemned by “everything we did/do”. That’s only partly true. We are also condemned by what we don’t do and our lack of faith… indeed by our identity as those who are dead in sins and trespasses. The lyric is correct that we stand condemned in sin, it just doesn’t go far enough.

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.

You see, we aren’t condemned solely by what we’ve done that is sinful. We are born into condemnation, into death, as a part of our nature.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV) | By Grace Through Faith

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

That’s what bothers me so much about the line You let go of the brokenness within… that brokenness isn’t something we hold onto consciously. It is our sinful nature. It is the direct consequence of sin in our flesh. It cannot be “let go” so much as it has to be put to death under the Law and forgiven by the Gospel of Grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. We must die to our sinful flesh daily.

Romans 6:1-11 (ESV) | Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.

5 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. 6 We know that our old self was 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

So then the song launches into the refrain, Oh, God, You’re my deliverer, The One, the One who carries us. Indeed He is. It is God alone who delivers us from sin, death, and the grave. It is God alone who carries us. Evangelicals tend to employ an emotional “footprints in the sand” understanding of the notion of God carrying us… but I think it is Biblically better to think in terms of drawing us to Him.

John 6:41-47 (ESV)

41 So the Jews grumbled about [Jesus], because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

The Greek word translated “draws” here (ἑλκύω helkýō) is primarily a literal dragging or moving by force. Like when Peter drew his sword to cut out the ear of Malcus (John 18), the sword had no ability on its own to move, Peter drew it and then struck with it. While the Strong’s does include a metaphorical sense of the word, the only use that fits that sense is one of being “dragged into the courts” (James 2:6). Even in that sense, the metaphor preserves the notion that one is being dragged where they do not wish to go as opposed to being enticed to come willingly. The drawing of the Father isn’t a metaphor for “convincing us to set our will in His direction”. Those who are dead are incapable of “choosing” to be alive without God first regenerating them.

It is at this point that the song just gets weird. It’s like a bridge of the song where suddenly it gets kicked into anthemic evangelical overdrive. Again, we have no repentance or the forgiveness of sin. It just surges into declarations of freedom, life, and a no need to justify our sinful natures. Odd wording, to be sure, and not completely accurate. Christ is our justification, He died in our place so that by faith we are joined with Him, baptized into His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, and sealed with a promise of eternal Life. But we still sin and must contend with our sinful natures as long as we walk this earth. We must die to ourselves daily, repent of sin, and be forgiven as part of our daily bread. The song bears none of that. It’s a pep-rally cheer that declares “I’m awesome” and “the past doesn’t matter anymore”. While it is true that sin no longer has control of the eternal fate of the believer, it is also true that our sinful flesh is being put to death according to the Law of God. We. Will. Die.

Hebrews 9:24-28 (ESV)

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

And like every evangelical “worship” song, there’s a portion designed to allow the worship team to repeat ad nauseam until the auditorium has been sufficiently whipped up into an emotional frenzy.

Conclusion

The song doesn’t stand on its own. It’s a bit odd in its theology, though there are a couple of lines that convey some Truths in part, on the whole it comes up lacking, particularly in addressing the problem of sin. The song glosses over repentance and the forgiveness of sin in Jesus’ Name and simply dives headlong into evangelical anthemic self-esteem overdrive. The song is emotionally driven, as such its lyric is largely forgettable, because it doesn’t carry any real meaning. Shortly after hearing the song, all that is left is the refrain, Oh God you’re my deliverer… (which at least is a nugget of Truth) and the vocal run (deliverer…ER-er, er-er, er-er) at the end of the line. Is the song dangerous for believers? That’s a judgement call that I’ll leave to you. I will say that I don’t think it serves any teaching purpose nor does it soundly reinforce any Biblical doctrine; therefore, it shouldn’t have any place in corporate worship, and that would apply for both Romanists and Protestants alike. The song stays in the squishy evangelical middle area… some might call it a doctrine-free zone of self-esteem and feel-good empowerment.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) | Doxology

25 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 mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 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— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge