DiM

DiM | “One Step Away” by Casting Crowns

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Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

August 16, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “One Step Away” by Casting Crowns, which currently sits at #18 on 20theCountdownMagazine.

Overall, the song presents itself as a generalization of the parable of the prodigal son. I think it misses the mark by being too broad in scope of the problem and too vague in it’s solution. While there is no glaring error in the song’s lyric, it doesn’t stand on its own and there is no clear Gospel. I spent most of my time trying to appeal to individual I think the song is trying to reach.

Unofficial* Lyric Video

* Casting Crowns hasn’t released a video of this song on YouTube yet, so I plan on replacing this link once they do. This listener channel is currently the most popular hit on search engines, so we’ll use it for now.

Lyrics (via KLove)

What if you could go back and relive one day of your life all over again
And unmake the mistake that left you a million miles away
From the you, you once knew
Now yesterday’s shame keeps saying that you’ll never get back on track
But what if I told you…

(chorus)
You’re one step away from surrender
One step away from coming home, coming home
One step from arms wide open
His love has never let you go
You’re not alone
You’re one step away

It doesn’t matter how far you’ve gone
Mercy says you don’t have to keep running down the road you’re on
Love’s never met a lost cause
Your shame, lay it down
Leave your ghosts in the past ‘cause you know that you can’t go back
But you can turn around
You’ve never been more than…

(chorus)
One step away from surrender
One step away from coming home, coming home
One step from arms wide open
His love has never let you go
You’re not alone (not alone)
You’re one step away

Lay down, lay down your old chains
Come now and take up your new name
Your best life up ahead now
You’re one step away

(chorus)
So come on home, come on home
One step from arms wide open
His love has never let you go
You’re not alone (you’re not alone)
You’re one step away

Lay down, lay down your old chains
Come now, take up your new name
Your best life up ahead now
You’re just one step away

Writer(s): Mark Hall, Bernie Herms, Matthew West

Discussion

Okay, so right away I can see that we are dealing with some synergism which may or may not be helpful in this song. My Lutheran readers might recognize a confusion of Law and Gospel, while my Reformed readers might be more concerned with whether the song is pointing to sanctification or salvation. Let’s work through the lyrics and I’ll try to comment on my concerns in the messaging.

Our first order of business is to try to figure out the dilemma or problem the song is attempting to address. The first verse is rather vague on this point, and I think that is by design. Are we talking to a Christian who is struggling with a heavy burden of shame/guilt over a sin of the past, or are we talking about someone who has fallen out of the church, or are we talking about someone who is an unbeliever having to come to grips with the realization that he isn’t a “good person”? Not sure by the “what if” thought exercise in the first verse. Sadly, as we scan throughout the song, the intended target audience isn’t all that clear. The root of every problem in our life is sin, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to diagnose our sin via God’s Law. The remedy for sin is always the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever a song starts with a problem, I’m expecting a solution at the close, especially from a “Christian” song. Wallowing in uncertainty is something I expect from pagan artists.

Verse 1. I’m not a fan of “what if”, though it can sometimes be a helpful rhetorical device. The singer is asking the listener to consider going back in time to unmake a single mistake. Is there anything significant to be gained by such a mental exercise? Are we talking about a mistake or sin? While the two concepts have overlapping meaning (think of a ven diagram), there is a bad habit in evangelicalism to avoid discussing sin by only speaking of “mistakes” we’ve made rather than “sins” we’ve committed. Whatever it is we’re supposed to be what-if-ing, it’s something we feel has completely separated us from God? From the Church? No, from the “me” I once knew. Well, that’s not helpful. Is this intended to be a catch-all for what is sometimes referred to as a “back-slidden” Christian?

A Christian who has fallen away from the Church might sometimes be labeled a “backslider”. I don’t want to get too bogged down in this terminology, but suffice it to say that its use betrays a sloppy soteriology (theology of salvation). If Salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone (it is), what exactly is going on in the life of a believer that constitutes a “backslide”? This question has several errors, but I think chief among them is a failure to understand sin, the Fall of Adam, and original sin. If you don’t understand sin, you buy into the idea that your will had something to do in your “becoming saved”, and then that leaves room for a bad choice to somehow undo your good choice of becoming saved. Since the song lyric doesn’t ever give clear guidance to the contrary, let’s spend some time in God’s Word now.

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.

The Apostle Paul leaves little room for our works or our decisions to play an active role in our salvation. If ti were a result of works, we’d have room to boast. We don’t have any room to boast. Salvation is God’s work for us. But we still have sin to contend with as long as we live in these fleshly bodies in this temporal life.

Romans 7:15-25 (ESV)

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

We should take comfort that the Apostle Paul struggled with the sin of the flesh, and we should look to the very same Gospel that he preached for the forgiveness of our sins. Daily. We Christians need to be reminded of the Promise of the Gospel daily, for we sin daily. We fall short. Our flesh is corrupt and wages war against the Spirit of God within us. Notice how Paul draws upon the Promise of forgiveness of sins and of Salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. The very next chapter flows from that promise.

Romans 8:1-4 (ESV) | Life in the Spirit

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law,weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Now, as a Lutheran, I feel it necessary to address the problem of apostasy, for it is a very real danger, though not something someone can accidentally oopsie into. The author of Hebrews paints a very clear picture of apostasy in chapter 6.

Hebrews 6:4-8 (ESV) For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

There is a point of no return, and that point isn’t a limitation on God’s ability to forgive; rather, it is a point where the man refuses to repent. Once a believer turns his back on the need to repent, there is nothing left to do, for Christ will not be re-crucified. This is what Christ talked about when He referenced Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, for His primary work is to convict the world of sin and point them to Christ. To ignore this conviction of the Holy Spirit unto repentance, is to retain the condemnation of sin.

So then, where we Lutherans and the Reformed agree is in the monergism of Salvation. Where we disagree is in what constitutes Apostasy. We maintain that false doctrine runs the very real danger of shipwrecking faith to the point of damnation, while the Reformed rely on supralapsarianism and the category of “false converts” to explain apostasy. Either way, neither should be comfortable with what we see going on in the dilemma of this song as it’s being constructed in the first verse. A Christian who is heavily burdened by guilt and shame of a past sin needs comfort that only the Gospel can provide. He needs to be forgiven, and to hear he is forgiven according to Scriptures. He needs absolution.

Verse 2. So when we return from the chorus into our next verse, there’s a clash of metaphors. To some extent it is intentional in the “you’re not as far away as you think you are” but I don’t think really works all that well, and it only muddies up what really should be made clear here. This person needs forgiveness and absolution, not some vague “though you’ve traveled miles down into a dark valley you’re only a step away from the light” kind of hokum. I confess I’m getting a bit emotionally invested here, but I struggle to deal with this scenario in the abstract, the visible church is full of believers trapped in this sort of despair who need the clear assurance of the Gospel, not artistically vague inferences to it.

Chorus. Now, the chorus seems to be pulling less on the thread of salvation, sin, and absolution and more of a runaway theme. It seems to be borrowing from the parable of the prodigal son, but with an emphasis on the son and his need to return home rather than on the Father (the Father is the real emphasis of that parable). But what is the solution being offered by the song to the dilemma(s) being introduced? Surrender, lay down your old chains, pick up your new name. So even the solution is coded. That’s frustrating. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Gospel is clear, please stop muddying it up in the name of artistry. The sinful flesh of the listener does that enough on its own without being aided by the artist. Remember your baptism, repent and be forgiven in Jesus’ name. Will there be earthly consequences? Yes, but our Hope is stored up for us in Heaven where neither thief nor moth can destroy it.

Bridge. I wanted to avoid it, but frankly, I can’t. Any reference to “your best life” smacks of Joel Osteen’s prosperity false-gospel. The Promise of Life is an eternal promise, not a temporal one. The Apostles lived hard lives of persecution and martyrdom, and they endured it by faith in the Life to come, not this temporal one. The hard truth is that the life of a Christian is a life of suffering for His Name sake.

James 1:2-4 (ESV) | Testing of Your Faith

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Romans 5:1-6 (ESV)

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.

If we can trust that the listener rightly understands what it means to “lay down your chains” and “take up your new name”, I suppose this serves as an answer to the problem. As a Lutheran, I know to interpret this through the phrase, “remember your baptism”. that is the moment where we were joined with Christ in His death and resurrection, where our sins died as we went under the water, and we rose up from the waters alive with Christ, with our new name. Notice, I have to bring that meaning into the lyric of the song. It’s not there on its own.

Conclusion

Looking back over the song and my frustration with these lyrics, it seems clear to me that this whole thing is a vague retelling of the parable of the prodigal son, but the emphasis is in the wrong place. Pointing the prodigal to something (vaguely) he needs to do, no matter how simple you make it out to be, isn’t going to produce the change you’re aiming for. It’s not even what turns the prodigal around in the parable. Remembering the goodness and provision of his Father for even the slaves is what turned him around. And still the prodigal intended to negotiate his way back into his Father’s house, not as a son, but as a slave. And the truly beautiful part of this parable, is that the Father would have none of that, no negotiation for slavery, just forgiveness and treatment as a son who has come back from the dead. Which brings me back to what I think should have been the focus of this song, forgiveness and absolution. Whether the intended listener was an unbeliever realizing the depth of his sin for the first time, or a believer who is suffocating under the crushing weight of condemnation and shame for sins of his past, or even a current, besetting addiction to a particular sin… the answer for this despair is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the promise of forgiveness in Jesus’ Name. Dear Christian, if you find yourself in the throws of despair, know that Christ died for your sins… all of them… and He is faithful and Just to forgive you of all sin. Repent, and be forgiven. It’s not a matter of feeling forgiven, it’s a matter of knowing you are forgiven regardless of how you feel. Christ died for that sin, He paid it all, and He declared on that cross It is Finished. Trust in His Word. If you’re still struggling with the condemnation, go to your Pastor and confess your sin, and listen to the absolution.

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 | “Say Amen” by Finding Favour

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disapproveCCM Radio Edition.

August 09, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Say Amen” by Finding Favour, which currently sits at #9 on KLove Top Songs. It seems we’ve covered every song currently on our normal Top20 chart, so this week I thought we’d check a different list.

My first question after hearing this song was, “say Amen to what?” When I read through the lyrics looking for the answer to that question, I realized there was a big problem with the focus of this song. Let’s see if you can pick it out.

Official Music/Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

This life is a journey we walk by faith
And there will always be the mountains in our way
But right here in this moment, may our strength be renewed
As we recall what God has done and how we’ve seen Him move

If there’s anybody here who’s found Him faithful
Anybody here who knows He’s able
Say Amen
And if there’s anybody here who’s seen His power
Anybody here brought through the fire
Say Amen
Anybody here found joy in the middle of sorrow
Just Say AMEN!

Sometimes through the darkness, it’s hard to see
So just be brave and follow where He leads
‘Cause greater is the one who’s in us, than he who’s in the world
So child of God remember, the battle is the Lord’s

And if there’s anybody here who’s found Him faithful
Anybody here who knows He’s able
Say Amen
And if there’s anybody here who’s seen His power
Anybody here brought through the fire
Say Amen
Anybody here found joy in the middle of sorrow
Peace in the storm, hope for tomorrow
And seen it time and time again
Then just Say AMEN!

Even in the valley of the shadow when you feel alone in the unknown
Just say Amen, Just say Amen
Even when the storms are raging, Stand and know your not forsaken
Just say Amen, Just say Amen

Is there anybody here, Tell me is there anybody here
Come on and Say Amen

And if there’s anybody here who’s seen His power
Anybody here brought through the fire
Come on and Say Amen
Anybody here found joy in the middle of sorrow
Peace in the storm, hope for tomorrow
And seen it time and time again
Just say Amen, Just say Amen!

Publishing: 2014 Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing ASCAP/Songs of Emack (ASCAP). All rights for the world on behalf of Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing and Songs of Emack administered by Capitol CMG Publishing. Wordspring Music, LLC (SESAC)/Farren Love & War Publishing (SESAC) All rights on behalf of itself and Farren Love & War Publishing administered by Wordspring Music, LLC All Rights Reserved. Christian Taylor Music (BMI) administered by Clear Box. Winding Way Music (ASCAP) administered by Clear Box.
Writer(s): David Blake Neesmith, Michael Farren, Kenna West & Jason Cox.

Discussion

So, let’s start this discussion with the most glaring issue, and that is the intended target audience. The artist is looking for an “amen” from anybody who has “experienced” the faithfulness of God, or who has seen His power, or who has been brought through the fire, or has found joy in the middle of sorrow, peace in the storm, hope for tomorrow… and who has seen it time and time again… Just those people. Not the ones who need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, nor the ones who trust in the Written Word of God because they are His Word… no, the artist is calling on anyone in the crowd who can say “I’ve seen it”. This is enthusiasm, looking to our experiences and our emotions for the proof of the Goodness of God, rather than trusting by Faith in God’s Written Word regardless of and even in spite of our circumstances and what we see.

If you are in the crowd currently going through that fire, or in that sorrow, or in need of the comfort of the Gospel, well… this song ain’t for you. So, either you can “fake it” and say “amen” as a down-payment on a future experience, or you simply need to wait and hope the next song brings the comfort of the Gospel to your ears. You won’t be getting it in this song.

Most Evangelicals don’t realize they’re creating a falsely stratified Christianity, where you have Christians that are “saved” but only just so, and powerless because they’ve settled for a mediocre or average life. Most honestly think this sort of “positive self affirmation” and version of the “fake it ’till ya make it” somehow serves the Gospel. Now only the most brazen will call it such, most will baptize these concepts and rebrand them as “making a positive confession of who you are destined to be” and “declare now what you’re going to be in God’s timing”… but it’s a thin veneer, and it provides no hope. Instead, what you get is a lot of “fake it until you realize you can’t make it” and then the despair of, “why doesn’t God show up for me like He obviously does for all of these other people?”

So, let’s get to the whole “say amen” bit. What are we supposed to be saying “amen” to or about? Amen is a word of agreement or affirmation of the Truth of a statement. The singer is asking the question, “if there’s anyone here who’s seen God work, say amen” and everyone in the room is supposed to reply “Amen” as if to say “I’ve seen/experienced God work!” Now, there are a couple of lines in this song that breaks away a little from the “tell me you’ve experienced it yourself”, and attempts to offer a word of encouragement to those feeling all alone in the valley of the shadow… but the encouragement of “just say amen” isn’t grounded on the Word of God, it’s still within the context of “God has been there for everyone else in the room, just say Amen and know He’ll be there for you, too”.

How do we know this is all based on enthusiasm? How does this song provide the comfort of the Gospel for the mother who loses her child to cancer after years of praying and fighting? How does this song provide the comfort of the Gospel to the teen whose parents are getting a divorce? It doesn’t, because it can’t. This song isn’t bringing the comfort of the Gospel, it’s a call to “testimonials” based on personal experiences rather than the Word of God.

And now let’s get back to the opening line of the song, This life is a journey we walk by faith. Faith in Whom, ourselves and our experiences or in the Word of Christ? The song focuses on believing in a temporal rescue while making no mention of the eternal salvation found in Christ alone. Ignoring the reality that we all die, that often times God doesn’t rescue us from death, but instead calls us Home isn’t walking by Faith. It’s enthusiasm, and it does more harm than good. It leads to despair and in many cases it shipwrecks faith and hardens hearts against God because all of the false promises made in the name of God fall flat.

Conclusion

While I could go through this song and try to tease out the partial references to scripture, the overall context of this song is off, misguided, and focused on the senses rather than the Word of God. The Promises of God flow through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which this song seems to completely miss. This song earned a solid Disapproval.

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.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “The God I Know” by Love & The Outcome

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

disapproveCCM Radio Edition.

August 02, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “The God I Know” by Love & The Outcome, which currently sits at #19 on 20theCountdownMagazine.

I first heard this song a couple of weeks ago and immediately thought, “So, who is the God you know?” as the song finally drew to an end. I was hoping it wouldn’t gain popularity, but sure enough, we find it on the top20 chart this week. The song doesn’t actually answer the question, and the official music video doesn’t help at all. Suffice it to say that this song doesn’t stand on its own, it’s a proclamation of self-made religion build around the typical “god is my boyfriend” trope. Sensual mysticism being offered as an alternative to legalism. We solidly Disapprove of this song.

Official Music Video

If you’re thinking, “what did i just watch” you’re not alone. The whole John Cuzak “Say Anything” (IMDB link) intro threw me for a loop and, frankly, it was hard to recover from. Why are we going back to this era? What’s the appeal? I’m not sure. I’m also completely confused by their use of that pool. Particularly with the warning in large letters, “Caution: Avoid Long Deep Dives”. As I listened to the song and saw the video, my mind went to, “yep… don’t dive too deeply into this song, it’s shallow and you’ll get hurt. Also, there’s no water in that pool, just like there’s no Christ in this song”. Fairly sure the artists would object to that interpretation of the imagery used in this video… but that’s what I saw in it. Let’s get to the Lyrics.

Lyrics (via KLove)

If It Was All About Religion
What To Do, What To Say, What To Wear On A Sunday
All About Perfection
Black And White, Wrong Or Right, Never Grey
Well I’d Never Make It
I’d Never Be Good Enough

I Tried To Walk The Line, Pray That I’d Find
Somethin’ That I Knew Was Real
Began To Realize, The Harder I Tried
The Colder I’d Start To Feel
Until The Moment
The Second I Met Your Love

(Chorus)
And Then I Threw My Hands Up
Worries Down
I Remember When He Showed Me How
To Break Up With My Doubt
Once I was lost but now I’m found
No Strings Attached When He Saved My Soul
I Want You To Know The God I Know
Oh, You Gotta Know
Oh, The God I Know

He Is More Than Just A Rescue
Thats Where It Starts, Not Where It Ends
Let Freedom In
More Than Just A Story
In The Sky, Wearing White, He’s Alive
In Every Moment
And Now That I Know This Love

I Can Throw My Hands Up
Worries Down
I Remember When He Showed Me How

To Break Up With My Doubt
Once I was lost but now I’m found
No Strings Attached When He Saved My Soul
I Want You To Know The God I Know
Oh, You Gotta Know
Oh, The God I Know

What was I waiting for
I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

What was I waiting for
I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

I Can Throw My Hands Up
Worries Down
I Remember When He Showed Me How

To Break Up With My Doubt
Once I was lost but now I’m found
No Strings Attached When He Saved My Soul
I Want You To Know The God I Know
Oh, You Gotta Know
Oh, The God I Know

What was I waiting for
I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

What was I waiting for
I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

Publishing: The God I Know (Jodi King/Chris Rademaker/Seth Mosley/Colin Munroe) © 2016 Word Music (ASCAP)/CentricSongs, 2 Hour Songs (SESAC) (Adm. by Music Services)/Don’t Think Less of My Publishing, EMI Blackwood Music Inc. (SOCAN) Produced by Seth Mosley for Full Circle & Colin Munroe, Co-produced by Mike “X” O’Connor for Full Circle Music
Writer(s): Jodi King/Chris Rademaker/Seth Mosley/Colin Munroe

Discussion

Oh my, where shall we start on this one. Let’s begin by giving the best possible construction on the intended purpose of the song. It’s attempting to address evangelical legalism, a version of legalism that as dated as the video seems. You know, back when evangelicals churches were worried about long hair, men piercing their ears, rock music and dancing… basically your footloose scenario. It’s a straw-man. The song is going after a straw-man of legalism. Now, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, modern-day evangelicalism is seriously struggling with legalism today, chiefly because it has forgotten what it means to preach the Gospel to Christians. But this song isn’t targeting that real and present danger (I’m sorry, there will probably be several references to movies now… *sigh*), instead the song goes after a straw-man of legalism. And what does the song use? Sensual mysticism. This song presents “the God I know” as the Johnny Castle who came in to free baby from the corner with no strings attached. Okay, hopefully I’ve gotten the movie reference thing out of my system.

