CCM

DiM | “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship

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disapproveCCM/Evangelical Worship Edition.

February 14, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship which currently sits at #17 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

Hillsong doesn’t write music for Biblical worship, they write mood music for mystical/emotional experiences sold with an empty promise of deepening your intimacy with God, not through reading and studying His word, but by directly experiencing God’s “Presence”. That is the theology they push, that is the aim of their marketing/money-making arm known as “Hillsong Worship”. They package an emotion and sell it as spirituality. This song earns a spot on our “Disapproved” list, but we will examine the theology behind the song by looking at what Hillsong says about it, and we’ll examine the clear scriptures. I don’t recommend including this song in your “contemporary worship” (COWO) service.

Video

Lyrics (via Hillsong)

Verse 1
You were the Word at the beginning
One with God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ

Chorus 1
What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Verse 2
You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus You brought heaven down
My sin was great Your love was greater
What could separate us now

Chorus 2
What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Bridge
Death could not hold You
The veil tore before You
You silence the boast of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring
The praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again

You have no rival
You have no equal
Now and forever God You reign
Yours is the kingdom
Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name above all names

Chorus 3
What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King
What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Tags
What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus
What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus

Words and Music by Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood

Discussion

Hillsong teaches false doctrine. There is no getting around that and I’m definitely not inclined to side-step their false gospel. They push the Word of Faith (WoF) heresy. They don’t preach repentance. Brian Houston is a notorious bible-twister. Their doctrine of “worship” borrows heavily from New Age worship of “Presence” rather than a Biblical understanding of worship. They are the masters of emotional manipulation to create a feeling or, as they put it, an “atmosphere of worship” where they suggest that our act of worship, our sincerity in our singing/emotions actually invites the very presence of God into the room. Any music coming out of Hillsong is suspect due to the false teaching the pervades its halls. In the past, the better songs that Hillsong has put out have been edits or rewrites of older hymns, and they’ve always been less theologically sound than their original hymns. From what I can tell, this song seems to be a Hillsong original. To begin our discussion, let us look at how they describe the purpose and creation of this song in one of their blogs.

What A Beautiful Name Song Story
Hillsong Worship
13 October 2016

What hides in the name of Jesus?

The name of Jesus encompasses more than we can hope or imagine—more beauty, more wonder, more power.

Most of the song “What A Beautiful Name” was penned in a glorified cubicle in the suburbs of Sydney over a few days in December 2015. From there we spent months crafting the lyrics to riff on our core scriptures — Hebrews 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-20, 26-27 — yet be simple enough to make sense on a first reading. Hebrews 1:1-4 expresses with clarity and conciseness the supremacy of Jesus Christ — the radiance of God’s glory, the exact expression of His being, the creative conduit of His power. Jesus is God’s Word: powerful, authoritative and utterly supreme. He is the wonder of salvation, who reconciled us to God.

Let’s pause here for just a moment. What hides in the name of Jesus? Is a terrible way to start this discussion. Why are we starting with the notion of attempting to discover something about Jesus that He has not already revealed to us in His Word? The next statement is objectively true right up until the break in the sentence “—” . The writers of the song are focusing on the beauty, wonder, and power that is beyond our hope or imagining and is hidden in the name of Jesus. We’ll see where they go with this, but first let us examine their “core scriptures”, because I noticed something in their citation in the Colossians text. As for their Hebrews text, they’ve truncated the introduction to Hebrews to just the opening thought. I wish Hillsong would continue reading through Hebrews 2:4 to see where the opening argument is building. But notice the break in the verses in the Colossians citation. What is being skipped? Colossians 1:21-25. Let’s see what’s in there.

Colossians 1:21-26 (ESV) 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.Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

Here is what is missing from the Hillsong theology in general and specifically in the formulation of this song. Hillsong preaches a theology of glory, rather than the theology of the cross. Hillsong doesn’t preach Christ and Him crucified for our sin so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God saving us from wrath, Hillsong tries to move “beyond salvation” into us doing stuff to bring Him extra Glory. That’s how they teach worship, that’s how they teach prayer (WoF), and that’s how they teach intimacy with God (mysticism).  They skip over the verses that don’t fit their narrative. Paul is preaching the supremacy of Christ in our salvation, the hope of the gospel which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for “new revelations”, which is a big deal in Hillsong theology. The mystery hidden for ages and generations is now (the time of the Apostle Paul) revealed to his saints (the Church). Again, this cuts against the grain of Hillsong’s push for new knowledge, hidden secrets, and fresh revelation. So, they bounce back to the Hebrews 1:1-4 passage and camp out on the trailing thought that we now listen to Christ so that they can suggest there’s  more for us to know (reflecting back to the opening thought in this blog of “what’s hidden in the name of Jesus”).

