Discernment in Music

DiM | “I Have This Hope” by Tenth Avenue North

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Presentation1CCM Edition.

February 7, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “I have this hope” by Tenth Avenue North which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

This song asks some real questions. Questions every Christian has regardless of their willingness to actually voice them. What the song is lacking is a clear answer to the question. The singer seems to be answering the question for himself, but he isn’t really sharing that answer with the listener. The song leaves a lot of room for bad theology to find a home in these lyrics, but with a clear reference to scripture, I think this song can be given a good construction. This one falls in the middle-ground, where the listener needs to exercise discernment and apply sound theology to the song.

Official Lyric Video

Lyrics (via Band Website)

As I walk this great unknown
Questions come and questions go
Was there purpose for the pain
Did I cry these tears in vain
I don’t wanna live in fear
I wanna trust that You are near
Trust Your grace can be seen
In both triumph and tragedy

chorus
I have this hope
In the depth of my soul
In the flood or the fire
You’re with me and You won’t let go

But sometimes my faith feels thin
Like the night will never end
Will You catch every tear
Or will You just leave me here

So whatever happens, I will not be afraid
‘Cause You are closer than this breath that I take
You calm the storm when I hear You call my name
I still believe that one day I’ll see Your face

In the flood or the fire
You are with me and You won’t let go
In the flood or the fire
You are with me and You won’t let go

Discussion

That first verse is an honest question we’ve all asked. It’s not a good place to stay for very long, but these are questions we should take back to God’s Word regularly. I take issue with what reads as an inward focus, looking for assurance of God’s Promises within ourselves, in our emotions. In that second verse, it pops up with the “sometimes my faith feels thin”. Well, that’s because you’ve confused “faith” and “emotion”. We all do it. Every one of us is bent inwardly, staring at our own navels, wishing we felt better about ourselves and about the world around us. Piously we phrase it as “wanting to love God more”, but continuing to look inwardly for hope is a futile exercise. Our Hope is in Christ. When our flesh is weak, our zeal drained, our emotions taxed, and our assurance shaken… the very last place we should be looking is “within ourselves”. We should be looking to the external Word of God.

So, where do we look for comfort in the hurting times? Well, let’s see what the Apostles had to say in such times.

1 Peter 1:3-12 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

This is the Hope that is being presented as the answer to the questions in that first verse of the song. Let’s look also at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans.

Romans 5:1-11 (ESV) | Peace with God Through Faith

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

That’s such wonderful language. Through our LORD Jesus Christ, we have no received reconciliation with God. He is not far away from us, He is near us and with us, for we have been baptized into Christ.

Conclusion

In Christ, we have the answer to all of life’s struggles, we have Law and Gospel. We need to hear it often, for we are in need of repentance and the forgiveness of sins often. CCM should be sharing the clear, external Word of God. We should be honestly asking the same sorts of questions the world asks… but unlike them, we have God’s clear Word as the remedy, we have the answers.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) | Benediction

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

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Giants Fall” by Francesca Battistelli

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disapproveCCM Edition.

January 31, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Giants Fall” by Francesca Battistelli which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

Today’s song falls into the error of trying to offer victory in this life and presumed promises of the Gospel without preaching the Law or the Gospel. It relies completely on the listener already having sound theology and blindly encourages the listener to do whatever it is the listener wants to do because God is with them. Well, He may not be. This song is disapproved because of its recklessness and narcisgetical treatment of 1 Samuel 16.

Official Audio

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Everyone’s telling you To let go of what you’re holding to
It’s too late, too far
You’re too small, it’s too hard

Throwing water on that spark
Living deep inside your heart
With oceans of reasons
The things you’re not seeing

But oh, maybe they don’t Know what you know
That you’re not alone

(chorus)
Don’t you be afraid Of giants in your way
With God you know that anything’s possible
So step into the fight
He’s right there by your side
The stones inside your hand might be small
But watch the giants fall

We could really live like this
Can’t you imagine it
So bold, so brave With childlike faith
Miracles could happen
Mountains would start moving
So whatever you may face

(chorus)
Don’t you be afraid Of giants in your way
With God you know that anything’s possible
So step into the fight
He’s right there by your side
The stones inside your hand might be small
But watch the giants fall

Ask and believe
You’re gonna see
The hand of God in every little thing

(chorus)
Don’t you be afraid Of giants in your way
With God you know that anything’s possible
So step into the fight
He’s right there by your side
The stones inside your hand might be small
But watch the giants fall

Miracles can happen
Anything is possible
Watch the giants fall

Discussion

Okay, so from the outset it should be clear that the artist is pulling from the David and Goliath motif. Back in May 2014, we did a CTT post on that particular form of narcigesis (reading yourself into a passage) where we looked at the account of David defeating Goliath and how it points to Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil.

CTT | David and Goliath

For those of you who want a quick summary rather than read the older CTT post, I’ll say that if we are looking at the account in 1 Samuel 16 from a historical perspective, King David is King David, Goliath is Goliath, and Israel is God’s chosen people whom God saves from the kingdom of the Philistines. We also see this as type and shadow of the once-for-all victory of Christ over sin, death, and the devil. King David foreshadows Christ (who sits on the Throne of David, born in the City of David, etc), Goliath stands in for sin/death/devil, and Israel is the Church, whom God saves from the kingdom of darkness. Goliath does NOT represent your day-to-day disappointments.

So that takes care of the song’s title and overall theme of the song. It’s based on an extremely popular form of narcigesis within the evangelical industrial complex. Back when I had written the CTT post, I could only speak for NAR circles, but I’ve seen this error nearly everywhere within “American Christianity” since. We love being the hero of our own story. Unfortunately, that isn’t the theology of the cross. Now, let’s look at some of the other issues with the lyric of this song.

Verse 1. Okay, so who’s the audience? What’s the dilemma? Apparently the dilemma is that everyone is telling the target audience to let go of what they’re holding onto. Is that a bad thing or a good thing? The song assumes it’s bad, but is it? Shouldn’t we let go of false teaching, idols, sinful desires, selfishness, greed? Yes, yes we should. What might we be holding onto that others will try to make us let go of? The Word of God? The confessions? the Creeds? Proclamation of Salvation by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ Alone, to the Glory of God alone, as revealed in Scripture alone? Well we cannot and will not let go of such things. My point here is the artist simply hasn’t defined the problem to which she’s going to cheer on the listener. This song has no footing, no anchor. That is a real problem for this song because the next verse builds onto this one without bringing any clarity. We have to assume that the listener is holding onto all of the right things and that everyone who is telling the listener to let go is wrong. That’s quite the stretch even before we get to the narcigetical treatment of David & Goliath.

Chorus. A blind approval and encouragement to “go, fight, win” without any discernment in the problem at hand. This happens a lot within charismatic circles, by the way, just showering name-it-and-claim-it positivism that whatever it is you want will be yours and they do it in Jesus’ name, blasphemy be damned.  Since this chorus is being offered as an answer to the first verse, it is equally lacking in foundation or an anchor. The listener may be holding onto the wrong things, dangerous things, things God’s Word forbids, yet the listener is being encouraged to “go, fight, win” with whatever they’ve got on their minds. this is reckless and dangerous. This is what happens when you try to present promises of the Gospel without any  mention of the Law.

Verse 2. We could really live like what? Are we doing a what-if the Word of Faith was a real thing? It isn’t. Also notice the implication that it is our fault that God isn’t able to work in our lives. A child-like faith accepts the Written Word of God as God-breathed. Spend less time chasing after your dream-destiny thingy and more time in the Word of God, rightly dividing Law and Gospel.

Okay, well I’m done with the song. So let’s look to what Scripture says, firstly let’s look at what it means to be saved by God and from where our good works flow.

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

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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— 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. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Paul clearly writes that our Salvation is completely apart from our works. We are saved for good works, not because of them. We are Christ’s workmanship, in that He has raised us from the dead. We were completely dead in sins and trespasses. Christ brought us back to life, granting us the very faith required to repent. Neither the grace nor the faith was our own doing, pure gift of God. Our justification exists purely in Christ’s finished work on the cross. As Christians, whom we must presume to be the target audience for the song, God’s Word does talk about letting go of fleshly desires and holding onto Christ. The context of this is by Faith, given to us by God.

Galatians 5:13-6:10 (ESV)

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

I shared this passage because I think the Apostle Paul covers both Law and Gospel and freedom in Christ and what our good works in the Gospel are aimed at, loving our neighbors. Your good works aren’t meritorious toward your relationship to God. God doesn’t need your good works, your neighbor does. And the good works you do aren’t yours, they are themselves gifts of faith from God. I know this doesn’t exactly coincide with the “go, fight, win” theme of the song, but I’m not interested in salvaging this song, I just want to make sure we are looking at this present life in light of the Gospel.