Verse 1. If it was all about Religion. Isn’t it? What’s your definition of religion if you find this statement meaningful?

James 1:26-27 (ESV) If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James doesn’t seem to take issue with the concept of religion. The issue for James wasn’t about whether or not life was about more than religion; rather, it was about whether or your religion was True. The Apostle Paul addressed this similarly in his letter to the Colossians.

Colossians 2:20-23 (ESV) If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Man-made religion is worthless in stopping the indulgence of the flesh, and the flesh is hostile to the things of God; therefore, man-made religion kills. God’s Word is effective, sufficient, and the power of God unto Salvation. Christians have been given a True religion found only in God’s Word, the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. It is this Word we are to keep as Stewards and proclaim as ambassadors of reconciliation. So, there is a sense of wisdom that might be gleaned from this first line of the song, but it lacks substance and no solution is provided.

The rest of the first verse or stanza is actually correct if we are talking about the Law. The precious gem that the Lutheran church has to offer American Evangelicals is the proper distinction of Law and Gospel (C.F.W. Walther). In trying to set a straw-man ablaze, it doesn’t know how to deal with the Law of God’s Word. It IS all about perfection, black or white, wrong or right, never grey… it IS, that is the Law of God. And no, you can’t make it, none of us can, we are ALL born dead in sins and trespasses. No one is righteous, no not one. No one seeks after God. In Adam, we all surely died on that day that he ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Dead. This is the Truth of the Law found in God’s Word and the purpose of the Law is to convict us of our sin and completely dismantle any hope of self-righteousness before the Creator. The song confuses the Law with legalism and seeks to dismiss the whole thing. That’s folly.

So, in the next stanza we see the fruit of works-based righteousness… despair. This is real, yes, and it is destroying the visible church. All of this self-centered inward fixation of works-based, self-made religion is crushing us under the full weight of the Law, and in some cases the extra burdens of man-made condemnation… all under the guise of “church”. The message of the gospel isn’t “if you’ll walk the line, then you’ll be okay, or If you pray hard enough, then you’ll know TRUE salvation, if you give everything you’ve got, then you’ll finally reach the goal of sanctification”… that’s all false gospel, false religion. The Message of the Gospel is that Christ, being both fully God and fully Man, lived a perfect (completely sinless) life when you couldn’t, He paid the ultimate price you couldn’t pay, and He took on your sin and granted you His righteousness by Grace, through Faith, and that isn’t of your own doing, that Faith is a Gift from God to you, for you.

Until the moment the second I met your love. What is that supposed to mean? Seriously… how is this even remotely an answer to the problem the singer is trying to address? This is that sensual mystical nonsense. After having thrown all of religion under the bus, now, somehow the singer “met God’s love” and was suddenly free of religion and doubts? Well, great… so how does that help anyone else? It doesn’t. It’s nonsense. Vapid emotional mysticism.

Chorus. So then she threw here hands up, worries down. Okay, so does this fall under the ‘what to do’ issue that was complained about in the first verse of the song? If she’s alluding to Scripture, well, we’ll just end up having to deal with more religion:

1 Timothy 2:8-10 (ESV) I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

Yep, Religion, and it is wonderful.

Hebrews 12:11-13 (ESV) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

So you see, the song isn’t addressing a real problem with real solutions, instead it is countering a straw-man of legalism with mysticism. You can’t come back to the Written Word of God once you’ve generically condemned Religion.

So how did the singer realize who God truly is, beyond a shadow of doubt? Apparently, He showed her directly. Well doesn’t that just make her seem so enlightened, so special. If only I could someday see God the way she got to… then it will all be better for me, too. I’d love to “break up with” my doubts. Dating metaphors, ugh. The song is simply dripping in romantic comedy… and it’s terrible. She isn’t dating God. She hasn’t broken up with her doubts. She’s in love with a god of her own imagining, not the God of the Bible. I know that’s very blunt, but she’s awash in sensual mysticism, and it will shipwreck her faith if it hasn’t already. We do not look to our emotions to find the God of Truth, we look to His Word, God the Son, Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior.

The chorus ends with a call for listeners to know the God she knows… but she hasn’t said anything about how that is to be done, or who He is. We’re left hoping to have an experience similar to the singer and then, maybe, possibly, we’ll be as happy as she is?

Verse 2. This verse seems to be swatting at bad church clichés or something. More than just a rescue is something that can only be said seriously by someone who has no idea just how desperately we are in need of rescue. We don’t truly see the gravity of our own sin, that’s just part of the problem of sin. If we could see it clearly, we’d crumble in despair. She is right, He is far more than “just” a rescue… He is the Creator of Life. And we were dead. He rescued us from Death. Get out of hear with that just a rescue nonsense.

On the second line, I’ll counter with how Jesus referred to Himself in Revelation 1:8 (ESV), “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” He is the end, and the beginning. Our salvation begins and ends in Christ. There is no “and then”. There is only Christ.

Christ is alive, and seated at the Right Hand of the Father, interceding for us, forgiving us, and preserving us for the Day of His Return. He has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, sealing us, teaching us, and advocating for us.

Bridge. We still don’t have any real answers, no Gospel, just fluff. Here, again, we get a sort of “this is what I did, can’t believe I waited so long to do it” snippet. To do what, to let go? Let go of what? Is this where we go back to “breaking up with our Doubt”? But didn’t God show up to show you how to do that? Can you share the advice? Can you please, tell me how I can be saved? Or, if I’m a Christian, can you please show me where I can find assurance of my salvation? All I had was a broken heart, then He held me in His arms. Oh, you have a special relationship with God where He did all of the work for you, but I just have to wait for Him to do that for me?
Conclusion

Dear Christian, the singer isn’t sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this song. She’s singing about her emotional experience of her spirit boyfriend. There is no water in this pool, don’t dive in, don’t ‘let go’ and look within, look to the Word of God. There are many places we could look in the New Testament for the assurance of our Salvation in Christ Jesus, but I also want to address what the song was trying to get at, the issue of legalism. I can think of no better place to turn than Paul’s letter to the Colossians. I strongly recommend reading through the whole letter, but for now let us read through large portions of chapters 1 & 2.

Colossians 1:3-23 (ESV)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

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

Colossians 2:6-23 (ESV)

Alive in Christ

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Let No One Disqualify You

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Legalism is error, and so is mysticism. Trust in the Written Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17). Grow in faith and knowledge, grow in the Word of God. The Christian life is one of repentance and forgiveness, in Jesus’ Name. Don’t look inwardly to the fallen flesh and its desires, look to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, of all of your sins.

Brothers and sisters in the LORD, meditate on these Words of Christ. Find the assurance of salvation in these Scriptures, in the Promise of Salvation, in your baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper. Christ does the work, and He forgives you of all your sins, by His Word, His Blood, and His Flesh, broken and poured out for you on the cross.

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 | “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott

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Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

July 27, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott and the Scott Family, which currently sits at #17 on 20theCountdownMagazine.

You may know Hillary Scott as a country singer in the band Lady Antebellum. It’s a good band, as secular country music bands go, but not one that proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have absolutely no problem with being in a band as your vocation. None whatsoever. I don’t even have a problem with being in a secular band as your vocation. I have no problem with listening to secular music. None whatsoever. But a song doesn’t become a Christian song simply because the artist says it is, or the artist claims to be a Christian. A song is a Christian song when its lyric proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hillary Scott is a gifted singer. The song doesn’t stand on its own… and I worry about the theology driving the songwriters. It’s a song begging for the Gospel to be preached to the singer. I pray we learn to preach the Gospel to those asking these questions.

VEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

Verse 1
I’m so confused
I know I heard you loud and clear
So, I followed through
Somehow I ended up here

I don’t wanna think
I may never understand
That my broken heart is a part of your plan
When I try to pray
All I got is hurt and these four words

Chorus
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

Verse 2
I know you’re good
But this don’t feel good right now
And I know you think
Of things I could never think about

It’s hard to count it all joy
Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense
Of all your promises
Sometimes I gotta stop
Remember that you’re God
And I am not
So

Chorus
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will

Bridge
I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store

I know you hear me
I know you see me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store
So

Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

Like a child on my knees
All that comes to me is
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done

I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord

Publishing: © 2016 W.B.M. Music Corp. / EKT Publishing, admin. by W.B.M. Music Corp. (SESAC); WB Music Corp. / Thankful For This Music, admin. by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP); Songs of Universal, Inc. / G650 Music/Pure Note Music, admin. by Songs of Universal, Inc. (BMI).
Writer(s): Hillary Scott, Emily Weisband and Bernie Herms

Discussion

Overall, the song is begging for theodicy, an answer for the question “if God is good, then why is there so much evil in the world?”. It is an honest lyric in that the singer is asking questions we all ask from time to time. However, within these honest questions there is also evidence of bad theology. So, the honesty of the questions does not make them good questions by default.

As for the target audience and purpose for the song, I believe it is intended to be a song of prayer. It focuses on 4 words from the Lord’s Prayer, two of which form the song title, and the object of the “you” and “thy” in this song I’m assuming to be the God of the Bible.

Verse 1. A confession of being confused is a good thing, but in common vernacular here in the U.S., it can also be a loaded turn of phrase indicating that the source of confusion is mixed messaging from the messenger, or even hypocritical double-speak. So let’s continue in the lyric. I know I heard you loud and clear So, I followed through Somehow I ended up here… and there it is. I did what you asked me to do, and now I’m here. This is an accusation. Now this doesn’t mean she’s putting God on trial just yet, we see in the book of Job that he hadn’t done anything to “deserve” his trial (though we dare not suggest he was sinless, because he wasn’t). But noticed the claim to having heard God (I’m assuming) “loud and clear”. I don’t know where she goes to church, but with so many big-box churches catering to celebrities and spewing vision-casting leadership driven bad theology, she could be referring to “life tip” sermons filled with man-made law as the source of her hearing from God, or she could be referring to direct revelations she had while practicing the sort of channeling or divination presented in “Jesus Calling” (available at and heavily marketed by your local “christian” bookstore). What we don’t see is her questioning God based on the Written Word of God.

So, the first part of the first verse at least presents the questions:
I’ve done everything You told me to do, God, now why am I here?
I did everything I knew to be right, why am I being punished?
I did everything your church told me to do, so why is none of it working?

The second part presumes an answer based on limited knowledge of Scripture and then extrapolates that assumption into a solution that resembles faith, or at least how faith is generally described in modern evangelicalism. The limited knowledge of Scripture is the idea that God is sovereign over all things. While that is true about God, it doesn’t guide us in the Law nor does it explicitly point to the Gospel, it simply asserts that God is over all things. That’s what I mean by limited knowledge of Scripture, it is Truth that God is Sovereign, but that truth alone does not give us much to go on. The singer then takes that nugget of truth and assumes that since God is sovereign, then clearly she is suffering because God wants her to. I may never understand That my broken heart is a part of your plan is vague enough to be corrected theologically, but it can also run contrary to the full character of God revealed in Scripture. It ignores the problem of sin, the true source of death and heartache in this temporal life.

At the end of this verse, we are still left with a very real question that most in the visible church are asking and even praying. The presumed answer of “God must have a reason for me to be going through this… I hope I can hold on long enough to see what it was” isn’t so much faith as it is positive self-talk. It’s self-focused, and doesn’t point to Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

I’d like to address this question more fully scripturally, but let’s get through the rest of this song first.

Chorus. So the chorus of the song is simply “Thy Will be Done” repeated over and over again. “Do what You want to do, LORD.” While it is indeed part of how we were taught to pray, why not pray the rest of the prayer (Matthew 6; Luke 11)? We’ll get back to this point in a bit, but I want to do so after the second verse.

Verse 2. Yes, God is good. This is an attempt to affirm or confess the goodness of God. Very difficult to do from an emotional place when you’re in despair. That is why it is so important to me to point out that Faith is not an emotion. Our emotions are fleshly, Faith is not part of our flesh. Notice the “but”… it doesn’t feel good all of the time, not even for Christians. In fact, the life of a Christian very rarely “feels” good, because the world hates us. It hates us because it first hated God. It doesn’t feel good because the wages of sin is death, and as long as we live in this temporal flesh, we will have to struggle with sin. Struggle doesn’t feel good. Feelings are a terrible way to find God or search for Him or to try to muster up faith in Him.

Now, to this point the song has been theologically poking at Romans 8, so we’ll look at that in a minute. In the next section, however, I think it starts poking at a passage in James.

James 1:2-4 (ESV) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

We find in this second verse a similar thread that we found in the first verse, a bit of an accusation that on some level God isn’t or doesn’t seem to be keeping His promises to the singer, and then she backs out of that thought with a “I’m not God, You Are”… it’s a pious statement, again, treating faith as a sort of blind trust in a Supreme being that I want to know and think I know but I don’t know and am confused by what seems to be double-talk, or even a failure to keep promises.

What promises? The song doesn’t say. The local “christian” bookstores are filled with so-called promises of God that are out there and simply need to be claimed, or earned, or declared. Most of these books are filled with false-promises, blasphemous lies spoken/written from the imaginations of men. God’s promises are True and Amen. We find them in His Written Word, the Scriptures.

Bridge. The endless repeat of the chorus and the bridge ends the song in much the same way it began. I’m doing my part, Lord, I know you see me and hear me but all I’m getting is ‘Thy will be done’. She’s still asking for an answer. What has she done wrong? What should she be doing? Why won’t You answer her? What is she missing?

Conclusion

Well, she’s missing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m not saying she “isn’t saved”, I’m saying she’s spending so much time looking to circumstances and seeking direct revelation about them, she is missing the Promises of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is also missing the Law, or has been filled with man-made laws presented as some quid-pro-quo arrangement for blessings and prosperity. She doesn’t seem to understand the role of sin and death in this temporal life with its heartaches and struggles. You know, the early Church struggled with heavy persecution, imprisonment, torture, and death. I can think of no more relevant source for encouragement than the Epistles of the New Testament, written in a time and under persecution most of us may never witness or understand.

James 1:2-18 (ESV)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Romans 8:18-30 (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

1 Peter 1:1-13 (ESV)

Greeting
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

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.

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.

These Church fathers endured tough times, hard persecution, and the LORD blessed them, not in temporal comforts, but in eternal Hope, Faith in Jesus Christ and in the Resurrection. Christ grew His Church through the preaching of His Word. These are the answers to the questions of this song. Christ is the answer, for all of eternity.

Pray to God, make petitions to Our Father in Heaven, a bold proclamation made possible only through the death and resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Seek His Will by reading His Word. The answers are there. The Holy Spirit speaks through the Written Word, pointing us to Christ Jesus.

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

Don’t look for God in your circumstances, look for Him in His Word.

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 | “Priceless” by For King and Country

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

disapproveCCM Radio Edition.

July 12, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Priceless” by For King & Country which currently sits at #15 on the20theCountdownMagazine.

This song makes no attempt at sharing the Gospel in any way. It’s not a Christian song. We’ll review the lyrics briefly, but the song is merely a promotional song for an upcoming movie. Here’s a note the band left on the lyric site I used today:

We just wrapped up a film called Priceless, and this song is going to be in the trailer. It’s going to be the theme song for that movie.

It’s a song that we have been trying to write in a roundabout way for years and years and years, and it’s just never come. But then, in the last 3 or 4 months, out comes this song! “Priceless!” Our challenge was, as men, how to write a song with the word “Priceless” and still have it feel masculine, you know. It was a super hard thing to achieve, because you don’t want it to come off soft, you want it to come off strong, and we worked super hard trying to make it feel like it had some weight to it.

What is this movie about? From the promotional website:

THE STORY
There was a time when James Stevens saw himself as a good man. But that seems like a different life … one that vanished somewhere between the day his wife died in his arms and when his young daughter was ripped from those same arms by the child services’ agency.

Today, he finds himself with more regrets, more troubles, and more heartbreak than one person should ever face in a lifetime. And he just unknowingly signed up for more. Much more.

Desperately in need of money with hopes of regaining custody of his daughter, James embarks on a cross-country delivery for cash—no questions asked.

But when he discovers what he is delivering is actually who, the questions in his mind begin haunting him … along with the lasting image of two innocent women he now feels compelled to save.

Drawn to the beautifully mysterious Antonia, James aspires not only to undo his wrong—but to do so for the right reason. With the lives of Antonia and her younger sister Maria in peril, James may need to sacrifice everything to rescue them.

From the creative minds behind two-time Grammy Award-winning band for KING & COUNTRY, PRICELESS stars Joel Smallbone, Bianca Santos, Amber Midthunder, with Jim Parrack and David Koechner. PRICELESS is the first movie from the Smallbone Brothers and is directed by Ben Smallbone, with Luke Smallbone as executive producer.

Coming to theaters this fall, PRICELESS is a powerfully compelling, suspense-filled love story that reminds us that no matter who we are, what we’ve done, or even how far we’ve gone astray, we are of infinite worth in God’s eyes.

Well, now… aren’t we just so stinkin’ special. *sigh*. Please forgive the snark, but this movie and the song are bent in on themselves, worshiping the created rather than the Creator. No Law, no Gospel, just humanism.

For King & Country TV (Official Audio)

 

Lyrics (via Genius)

[Verse 1: Joel]
Mirror mirror, mirror on the wall
Tellin’ those lies, pointing out your flaws
That isn’t who you are
That isn’t who you are

[Verse 2: Joel]
It might be hard to hear, but let me tell you dear
If you could see what I can see, I know you would beleive
That isn’t who you are
There’s more to who you are

[Pre-Chorus: Luke]
So when it’s late, you’re wide awake
To much to take
Don’t you dare forget that in the pain
You can be brave, can be safe

[Chorus]
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you (oh so priceless)
Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable
Darling, it’s beautiful
I see it all in you (oh so priceless)

[Verse 3: Joel]
No matter what you’ve heard, this is what your worth
More than all the money or the diamonds and pearls
Oh this is who you are
Yea this is who you are

[Pre-Chorus: Luke]
So when it’s late, you’re wide awake
To much to take
Don’t you dare forget that in the pain
You can be brave, can be safe

[Chorus]
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you (oh so priceless)
Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable
Darling, it’s beautiful
I see it all in you (oh so priceless)

[Bridge]
Sisters, we can start again
Give honor till the end
Love, we can start again
Brothers, we can start again
Give honor till the end
Yea, we can start again
(2x)

[Chorus]
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you

[Chorus]
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you (oh so priceless)
(You’re) Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable
Darling, it’s beautiful
I see it all in you (oh so priceless)

[Outro]
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
(3x)
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
Oh so priceless

Discussion

The theme of the song is human worship. If I can just tell you how precious you are then you’ll believe it and be better for it. Not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s humanism. Does God love us? Yes. Does that make us automatically infinitely precious? No. It means God is Love. That God Loves us reflects greatly on Him, not us.

John 3:16-21 (ESV) | For God So Loved the World
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

The song uses some vaguely churchy imagery to push the idea that this is in some way pushing a Christian narrative.

I see you dressed in white, every wrong made right. At best, this is an attempt to reference the Revelation account of the saints in white.

Revelation 7:9-14 (ESV) | A Great Multitude from Every Nation
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

But this is really giving its best construction. A mormon (non-Christian) will see their magic underwear (temple garments) in the lyric, and no one could argue to the contrary. The lyric doesn’t stand on its own as a Christian lyric.

Beyond that attempt at Christian imagery, there is nothing else in the lyric that suggests a Christian message or reference or inspiration. This is a humanist song. At some points, these lofty platitudes over reach into worship of the person to whom this is being sung. That’s bad. That’s very bad.

Romans 1:24-25 (ESV) Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Conclusion

So how does such bad writing find its way onto a top 20 Christian song chart? Well, because people don’t want to hear sound doctrine. This is what the flesh wants, it wants to be worshiped, it wants to be justified in its own sight, it wants to be praised.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Preach the Word
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Dear Christian, may you also be sober-minded, and remain a faithful steward of God’s Word, both Law and Gospel. Preach repentance and the forgiveness of sin in Jesus’ Name.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge