discernment

DiM | Keeping It In Context

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

Today is Thursday, August 13, 2015.  A couple of days ago, it seems the world was introduced to our Discernment in Music (DiM) blogs all at once. It has brought a lot of questions, comments, encouragement, and concern across various social media outlets. I praise God for the opportunity to have this conversation with the Church, to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus to consider the theological merit of the music we listen to on a daily basis.

I noticed a couple of recurring concerns reflected in various comments in social media that I think are valid and warrant addressing.

The Context of the Listener

Perhaps the most common concern is one of whether or not I have the right to declare what can and cannot be used in Corporate Worship within a Church Service. This question is understandable given the 2 reviews (“Oceans” and “Holy Spirit“) that represent cross-over songs which dominate airplay and are pushed as songs for corporate worship. The primary target audience for these DiM posts is actually not Worship Pastors, though I do hope they are blessed by this work. The primary target audience is the professing Christian listening to Christian Radio, whether in their car, shopping in a Christian Bookstore, or in their home. Places where the music is generally background noise, continuously streaming what is generally assumed to be God-honoring, Gospel driven, Christian Music. That is the context of the listener which serves as the framework for this exercise in biblical discernment. That some of these songs are being imported into churches for corporate worship introduces several variables, but more importantly it now involves Elders and Overseers as Stewards of Christ’s Church.

The Approval/Disapproval Rating is not the Goal

For several months I refused to provide a list of overall approval/Disapproval ratings, because I knew that in doing so I would invariably distract from the goal of the work, which is to go through the motions listening to the song performed in its entirety, walking through the lyrics of the song, and comparing what the message of the song says to what the Word of God says. Once the list of reviewed songs got long enough to where I had to use my own search engine to check on a review, I realized I needed to provide an archive for those visiting the site for the first time. The standard is God’s Word, on that we cannot waver; however, I fully expect to have strongly held, differing opinions regarding the overall “approval” or “disapproval” of any given song played on the air.

Music Pope? No.

Okay, that comment made me chuckle when I saw it on Twitter. Brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ, I have no authority over what is played on the airwaves, in your church, or in your home. I do not decide what you can listen to without sinning, or even accuse you of sinning for liking a song, secular or otherwise. The DiM list is only an archive of the discernment work done until now. These songs are being played on the airwaves whether or not anyone is doing any discernment work. I’m not pushing to have your favorite songs banned from the radio. I’m grateful for Christian Radio and wholeheartedly pray that it continues, and improves. That being said, there is a lot of bad theology being pumped into the airwaves under a “Christian” banner that is dangerous to unsuspecting hearts and minds. Much like your local Christian bookstore, there is some good, some not-so-good, and some I can’t believe that is even on the shelf! A Christian who is mature in the faith once-delivered to the saints, rooted and grounded in solid theology, is better equipped to “spit out the bones and swallow the meat” so to speak. My authority is limited. At best, should I deem a Christian song worthy of “Disapproval”, what I’m saying to the Church is that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend or approve of listening to the song in isolation. Unless you live under my roof, are a passenger in my car, or become my student in some capacity, all I can hope for is that you will at least practice discernment for yourself or seek guidance from one of your elders or pastors. The Law defines sin, condemns it to death, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only remedy.

We Are Not Judging Your Church

In the days of Hymnity, Elders of the Church carefully examined the songs to approve of their use in corporate worship. The laity could rest assured (for the most part) that the hymns found in their Church’s Hymnal were reviewed, prayed over, and approved by the elders. These days, the visible church has mostly abandoned the Hymnals, and much of what is played in Churches comes from popular bands in mega churches. It is rare to find a Worship Leader who scrutinizes the doctrine of the songs being sung, and even more rare is finding a church member who gives the theology and doctrine of the songs they sing a second thought.  And this is within the visible Church. If these DiM posts motivate a Worship Pastor to exercise discernment, Praise the Lord! If a member of the church chooses to exercise discernment regarding a song that was included in a worship service, that is wonderful… if that is you, please go to your Worship Pastor and ask for an explanation of the theology of the song and its purpose in corporate worship. Your pastors / elders are responsible for your growth and will be held accountable to God. Keeping in mind what we pointed out regarding the context of our listener, our DiM posts are not serving as judgments against your church for having played or playing one of these songs. That is not our intent. In fact, the church setting can be a place where the vagueness of most of these songs is clarified. There are hymns that don’t fully articulate the Gospel and are not well suited for evangelical broadcast because they were expressly written for penitent believers in Jesus Christ within the context of corporate worship. Corporate worship isn’t limited to a single song in isolation (which is how we do our reviews); therefore, our “disapproval” is in no way a single-point rebuke of your church or worship leader. It is our sincere hope, that given what we discuss in light of Scripture, that these DiM posts would serve as an impetus for seeking guidance with your Worship Pastor, Pastor, or Elders regarding the theology of the songs being sung.

3 Rules of Biblical Discernment: Context, Context, Context

I learned this discernment secret from Chris Rosebrough’s Fighting for the Faith. This is vitally important when handling scripture, and it is also important for how we treat the source material or the song lyrics. I haven’t mastered it. Just yesterday I had to revise a DiM post I had messed up because I eisegeted amillenialism into Jovan Mackenzy’s song… and he isn’t an amillenialist. I do my best to treat each song fairly, but given how they are played on the airways, that means we have to limit ourselves to what is found in the lyrics in most cases. In most cases, I try my best to give a song its best construction (Soul on Fire) or infuse a bible study into the listener to focus a vague song lyric (Cast My Cares). I have to try to infuse meaning into the songs in these cases… that is eisegesis of a man-made song. My goal is not to “justify” the song via proof-text. Proof-texting is bad… it is manipulation of the Scriptures to justify a man-made idea/concept/message. Many attempts I’ve seen to justify a song I’ve reviewed negatively have involved the breaking down of the song into several disparate nuggets, and then proof-texting verses in the Bible that correlate in some way. Sometimes that is simply how our minds have coped with a vague song or rationalized really liking a song, but that is not Biblical Discernment. Where we can, we seek to examine what Scripture teaches in-context and see where the song lines up. If the song falls short, we defer to the Scripture and encourage the listener to remember what the Scripture really teaches every time they hear the song played on the radio.

What’s wrong with just liking a clean song that’s silly?

Nothing. This isn’t about what songs you should like or dislike. As long as a song doesn’t cause you to sin, or a brother or sister to stumble, I see no problem with liking a silly song. Pastor Alistair Begg often quotes lines from secular songs in his sermons… for a distinct and clearly articulated illustrative purpose. No, this isn’t about whether or not its okay to like a silly song from Family Force 5. This is about whether or not the song lyrics present a Christian Gospel Message: Sin and Grace, Law and Gospel, Repentance and the forgiveness of sin. Short of this, it isn’t a Christian song… just an arguably good song, or outright silly/harmless one. Even some of the songs I’ve disapproved are so powerfully sung I can’t help but sing along on a few lines while driving in my car. It’s true. But I know that the theology is unclear and sometimes even aberrant, so I do not meditate on those songs.

The airwaves are so full of secular music… there is no advantage to pushing a form of secular music that is supposedly “Christian”… it’s still secular music. The slide in the music industry is always to the world. Endorsing a “Christian” version of secular music is at best unhelpful, and at worst loving to our children and to the artists we propel into stardom. My heart breaks to learn of another Christian artist who has abandoned the faith. How many more will we allow to shipwreck their faith for the sake of entertainment?

Conclusion

I love music and I long for the day when every song on the Top 20 Christian Songs chart is so rich in the Gospel that there would no longer be a need for this blog to have a DiM segment. I’d also find it deeply encouraging to see others exercising biblical discernment. I invite musicians, radio DJs, and worship leaders to point out errors I’ve made and provide insight into the songs they’ve written. To the fathers out there, I hope you’ll find encouragement to engage in this material as it pertains to your children and your homes. Forgive me if I allow snark, or frustration, to overshadow the love that drives this work. I am but a humble servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, without an office in the church. I am a father to my children, husband to my wife, and brother to the body of Christ. This is not my vocation, but an extension of my personal Bible study. I pray you grant me Grace and Forgiveness, as I endeavor to humbly, lovingly, and faithfully exercise biblical discernment.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV)
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ,
Jorge

DiM | “All Hail” by Jovan Mackenzy (Revised)

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Revision 8/13/15. This is a revised version of a review done back in February of 2015. In that review I had made some erroneous assumptions of Jovan Mackenzy‘s theology which fueled some conjecture on my part as to what Jovan was trying to say in the lyrics of this song. If you’d like to see that original review, click here.

Today we are going to try a different approach to “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)). On Tuesdays, we look at what is currently popular on Christian Radio top 20 charts. I wanted to introduce my readers to a song and a music artist of whom you may not be familiar.

Writing music is no simple task. There is a great deal of hard work and creativity at work in the writing, composing, and producing a song. Tougher still is the task of writing a Gospel-centered, God-honoring song lyric that is well-produced and gains airplay. We spend most of our time here in our DiM posts pointing out the vagueness and even questionable theology that is found in the messaging of popular “Christian” music, and I must admit that it can become discouraging. Especially when a favorite song turns out to be void of lyrical meaning. We try our best to rescue a popular song with proper Biblical understanding; however, some songs are simply meaningless and unrecoverable as Christian song, and are really secular songs performed by a band of professing Christians.

For our first DiM of this type, I wanted to challenge myself by choosing an art form of which I am not particularly a fan… rap. Clearly, this is a rough genre for me since I was completely unaware of Lecrae’s collaboration with For King and Country, much less did I anticipate them winning a Grammy for it. Today, we’ll be taking a look at Jovan Mackenzy. He’s been a rap artist for several years and I became aware of his work via Fighting for the Faith. I decided to review the title track for his album “All Hail”.

Music Videos

Unofficial Music Video, just plays the audio track. You can also listen to the album at http://jovanmackenzy.com/audio/all-hail/

Lyrics (as I hear them*)

All Hail by Jovan Mackenzy

[chorus]
He reigns, He reigns
I ain’t talkin’ ’bout precipitation
I’m talkin’ Father God
He Gave Jesus the Nations
And He’s ruling now,
Even over pagans
One day He’s coming back
You just gotta have patience

(All Hail) King Jesus x8

[verse 1]
I’m born again I’ve got peace of mind
the peace of mind that He gives
and I ain’t got to write deeper lines
’cause He’s as deep as it gets
He’s the High Priest who sits
Who sits on His Throne
He’s the only one that’s equipped
For our sins He did atone
don’t you see that Jesus purchased me
See the Blood on that Mercy Seat
As a man, He was born in Bethlehem
but He’s from eternity, now that’s Bible
Micah 5:2 “you believe He’s God?”
Yes I Do!
The only hero to die for the villains
and that’s poetic like Haiku
I was pathetic and prideful
sin is death – I should have died, too
worshiping the idols
in my own eyes I was wise, too
at the right time when we were still weak
Christ died for the ungodly
now I write rhymes for Him
the fullness of Deity that dwells bodily

[interlude]
[chorus]

[verse 2]
Even though we still on Earth
In Heavenly places we’re seated
Ephesians 2, you should read it
It’s only ’cause we’re in Jesus
But I don’t think some believe it (I don’t think so)
And I don’t think that they see it (they don’t)
They think the Church is defeated (what?)
But why do we call Him King Jesus (why?)
I can’t imagine how folks feel
They don’t know that this post is real
They don’t know about post mil.
Enemies are just road kill (road kill?)
And that’s so Real (so real)
Yeah that’s so Real
Christ Jesus is dominating like Carmelo at Oak Hill
And this ain’t High School
King of Kings is His title
Christ Jesus is #1
And I ain’t talkin’ ’bout iTunes
What’s that under His feet?
Oh that’s just Jesus crushing idols
So I’m in the Church thinkin’ it’s gettin’ worse
But he ain’t got no rivals

[interlude]
[chorus]

[verse 3]
Psalm 2:12, kiss the Son and perish
If you’re waiting for Him to come and reign then you’re in error
on the throne of David, the Savior is already there -uh
this is somethin’ that some in the Church is not aware of
we’re the sheep but the King will protect us from the werewolf (Satan)
And the meek Jesus said that the Earth they shall inherit.
Some think that it’s getting worse, but how? Jesus removed the curse
He has dominion from sea to sea to the ends of the Earth
Now He’s reigning from Heaven (right now)
May all the kings bow down before Him and all nations serve Him, Psalm 72:11
This a anthem this song is not an apologetic (this an anthem, ya’ll)
This a song that lets you know Christ is King ’cause I read it
If you want a debate, name a time and place and we’ll get it
The progression of the Kingdom of God is where my head is
A post-millennial age is where we’re headed
Christ is conquerin’ the nations
yeah, I said it.

[Conclusion: sermon excerpt, speaker: Jeff Derbin of Apologia]
Jesus the Messiah brought the expected kingdom on time and as planned. He is seated and reigning now. His kingdom will grow in history through the preaching of the Gospel and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The world will experience the transformational blessing that peace with God brings. Jesus will return for the resurrection of the just and the unjust after… after… all His enemies are put under His feet in victory. The last enemy is death.

Publishing: © 2014 JovanMackenzy.com. All Rights Reserved.

Positive Elements

While in a previous post I lamented the poetic, faddish phrasing used in most Rap lyrics and how it doesn’t lend itself well to clear messaging, Jovan Mackenzy has packed a lot of scripture into this song. That’s very refreshing. So let’s work through the song from top to bottom, paying special attention to the passages referenced overtly.

Chorus. The message of the Chorus is that Jesus reigns… specifically as the King over all Creation. He is sovereign over all things, even the pagans, and He is coming back.

Verse 1. The atonement, the mercy seat, the deity of Christ is all proclaimed in this verse. Tightly packed and filled with theology. It is interesting that Jovan chooses to reference the scriptural declaration of Christ as both the One born in Bethlehem and from ancient days (Micah 5:2).

Micah 5:1-5a (ESV) | The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem

1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;
    siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
    on the cheek.
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.

Verse 2. The second verse opens with a summary who we are in Christ as declared in Ephesians 2. What I find cool here is that Jovan isn’t just offering a summary, He’s challenging the listener to read the whole chapter. That’s awesome, because that chapter is an excellent summary of Law and Gospel. We did a Gospel Wednesday overview a while back where we looked at the overall message Paul wrote in the first 3 chapters of his letter.

In the middle of this verse, there is some slang that references “this post is real” and “this post mil”. I believe Jovan is referring to Heaven, Eternal Life, in the post-millennial reign of Christ through His Church. Jovan is referencing his post-millennialist view. Post-millennialism is not the Gospel, but it does affect how you interpret the scriptures regarding the role of the Church on society and in Christ’s return. I do not share this view, so my first understanding of this line was that Jovan was calling out those who have rejected the literal return of Christ as those who don’t believe in the “post mil”.  This portion also dives into a pop-culture reference that I had to look up to understand. I don’t follow basketball. So, if you are in the dark about who Carmelo Anthony is, or that he played High School basketball at Oak Hill Academy, you are not alone. At least now you know. Incidentally, he plays for the NY Knicks.

Verse 3. Here we get 2 references to Scripture. Let’s look at Psalms 2.

Psalm 2 (ESV) | The Reign of the Lord‘s Anointed

1 Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers take counsel together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
    and cast away their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
    the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
    and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
    on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
    today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
    and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
    and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
    for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

A Church comprising of all peoples and all nations to the ends of the Earth. The kings of the world who persecute the Church do so at their own eternal demise. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. When Christ Returns for His Church, it will be too late… judgement is coming. We dare not treat the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a ticket that was punched a long time ago that assures us entrance into God’s Kingdom. We are to serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son and take refuge in Him, lest He be angry and we perish in the way.

The next reference is to Psalm 72:11. I highly recommend reading the full Psalm 71, but we’ll look at the immediate context of this verse.

Psalm 72:8-11 (ESV)

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
    and his enemies lick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
    render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
    bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

The last portion sounds like the audio from a sermon. I couldn’t find the sermon myself based on the words spoken, so if you know please share in the comments below.

Concerns

The poor enunciation of “all hail” bothers me. Every time the chorus is repeated my ears catch “awe hell” instead of “all hail”… and that’s a problem for me. Couple that with the fact that the line is repeated 8 times at then end of the chorus, it’s almost enough to make me quit on the song. Because I know this is the title track for the album and the album cover very clearly says “All Hail” and the immediate context of “King Jesus” makes it clear that he’s saying “all hail”… still my ears get confused.

Theologically, there is the risk of people coming to the wrong conclusion that “All Hail” is preaching Dominionism (the idea that its the Church’s responsibility to subject the nations of the world under Christ’s feet). I’m not sure there is any clear way to avoid this confusion, and it’s a minor concern given how much clear theology is conveyed in this song.

Conclusion

While I do not follow rap music, this song sets a very high lyrical bar. It’s clear in its declaration of Jesus Christ as our Savior, King, and Creator. I couldn’t ask for a clearer message of the Gospel in a song. I wish we had more of this effort of pouring theology into popular musical forms on our Christian airwaves across genres.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

ps – Jovan has an older video on his youtube channel where he explains the Gospel.

DiM | “Touch The Sky” by Hillsong United

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

July 07, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Touch the Sky” by Hillsong United which currently sits at #16 at 20theCountdownMagazine.

I’d like to begin by openly admitting that I have a negative bias against all things Hillsong, due to their false teaching, bible twisting, and repeated failure to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully. I will do my best to give this song a fair evaluation, but I wanted to clearly acknowledge my bias up front. Having said that, this song has some powerful production power, wonderfully mastered and hypnotic vocal dynamics. Lyrically… the song is self-indulgent, mystically emotional, nonsense. I look forward to the day when Hillsong United puts out a theologically sound piece of music that makes it onto the top20 charts. Not so much for their sake, but for the sake of the millions who blindly follow them.

Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

Touch The Sky

What fortune lies beyond the stars
Those dazzling heights too vast to climb
I got so high to fall so far
But I found heaven as love swept low

My heart beating
My soul breathing
I found my life
When I laid it down
Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky
When my knees hit the ground

What treasure waits within Your scars
The gift of freedom gold can’t buy
I bought the world and sold my heart
You traded heaven to have me again

My heart beating
My soul breathing
I found my life
When I laid it down
Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky
When my knees hit the ground

Find me here at your feet again
Everything I am
Reaching out
I surrender come sweep me up in
Your love again and my soul will dance on the
Wings of Forever

Find me here at your feet again
Everything I am
Reaching out
I surrender come sweep me up in
Your love again and my soul will dance on the
Wings of Forever

My heart beating
My soul breathing
I found my life
When I laid it down
Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky
When my knees hit the ground

My heart beating
My soul breathing
I found my life
When I laid it down
Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky
When my knees hit the ground

Find me here at your feet again
Everything I am
Reaching out
I surrender come sweep me up in
Your love again and my soul will dance on the
Wings of Forever

Upward falling
Spirit soaring
I touch the sky
When my knees hit the ground

Publishing: © 2014 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA)
Writer(s): Joel Houston, Dylan Thomas & Michael Guy Chislett

Discussion

As I said in the introduction, these lyrics are self-indulgent. The focus of these lyrics are not on God they are on the singer. Not focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ but on the piety/discoveries of the singer. As with most Hillsong material, there are allusions to or themes from scripture. No doubt the creative writing process might have even begun with some of these passages (most likely taken from the Message parody). Let’s look at a couple that I could recognize while reading through the lyrics.

“I found my life when I laid it down”

Mark 8:34-36 (ESV)

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

So, once we look at the reference we see a glaring difference between what is being sung and what we find in Scripture. This statement is recorded in each of the Gospels, and in each Jesus is talking about losing your life for His sake. Hillsong United has turned this idea into a mystical discipline not unlike “emptying oneself” as we see in the eastern religions.

“Find me here at your feet again”

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV) | Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary chose to sit and listen to Jesus’ teaching, and it was the good portion that will not be taken away from her. This passage is sometimes misrepresented as an appeal for Christians that vocation, hard work, and discipline are distractions from so-called spiritual living. In contemporary services, often times allegory invoked places “praise and worship” as the good portion and the faithful, exegetical teaching of the scriptures as the “anxious and troubled about many things”. You’ll see this whenever a church leader describes his service as “relevant”, “relatable”, “young”, or “young” (The Man Behind Hillsong: Brian Houston).

John 12:1-3 (ESV) | Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

For this song, I think this is more the imagery they are going for, which moves us into the mystically emotional quality of the lyrics. This is a very intimate moment, one of deep thanksgiving (Lazarus was there after having been risen from the dead by Jesus) and it leads directly into death and burial of Jesus Christ. That is the focus of this event, because Jesus would have to be buried before His body can be properly anointed and washed… the very reason the women go out to the tomb on the third day, finding it empty… Christ had risen. But the song lyric doesn’t go in that direction… instead, it gets a bit indulgent, almost emotionally romantic… Everything I am, Reaching out, I surrender come sweep me up in, Your love again and my soul will dance on the, Wings of Forever. We don’t have the singer sitting at the foot of Jesus in repentance, for teaching, or even out of thanksgiving; rather, the singer is invoking surrender language for being swept up in a loving embrace so her soul can dance on the wings of forever. Emotional drivel.

The rest of the song is a hypnotic poetry of nonsense verse. My soul breathing… upward falling… I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground… it’s artistic, but it doesn’t convey any real meaning, not in any Biblical sense. The hearer is free to interpret these lines in any way that seems to fit at any given moment. That might be fine for secular music, but shouldn’t be a mainstay of Christian music.

Conclusion

This song shouldn’t be sung in any church because the object of the song is the self, not God. I would argue that it shouldn’t be on the Christian airwaves, because there is nothing in it directly identifying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This song could have been written by a Native American spiritualist, a Hindu Yogi, or Far-eastern Buddhist. The music quality is phenomenal, but that only serves to obfuscate its lyrical pablum.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

CTT | Male and Female He Created Them

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Genesis 1:26-28 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:23-24 (ESV)

23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

We are living in a time of great confusion, a strong delusion where man thinks that they can unmake or remake God’s design to suit their will. Some even go so far as to claim that they are correcting God’s mistakes. May God have mercy. With such an introduction, you might think today’s post is about homosexuality and man-made “gay-marriage”, but we already addressed that to some extent in CTT | Born That Way? Yes.

Transgenderism… is that even a thing?

It’s a mental/emotional disorder with no physical markers. None. Why all the fuss about it now? The normalizing of LGBTQ+ into mainstream society has opened the floodgates of Liberal Progressives thinking they can change reality by inventing new terms, categories, and labels to suit their desires. God created man, and He created them male and female. When sin entered (through Adam) our flesh and all of creation was cursed. God’s good creation was defiled by sin. We have death, sickness, and mutations as a direct result of sin. However, no mutation has ever changed the substance of what God created into something else. Progressive evolution is a lie. Natural Selection and Man-made selection are valid concepts (breeding), but the idea that mutations lead to substantive changes to any living organism is fantasy that comes from a decidedly anti-Biblical framework. God created male and female differently. Archeology and Forensics can identify gender from bits of bone and drops of body fluid. That is how extensive our physical differences are. Transgenderism is at-best a mental disorder that for some may be started at birth (who’s to say how sin has affected the mind of each person born in sin?) and for others it was encouraged or brought on by the environment. Mental illnesses are real sicknesses brought about by the curse of sin in a fallen world.

Our Secular society has struggled to deal with the sin of homosexuality for a long time. While the sexual revolution has pushed, and pushed for normalizing homosexuality, we’ve also had a weird fascination with drag queens.  I believe the big shift in now comes from man’s pride in their technological advancements in body mutilation. They’ve found ways of making the drag costume more and more permanent. They’ve now decided that their technology is so advanced, that their manipulation of cosmetic appearance, to the very mutilation of the “less honorable” members of our physical bodies. If a man claims to be a bear, psychologically, what does his biology say? He is a man. If a man claims to be a woman, psychologically, what does his biology say? He is a man. And it says so at the genetic level. Sure you can cut him up, implant foreign material in specific places, and throw off his biochemistry in some ways via drugs, but he is still a man… though the hormonal treatment will eventually make him a less physically capable man than he was created to be. But society wants its Tower of Babel. An evil and adulterous generation seeks to make a name for himself in the heavens, they want the power to determine what is or is not a man or a woman, by their will, their choice, and by the work of their hands.

Romans 1:18-32 (ESV) | God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 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. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 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.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

And in this culture, many who do not struggle with homosexuality are now included their sin by advocating for their acceptance as transgenders… men and women who’ve rejected God’s design and decided to mutilate their bodies in their defiance. They demand that you bend the knee to their rule over their identity, their biology, even their very existence. The idolatry varies a bit, either they demand you worship their self-made identity or their technology, they’ve rejected the Creator and insist that you do, too.

Strong Delusion

I’ve seen several blogs and Facebook posts of Christians freaking out over this garbage, though. That needs to stop. Stop being surprised by the lawlessness of a world that Hates God. Many who have not been paying attention to false teachers, wolves, who’ve infiltrated the Church are suddenly being shocked and surprised by Apostate churches… stop. It is not like we haven’t been warned in the New Testament, time and time again.

2 Thessalonians 2 (ESV) | The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

We do not need to adopt a new language or new paradigm for dealing with sexual immorality, idolatry of self, transgenderism, or open defiance of the Lord God. We have the Truth of God’s Word, both Law and Gospel. Stand firmly on that, and keep preaching the Word of God.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | And Whatever You Do…

Faithful Stewardship 1 Comment

trebleclefOur Discernment in Music (DiM) posts are the most read blogs on our website. While we are exceedingly grateful that people come here (based on Search Terms that lead them here) to find the lyrics of popular songs on Christian radio, or in hopes of finding out the intended  meaning a particular song, some might leave this site thinking we have a dim view of music or singing in general. Today, I’d like to address a couple of concerns and then I’d like to take a look at the role of songs and music in Worship.

Concerns

I’d like to quickly address some of the more common concerns related to me either in-person, in email, on social media, or in comments here. These points are categories of complaints/comments and none of them have been conveyed verbatim.

You just want us to go back to Hymnals? No. Well, yes and no. Yes, I’d like to return to the lyrical emphasis of teaching sound doctrine accompanied by music, even if it means we have to write 4 verses and a bridge to get there. I’d also like to see churches treat their music selections as if they were composing a Hymnal. Those hymnals were taken as seriously as their catechisms. A music leader shouldn’t have full authority to simply whip out a new song on Sunday morning and expect the Elders to “go along”. Musically… no, I do not want to go back to the Hymnals as the only form of music in the church. I don’t like monotonous speech or music, and I really don’t like having to explain the archaic English grammar or idioms found in some hymns just to sing a song that might otherwise convey an aberrant meaning.

You just want to go back to an organ and a choir? No, and I really mean that this time. Listen, there is nothing sanctified about the organ. I’ve heard the Hammond B3 used to accentuate false teachers like TD Jakes and I’ve heard them in popular pagan music, too. Nothing sacred about that musical instrument, or any other. As for having a choir, I’m ambivalent. If you do have a choir, I prefer the old setups where the choir was actually above and behind the congregation rather than in front (only a personal preference, not Law). I dislike operatic singing, though… because I cannot sing along if I cannot make out the words. I struggle truly appreciating traditional choir performances because of the archaic English and the operatic enunciation (or lack thereof) of words.  Regardless of musical genre, if I cannot make out the words I just check out of the worship. I struggle as it is to not slide into critique/analysis of the audio mix coming from the sound booth.

You are limiting Creativity to only a finite list of topics. No. When we point out a song that lacks a Gospel message or a law-heavy, works-based, or man-centric theology we are not saying that every song needs to be a rewording of Eph 2:1-10 (though I’d love to hear a modern song doing that). We are also not saying that songs can only be written from the Psalms, Proverbs, or Song of songs. They don’t have to have “Bible quotes” in them. When they do, the scriptures need to be quoted faithfully and in context. No, the corrective measure we are pushing for here is that whatever the topic, whatever the goal, whomever the intended target… the emphasis of the lyric should convey both Law and Gospel faithfully to the listener. The Law convicts us of sin so that we might repent and be forgiven by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Those citing “limitations” are only being limited by their refusal to submit their music and their lyrics to the Authority of Scripture.

Music is Fitting for Christian Worship Today

While we have the Psalms and several other Old Testament songs, we needed always look to King David and the Tabernacle to justify the inclusion of music in our Worship today. I’d like to take a look at 2 encouragements from the Apostle Paul.

Ephesians 5:1-21 (ESV) | Walk in Love

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

We’ve looked at this passage a number of times in the past, with a particular focus in how we are to walk the Christian walk. This passage is also directly applicable to how we conduct ourselves Worship. We are called to be living sacrifices, living forms of Worship to God. Naturally, how we worship should be a part of how we walk. Notice here that we are to put away from among us all sexual immorality and all impurity, foolish talk, filthiness, and crude joking. We should not only do this in speech, but in our songs and music as well. Before you brush that thought aside, think about what plays in your car’s radio during the week, what streams in your headphones while you exercise, and what “specials” might be playing in the megachurch you visited recently (C3 Church Leaders & Staff Video). Getting back to the passage, we see Paul encouraging us to sing songs to one another and making melody to the Lord in our hearts. The mention of getting drunk doesn’t make this a passage for how we are to act outside of the assembly, but inside, too. Remember Paul rebuked the Corinthians for using the Lord’s Supper as an occasion to get drunk! Do you think Paul would allow room for psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that proclaimed a different/false gospel? No, that isn’t even remotely within the realm of possibility. We are to encourage one another in Truth, putting away all falsehood.

Colossians 3:1-17 (ESV) | Put On the New Self

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Again, we see Paul addressing these matters within the context of living godly lives of Worship and Thanksgiving. We are to put to death the fleshly, worldly things and to put on Heavenly qualities listed above, by faith through the Grace of our Lord and Savior. I come from a Puerto Rican background, so the big question from my culture is whether or not we can bring salsa or merengue music into the church as a form of proper Worship to God. These musical forms accompany a very sensual form of dancing out in the world, but does that mean the music itself is sensual? I submit to you that for some it would be perfectly acceptable and even fun to include in Worship to the God of Creation with hearts full of thanksgiving and praise. For others, on the other hand, the struggle of separating the music from the sensual form of dance, or the lustful thoughts of the heart might be too strong to bear. Pastors and elders, as the steward shepherds over Christ’s flock, needs to know His sheep. If the congregation is still fleshly and immature in the Faith, including such music would be ill-advised. I think the same holds true for Reggae, Rock-n-Roll, Electronica, and Hip Hop/R&B. That “Gospel” has become its own genre of music always leaves me shaking my head in disgust. There is so little Gospel in “Gospel Music” today my heart aches.

My point is that the music style is not the standard, the character of the Worship is. Not just the character of the individual worshipers, but the Worship itself. For if hints of earthliness creep into our corporate Worship (regardless of genre, denomination, or creed) the Worship is defiled. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. While I’ve only seen it done handful of times, it is proper for an Elder to call attention to sinful behavior in Corporate Worship. It’s indeed quite unpleasant, but necessary when rebuke is appropriate. God is not a God of confusion but of peace, and all things should be done decently and in order.

Purpose of DiM

Our goal isn’t to present a dean’s list of solid biblical Christian Music. Our goal is to equip you with the tools necessary for practicing Biblical Discernment in Music that you hear on a daily basis, including what you sing on Sunday Mornings. We only look at a small slice of the Christian Music scene, the most popular or popularized (by aggressive marketing and promotion) songs. There is a lot more out there. If you’d like us to review a song that isn’t on the top20 charts, shoot us an email and we will try to work them into DiM posts on Thursdays.

Until next time, it is our prayer that you continue growing in the Knowledge of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scriptures and that in so doing you might abound in Faith.

Colossians 4:2-6(ESV) 2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Amen. In Christ Jesus,
Jorge