We don’t need to wish for the giants to fall, nor invent easy giants that can be felled by our will and determination, we need to trust that Christ has already felled the giant on our behalf, and that we are alive in Him. In closing, let us look to how Peter encouraged the church in his first letter.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Hymn | O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High

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trebleclefToday we’re going to take a look at our first Hymn from the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), “544 – O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High”. We sang this song during Epiphany 2, where the Gospel text was John 1:29-42John 1:29-42, when John the Baptist announces Christ, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

I’ve been working on ways to complement our DiM series throughout the week. One way I thought would be helpful for me and for my readers is to take some time to examine the doctrine found in the traditional hymns. I will be pulling hymns from the LSB as these are what I’m engaging in on a regular basis. As with our DiM series, I’ll do my best to offer a good recording of the hymn as well as the lyrics. Regarding the audio recording, it can be quite a challenge to find good audio recordings that include the congregational singing. Sometimes choir recording are unintelligible due to the intense operatic mode of singing. Most of the time what I find online are accompaniment tracks of just the organs or various orchestra arrangements. There is a real need for recordings of these hymns for everyday listening. If your church has good recordings of the congregation singing these hymns, please send me a link via the Contact Us page.

Higher Things – O How Deep LSB 544

Lyrics (via Hymnary.org)

1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!

2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.

3 For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast, and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp He knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.

4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought;
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself, but us.

5 For us by wicked men betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.

6 For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.

7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.

Discussion

Unlike our modern-day songs, this hymn is written for congregational singing (as opposed to having a band perform the song in hopes the congregation might follow along) where the congregation sings the same tune through 7 verses (no chorus/bridge) confessing Christ. For all of its doctrinal content, the song doesn’t take longer to sing as a congregation than your typical 2 verses + Chorus + emotional refrain loop performed by a band.

The Tune/Accompaniment. We’ll eventually cover songs whose tunes I find absolutely impossible to enjoy, but this one isn’t one. The tune is smooth and easy to follow. Were it not for the congregation singing aloud with one voice, I would find the sound of that organ bothersome; however, with so many voices there needs to be a unifying accompaniment. The organ here is suitable for the task. If you don’t like the organ, you have a friend in me. However, the true value of our music is in the lyric, not in the instrumentation.

Lyric. One need only read through the lyric as though it were a poem to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly proclaimed. Let’s move through the verses briefly to see how the theme of this hymn unfolds.

  1. The Incarnation. God, God the Son took on human flesh for our sake. Emmanuel, God is with us.
  2. Again, God Himself came to us, He didn’t send another. Emmanuel, God is with us.
  3. FOR US: He was baptized for us, suffered hunger for us, tempted in the wilderness and defeated Satan in the wilderness for us.
  4. FOR US: He prayed for us. He taught for us. He fulfilled the LAW for us. He fulfilled the Prophets for us.
  5. FOR US: He was betrayed by wicked men for us. He bore the crown of thorns for us. He hung on a shameful cross for us. He gave His dying breath for us.
  6. FOR US: He rose from the grave for us. He ascended into heaven for us. He sent God the Holy Spirit to us, for us.
  7. and it was all out of His Great Love for us. All glory and honor be to God the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

The hymnary website gives the following citations for the hymn: Ephesians 3:17-21; Philippians 2:6-9; Hebrews 2:9-18; John 1:1-14

In looking at these citations, I don’t like beginning or ending a reading of scripture with an incomplete thought. So I’ve made the following adjustments, and we’ll look at how these passages work together to teach us about the person and work of Jesus: Ephesians 3:14-21; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:9-18; John 1:1-14

John 1:1-14 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh

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

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

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

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Hebrews 2:9-18 (ESV)

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV) | Prayer for Spiritual Strength

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

This is the rich theology we find in the great hymns. Such wonderful proclamation of Christ FOR US shouldn’t be so quickly dismissed by modernists with no appreciation for theology. Yes, seasons change and so do musical fads and trends, but the Word of God is timeless. I’m all for having new tunes written for these hymns. I’m in favor of having newer songs written in keeping with the rich theology found in these hymns. We haven’t been doing this. The evangelical industrial complex has been trading out spiritual meat for artificial sweetener completely lacking in substance.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV) 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Testify” by Need to Breathe

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disapproveCCM Edition.

January 24, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Testify” by Need to Breathe which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

The band has a great sound and I really like the lead singer’s voice. The tune is catchy and I like how they basically start with the chorus. Sadly, the song is very vague, mystical in form, synergistic, and presumes to speak in the place of God. It is such a mess, lyrically, we’ve placed it in the Disapprove category.

Official Audio

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Chorus
Give me your heart
Give me your song
Sing it with all your might
Come to the fountain
You can be satisfied
There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

Verse 1
Into the wild
Canyons of youth
Oh there’s a world to fall into
Weightless we’ll dance
Like kids on the moon
Oh I will give myself to you
As soon as you start to let go

Give me your heart
Give me your song
Sing it with all your might
Come to the fountain
You can be satisfied
There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

Bridge
Wave after wave
As deep calls to deep
Oh I’ll reveal my mystery
As soon as you start to let go

Give me your heart
Give me your song
Sing it with all your might
Come to the fountain
You can be satisfied
There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

Verse 2
Mist on the mountain
Rising from the ground
There’s no denying beauty makes a sound
We can’t escape it
There’s no way to doubt
Mist on the mountain
Rising all around

Give me your heart
Give me your song
Sing it with all your might
Come to the fountain
You can be satisfied
There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

There is a peace, there is a love
You can get lost inside
Come to the fountain
Let me hear you testify

Publishing: © 2016 Bear Lee Breathing Music (BMI) / Needtobreathe Music (BMI). All Rights Administered by Downtown DMP Songs (BMI). All Rights Reserved. Produced by Ed Cash and NEEDTOBREATHE Engineered by Bo Rinehart, Ed Cash and Seth Bolt at Plantation Studios, Summerville, SC Mixed by Robert Orton Mastered by Dave Kutch at The Mastering Palace in New York, NY

Writer(s): Rinehart & Rinehart

Discussion

Firstly, the song seems to bounce unexpectedly between a person encouraging others and what seems to be God speaking to us. There isn’t really a clear way to see which words are being attributed to God and which are the singers. Such confusion is unhealthy and even dangerous.

Chorus. This chorus is sung in full 4 times, and in pieces another 2 or 3 times. That’s a lot of repetition and focus on what can only be presented as an ultimatum by God to get all of the amazing thing being offered. “give me your heart” = Law. “give me your song” = Law. “come to the fountain” is vague. What fountain? Why? “you can be satisfied“. Oh, for the potential to be satisfied. I suppose “can” might be understood in the permissive sense, as in “you are permitted to be satisfied”… I think that’s stretching a bit, though. “There is a peace, there is a love, You can get lost inside, Come to the fountain, Let me hear you testify“. Emotional pabulum. There is indeed peace in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is indeed love. But scripture isn’t talking about an emotional sensation of peace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings us peace with a Holy and Just God.

Romans 5:1-11 (ESV) | Peace with God Through Faith

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Which brings me to the glaring hole in this chorus and in this entire song. It attempts to offer Gospel promises without the Law. I say “attempts” because popular evangelicalism thinks commands like “give me your heart” is Gospel. It isn’t.

Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

It is Law and it is Good. The problem isn’t in the command, it’s in the belief that you are capable of keeping it of your own will. You aren’t. I can’t. We fail in this daily. Yes, believers, too. Our fleshly hearts are wicked and incapable of loving God completely on our own. Christ fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. He loved God perfectly. The gift of the Gospel is that He fulfilled the Law for us. When we are baptized into His death and resurrection, we are granted the Righteousness of Christ by faith. So, through Christ, we are seen as righteous, holy in His sight. Christ bore the full punishment for our failure to love God and our neighbors by dying on the cross.

So, getting back to the chorus of this song, we have a big problem. God is not withholding His gifts waiting for us to fulfill the Law. God gave us the Gift of His Son, Jesus, while we were yet sinners… enemies of God. The song paints a false image of God and presumes to speak for Him.

Now, regarding the vague imagery of the fountain. It could be taken as a reference to water baptism. I doubt that is the intended reference given the mystical leaning of the song. Modern mysticism generally flows from ancient gnosticism which would reject a connection to actual water baptism. We could also view this as a reference to Christ, though we’d have to unpack the theology a bit to clarify. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he addresses several errors. In the build up to his longer teaching on the LORD’s supper, we find this reference to Christ in the wilderness:

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 (ESV) For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Paul is clearly teaching that the miracles in the Exodus all pointed to Christ. The mana from heaven, baptism through the Red Sea, the water that flowed from the rock that was struck… all pointing to Christ. We see this also laid out in the Gospel According to John.