To know God and to worship Him (“to enjoy Him forever”) is the most fundamental reason for our existence. As Jesus reveals the great mysteries of God, we come to know more of who God is, glimpsing new facets of His beauty, wonder and power.

“Beauty” evokes the tenderness of His love and the sweetness of His presence. “Wonder” speaks to our gratitude for salvation, awe at the lengths of His sacrifice. “Power” affirms His supremacy and Sovereignty—an exhortation to remember our access to the power of God in every situation, as we call upon and declare the Name of Jesus.

This section begins with a bit of a hat-tip to the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (ref), “What is the chief end of man?” Where Hillsong gets squirrelly is in how they formulate and define what it means to “worship” and “enjoy” Him. Hillsong will not be looking to Westminster for this definition, they have their own. What we see next is the emphasis on the hidden secrets, the hidden knowledge, special revelation of the new facets of His beauty, wonder, and power. There is a bit of gnostic mysticism in this focus, and it’s being processed sensually (focusing on sensual themes of enjoying His beauty, wonder, and power).

Jesus has the Name above all others. Anything that we can name – from our greatest triumphs to our greatest challenges—comes under the authority of His Name. This song confesses that no greater beauty or source of wonder exists outside of Jesus, “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). The song is also a statement that Jesus has no rival or equal. His power is unmatched and absolute.

It is interesting they keep building their case from the Hebrews text. Rather than pull from clear teaching of scripture, they keep embellishing this “radiance of God’s glory” motif. Understand that I’m in no way undercutting the Hebrews text, but this is an odd reference point for understanding the Name that is above all names. A clearer text would be Phil 2:1-11, for example.

Philippians 2:1-11 (ESV) | Christ’s Example of Humility

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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.

Theology of the cross. Christ humbled Himself, and God has highly exalted Him. To what end? That every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. But this end has already been secured by Christ in His finished work on the cross. We have no active role to play in this bringing glory to God. Ours is but to confess Christ.

The purpose of the song, as we’ll see in the close of the blog, isn’t to remind the listener of what Christ has already done; rather, it is to motivate the hearer to push for something more intimate, more fresh, more sensual.

Perhaps some of us understand God loves us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but haven’t grasped His power, ability and will to move strongly in our present circumstances. Or perhaps, we understand God as the supreme, omnipotent Deity He is, but have never known Him close and tender, as a friend acquainted with the depths of our humanity, knowing our flaws cannot perturb His love. Our prayer for this song is that we can all enter into a deeper, more lateral, revelation of the person of Jesus Christ—the epitome of beauty.

Rather nonsensical, mystical, and oddly sensual goal for this song. Stop pointing believers to their own emotions for deeper understanding of God, and start pointing them to the how Christ has already revealed Himself to the Church, in His Written Word.

Song Lyrics

Verse 1. The first two lines remind me of John 1:1-14. The third line, though… doesn’t quite make sense. It flies in the face of Romans 1:18-23, particularly v20, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” That fourth line continues the nonsensical by suggesting Jesus’ hidden glory is now reveled in Himself. It’s intentionally obscured, because according to Hillsong theology, Christ’s glory must be pursued empirically, through their form of worship.

Chorus. The chorus in most Hillsong music generally serves as more of a mantra than a confession or teaching. This is especially true of today’s song.  It’s an emotional mantra meant to focus the congregant on imagining the hidden beauty of His Name. The intent is to create a sensation of “deep intimacy” with the Presence of God.

Verse 2. Just awful. This is a throw-away divine romance notion. God didn’t create Adam and Eve in heaven, He created them on Earth. The final destination for those who are of the household of Faith isn’t Heaven, it’s a New Heaven and a New Earth. We sinned. We rebelled against God. We deserve His eternal wrath and destruction.

Ephesians 2:4-9 (ESV) 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.

Bridge. Its mystical form makes clarity hard to grasp here. It’s just a random collection of some of the attributes of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection without granting a unified proclamation of the Gospel. The focus here isn’t clarity of doctrine; rather, it is an emotional experience of the “beauty, wonder, and power of His Name”.

Conclusion

As always, Hillsong music is a dangerous brew of leaven. There are clear passages of scripture that we can turn for an understanding of the Name that is above all names, the Name of Jesus Christ. The Church is baptized into the Name of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit. There is much to be seen of God that He has revealed of Himself plainly to us in Scripture. The pursuit of hidden knowledge is dangerous and even deadly to our faith, particularly when that pursuit is encouraged empirically or sensually, looking within ourselves and our emotions rather than on the objective Word of God.

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.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

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

DiM | 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman

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Presentation1CCM/COWO Edition.

January 10, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman which currently sits at #2 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

The new year brings with it a full reset of the top 20 chart. Most of the songs currently on the chart are technically evangelical worship songs or contemporary worship (COWO) songs.

Today’s song was my favorite song from my old life of evangelicalism and NAR deception. I still catch myself humming this tune from time to time, and honestly I’ve been hoping this song wouldn’t pop up on the top 20 so I wouldn’t have to review it in light of Scripture. However, as it is now on the top 20 chart–review it, we shall! The song doesn’t stand on its own, but it can be good with a little bit biblical instruction. Let’s give the song a listen and then read through the lyric.

MattRedmanVEVO

Lyrics (via K-Love)

(Chorus)
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Chorus

You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Chorus

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

(Chorus x2)

Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
Lord, I’ll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
I’ll worship Your holy name

Discussion

The point of the song is to remind/encourage the listener to “bless the LORD, oh my soul”. This phrase needs some explanation to keep the listener clear of mysticism. For starters, let’s talk briefly about what it means to refer to one’s soul.

Oh my soul. To put it simply, your soul is your core being. For centuries theologians have debated whether we are made of 3 parts (mind, body/heart, soul) or 2 parts (body, soul/spirit) but however you decide to slice this, know that when Scripture speaks of the soul it is in reference to the core of a person. When Isaac was nearing death, he sent Esau out to prepare him his final meal so that his soul might bless Esau before he dies (Genesis 27:1-4 ESV). Such wording is to signify to Esau the seriousness of the matter. The opposite notion might be to give a blessing of lip-service only, or flattery. But no, Isaac was going to offer his best blessing to Esau. So when Esau learned that the blessing had been given to Jacob, we see Isaac’s response:

Genesis 27:33-38 (ESV) Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

So this is the seriousness with which we see the reference to blessing from our souls in Scripture. Of ourselves, we have very little blessing to bestow upon others… what we have we have received from the LORD. Isaac’s blessing is the Promise of God to his father, Abraham, that promise being the Messiah, the Christ, the Gospel of Salvation. Now, let’s talk about what the phrase “bless the LORD” indicates in Scripture.

Bless the LORD. Most often when we see this phrase throughout the old testament it is within the context of offering to the LORD praise and thanksgiving for what He has done. There is also a meaning of bending the knee to God in worship (בָּרַךְ Strongs H1288). Under the Mosaic covenant, there were offerings and sacrifices to be brought to the Temple in keeping with the Law. Such things might be done in an empty manner, but Blessing the LORD from the soul reflects the Greatest Commandment:

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.”

In the New Covenant of Christ’s Blood, we have nothing to offer Him but thanksgiving and praise for what Christ has done for us. We bring nothing to our Salvation but the sin that made Salvation necessary. So, while the phrase “bless the LORD” appears in the Old Testament, we need to approach it through the lens of the New Testament, Christ revealed. A good place to look is in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:18-29 (ESV) A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

So, the refrain or chorus of this song is a call for Christians to bless (worship/praise/give thanks to) the LORD in earnest, in truth, and from their whole being. That is a Biblically sound call to Worship the LORD God in Spirit and in Truth.

John 4:22-24 (ESV) You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Such worship is only possible by Faith. The unbelievers cannot worship the LORD God in Spirit or in Truth. They are dead in sins and trespasses. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Possible pitfalls

The refrain “Bless the LORD oh my soul” is a call to worship God, but is in itself not much of a statement of praise or thanksgiving to the LORD. For those who are young in the faith, it is perfectly acceptable to start here, in the same way that “Lord, have mercy on me” is a perfectly valid and earnest prayer for help in times of need. But singing the one line over and over again falls short of actually doing what the song is calling the listener to do. The verses start to get going in the right direction of praising/thanking the LORD God for what He has done. Sadly, these verses are short and half of the verse ends up turning back onto what the singer is going to do for God (keep singing). The temptation to view worship as a down-payment on a future blessing rather than thanksgiving for what God has already done is a pitfall common to COWO. It is so pervasive in COWO that it needs to be directly addressed and guarded against overtly. We DO NOT worship God to invite Him to do something in our midst. That is how the pagans worship their idols.

The notion of blessing the LORD from the soul can get extremely fouled up in evangelical circles. Often times the emphasis on the concept of worshiping the LORD from the soul ends up being placed on the emotions, as if your emotions are the anchor point of your soul. Our emotions are part of us, but they are deeply rooted in our flesh, and as such are corrupted by our sinful flesh and serve as a pitiful litmus for faith, worship, and praise. Our emotions are easily manipulated and shaped by purely physical/fleshly means and methods (music, lighting, vocals, etc). In the charismatic camp, this notion is taken further into gnostic mysticism by teaching that worshiping in spirit and in truth necessitates disconnecting or quieting the mind and releasing self-control of the body to the moving of a spirit. That’s where you get the glossolalia (ecstatic gibberish), kundalini style herky-jerky and folks laughing/wailing uncontrollably or being “slain in the spirit” and other such ridiculous nonsense that is allowed and even encouraged in the name of “praise and worship service”. This song calls the congregation to worship but doesn’t actually lead in that worship… so you might hear this song being performed during a COWO service of an otherwise Orthodox church (please stop doing this, folks) and mean one thing while at the local big-box-evangelical-nondenom-charismatic it’s being played specifically to elicit a mystical experience.

Conclusion

As a call to worship the LORD God, the song does its job. Whether or not the song is good depends fully upon the doctrine and practice of worship being applied by the listener. I’d like to see/hear a worship leader write more theologically rich verses to accompany the song’s refrain. The lyric of our hymns and songs selected for corporate worship should inform and instruct in the faith, not merely tickle the emotions. If your church has a COWO service (a topic for another time, perhaps) this song could be used appropriately, provided the congregation has a solid grasp of acceptable Worship in light of the Gospel. If you are said worship leader, I encourage you to engage in writing stronger verses that focus more on thanksgiving and praise to the LORD rather than a string of promises of what we’ll do for Him.

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 | “Through Your Eyes” by Britt Nicole

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disapproveCCM Edition.

December 06, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Through Your Eyes” by Britt Nicole which currently sits at #20 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

Today’s song is completely lacking in substance. The song doesn’t make any attempt to share objective truth. This song is meant to convey a purely subjective, emotional experienced, direct-revelation supposedly from God the Holy Spirit. While I was tempted to simply dismiss this song as purely subjective fluff completely open to interpretation, there are a couple of statements that are false, so it earns a Disapprove rating here.

Music Video

There is another video with a short intro supposedly sharing the heart of the song.

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Verse 1
Get it together
That’s what I say to me
I put on the pressure
You could do better
Be who you’re supposed to be

But that’s when You came in
Right when I needed You
You said all of the things that I was believing
Not one of them were true

Pre-Chorus
You lifted my head up
I was keeping my head down
I didn’t know love
But I do now

Chorus
You stood right there and then You broke apart the lies
And You told me
I had something beautiful inside
You brought to life the part of me I thought had died
‘Cause You stood right there until I saw me through Your eyes

Verse 2
So this is living
So this is free
Not keeping score
Not anymore
Not since You rescued me

Bridge
You love me even when I fall apart
I can’t explain it, that’s just who You are
Don’t want perfection, You just want my heart

Discussion

Verse 1. The setup of the song is negative “self-talk”. While we could speculate Word of Faith (WoF) working in the background (Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, Joel Osteen) at this point of the song what we have is more emotional than doctrinal. Some people are very hard on themselves. They hold themselves to tough standards. Sometimes out of pride, or out of despair. This first verse doesn’t give us any details, it’s just setting up the emotion of being disappointed in yourself. The song has not presented a context for this emotion. We don’t know if she is truly failing or if it’s just an emotional sensation of failure. We don’t know if her standard is Biblical, professional, ethical, moral… nothing.

Then we get the second part of the first verse, and we have someone enter in at just the right time. The vagueness of the lyric lends itself to being simply a boyfriend song, but if we’re going to give it a Christian context, then we need to treat the “You” as God. That actually makes this stanza worse, not better. The enemy here isn’t being presented as unbelief, just the singer being unfair to herself. An omnipresent God of the Bible just enters the singer’s life right when she needed Him. Interesting. If you listened to the singer’s intro to the second music video, we get the indication that this is some emotionally experienced direct revelation she got while she was already a believer. So, it’s not clear if she’s connecting this to salvation or just some sort of epiphany of life-change. Whatever this moment is supposed to be, what is sorely missing is objective faith. It’s not that she was reading God’s Word or listening to God’s Word being preached, she was just emotionally down and being hard on herself and apparently God shows up out of nowhere and tells her everything she believed was false. Such a statement cannot make sense intellectually… but for some reason we’ll eat this stuff up emotionally. Why? Well, we all want to hear how great we are despite how we view ourselves. It’s the original sin, the desire to be great. Adam and Eve were perfect, only denied the fruit of one tree in the Garden… and Satan tempted them to become like God. Incidentally, the song has made 2 statements that are not objectively false: “You can do better” and “be who you’re supposed to be”. The song isn’t looking to deal with any objective truths; rather, it is simply trying to convey something purely emotional. Maybe there were some false beliefs rolling around in her head that were indeed not true, but we aren’t given any insight into these. If she was already a believer at this point, then we know that some of her beliefs had to be Truth, so at best this is emotional hyperbole.

Pre-Chorus. We still have the singer as her own enemy. You lifted my head up I was keeping my head down. At this point in the song we’ve still not had anything specific enough in the lyric to discount it as a romantic boyfriend song. I didn’t know love but I do now. Well, that didn’t help bring any clarity on that point. If this is a spiritual song, then we’re still left wondering if she’s talking about saving faith, or if she’s really just singing about an emotional epiphany. Love is not an emotion, folks. While we do often associate a sense of euphoria with love, love is more than that. A love that is defined by the euphoria is empty and fleeting. Let’s take a break from this song for a moment and read how John taught concerning love.

1 John 4:7-16 (ESV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

John didn’t draw upon emotion to define Love, he drew upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins.

Chorus. So we have someone standing right there and breaking apart all the lies. What lies? We don’t know. But apparently the core message here is I had something beautiful inside. Are we sure this isn’t just a romantic boyfriend song? This is the message God is supposedly bringing to the singer, and the listener, that we have something beautiful inside? If we are trying to rescue this lyric, we might be inclined to hope that this line is a reference to God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us as a free gift of Faith in Christ Jesus. This line rolls right into the next line of You brought to life the part of me I thought had died. What is she talking about? Christ didn’t die on the cross to revive some dream destiny thingy inside of you… He died to save you from your sin. You weren’t just partly dead, you were all dead.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV)

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.

But it’s the last line of the chorus that really has me annoyed, ‘Cause You stood right there until I saw me through Your eyes. Dear Christian, the point and focus of the Scriptures, and of the Gospel, is Christ, NOT US. Our mirror in the scriptures is the Law, which exposes us of our sinfulness, our unrighteousness, our death. Christ came to bear the Wrath of God in our place, bearing our sin and unrighteousness upon His shoulders, and bestowing upon us His righteousness, by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, to the Glory of God alone. I would rather this song had been written about some human love interest. At least then its vagaries and emotional hyperbole and ultimate selfishness could be dismissed as puppy love.

Verse 2. Still no substance here, only a reflection on how life feels now after some undisclosed lies were destroyed, some undisclosed beliefs were proven false, and someone stood before her until she could finally see herself through someone else’s eyes. The song will loop back through the pre-chorus and then the chorus. No clarity of thought to be had.

Bridge. Ugh. You love me even when I fall apart. Well, yeah, otherwise it isn’t love. Definitely not Biblical love, nor God’s love. God loved you when you were dead in sins and trespasses. Dead. How could “falling apart” possibly compare to your condition when Christ bore the price of sin on the cross?
I can’t explain it, that’s just who You are. If you took the time to search the Scriptures you could at least preach who God has revealed Himself to be to the Apostles and prophets.
Don’t want perfection, You just want my heart. Not entirely true. The Holiness of God demands perfection. That is why the wages of sin is death. The whole “you just want my heart” trope sounds quaint and simple, but it is the Law of God, and we fall short of this, too.

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.”

You don’t love the LORD with all your heart. I don’t. We fail this Law. We sin in this regard. We need forgiveness… we need a Savior, we need Jesus. Jesus fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets, and then took our place on the Cross, so that we might be granted His righteousness and join in His resurrection.

Conclusion

For the most part, this song is just empty, emotional fluff. There’s nothing being taught Biblically, not even remotely. We aren’t being told what is wrong, or what lies are being exposed, and what little truth claims are being made in the song, they are objectively false. This song earns a spot on the Disapproved list.

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.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge