Luke 12:35 Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.
Christian Living
The New Testament has a great deal to say about living as Christians. We will look to the Old Testament for context and background, but focus on the New in these blogs.
I see a lot of folks doing the Throw-back Thursday (TBT) thing and I just never felt like anything we did here warranted a TBT. Well, today I guess is a good time to bring up an older post that relates to something that has popped up again in social media. I’m so disgusted by it, and this time around it seems worse since I’m not even in any of the Reformed groups I was in the last go-round… no… this time I’m seeing the vitriol in Lutheran circles. The TBT subject for today is the expressed lack of satisfaction in the penance of Tullian Tchvidjian, and the willingness of some to condemn his pastor with him.
Mostly what I see happening right now is folks pushing their own agendas by borrowing from the name of Tullian Tchvidjian while blasting his current Pastor, Kevin Labby, for mentioning the same name in a favorable light. Nothing that has been written thus far regarding Tullian has expressed any deeper thought than “I don’t think we should hear about him at all, he hasn’t truly repented because no one could this quickly”. Some posts go the extra sanctimonious route of I’m super offended on behalf of his victims at his old church because he hasn’t paid enough penance. If you don’t fall in line with those looking to stone Tchvidjian and Libby, then you are immediately labeled a “Gospel Reductionist”.
The latest article that got under my skin was from the good folks at ChurchWatchCentral. I like their work. They do good work. Tullian has nothing to do with Hillsong. He has nothing to do with Driscoll. This is a hit piece.
Here’s what we know:
Pastor Libby has been publicly encouraging Tullian
Liberate Network is being brought back online
Tullian has been sharing the Gospel and Speaking in public
I’ll get worried when there’s talk of restoring Tullian to the Office of Pastor. Until then, I pray he has truly repented and I trust that he’s being restored Biblically in his local church. Notice that none of the hit pieces on Tullian actually have substantive penitential standards… they are placing themselves over Tullian and Libby as judges. I’d rather not go there until I can see a clear violation of Scripture.
2 Corinthians 2:5-11 (ESV) | Forgive the Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
If people within his new congregation or his old one have an issue with forgiving Tullian, that’s between them, God, and Tullian. As for those who are as disconnected from the local church body as I am… I encourage you to exercise forgiveness and pray for his full restoration (not necessarily to the Office of Pastor, but surely able to share the Gospel as a layman). If you cannot do that, that’s between you and God… Tullian doesn’t owe you anything.
If there is unrepentant sin, it needs to be called out and the Law needs to be preached fully… and then we need to preach the Gospel with equal force and conviction. It is God who saves, God who grants faith, God who grants repentance, and God who forgives and restores according to His Will and His Grace, and for His Glory.
Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) | Doxology
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Welcome back as we continue working through the Gospel According to Mark. Two weeks ago we covered Mark 8, where we saw Jesus directly rebuked the Pharisees for demanding a sign from Him despite having rejected Him and the signs that had already testified of Him. Their demand for a special sign demonstrated their wickedness, it flowed directly from their unbelief, and He called them on it. We also saw Jesus feed the multitudes again, this time really driving home who He is… and Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ.
Today, we’ll resume reading, beginning in Chapter 9 of the Gospel According to Mark.
Mark 9:1-13 (ESV) | The Transfiguration
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus,“Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
Here, for a moment, Peter, James, and John got to see Jesus in His Glory. They saw Elijah and Moses speaking with Jesus (these 2 represented the Law and the Prophets) for they pointed to Him. The Kingdom of God had come to fulfill the Promise of Salvation. Understandably, the disciples couldn’t quite put a handle on what they were witnessing and made some poor attempts at capturing the moment to preserve it… but the Voice of the Lord God spoke to them and what did He say? “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” Jesus wanted them to start understanding why He came and what He needed to do. I can’t qualify this statement with any hard facts, but I tend to think that whenever the disciples heard Jesus speak of raising from the dead, they probably assumed He meant sometime way out in the future.
Mark 9:14-29 (ESV) | Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him,“‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
This is a tough passage for me, because I’ve been through so many bad sermons on it. Let’s focus on the clear, and leave the less clear for discussions with your pastor. What is clear here is the father lacked faith. He hedged his request not by “if you are willing” but by “if you can”. Jesus rebukes the mans lack of faith and the man repents, but notice in the repentance he makes a powerful statement, help my unbelief! It is God who gives us faith, by His Grace. Jesus saves us from the Kingdom of darkness. As for the last statement, what is clear is that what took place was nothing short of a miracle of God upon the boy. Much ink has been spilled in trying to parse out and dissect what Jesus really meant here, but I’m going to leave it now with the point that it is God who saves, and we should pray. I encourage you to seek out your pastor for more teaching on this point.
Mark 9:30-32 (ESV) | Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Jesus is preparing His sheep for what was coming, and they were confused yet afraid to ask.
Mark 9:33-37 (ESV) | Who Is the Greatest?
And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them,“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
It’s good to see the humanity of these Apostles. Like kids, they got into a squabble over their relative greatness. We all do it. Jesus calls them out on it, and instructs them… and us… on what is most important.
Mark 9:38-41 (ESV) | Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
Jesus isn’t making a blanket philosophical statement like the easily refutable “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”… the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a singular road, a singular Way to God. EVERYONE who is not for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is against us, because all who are not of Christ are against Him, for the world hates Him. This verse should in no way be used to stifle Biblical discernment or the rebuke of false teachers, false doctrine, or spirits of error.
Mark 9:42-50 (ESV) | Temptations to Sin
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
This is about false teaching. I hadn’t noticed it before, but this time reading through this text the words (emphasis mine) who believe in me really jumped off the screen at me. We deal with our own hearts tempting us to sin on a regular basis… woe to the one who tempts believers to sin. I think this particular warning is particularly aimed at the false teacher or one who engages in false doctrines. Jesus is speaking figuratively here regarding the cutting off of hands/feet/eyes since even doing so literally will not address the sin of the heart. From an individual perspective, it’s about dying to self, so that we might live in the Spirit. The references to being salted with fire is often explained as a reference to the Old Testament sacrifices, that they were salted before being offered up at the altar. In the New Covenant it’s the work of the Holy Spirit in us, salting us, and burning away sins and transgressions.
I’d like to offer up another way of reading it, but this is just me sharing my thoughts and I have yet to find a commentary that confirms this reading: I think this also points to church discipline if we read this not as an individual’s body but the local Church body. Reflecting back to the danger of leading those who believe in Christ away from Him, those within the Body of Christ who are preaching falsely and causing division by preaching falsely ought to be cut away rather than send the whole body to hell. I’m borrowing heavily from Paul’s treatment of the subject of rebuking and silencing false teachers as well as excommunicating unrepentant sinners so that they might repent, be forgiven, and restored.
Regarding the loss of saltiness, that isn’t something we can fix, because becoming salt wasn’t our doing in the first place. I think this is reflected in Hebrews 5-6 discussion of apostasy. Jesus ends with an encouragement to be salty and at peace with the Body of Christ. I think the encouragement of being salty is to trust in the Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit as He keeps us in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
Until next week, spend time in the Written Word of God and do not forsake the gathering of the saints, hearing of the Preached Word… both Law and Gospel.
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.
March 7, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “If We’re Honest” by Francesca Battistelli which currently sits at #19 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.
In my opinion this is the best song by Francesca Battistelli we’ve reviewed, and it is so close to being a phenomenal song. I really like this song, though there are some key omissions in the lyrics that make it fall below our standard for Approval. This song represents the problem of dealing with the cognitive dissonance that the modern evangelical wrestles with and is so close to providing the answer… so close to granting the rest that the modern evangelical desperately longs to find. The song misses but it is starting to ask the right questions.
Truth is harder than a lie
The dark seems safer than the light
And everyone has a heart that loves to hide
I’m a mess and so are you
We’ve built walls nobody can get through
Yeah, it may be hard, but the best thing we could ever do, ever do
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
Don’t pretend to be something that you’re not
Living life afraid of getting caught
There is freedom found when we lay
our secrets down at the cross, at the cross
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
It would change our lives
It would set us free
It’s what we need to be
Bring your brokenness, and I’ll bring mine
‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides
And mercy’s waiting on the other side
If we’re honest
If we’re honest
Artist Backstory? Before I share my thoughts on this song, I wanted to take a shot at finding an interview somewhere that maybe had Francesca Battistelli’s take on the story behind the song. This is the title-track of her latest album, so most of this interview is covering the album, but here is a portion where she talks about this song:
SAM: With this album, If We’re Honest, is there a big idea or a key message running across the whole record?
FRANCESCA: Y’know I think honesty and vulnerability. There’s a lot in this record that came from my life, and I think there’s just a deeper spiritual sense to this record. I think I’m talking about some things that I haven’t talked about before. If We’re Honest is the title track, and the theme of that song which ties in with the record is that God has called us to live lives of authenticity. I think that means that in a culture that says: ‘Crop the perfect picture of yourself, put a nice filter on it, send it out to the world and let people think that’s who you are,’ God has called us to be raw and be real. We should be able to come to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and say: ‘This is what I’m going through. This is what I’m struggling with. This is what I need prayer for, or help with.’ It’s so hard for us to do that in this culture, and I think God is really calling us to go back to that basic… He created us to live in community with each other. He created us to need each other. To be his hands and feet on this earth. So I really wrote it as a challenge to myself, to get outside of myself. To challenge me to know that the things I was saying and the things I was talking about on stage and singing, and who I was when I was offstage, it’s all the same. There wasn’t a facade being put up. I think the vulnerability on these songs shows up. So I would say honesty is the theme of the record.
SAM: Yeah, that definitely comes across as I listen to it, and I’m sure that your fans as they listen will be encouraged to be honest as well in their lives too.
FRANCESCA: I hope so! That’s the goal.
Overall Thoughts. I was surprised to see Francesca answer in such a broad sense given that my first impression of the song, as-written, was that it held a more intimate meaning… like between a husband and wife who are struggling with secret sins that were destroying their marriage. That’s what jumps out at me with the chorus of the song, an appeal for mutual brokenness and confession. While that was my initial read on the song, I was going to suggest we suspend that for a moment while we try to rescue it a bit with some clear doctrine, and then see how it works within the narrow sense of a marriage.
Overall there are some solid thoughts captured in the lyric of this song: each of us is a mess, each of us is broken, and failure to acknowledge this truth is a failure to be honest… because we know we’re broken. We know it in the Romans 1 sense where the world knows there is a God and it hates Him. The most powerful statement in this song is coded, unfortunately: There is freedom found when we lay our secrets down at the cross, at the cross. That’s so close to being the Gospel… but what does it mean to lay our secrets down at the cross? How is this something I do? Why is it so hard to sing the words “repent and be forgiven of your sins in Jesus’ Name?” So close. I think now we need to discuss cognitive dissonance a bit.
Cognitive Dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc. For example, when people smoke (behavior) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition). [source]
Modern-Day Evangelicalism holds to a man-centered definition of justification / sanctification while giving lip service to salvation by grace through faith alone. Most of this can be traced by to the earliest church-isms of the settling of the New World. Methodism and Pietism play a major role in this forming of “American” Christianity…. but in many ways it is a return to the synergism of the Roman Catholic Church to varying degrees. Sure, they’ve dropped the Pope, but they haven’t dropped the notion that says “God did His part, but I have to do my part or else God can’t work in my life”. So we insist that man has a free will (from birth) and that God has made a way of salvation that few will find, but if you search for it with all your heart you will find it and be made a new creature, freed from sin… and because we “bowed our heads” and “said a prayer” (Finneyism) we can now declare and decree that we are new creatures… but that was only the first step of “getting saved”. Now we have to do our part to “demonstrate our faith” is genuine, we must progress in doing good and resisting evil. That’s what evangelicalism preaches… and pushes… and advises… keep progressing, know these fundamentals… if you’ll just do these things you’ll overcome that sin… and we raise our hands, we walk down the isle, kneel at the “altar” and sob, trying with every ounce of strength we can muster to “lay our sins down at the cross” hoping that this time… THIS TIME… we’ll mean it, it will be real, we will be set free from this besetting sin because we truly meant it… THIS time. But when we’ve left the “revival” meeting… and we find ourselves at work, or all alone… if we’re honest… we know we are still sinners. We doubt whether or not we’ll fall again… we doubt whether or not God truly loves us… given enough time and hardship… we’ll even doubt whether or not God died for us.
Incidentally… this isn’t the result of poll research or anything… this is me. At a very low point, I remember admitting to someone that I have no problem sharing the “promises of God” for everyone else… but He didn’t have those good things set out for me. I didn’t deserve them. I’d confess that I was saved, but that I was supposed to struggle… because I wasn’t progressing… I was arrogant in my youth, sloppy in my sanctification… and I was being held to a different standard. After all, my parents were pastors… God had worked huge miracles in their lives… so-called prophets always knew exactly what my brother’s calling was on his life… but when it came to me no 2 were ever in agreement… they were all over the place with me… because I didn’t have a calling, because God’s awesome promises weren’t for me… they were for everyone else. Cognitive dissonance… I simply couldn’t hold all things I was being told in evangelicalism (NAR flavor) as true while making an honest assessment of my own actions, my own thought life, my own sin. The pieces didn’t fit. Either the theology was wrong, or I was…and I was convinced that God simply didn’t want those things for me. I thank God that in His Grace and Mercy… He never let go of me.
I’m sorry for that tangent… getting back to the topic of cognitive dissonance, modern-day evangelicalism doesn’t make sense to one who is honest about their surroundings or who actually reads the Bible. It doesn’t fit together. It’s entirely too man-centric, and we are horribly messed up. And that is a strength in this song… if we’re honest, we simply cannot go on decreeing and declaring that we are healthy, wealthy, and prosperous because… we aren’t.
Repent and be Forgiven. The song takes a step in the right direction by at least acknowledging something isn’t right. We sin. There needs to be a solution to that sin. There is, but it isn’t found within us. The first line of the song that needs correction is the line everyone has a heart that loves to hide. The truth is that everyone has a heart that love to sin. To protect our sin, we hide it rather than expose it. We did it back in the Garden in Adam when he chose to hide from God after sinning, and then blaming the woman for our sin. We hide our sin rather than confess it. That is our bent, that is the impact of sin on our hearts.
1 John 1 (ESV)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, thatGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us. This is where we find our rest in this life… in the Person and Word of Jesus Christ. There’s no moving on from this while we walk this earth in jars of clay. We are still sinners, saved by Grace. We sin, and the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin according to the Law and crushes us… for the letter of the Law kills… but the Holy Spirit brings life in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don’t look to your emotions, your “brokenness”, or even your “honesty” for forgiveness… it’s not within you… it’s outside of you… it’s in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ… it’s in the Written Word of God, it’s in the waters of baptism, it’s in the bread and cup of communion. Seek forgiveness outside of you, for only God forgives… and He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you in Jesus’ Name. Daily.
Where the song completely misses. The song simply cannot seem to shake itself free from looking within for answers. ‘Cause love can heal what hurt divides And mercy’s waiting on the other side Who’s love? Which divide? Are we talking simply the emotional pangs of hurt, or are we talking about sin? Are we talking about simply airing out grievances with our neighbor or are we talking about seeking forgiveness from sin? And mercy’s waiting on the other side of what? Again, God’s mercy comes to us through His Word and through Preaching… but this evangelicalism suggests that we have to do something or cross something to get to that Mercy that is on the other side of whatever it is that separates us… does this point back to the divide caused by hurt? So we need to be honest, so that love can heal what hurt divided and once that divide is healed THEN we get to Mercy? I think I might have pulled something.
The bridge of the song misfires, because the “it” points to us and our honesty. If we’re honest, then it would It would change our lives. If we’re honest, then It would set us free. If we’re honest, then It’s what we need to be. See how that is bent in on itself? Forgive me the obvious counter-argument, but there are a lot of sinners who are quite honest and brash concerning their sin. They are flagrant. In fact, and I didn’t start this discussion like I usually do by pointing out the intended target audience, but this song is clearly pointed at the evangelical Christian… because only the evangelical Christian struggles with the cognitive dissonance of proclaiming to be fully set free from sin and progressing toward perfection in Christ Jesus while having to ignore the reality of their own sin. Unbelievers don’t struggle with this level of dissonance, because they simply call evil good and good evil. They embrace their sin because they reject God.
Conclusion
If we are honest… we are sinners in need of a savior. We bring nothing to our salvation than our sinful hearts. Salvation, Faith, Repentance and Forgiveness is Christ’s work on us, and we contribute nothing to that work. Now, as believers, we share the grace bestowed upon us with our neighbors, we do good works of service to our neighbors in thanksgiving to God, knowing full well that even our best good work for our neighbor is stained by our sin. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness needed God to provide Mana from heaven on a daily basis for their daily bread, we rely on Christ’s unfailing love for us and forgiveness for our sins. Dear Christian, stop looking within yourself (or your heart/emotions) for faith, healing, restoration, rest, forgiveness… instead, look to the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Your right standing before God isn’t based on what you’ve done, but what He has done for you. Your relationship with your neighbor (and getting back to the context of within a marriage) is affected by what you do. Be honest and vulnerable with your neighbor, and share the Gospel of Grace. Serve your neighbor, forgive your neighbor, and share both Law and Gospel with your neighbor, knowing that Christ has forgiven you of all of your sins, 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.
March 02, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Everything Comes Alive” by We Are Messengers which currently sits at #12 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.
This is a relatively new band to me, so I thought I’d check out their website after listening to the song once through. Here are some excerpts:
…“We see ourselves as messengers carrying the good news,” says Mulligan. “We’re just carrying His message from our hearts up into our mouths and out into our hands. God’s given us something to say through words and songs and through our lives. We ask the same question every day, ‘What is God saying? What opportunity is God bringing?’”…
”Essentially, this is the action We Are Messengers hopes to mimic through the ministry of their band. “Christ came to serve and showed us how to serve, and we want to do that,” Mulligan says. “We want to tell people about the goodness of God. Music allows us to have that conversation. We want to love people the way He loves us. We want to wash people’s feet.
”We Are Messengers may have left their homeland for the sake of a greater call, but it’s a sacrifice they consider well worth the hefty price. “We’ve been rescued so that we could give ourselves away,”Mulligan maintains. “The Bible says, ‘Lose your life and you’ll find it’; and we’re determined to keep giving ourselves away until we die, so that when it comes to the end of the race, we’re spent, we’re done.”
Sad, really. What we see presented in their biography and distilled in the quotes above is a theology of glory, a man-centered, works-righteousness that offers no rest, no assurance, and no peace. Indeed there may be some infused-grace working under the doctrinal hood, so to speak. Very emotionally driven “testimony” about the artist, very vague on the Gospel… and that is what we see in the biography where there are no limitations on space, rhyme and meter. Doesn’t bode well for the song. Now, let us give the song a listen.
Official Music Video
Now there are some lines at the beginning of the video and at the end that are not captured in the song lyric.
Intro: People said I’d never be anything, they said I was too broken, they said I had too many scars
Close: People said I was too broken, but God said something different, He said He’d take me with my bruises and my scars. He never said life would be easy. It can still be tough. But I know this, I’ve got hope.
Verse 1
In the morning when my heart is cold
You’re the heat for my weary soul
You’re the good in all I know
In the mirror all that I see
Is Your grace looking back at me
I’m not the man that I used to be
Pre-Chorus
You’re the song, You’re the song
Rising from my heart
Chorus
Everything Comes alive
Everything comes alive
Everything comes alive
In You
Verse 2
In the evening when my bones are tired
You’re my strength and my heart’s desire
You’re the light when the sun expires
I remember how far I’ve come
I’m not lost with You I’m home
I didn’t find You on my own
Pre-Chorus
Chorus
Bridge
I’m made alive
Now I’m by Your side
I’ve come alive
I’ve come alive
Verse 3
And when my days are done
I’ve got a Hope that I’m sure of
I’ll be with You in heavenly places
I’ll be with You in heavenly places
Outro
My heart is beating to the rhythm of Your love
My feet are running ever faster to Your grace
Discussion
A common complaint I’ve received in private is that I haven’t been granting enough freedom of artistry in the poetry of these songs. Indeed, I haven’t. You see, such freedom is intended for “art appreciation” for finding the beauty within a given lyric. These DiM aren’t about trying to out-art each other in waxing eloquent on the subjective beauty of the lyric… we are here to discern if these songs convey or teach sound doctrine. The reason we are doing so isn’t random, but because they are written, produced, and promoted as “Christian” songs. This band even makes the claim that their goal is to share the Gospel. So that is what we are checking.
This song above engages in highly mystical / sensual poetic style. How far do we take the metaphors of each line to force a Biblical message? Well, it cannot be done objectively. If the rule is to apply metaphor to each line in the song, then this song could very easily be a secular love song, exaggerating (poetically) the real impact one person can have on another. So we won’t be playing fast-and-loose with the imagery just to conjure up a best construction for the song. Objectively speaking, there’s no clear reference to Jesus Christ. No mention of repentance and the forgiveness of sin. The subject of the song is the singer. It is at-best an individualistic anthem of self-motivation and self-esteem.
Verse 1. The first bit about warmth of the heart and all the good the singer knows is just fluff. There’s no external Word, no external object of Faith… it’s an appeal to internal acknowledgement of spirituality. The second with the mirror takes an interesting idea and buries it in narcissism. The interesting idea is that when we look in the mirror we see God’s Grace in action… because we are alive and have not been judged and punished for sin. It’s a thin thread, but it is a cool one… except the singer has inflated it to being “all that he sees in the mirror”. No. Stop looking for the Gospel inside yourself. The Gospel is found in the external Word of God, not in your reflection in a mirror, or in your heart, or in what you know internally. Mysticism is rot of the soul that will shipwreck your faith.
Pre Chorus. NO! Stop it! God is NOT the song rising up from our hearts. He is the One who forgives us of the sin that comes from our hearts, He is the one that brings our hearts to life, He is the One whose Word grants faith and life and forgiveness in Jesus’ Name. Our hearts are wicked, turned in on themselves in sin. Even after we’ve been made new creations in Christ Jesus by Faith, our fleshly hearts (seat of our emotions, desires, passions) are still corrupted by sin. That’s why our physical bodies will still die even though we’ve been saved… because our flesh is wicked and must be put off.
1 Corinthians 15:50-56 (ESV) | Mystery and Victory
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Chorus. Well that doesn’t really say much, does it? And what it says seems to ignore that God is a Personal God. Three Persons, in fact. “everything comes to life in you” makes it sound automatic and impersonal… like it’s just something that happens, rather than a Work of God’s Grace on us, in us, and through us by His Word. From the very creation of all things, God spoke it into existence. It didn’t just “come to life” in God, He spoke it into existence. Do you see the distinction I’m trying to make here? Mysticism doesn’t want a Triune God who saves by His Grace and Love; rather, mysticism wants an impersonal force that can be manipulated according to spiritual principles and disciplines.
Verse 2. Still seeing a heavy hand of synergism here. The rest of God is only found at the end of “me”, at the end of my toil and labor. If I do absolutely everything I can do… then I’ll find God and He will give me rest. Even in that last line, when one who is hoping to find sound doctrine might think, hey he acknowledged that he’s not the one who found God. Only, he is saying he found God… he’s just acknowledging he had help. Still dealing with the Methodist / Armenian depiction that God makes a way for us to seek Him and find Him, but we still have to do it. So, the Holy Spirit doesn’t grant you faith, just helps you find it? No. That’s not what Scripture teaches.
Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Verse 3. So here the artist turns his attention to the afterlife… in vague assumptive terms. I say assumptive because there is no confession of faith in this song. No repentance or forgiveness of sin… just “I’ll be with you in heavenly places”. This isn’t even particularly Christian… this is just an appeal to an afterlife in general. Dear Christian, the promise of eternal if is true, the Hope our Salvation is assured in the Name of Jesus Christ, and we know this because He gave us His external Word.
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.
Bridge. Nothing to see here.
Otro. We don’t run toGod’s Grace. Ugh. We aren’t infused by grace in order to earn more grace. That’s not how it works. In the glorious exchange, our sins are placed upon Christ on the Cross, and His Righteousness is imputed to us by Grace.
Praise Song Cruncher 2.0
I believe Lutherans are still the minority of my readership, but I’d still like to recommend Table Talk Radio Podcast with Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller and Rev. Evan Goeglein, both Lutheran Pastors. I thoroughly enjoy everything about their show… it’s great, but particularly why I’m bringing it up now is because they have what they call a Praise Song Cruncher 2.0 that they use to evaluate worship songs, hymns, CCM, whatever people have sent in that they decide might be helpful to “crunch”.
Each song is measured by 5 questions:
Is Jesus mentioned?
Is there mystical form?
Truth. Does the song use sentences (with subject, verb, object) or sentence fragments? Is the song full of impressions or assertions? (Without sentences it is impossible to express truth.)
Repetition. Is the song repetitive, using the same phrases over and over?
Is there mystical content?
Immediate. Does the song talk about an immediate experience of God (seeing, touching, feeling God directly)?
Romance. Does the song use romantic imagery (boyfriend/girlfriend romance)?
Loss of self. Does the song talk about losing our identity, being lost in God, absorbed, consumed, engulfed ? Are we surrendering, abandoning ourselves, etc.?
Internal. Is the action of the song, or the action of God as described in the son, happening on the inside of me?
Subjective. Is the song about the things that God has done (objective), or about me (subjective)?
Is Law and Gospel present and rightly divided?
Is there any explicit false doctrine not already addressed?
Today’s song wouldn’t survive the praise song cruncher.
Conclusion
I worry about this artist and the man-centered “gospel” they’ve committed to sharing in their music. I worry because it is wildly popular (#12 on the chart today) and it’s law-heavy with no actual Gospel being preached. I pray the Word of God be preached to them faithfully, and that the Holy Spirit open their eyes and ears to the Truth of God’s Word, and find Rest in the external Word of God.
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.
I’ll be brief today. As Christians, we are citizens of two completely different kingdoms… the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom(s) of this world. Our citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven is by God’s Grace, through Faith in Christ Jesus.
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.
Romans 8:14-17 (ESV)
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Now, though we have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High God, while we continue in this life walking this cursed earth, we are subject to the Authorities set in place by God.
Romans 13:1-7 (ESV) | Submission to the Authorities
13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Here in the United States, we live (for now) under a Federal Government that has clearly defined limits and guaranteed protections of rights endowed to us by our Creator. Part of this government system is the opportunity to elect our Representatives. This is both a blessing and a responsibility. We really don’t get to choose who will run, nor do we really choose who will “win” the nomination. We get to provide input via voting. We should do so in our service to our neighbor. An unbiblical work isn’t ever a good work. Speculative ventures, or supporting a candidate for reasons that are unbiblical don’t qualify as a good work. Ultimately, God is in control and His Will shall be done. I’m not writing to place the weight of the US Government on your shoulders… that’s not your weight to bear. It isn’t mine, either.
I’m writing today, to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to love your neighbor in executing your vocation as US Citizen in a God-Honoring way, so that your conscience may be clear. Don’t venture in speculation, for you have no way of knowing how a candidate “might” perform after you’ve cast your vote. It’s completely outside of your control. All you can do is cast your vote in support of the individual you consider to be the best for the job. And then, that’s it. It’s up to God and His plan.
The US may not survive much longer, but cast your vote faithfully. We may all lose our “political freedoms”, but cast your vote honorably. Our hope is not set on this life, we are not laying up treasures for ourselves in this world; rather, we are to lay up treasures in Heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) | Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
No matter how you cast your vote, know that we dare not place our hope in anything other than Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 1:3-21 (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.
Called to Be Holy
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Do not be anxious for what tomorrow will bring. I say this as a word of encouragement that I myself struggle with… for which I am also in need of Grace.
Jude 24-25 (ESV) 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, 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.
Welcome back as we continue working through the Gospel According to Mark. Two weeks ago we covered 
CCM Radio Edition.
CCM Radio Edition.
29 February 2014.
Faithful Stewardship 
You must be logged in to post a comment.