John 4:7-15 (ESV) A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 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.) 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.” 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? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 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.” 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.”

John 7:37-39 (ESV) On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

So, given its best possible construction, the fountain is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:15-23 (ESV) | The Preeminence of Christ

[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Amen. If we’re to believe this is the intended meaning of the song, then all of this is what is what must be assumed by the command “Let me hear you testify“. So, the song isn’t proclaiming the Gospel, it’s waiting for someone else to do it.

Verse 1. What a muddled mystical mess. The identity of the speaker is in each line is unclear here, and I don’t think there’s a good way to parse any of it out. It’s just bad.

Verse 2. This verse is no better than the other. Beauty makes a sound, really? Did Chuck Pierce write this line? There’s no clear doctrine of Scripture being presented in this. The same problem of who the speaker is in each line plagues this verse.

Bridge. As deep calls to deep seems to be pulling from Psalm 42, in the portion of despair. The psalmist here is describing discouragement. The Psalm turns to the clear promises of God. This song offers a revelation… as soon as you start to let go. Paul already took the time to explain the mystery of the Gospel in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 3:1-6 (ESV) | The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Praise be to God!

Conclusion

While some of the lines in the Chorus can be rescued with solid, Biblical Christology (both in the Old Testament and the New), the song overall cannot be salvaged. It’s a mystical ride through the emotions to create a “worship experience”. As I said in the intro, musically this song is awesome and the lead vocals are impressive. The song lacks clarity and substance and misrepresents the Gospel with mysticism and law.

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

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “King of the World” by Natalie Grant

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

Presentation1CCM Edition.

January 17, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “King of the World” by Natalie Grant which currently sits at #5 on 20TheCountdownMagazine. It looks like the top 20 chart is starting to stabilize a bit, as most of the list looks the way it did before the Christmas season. It isn’t overrun with COWO (Contemporary Worship) songs.

This song falls into the middle category because it doesn’t share the Gospel, nor does it grant the listener an indication to return to the Gospel, repent, and be forgiven of the sin of being your own god. This song is Law (pointing out error) and the implied answer is to do better about not forgetting that God is God (more law). The song stays on the lighter side of this error, more on the anxiety, worry, business side of forgetting that Christ is King of the World, but leaving out the Gospel leaves the listener in despair (for having failed again) or mysticism (try to experience God more directly in a “Jesus take the wheel” sense).

Official Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via GooglePlay Music)

(verse 1)
I try to fit You in the walls inside my mind
I try to keep You safely in between the lines
I try to put You in the box that I’ve designed
I try to pull You down so we are eye to eye

(chorus)
When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world
How could I make You so small
When You’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world

(verse 2)
Just a whisper of Your voice can tame the seas
So who am I to try to take the lead?
Still I run ahead and think I’m strong enough
When You’re the one who made me from the dust

(chorus)
When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world
How could I make You so small
When You’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world

(bridge)
You set it all in motion
Every single moment
You brought it all to be
And You’re holding on to me

(chorus)

When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget you’ve always been the king of the world
You will always be the king of the world

Written by Becca Mizell, Natalie Grant, Samuel Mizell • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Music Services, Inc, BMG Rights Management US, LLC

Discussion

So, let’s begin by discussing the overall point of the song. The point being made in general is how foolish it is for someone to acknowledge and confess Christ as the King of the World yet constantly live in anxiety and worry and striving as though they were in charge of their lives. There is a sense where this sort of self rebuke is warranted, when we wreck ourselves with worry over things that are outside of our ability to control. God is God, He is in control. In that sense, I agree with the overall theme of the song, or at least its chorus. In this discussion we are making 2 assumptions: the King of the World reference is to Jesus, the Messiah/Christ, the second person of the Trinity, and the target audience is to confessing Christians.

Chorus. Part of our sinful nature is the desire to create god in our own image, so to speak. Christians aren’t immune to this, we just have the clear preaching of Law and Gospel to address it. Daily. As sinners, we often take matters into our own hands, even our own justification/sanctification where we are constantly trying to prove ourselves to God through our own good works. Do more, volunteer more, sin less, give more… and we try to do this in our own strength, which is the killer. We can’t. That is the Law doing its work on us and in response our flesh is trying to keep the Law on its own. We can’t. It’s beyond us to keep the Law perfectly. I think this song is trying to address that problem, but it seems to lack the vocabulary or clear doctrine with which to do so. If you’ll notice, there is no clear proclamation of the Gospel here. There’s no repentance and the forgiveness of sins here, and I think that can be expected from our modern evangelicalism which treats the Gospel as something unbelievers need to hear until they decide to become believers. The setup in the song falls short of calling out backsliders, the mood of the song doesn’t get that dark. But even if it did, would we expect to see the Gospel of Grace and forgiveness emphasized or just more Law with the heat turned up? To answer in this specific case would be to venture into speculation, but it’s a question worth pondering whenever we are dealing with evangelicals reaching out to professing Christians. Is the Gospel still relevant for believing Christians or is it something that you “needed to get in, but staying in is all on you”? Let’s look at some Scripture before we dive into the verses.

Regarding Christ as the King of the World, let’s look to 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:13-16 (ESV) I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

There are two ways we can look at the problem of “trying to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world”, the first is what I’ve already alluded to regarding anxiety and worry over things we cannot control. I think the best place to look for this is to look at Christ’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount:

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

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

There is also a darker sense of “taking life out of the hands…” in which we lose sight of the Gospel completely and start relying on our own actions/efforts/striving for our salvation. Remember, we aren’t talking about unbelievers, we’re essentially talking about backsliders. Not the rebel ones who fall into hedonism, but the backsliders who’ve fallen into the pit of pietism and works-righteousness, like those foolish Galatians who had fallen into the false teaching of the Judaizing heresy.

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

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

So, we see that in light of these passages there is a good point to be made by the chorus of this song. The answer needs to be to turn our attention away from whatever has distracted us from the Truth of the Gospel and back to the Written Word of God. I have a concern with all of the mysticism infecting CCM that many will choose to “look within” and try to feel God more or hear Him more directly in a sort of “Jesus take the wheel” sort of stunt. That’s not what Scriptures teach, so please, don’t go there.

Verse 1. The answer to each of the errors being confessed in the first verse is to look for God in His Word. That is where God has revealed Himself to mankind. There is nowhere else one can look that isn’t committing the exact same errors being confessed in this verse.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Verse 2. This one is getting a little heavy on the poetically vague side. The main problem with this is the lack of clarity. What exactly is the error being poetically described by us “taking the lead… running ahead”? I’m sure we could come up with interpretations that are theologically sound and others that are dripping in sensual mysticism. It’s not objectively right or wrong, it’s just vague.

Bridge. The song seems to be building up to a climax focusing on the emotional rather than the objective and doctrinal. Yes, there is a sense where can discuss the objective truths of Scripture pointing to God the Holy Spirit sealing us, drawing us to Christ, and securing the salvation won by Christ for us on the Cross. But we must at least caution the overly emotional/sensual concept of “Presence” theology, a New Age concept of somehow finding God with our senses and our emotional experiences. That’s a dangerous road to follow. Don’t do it. I’m not saying she’s doing this intentionally with this song, but the industry is drowning in mysticism posing as Christianity so this is a very real pitfall building in this song.

Conclusion

The build up of the song comes to an emotional close, rather than to a doctrinal one. This is where the repetitions become more meditative and take on a slightly mystically vague form. It’s as though the point of the song is to build up a sense of open surrender, like a “Jesus take the wheel” experience. When it comes to the Law / Gospel distinction, this song is all Law. There is no Gospel in the song. While it is safe to assume the intended audience for the song is believing Christians, the overall focus of the song is the error of being our own gods rather than trusting Christ in our everyday matters. For decision-theology folks, this is dangerous particularly given their synergism. If my decision to follow Christ is necessary for salvation, then my decision to keep Him in the driver’s seat is necessary for me to remain saved. Such a trap of despair with no hope of assurance, for these same folks leave the Gospel behind as something they needed to become “born again” but not something that can help them “today”. The only answer for the conviction of the Law isn’t “try harder, decide better, want better”, the answer is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Repentance and the Forgiveness of sin. Yes, for you, too, born-again believer in Christ… you who sin are in need of forgiveness. Repent, and know that you are forgiven in Jesus’ Name.

Romans 3:20-26 (ESV) For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The redemption that is in Christ Jesus isn’t something you dip into one-time and hope you can hold onto it by your own strength. This Blood is FOR YOU, for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus paid the price of sin IN FULL. In this life you will have many struggles, and most of them are of your own sinful doing. Repent. Be forgiven, in Jesus’ Name.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)

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

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge