forgiveness

DiM | “Overwhelmed” by Big Daddy Weave

Faithful Stewardship 11 Comments

Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Today I wanted to take a look at the #7 song on K-Love’s top songs chart dated September 21. The song is Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave. I skipped over songs #5 and #6 because as soon as I saw the list I was already singing the chorus to Overwhelmed in my head. Let us begin with a refresher for those who might not have heard this song on the radio:

There is a portion at the end where children can be heard singing something in Swahili. Thanks to one of the comments on the video (and Google translate) those lyrics and their meaning are as follows:

wewe ni mzuri, wewe ni waajabu
You are beautiful, you are the extraordinary.

Wewe ni mtukufu, wewe ni mfalme wangu
You are exalted, you are my king

Overwhelmed | Lyrics (via Big Daddy Weave Website)

(Music & Lyrics: Mike Weaver / Phil Wickham)
I see the work of Your Hands
Galaxies spin in a Heavenly dance oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming

I hear the sound of Your Voice
All at once it’s a gentle and thundering noise oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming

I delight myself in You
Captivated by Your beauty
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

I know the power of Your Cross
Forgiven and free forever You’ll be my God

All that You’ve done is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
In the Glory of Your Presence
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

You are Beautiful, You are Beautiful
Oh God, there is no one more Beautiful
You are Beautiful, God you are the most Beautiful

You are Wonderful, You are Wonderful
Oh God, there is no one more Wonderful
You are Wonderful, God You are the most Wonderful

You are Glorious, You are Glorious
Oh God, there is no one more Glorious
You are Glorious, God you are the most Glorious

Positive Elements

This song is more pointed at the God of the Bible than some of the songs we’ve reviewed. The first stanza identifies the object of worship as God, the Creator of the Universe.

Psalm 102:25-28 (ESV)
25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27     but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.

The next stanza starts a bit oddly. “I hear the sound of your voice…” could be artistic license or it could be leaning toward mysticism. We’ll put that thought on hold for a bit and continue on to acknowledge that there is a reference to both the gentle voice of God and the thundering voice of God. That’s positive, because throughout the Old Testament we see God speaking to His Anointed in large and small ways, by audible voice and by the Written Word. The children of Israel were frightened by the Voice of God at Horeb, and insisted that Moses go speak with God on their behalf. Being overwhelmed by the Creator of the Universe is a good thing, just as being overwhelmed by the fear of the Lord was a good thing at Horeb. In fact, let’s look at passage. Moses is recounting to the people of Israel how God spoke to them the 10 Commandments at Horeb.

Deuteronomy 5:22-29 (ESV) 22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Being overwhelmed by God is a good thing, and oh that we had such a heart always, to fear God and to keep all His commandments. Which brings us to the chorus. The idea of delighting in God is one that we see reflected in the Psalms. However, this song doesn’t quite complete the thought like the Psalms did, because this song keeps it in sort of vague, mystical sense of delighting in God directly, delighting in His presence and running into His arms. While it makes for strong emotive poetry, it falls short of actually providing something we can do. Let’s see how the Psalmist completes the thought.

Psalm 119:9-16 (ESV)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
 let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

So we see that the aim of our delight in Him is by keeping His Word in our hearts. Why is this important? Because there are many false religions who seek oneness with gods in creation without acknowledging the One True God and Creator of the Universe, for they reject His Word. What ends up happening is they fall into idolatry of the created over the Creator, or in the idolatry of self-worship. Delighting in God must be according to His Word and not left to our imaginations, impressions, or emotions alone. The line, “God, I run into Your arms” needs to be understood as Repentance and prayer, not just singing this song and praying for answers. I’m not sure if that is what the writers of the song intended, but that is the only way this song stays doctrinally sound. We are called to remain in the Lord, and as the Psalmist says by guarding our way according to His Word is the only way we can keep our way pure. So any notion that we have of running into the arms of the Lord must coincide with the need to repent from prior drifting or running away from Him, which is Sin. Repentance is also the way in which we practice running into the arms of God. Once we’ve repented from sin, then the next line “Unashamed because of mercy” holds true, because of His Great Mercy we are forgiven when we confess our sins and repent from them.

The second verse is really only one stanza, and then a return to the Chorus. This third stanza gives us a much-needed reference to the Cross of Jesus Christ. This is the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He bore our sins, iniquities, and the full penalty of our unrighteousness on the cross.

Concerns

Our goal here is to practice Biblical discernment in the songs we hear played on the radio (maybe even sing along with) so that we are fully aware of what we are filling our hearts and minds with. The primary concern with this song is in the open door to a mystical interpretation of delighting in God’s Presence (presence theology like that taught at Bethel). The modern-day evangelical church has been flooded by New Age Mysticism that seeks to skip over the Written Word of God and dive right into “experiencing” supernatural communion and presence and imparting spiritual wisdom apart from the Bible. It is woefully dangerous theology and false doctrine. The Bible warns us time and time again not to accept false gods, false spirits, or doctrines of demons. Even from the Law the test of a true Prophet involved more than simply whether or not a sign or wonder was performed… but what they taught was to be scrutinized and examined for Truth. For the Law was a testimony of God. Moses and the Prophets testified of the Messiah to come, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit testifies of the Christ who came, died, ascended, and is returning to judge both the living and the dead. Do not skip the Written Word of God hoping to ascend into heavenly existence via mystical short-cuts, and do not listen to those who claim to teach such methods.

You might be thinking, “wow, I don’t see any of that in this song.” One of the methods taught by the 3rd Century Roman Catholic Mystics was to chant a word of scripture or phrase over, and over, and over again… to enter into a trance-like state until supposedly the hidden secret meaning of the scripture would be revealed. That is not what the Bible teaches. So when so much of this song is devoted to repetition, it makes me nervous. Also, having grown up in a lot of the “presence” approach to worship, I know that the intended purpose of these lyrics is to allow the music team to run these lines on repeat until “something happens” or “the spirit moves among the people”.

Conclusion

This song is a decent song in that it almost stands on its own.  Proper understanding of the fear of the Lord, and how we are to delight in Him is required to keep this song in its proper place. That prayerful confession and repentance from sin is how we are to “run into His arms”. It does seem to have been written in a way that it could be used by liberal, seeker-mergent, mystical forms of worship, so the context of this song being played is important. I enjoy hearing it my car and humming along as I go about my day, because I’m not engaging in mysticism, merely thinking about just how overwhelming our God is, His Holiness and His Grace that He should love a wretch like me. Whenever you hear this song played on the radio, it is my hope that you will be reminded to delight in God’s Word, in His Testimonies, in His Statutes, in His Commandments, and most importantly in His Son, Jesus, who lived, died, and rose again and is returning soon.

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 Jesus,
Jorge

Temptation, Rebuke, Repentance, & Forgiveness

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Suffer the Children - Anthony van DyckWe’ve been spending a great deal of time discussing discernment matters and pointing out false teaching (and even some false teachers). While this is exceedingly important I don’t want to overlook the need for Christians to understand their call to forgive is just as strong as the call to repent. Today, let’s look at what Jesus taught concerning temptation, rebuke, repentance, and forgiveness.

In researching a couple of rather heavy blogs that are in the works, I came across a passage that really caught my attention and I thought it would be an excellent way to pause some of the other research for a bit. Our primary text will be short, but we will explore other texts to better understand how this passage works out in our day-to-day lives.

Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) | Temptations to Sin
1 And [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents,forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

This portion in Luke is part of a series of parables and lessons taught by Jesus beginning roughly in Luke 15. Before we dive into the individual elements of this text, I want to reference Matthew 18 for clarity on who the “one of these little ones” was.

Matthew 18:1-7 (ESV) | Who Is the Greatest?
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said,“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

The two passages capture the same event, but in neither case do we have a verbatim account of all that Jesus said and did on that day (John 21:25 (ESV) “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”); rather, what we have in Scripture is that the Holy Spirit recalled in the minds of the writers and inspired them to record for our eternal benefit.

Temptation to Sin

Jesus makes absolutely clear here that temptations to sin are going to come. In Matthew, we see Jesus add that in-fact the temptations to sin are necessary. It was necessary even in Jesus’s case where we see that immediately following His baptism the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted.

Matthew 4:1-3 (ESV) | The Temptation of Jesus
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”…

Jesus faithfully resists the devil (the tempter) and remains free of sin. I bring this up because while Jesus clearly teaches that temptation is bound to come, and is in-fact necessary, the sin is not. Why is the temptation necessary? I believe the answer to that question can be found in the first and greatest commandment:

Matthew 22:36-38 (ESV) 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

The temptation to sin, once faithfully resisted, becomes a demonstration of a love for the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Jesus is the only person who fulfilled the Law, to include the first and greatest commandment. He never wavered, He never faltered. In His perfection, He offered Himself as the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice as payment for our sin. And in Him, by His Grace, a way was made for us to demonstrate our love for Him whenever we resist a temptation to sin. When we succumb to temptation and sin, then we are guilty of sin and must confess the sin and repent from it and ask for forgiveness in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Woe to the one…

The problem of sin is not limited to the one committing the sin. The one through whom the temptation to sin manifests itself bears extra responsibility. When Christ pronounces a “Woe” it’s no small matter.

Matthew 11:20-22 (ESV) | Woe to Unrepentant Cities
20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

Tyre and Sidon will fare better on the day of judgment than Chorazin and Bethsaida… that is indeed a case for woe. Similarly, the one through whom temptation comes, causing one of the little ones to sin, is indeed woefully damned. The Sovereignty of God means that God’s Will shall be done in the earth, and He can use anyone, even those who don’t know Him to accomplish His will. We’ve seen that God used Balaam (an unbelieving practitioner of divination) to turn what would have been a curse against Israel into blessings, and we’ve also seen God bless and use King Cyrus to restore Israel and Jerusalem after the Exile into Babylon. However, Jesus makes clear that while temptation to sin will take place, the tempter is never doing the Will of God and bears a heavy burden of guilt. God does not compel men to tempt other men; rather, He knows the hearts of men and uses their actions and deeds to bring about His Will, and punishes those who reject God in the process. Balaam and Cyrus did not follow God, they continued in their sin and were rightfully judged by God. Jesus warns that it would be better to die than to be the cause for temptation for another believer’s sin. This thought is carried throughout the rest of the New Testament as we see time and time again the warnings against false teachers, false prophets, and doctrines of demons. We can see this concept fully in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:9-13 (ESV) 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

In the punishment that followed, none were spared. Woe to the tempter who causes the little ones to sin. Though all of Creation was fully mature, it was yet extremely young when Adam fell.

This past Monday, we looked at the problem of placing a stumbling block in front of our brethren. It didn’t fit in that topic, but I want to look at how Paul taught this concept in his letter to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 8 (ESV) | Food Offered to Idols
8 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Wow. So while we who are in Christ, built up in the knowledge of the Scriptures and Maturing in the faith know that since there are no other gods but the One True God, are free to eat any food without it being a sin if we willfully exercise that “right” in such a manner that causes a less mature Christian to stumble then we have now sinned against our brother and against Christ. For Christ died for the weaker brother in the same way that He died for us. Anchoring this in the Luke text, even if our actions in-and-of themselves are not sinful, if they are done to tempt another to sin, then we have sinned. In today’s culture, we may struggle a bit with connecting to the matter of food, but what about drink? How about in clothing or entertainment? Take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

Rebuke, Repent, & Forgive

Let’s take a look at the closing portion of our text in Luke.

Luke 17:3-4 (ESV) 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Now, today the warning, “Pay attention to yourselves”, seems to fit more as an end to verse 2 rather than the start of verse 3. But it could fit just as well at the end of verse 4. Jesus says very plainly that if your brother sins, rebuke him. That’s a command, a prescription, if you will. Rebuke him, out of love. The world would have you believe that a rebuke is the opposite of love. That is patently false. The only way a failure to rebuke sin could be a loving act is if there is no sin, or if there is no consequence for the sin. But we know that sin is clearly defined (the Law) and we know that no sin goes unpunished.

Romans 6:22-23 (ESV) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore, since we know that the wages of sin is death, we rebuke our brother who sins out of love for him and obedience to Christ. But the rebuke does not mark the limit of our responsibility. Jesus goes right on to say that if he repents, forgive him. Forgive him when he repents. He then says that if your brother sins against you (makes it personal) seven times a day and repents seven times, you must forgive him. While the Luke account records the commandment of Jesus, the Matthew 18 account sheds some light on what Jesus was addressing.

Matthew 18:21-35 (ESV) | The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Once again, we see Jesus flipping things around on us. At the start, Peter thought he was being generous in his guess at a 7 times a day limit for forgiving a brother who sins against us. In the end, Jesus not only declares that there be no such limit, but also stipulates that to the one who will not forgive, his own sin will not be forgiven. We know this to be a common theme since Jesus also taught of the connection between our receiving forgiveness in how we grant forgiveness when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”.

Conclusion

As we grow in God’s Word, we will undoubtedly be faced with many temptations. Temptations to sin, temptations to tempt others to sin, and temptations to despise rebuke for our sin. We will also be tempted to be unmerciful, unforgiving… essentially we will be tempted to walk according to the flesh. The truth of the parable of the unforgiving servant is that it is a daily thing for us. For our flesh isn’t just susceptible to sin, it craves it, for it is utterly depraved and fallen. Our flesh wages war against the Spirit. That is why it is so important that we remain in the Word and submit to the Spirit of God rather than our own flesh. We live in God’s Grace every day, and with that truth fully in mind, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to move us to forgive our brother from our hearts every time he repents, regardless of how often or how grievous we perceive his sin to be, for such a sin is minuscule when compared to the mercy and grace we have received from Jesus Christ on the cross.  But we must also not allow our freedom in Christ to become an occasion (or a snare, trap, stumbling block, temptation) for the young/weak in the faith to sin. Knowledge puffs up, but Love builds up.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you firmly in His will,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Hope in Front of Me” by Danny Gokey

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Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

At the time of this writing, the K-Love top songs chart had not been updated from last week; therefore, we will be using 20 the Countdown Magazine’s chart for today’s DiM post. I can’t tell how often this chart is updated, but the top song on the chart is Danny Gokey’s “Hope In Front Of Me”. As it turns out, this song was at #4 on the K-Love chart last week, and would have been the next song on our list to review anyway, so here we go. Let us begin with a refresher for those who might not have heard this song on the radio:

[youtube http://youtu.be/O5GFiDdGGGM]

 

Hope in Front of Me | Lyrics (via Metro Lyrics)

I’ve been running through rain
That I thought would never end
Trying to make it on faith
In a struggle against the wind
I’ve seen the dark and the broken places
But I know in my soul
No matter how bad it gets
I’ll be alright

There’s hope in front of me
There’s a light, I still see it
There’s a hand still holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I might be down but I’m not dead
There’s better days still up ahead
Even after all I’ve seen
There’s hope in front of me

There’s a place at the end of the storm
You finally find
Where the hurt and the tears and the pain
All fall behind

You open up your eyes and up ahead
There’s a big sun shining
Right then and there you realize
You’ll be alright

There’s hope in front of me
There’s a light, I still see it
There’s a hand still holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I might be down but I’m not dead
There’s better days still up ahead
Even after all I’ve seen
There’s hope in front of me

There’s a hope still burning
I can feel it rising through the night
And my world’s still turning
I can feel your love here by my side

You’re my hope
You’re the light, I still see it
Your hands are holding me
Even when I don’t believe it
I’ve got to believe
I still have hope
You are my hope

Songwriters
HERMS, BERNIE / JAMES, BRETT / GOKEY, DANIEL JAY

Published by
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Read more: Danny Gokey – Hope In Front Of Me Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Positive Elements

Well, it is definitely an attempt to give encouragement to any and all who are going through hard times. If you bring in the Official Music Video, you get a sense of rescue for those who are struggling with hopelessness in various circumstances… and then they end up broken down in the middle of a country road and just need to keep walking… *sigh*. The song is vague. Danny Gokey has professed to be a Christian, he did so while he was competing in American Idol (Season 8) where he finished in 3rd place, which is quite an accomplishment. He has an absolutely tremendous voice and a great sense of musical style and delivers his music with power and emotion. This song also points toward a wonderful community outreach of Sophia’s Heart Foundation, named in honor of his late first wife. What they do here is undoubtedly a good work for the poor and the down-trodden, and this song Hope in Front of Me is undoubtedly anthemic for those being touched by this ministry. These are all positive elements and deeply commendable, but the vagueness of the messaging still looms. Before we move on to specific concerns, I want to share a video from Danny Gokey’s Homepage that really helped me tie this song to the Sophia’s Heart Foundation.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffivEQpbUZA]

Concerns

Our goal here is to practice Biblical discernment in the songs we hear played on the radio (maybe even sing along with) so that we are fully aware of what we are filling our hearts and minds with. The song has some very strong religious/spiritual keywords such as: faith, soul, belief, hope, light, and love. Each of these words resonate with religions of all flavors, even the godless ones (e.g. humanism and buddism). The vagueness is a problem here because at no time in the song or in the Official Music Video is the object of the singers faith identified nor is the hope articulated beyond a generic positive confession of “better days” and “I’ll be alright”. There is also a quirk that pops up in the use of the pronoun “you”. As with most modern-day spiritual songs, the “you” is at times implying God (or at least a higher power) but might also refer to an earthly person (love interest), but the quirk comes in where “you” suddenly shifts to the hearer. Well, that’s a problem since we also have the other two possible “you”s in the song. Vagueness is the key issue with this song. The Gospel isn’t remotely vague. Scripture isn’t vague. “Spiritual songs” are vague to appeal to the widest possible audience for sales. The song does not provide any answers, no gospel, and not really any Law, just an appeal to Hope.

To get any meaning out of the song, you first have to put real meaning into it. Let’s see if we can’t manage some salvaging of the song from the Scriptures.

Faith. Faith is not a thing unto itself. If we are using a strictly Biblical definition of faith, only believers have faith. We see in Romans 10:17 (ESV) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. Therefore, apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ there can be no faith. In fact, when Paul describes the state of sin of mankind in Romans 1, he lists “faithlessness” as one of their attributes.

Romans 1:28-32 (ESV) 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.

In the modern-day church we often use “faith” and “belief” interchangeably. If we are to do that, then we need to understand that there is only one True faith (faith that comes from hearing the Word of God), and all other faiths (or beliefs) are false. For the sake of redeeming this song, we must hold to the Biblical definition of faith, that is, faith in the Person, Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Hope. Since this is the main thrust of the song, I want to focus on salvaging this term. I could not do so without first properly anchoring the term Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the same way that faith requires an object, we need to properly identify the object of our hope. Our hope is in Christ, and in Christ we have a hope. I think Peter does a great job of encapsulating it in the introduction of 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:1-12 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 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. 3 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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. 8 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 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.

Our hope is in an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading… and that inheritance is kept for us in heaven to be revealed in the last time. The hope of heaven, that we will gain entrance into heaven through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That this sinful flesh will finally be put away from us in death, and that by His blood we will join physically in His resurrection as He gives us perfect, new, sinless bodies as part of our inheritance. That is our hope. And it is so marvelous and such an occasion for rejoicing that the various trials may cause us grief in this life are brief and temporary. The Hope of Heaven and the Hope of the Great Day of Christ’s return is the Hope in Front of Me. Unfortunately, there are lines in the song that wrongfully anchor this hope in the temporal. I’m not saying there won’t be any good times while on this earth, the promise is that we who are in Christ will face trials of many kinds, and that our faith will be tested, for this fallen world Hates God. If your hope is anchored in this life, you’ve anchored it on a sandy floor that shifts with storms and seas. At the risk of belaboring the point, “your best life now” is NOT a Christian confession. Our inheritance (our Hope) is kept for us in Heaven. While on Earth, God the Holy Spirit comforts, helps, sustains, and nurtures us… but He does so for purposes that extend well beyond this present life, and beyond our own understanding. He is building up the Bride of Christ, of which we who believe are all members.

Conclusion

This song is vague, and at-best simply a spiritual song. It doesn’t really proclaim the Gospel or uphold the Law. It is a generically “positive” song, sung extremely well. I can become a teaching point if the conversation lends itself to you sharing the Gospel by explaining faith, hope, and love as they are defined by the Bible rather than humanism. But the song doesn’t do that on its own.

I was deeply moved by the EPK film, the background behind Sophia’s Heart Foundation… but even in that film we heard too much of “my story” rather than the Gospel. We touched on the problem of teaching that Christians are supposed to share “their story” rather than His when we reviewed Casting Crown’s teaching videos. I was moved by the good works of Sophia’s Heart Foundation, and I have no problem sharing what they are doing. But good works apart from the Gospel are temporal. Preach the Gospel, so that those who hear the words of Christ might obtain faith in Christ and through Christ be assured of the Hope that lies ahead, the hope of that upward call of Christ on the Last Day.

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

CTT | Earn the Right to Speak Truth?

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

This statement has been bugging me since Tuesday’s DiM post. This seems to be a prevalent notion among the “missional” or “relational” churches who push the notion that “living out the Gospel” is somehow preferable to “preaching the Gospel”.

We live in a society that extols the man-made virtue of “Freedom of Speech” especially in voicing one’s opinion; however, that freedom of speech is routinely abridged whenever the speech invokes God, the Bible, or preaching the Gospel. That is to be expected based on what Jesus taught His disciples:

John 15:18-20 (ESV) | The Hatred of the World
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

What we should not have expected, was for the church to have accepted this upside-down concept of the Gospel, where we can freely share our opinions, but don’t you DARE share TRUTH without having earned the right to do so. What garbage, and again, it is completely upside down from what God’s Word teaches. Let’s look at what Scripture says regarding preaching, beginning with John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:1-12 (ESV) | John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor andgather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Words… they are necessary for preaching. Let’s look at the start of Jesus’ Ministry after spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness, resisting the Devil.

Matthew 4:12-17 (ESV) | Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

So, one might object, “oh but John the Baptist was specially anointed and Jesus is the very Son of God”. Fair objection. Let’s move to Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8:4-17 (ESV) | Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

We know that the signs and wonders were of God the Holy Spirit operating through Philip. Notice here, though, that words are needed (necessary) even in the presence of miraculous signs and wonders such as unclean spirits being cast out, and the lame and paralyzed being healed in their midst. Words are necessary, at all times, for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One might argue, “but these are descriptive texts, you cannot make a prescription from them”… to that I would say, “you are mostly correct, and I’ll remember you pointed that out in future conversations”. Let’s look to some prescriptive texts regarding the preaching of the Gospel.

Romans 10:13-15 (ESV) 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

1 Corinthians 1:20-25 (ESV)20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Ephesians 3:8-12 (ESV)8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Preach the Word
1 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 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, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Now, to be sure, if we do not submit to the Word of God we preach, then we work contrary to the Gospel, unless we also confess our sin one to another, repenting and forgiving as we have been forgiven by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this point, we will return to 1 Corinthians and better understand what it is Paul is teaching in chapter 9.

1 Corinthians 9:8-27 (ESV) 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Sorun that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

And this is why I boldly state that this idea that one must earn the right to speak Truth (often reinforced using the Francis of Assisi quote) is completely backward. The preaching of the Gospel requires words at all times. However, when such preaching opens a door for relationship or fellowship we must live in step with the Spirit, lest we disqualify ourselves for our lack of self-control.

Opinions… everyone has them

Let’s look at the difference between opinions and Truth. There is a difference and we need to be very careful how we divide the Word of God to “prove our point”. Scripture is very clear about a great many things, and it is also clear about opinions.

Romans 14:1-4 (ESV) | Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Romans 14:13-19 (ESV) | Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up building.

That is NOT to say that all opinions are equally valid. As long as there is TRUTH (Scripture) then there is a standard by which we can declare certain opinions to be false, and we are not to simply allow every opinion that is false to go un-checked.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (ESV) | Paul Defends His Ministry
1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience,when your obedience is complete.

Therefore, let us not compromise the Word of God for the sake of a short-lived, human-defined, sense of fellowship. We must preach the Gospel and by the Grace of God we must live out that Gospel in a manner that demonstrates the love of God, so that we are not disqualified. That doesn’t mean we have to live perfectly under the Law, though that should be our aim, it means that when we fall short of the Law we demonstrate repentance and embrace the Gospel that we preach. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. While we walk in our mortal, sinful flesh, we will sin. The Gospel isn’t that somehow we suddenly stopped sinning, but that in Christ Jesus we have the forgiveness of sin and the promise of a new body, one free of sin and death, that we will inherit either when we die or when Christ returns. That is the Gospel we must preach and live, and it words are always necessary, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Words of Christ (Romans 10:17).

May the Grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ fill your words, actions, and thoughts,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

 

DiM | “Thrive” by Casting Crowns

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments

Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

I’ve decided not to use the Billboard chart anymore. Today, we are looking at the top Christian songs according to K-LOVE Radio. On that chart, “Greater” by MercyMe is in the top spot while Hillsong’s “Oceans” isn’t even on the chart, and that makes me happy. It is one of the better songs we have reviewed here. Sadly, “We Believe” by Newsboys is not on this chart either, so this chart reflects a certain geographical demographic (dictated by where KLOVE is broadcast) so I may just have to bounce around radio charts to focus on the top 5 across the nation. Again, I’m open for suggestions / requests as well.

Today we are looking at the #2 Song on the KLOVE chart, “Thrive” by Casting Crowns. Today’s review will be a little different because Casting Crowns is a different sort of band. The lead singer is a youth pastor whose heart is really for training young adults in the Christian walk. As such, when they release an album, it isn’t just a means to drum up ticket sales or whip a crowd into a frenzy (ala Hillsong or Passion); rather, they seek to teach and challenge youth by their music and by their bible study material to grow in Christ. I truly believe their heart is in the right place, though I do have some concerns regarding this “Thrive” study/song. We’ll look at both the song lyrics and the associated study material and I will share some of my concerns later. For now, please understand that I am impressed by their commitment to teach and not to merely entertain the youth.

Casting Crowns | “Thrive” Ministry Website

Lyrics

Here in this worn and weary land
Where many a dream has died
Like a tree planted by the water
We never will run dry

So living water flowing through
God, we thirst for more of You
Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known
We lift Your name on high
Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide
We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives
Its time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive

Into Your word, were digging deep
To know our Fathers heart
Into the world, were reaching out
To show them who You are

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable
Love unstoppable, anything is possible

Positive Elements

Speaking of just the merits of this song on its own, I love the focus on digging deeply into the Word of God, drinking of the Living Water that flows from Jesus Christ, and the imagery of being a tree planted by that water. The audience for this song is clearly for the Christian listener. This song is not so much a Praise and Worship song as it is an anthem setting up the rest of the album (also called “Thrive”), and a look at the album art demonstrates that the imagery of being a tree planted by the water is central to the album. Let’s jump into some scripture, beginning with the Lord’s answer to Jeremiah in chapter 17 beginning in verse 5.

Jeremiah 17:5-13 (ESV)
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.

12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

The context here is not limited to any covenant or time period, because here the Lord God is declaring Truth about mankind and about Himself. He is setting forth Law that identifies a cursed individual and a blessed individual. He is pointing to salvation, and we know that we can only find it in Him, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and in His Son, from whom flow streams of Living Water.

While I do wish this were somehow better conveyed in the song, at least we have the Scriptural imagery upon which to draw and research and be edified. In the various introduction videos and lesson videos, the theme of growing deep roots and stretching out long branches does play out, it doesn’t really get fleshed out from scripture; rather, it is presented in anecdotal form, which brings us to our concerns regarding the song and the teaching presented with it.

Concerns | False Dichotomy

Mark Hall (the lead singer and youth pastor) sets up a false dichotomy between “being so deeply rooted that you produce no branches or fruit” and “being all branches and no root”. I believe it is an honest mistake (not done with malice) but it remains a problem. The analogy of the Tree being planted by the water doesn’t really leave room for this dichotomy. Either the tree is planted by the water or it isn’t. A tree with deep roots that has not forsaken the fountain of living water cannot possibly be a tree with no branches or fruit. It simply doesn’t fit what Scripture describes. This dichotomy doesn’t find its place in Scripture, rather, it finds it’s origins in our post-modern progressive culture.

There is a post-modern progressive seeker-driven ideology that often erects a straw-man of the Christian who takes everything to Scripture and insists on Sola Scriptura as being an unloving, self-serving, legalistic, heartless, and fruitless Christian. The seeker-driven community is quick to label a Pharisee anyone who would dare to point out doctrinal errors, or rebuke even outright false-doctrine. That’s the progressive extreme, and I don’t think Mark is in that camp, but he invoking their straw-man. So, what Mark seems to be trying to do with this dichotomy is to find a neutral ground where Christians “keep a healthy balance” between Law and Gospel. But is that really for us to balance? If our roots are tapped into the Living Water of Jesus Christ, we needn’t worry about the year of drought, for our leaves will remain green and we will continue to bear fruit. The false dichotomy has no real answer, so ultimately the solution to the problem Mark sets up gets a little muddled. The real dichotomy is a tree whose roots are not digging toward Christ; but towards something else. In one of the videos Mark describes the “all root” straw-man as someone who is learning the Greek and Hebrew (good things) and reading each new book (uh-oh) and rejecting one teacher because he doesn’t like how he explains something (mayday) as well as this other guy… well, now we’ve totally broken the Scriptural image of the blessed tree. Such a person isn’t digging deep roots toward Christ, or God’s Word, he is in-fact placing his trust in man. That’s not to say that we can’t learn something about God or His Word that has been written recently (otherwise, why am I sharing these blogs?) but if you are constantly chasing after the ‘new doctrine’ you will die of thirst. You will become the shrub in the desert rather than the Tree planted beside the Water.

If our trust is in the Lord, and we dig deeply into His Word and drink from the Living Water that flows from the Son of God as a promise of the Holy Spirit of God to all who believe, growing branches and bearing fruit isn’t a concern on our part. For it is the Holy Spirit that grows and matures and bears fruit. Our task, is to trust in the Lord. Everything flows from our trust in Him, just as the health of the tree depends on its roots and from where they draw their nourishment.

Concerns | Ordinary Life and Surviving

Another concern I have is with the implication that “an ordinary life” is somehow sinful, or that “surviving” is somehow failing. What is the definition of “thriving”? If the definition of thriving is tied to that of the tree, then we’ve already demonstrated that there is nothing for the tree to do besides be planted by the Living Water, which is to trust in the Lord. In one of his videos on the page, Mark even teaches that we can’t focus on “producing fruit” because it isn’t something that can “be done” it’s something that grows by the Holy Spirit. So he teaches it right, and he also does a great job of pointing to the heart of the Gospel (that Christ did the work, not us) in the Colossians video, but the song still has that dangling implication. Let’s look at some scripture.

1 Peter 2:9-19 (ESV) 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

Often times what happens in self-esteem sermons the preacher will use verse 9 as a springboard to prosperity and living the blessed life as royalty in this life. But does that fit the rest of what Peter is teaching? Does that even fit Peter’s life? No. Peter is now in Heaven, and enjoying the blessing of being a royal priesthood. While Peter was on this earth, he was a worker, a servant, a shepherd under the Shepherd. And so we must consider our days on earth. We are to be subject to every human institution, not for “our own good”; rather, Peter makes the appeal “for the Lord’s sake”. If we define “an ordinary life” as one that indulges in the passions of the flesh, then indeed it is a sin to live such a life. But if living an ordinary life includes living a life in submission to authority of the human institutions (the government, your boss at work, the tax collector, your creditors, etc.) then how can we rightly declare it to be somehow “less-than”? Less than what?

The bit about “just surviving” is also troublesome, but to a lessor degree. I think the song makes clear that they are talking about an attitude that betrays faith, an attitude of “I don’t know if I can make it”. The truth is you can’t. You were dead before the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and your flesh still tries to kill you (by its sinful passions). That is why we must not put our trust in man or in our flesh, otherwise we will be a shrub in the desert where we will wither up and die again. But there is an element of survival that is central to the charge Jesus gave us when He taught about the days ahead for His Church:

Matthew 10:21-23 (ESV) 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Matthew 24:9-14 (ESV) 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

If thriving is about temporal success and prosperity we are all doomed. However, if thriving is about enduring through the year of drought, bearing fruit and green leaves despite the lack of rain, then we have our commandment to place our trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ, the fountain of Living Waters. The truth is that regardless of how much hype and raw emotion or self-esteem you drum up, if you trust in your own actions, motivation, or effort you will not survive.

Concerns | From the Last Teaching Video

This final concern actually doesn’t come from the song “Thrive” at all. It popped in the final video and it is the false-idea that the means of sharing the Gospel is about sharing “my story”. No, it isn’t. He even makes the foolish statement, “people can argue with your verses, but they can’t argue with your story”. He makes the argument in hopes of removing the bad excuses people have for not sharing the Gospel themselves, but it remains a foolish statement nonetheless. He says that loving Jesus and loving on the world is how we share the Gospel. Uhm, no. How we share the Gospel is preaching the Word of God. When we preach ourselves, it had better be part of the Law in that apart from God we are all sinners and dead in our sins (which is kind of what he does right at the tail end, but it is subtle). The Gospel is not “our story” the Gospel is His (Jesus Christ’s) story. Mark’s heart is in the right place, his teaching is just a bit convoluted and appeals too much to anecdote and psychology of self-esteem. As he continues talking, truth comes out, but in small bits.

Conclusion

The song is not bad, but what really has captured my attention in this project is the work that Casting Crowns has put into the website and the album to remind Christians of the Gospel through their music. I wish more Christian artists took this approach to ministry. Sure, I have some concerns with some of the content, but that is bound to happen and as long as we contend with one another in love and in the Word of God then we build each other up in Christ. So this is one of those cases where the conclusion is in support of the band’s approach to ministry despite the shortcomings of this song. I didn’t research the rest of the 3 week YouTube studies through James and Colossians, so I can’t speak to the rest of those. Casting Crowns has truly set themselves apart from the other Christian Bands we’ve reviewed thus far. I look forward to reviewing more of their music.

In Christ,
Jorge