October 04, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “One True God” by Steven Curtis Chapman which currently sits at #9 on the K-Love top 10 Songs.
It is such a pleasure to find a song on a top 10 CCM chart that we can place in the “Approved” category. This song does a great job of filling a void in current popular CCM radio, that being the clear declaration of the Deity of Jesus, God the Son. I wish the lyric addressed repentance and the forgiveness of sin, but I’m so grateful for the clear proclamation of Jesus as God that I just didn’t feel right leaving it in the “middle ground”. Let’s listen to the song and then work through its lyrics.
One voice in the dark
A song that lights up the stars
One breath that gives life
One sovereign in power
Who speaks with thunder and fire
One Lord, one King
There is no other that can compare to You
You are
The One alone in greatness
The One who never changes
Jesus, You are
The One who rose in power
The One who reigns forever
Jesus, the One true God
One man on a cross
One light of the world
One Name, one Word
One Way to be saved
One Lamb that was slain
One Love above all
There is no other that can compare to You
You are
The One alone in greatness
The One who never changes
Jesus, You are
The One who rose in power
The One who reigns forever
Jesus, You’re the One true God
You’re the One true God
We have seen the glory of
The One and only Son of God
Yes, we have seen the glory
The One and only Son of God
It’s so wonderful to have a CCM song so clearly proclaim the Deity of Jesus.
John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as awitness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.(John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Forthe law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 14:8-9 (ESV)
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
This song is a great example of Praising the Name of Jesus. It does it so wonderfully and without a single instance of the phrase “sing Your praises”. So, without singing about singing His praises, the song simply sings His praises. I love that.
Now, normally what I’m looking for in the lyrics of these songs in determining its disposition (approved, disapproved, middle-ground) is a clear articulation of the Gospel. This one doesn’t quite reach that directly, though it does indirectly in the lines One Way to be saved, One Lamb that was slain. The missing element in this song is the call to repentance and the forgiveness of sin. The writers of this song all tend to push a revivalist (also known as Finneyism) version of the Gospel, one that relies on an act of human will to “invite Jesus into their hearts” or “make a decision for Jesus” or “dedicate your life to Jesus”… none of which is taught in Scripture. The particularly frustrating thing here is that given the synergism in their theology, since they treat repentance as an act of their will one might think it would be readily included in CCM. It isn’t. Sin is a dirty word in CCM. But if you aren’t willing to address sin, you cannot share the comfort of the Gospel, the forgiveness of sin by the Blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for you.
Hebrews 10:19-25 (ESV) | The Full Assurance of Faith
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The song does rightly proclaim Jesus as LORD and Savior. When we understand that He is the Word made flesh, we know that to see Him we look to His Word, not our own emotions or acts of the will. It is Christ who saves us, He draws us, He grants us saving Faith according to His Word. He who promised is faithful, indeed. Alleluia!
Conclusion
This is probably the best song on either of the CCM Top charts right now. I pray we see more songs clearly proclaiming Christ and Him crucified for our sin… the Gospel of forgiveness, mercy, and Grace. Preach the Word, call all men to repent and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name.
2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
September 20, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Magnify” by We Are Messengers which currently sits at #20 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.
Musically, the song is quite nice. Emotionally impactful. The singer has a great voice. Lyrically, the song is missing one major ingredient, the Bible. God’s Written Word. The revelation of Christ to His Church. This sort of Bible-less Christianity is the result of American Christianity having been infected by gnostic mysticism. To rescue this song, the listener needs to already know where to look to see Christ. Not in our emotions (not even the positive ones), not in nature (though it declares His Glory), but in the Word of God. As we read Scripture, we rely on God the Holy Spirit to open up our eyes to the Truth that is there, in plain sight. Let’s take a look at the Official Music Video and then the Lyrics.
Verse 1
I’ve been trying to make sense of the sorrow that I feel
Holding on for life to the only thing that’s real
I’ve only scratched the surface, I’ve barely had a taste
But just a glimpse draws my heart to change
And one sight of you lays my sin to waste
I don’t need to see everything just more of you
(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you
Verse 2
My sight is incomplete and I’ve made you look small
I’ve been staring at my problems for way too long
Re-align where my hope is set, until you’re all that’s left
But just a glimpse draws my heart to change
And one sight of you lays my sin to waste
I don’t need to see everything just more of you
(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you
Bridge
Oh God be greater, than the worries in my life
Be stronger, than the weakness in my mind
Be louder, let your Glory come alive
Be magnified
Oh God be greater, than the worries in my life
Be stronger, than the weakness in my mind
Be louder, let your Glory come alive
Be magnified
(chorus)
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you, to you
Take it all, take it all away
Magnify no other name
Open up, open up my eyes
To you, to you
The problem being presented in the song is real. We, sinners, are distracted by our temptation to sin. To worry. To despair. It’s a very real problem that is addressed in Scripture. Let’s look at what Christ taught.
Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV)“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? It means to seek Christ and Him crucified for your sin, repent and be forgiven in His Name. The righteousness of God is the forgiveness He gives to you in exchange for your sin. This is by faith alone in Christ’s finished work on the cross. When our flesh tempts us to earn our own righteousness by lawkeeping, well… that’s when the anxiety, fear, and condemnation sets in. Such is the concern we see the Apostle Paul having for the Galatians who were misled back into works-based righteousness by submitting to the Law of circumcision. Paul isn’t only concerned about this unnecessary surgical act, but in the return to Mosaic Law-keeping rather than faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:1-12 (ESV) | Christ Has Set Us Free
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
These are extremely strong words from Paul, because this is a serious issue.
But, Jorge, what does this have to do with the song? Good question. This is only the first point I want to drive home, that Scripture teaches us to look to Christ and His kingdom rather than ourselves, our good works, our provisions… because to look to anything else is to be severed from Christ. If we’re giving this song its best construction, we have to view the over arching appeal of the song to be anchored in this truth. So, this is a strength in the concept of the song, that we are to be focused on Christ, not our circumstances, emotions, fears, or our own good works (or utter lack thereof).
The problem with the song is in its offered solution. It suggests that we are somehow supposed to see Christ directly. There is absolutely no mention of finding Him in His Word. The video doesn’t suggest it in any way… nor does it even suggest finding Christ among fellow believers gathered around the Preaching of God’s Word (definition of the Church). This is a giant hole in the theology of this song. To presume to see God apart from where He has revealed Himself is to engage in Mysticism. There is a bit of gnosticism rumbling in the background of this American ideology that is currently driving this closed-Bible Christianity, or even anti-Bible preaching of Andy Stanley.
It is important that we counter and guard against this gnostic mysticism. God has revealed Himself to us. Let’s examine this in steps. God the Father has revealed Himself fully in God the Son, Jesus.
John 14:1-9 (ESV) | I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
We don’t see Jesus in the flesh today, for He is in Heaven at the Right Hand of the Father. He will return. His Promise is sure. What we have is Christ fully revealed to us in Scripture. To make this case, I’d like to first pull a very clear teaching of Christ to His disciples, one from Luke’s account of the sending out of the Apostles, and another from John’s account of the night He was betrayed.
Luke 10:16 (ESV) “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
John 13:20 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
And where do we find the teaching of those whom Jesus sent? In the New Testament. Most of the Epistles were written by the Apostles themselves, and the others contain their teaching. Receive their teaching and you receive Christ. Receive Christ and you receive God the Father. How do we receive this? By the work of the Holy Spirit in preserving God’s Word, drawing us, granting us Faith, and delivering the forgiveness and the Righteousness of God (Jesus Christ) to us. He saves us by Grace through Faith.
Romans 10:17 (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
The flip side of this is that if we reject the teaching of Christ’s Apostles we reject Christ and God the Father. Sidenote: There are no living Apostles. Only charlatans and blasphemers claiming a level of authority they weren’t given, making promises in the name of God that He doesn’t make, twisting scripture to gather disciples unto themselves. These are the same as those against whom Paul was writing to the Galatians.
Is it wrong to want to see Christ? Absolutely not. We all long to see Him return in the way He has promised in His Word.
Acts 1:10-11 (ESV) And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
But to attempt to reach around where Christ has told us to find Him (In His Word and in the teaching of His Apostles) is to repeat the error of Thomas.
John 20:28-31 (ESV) Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.
So this is the great error of this song. The attempt to skip right over the Scriptures and to demand to see Christ directly. Those singing the song haven’t seen Him directly, yet they present this as the goal or solution to the problem being presented in the song.
Conclusion
On its own, the song lyric fails to present the Gospel in any meaningful way. However, if we reshape the arch of the song to have all points leading to the Scriptures as the sole solution to the problems presented, we can rescue most of the themes in this song. I’m happy that this song can be rescued, but frustrated that it relies solely on the listener’s solid theology to rescue.
Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will,working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
September 06, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Jesus” by Chris Tomlin which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine. There is some good in the song, or that can be made of the song. Where this song suffers is in how these attributes of Jesus are being presented as a veiled promise that calling on the Name of Jesus will yield a temporal fix to your problem. It doesn’t clearly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so it doesn’t stand on its own. This song is only as good as the theology being applied by the listener.
In this long review we’ll spend a lot of time brute-forcing a best construction by looking at the Scripture passages being referenced by the short lines of the songs. If we focus on what Scripture is teaching in these passages, we should be better suited to guard against false teaching.
Verse 1
There is a truth older than the ages
There is a promise of things yet to come
There is one born for our salvation
Jesus
Verse 2
There is a light that overwhelms the darkness
There is a kingdom that forever reigns
There is freedom from the chains that bind us
Jesus, Jesus
Chorus
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside me
He roars like a lion
He bled as the lamb
He carries my healing in His hands
Jesus
Verse 3
There is a name I call in times of trouble
There is a song that comforts in the night
There is a voice that calms the storm that rages
He is Jesus, Jesus
Chorus
Who walks on the waters
Who speaks to the sea
Who stands in the fire beside me
He roars like a lion
He bled as the lamb
He carries my healing in His hands
Jesus
Bridge
Messiah
My Savior
There is power in Your name
You’re my rock and my redeemer
There is power in Your name
In Your name
Climax Chorus
You walk on the waters
You speak to the sea
You stand in the fire beside me
You roar like a lion
You bled as the lamb
You carry my healing in Your hands
You walk on the waters
You speak to the sea
You stand in the fire beside me
You roar like a lion
You bled as the lamb
You carry my healing in Your hands
Jesus
Publishing: sixsteps Songs / Worship Together Music / S.D.G. Publishing (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Alletrop Music (BMI) (admin. by Music Services) Writer(s): Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash
Discussion
Let’s begin by recognizing the good in the song lyric. What is said about Jesus in the song isn’t wrong. That’s a good thing. The lyric pulls from a few passages of Scripture that point to Christ, one of which is a good example of seeing Christ in the Old Testament.
Verse 1. To put the best construction on this song, I thought we’d try a brute-force, heavy-handed attempt at completely super-imposing Scripture over this verse in hopes that whenever you hear this song play on the radio, you think of the Scriptures first, and treat this lyric as a breath of a cliff’s note. Modern-day evangelicalism suffers from post-modern gnosticism (secret-knowledge) infecting everything, so I don’t want to leave vague open ended allusions to Scripture floating without an anchor.
John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
This is the Salvation that Jesus brings to us, the right to become children of God. Christ, who was with God in the beginning and Is God, became flesh and dwelt among us for our Salvation. How did He save us? John the Baptist announces, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29 ESV). How did He take away the sins of the world? By paying the full price of sin, by bearing Himself the full wrath of God against the sins of the world in our place.
Verse 2. For the first part of this verse, we are still in the first chapter of John. But then it shifts to speaking of the Kingdom that forever reigns. Guard yourselves against “kingdom theology” that flows from Dominionism (which is dominant in NAR teaching, and present in Hillsong, Passion theology but is generally more spiritualized in their gnosticism). The error is in looking for an earthly Kingdom (whether political or oddly spiritualized dominion) where the Earthly Church is victorious and in charge, as if she would create a throne upon which Jesus might return. Jesus never talked about returning for a church like that, nor did He speak of a world where the church dominated in such a way. In fact, Jesus gave the opposite prophecy, a world where if He didn’t cut the days short none would survive (Matthew 24). But let’s look now to what Jesus preached at the start of His earthly ministry, as we see recorded in the Gospel According to Matthew.
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.”
The Kingdom isn’t an earthly kingdom of dominion, but the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of the Gospel of Grace, the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of Sins. And this Kingdom is here now, not something we are responsible for building or establishing, or ushering in. Christ came to us, died for us, resurrected from the dead ahead of us, ascended to the Right Hand of the Father for us and will again return for us to judge both the Living and the Dead. We have been baptized into His death and resurrection and have been sealed by God the Holy Spirit. His is the kingdom that forever reigns. Focus on this promise of the Gospel, that you’ve been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection so that in the Last Day you will be with Him in Glory. Amen.
Chorus. The list of demonstrated abilities found in this chorus is out-of-order. We’re going to address them in order, because the point of these events is to point to Christ alone. If we get sloppy with how we pull together references to scripture, we can end up implying promises that aren’t there. All of Scripture points to Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord as both the beginning and the end of the story.
He speaks to the sea. Yes, He does.
Matthew 8:25-27 (ESV) And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Jesus is revealing Himself as the Son of God to the disciples and to us who now read the Scriptures and hear them preached. Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ. Not a faith of its own existence, Faith in Christ Jesus, God the Son. Notice how Jesus first rebuked the disciples and then rebuked the winds and sea? They were afraid for their lives, for they lacked faith. Should they have expected Jesus would quiet the storm? No, that’s not what the text is pointing us to, the text is pointing us to Jesus. We are being called to have faith in Jesus through the circumstance, not faith in a favorable outcome in the circumstance. What does it matter if they perish in the storm? They are literally in the presence of God. Christ IS our salvation, that’s is the anchor of our faith, not the notion that “if we have enough faith then God will save us from the storm”. When it comes to perishing or living, the storm is irrelevant. Jesus was sleeping from it, and then rebuked it after rebuking the men for their lack of faith in Him.
Jesus walked on the water. Because He is God, and His disciples needed to understand that Truth.
Matthew 14:22-27 (ESV) | Jesus Walks on the Water
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
I really wish the visible church would stop allegorizing this text and so quickly taking the focus away from Christ, Son of the Living God, and onto some empty promise that you can walk on water just like Peter does in the next portion. That is not the point of the text. Not even remotely. The point of the text is made clear in closing verses of this account:
Matthew 14:32-33 (ESV) And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
That’s the point. That is the only point. Stop with the narcissistic eisegesis that only leads to bondage. Peter failed at walking on water, even with Jesus right there in the flesh. We all fail at walking on water. We aren’t called to do it. Stop trying. Focus on Christ and His promises that are articulated in Scripture.
Who stands in the fire beside me. Okay, so kudos for rightly understanding Jesus in the old testament, but this has already been allegorized a bit in a way that minimizes what the text is saying. We’ll be pulling portions from Daniel 3.
Daniel 3:12-18 (ESV)There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
This is a very real life-and-death trial. It infuriates me to hear this treated allegorically such that whatever temporary setback or disappointment in our daily lives suddenly becomes a fiery furnace encounter. But this story isn’t pointing to the resolve or determination of these three Jews; rather, it is pointing to Christ saving us from an eternal punishment for sin.
Daniel 3:19-25 (ESV) Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God was that fourth man, the one like the son of the Gods. This was before He had taken on human flesh, but Christ is there, the same Christ who later took on human flesh, died on a cross, paid our penalty for sin, and rose again on the third day. This is pointing to Salvation in Christ Jesus, salvation from the fiery pit of eternal punishment. In Christ Jesus, the flames have no charge over us, not even the smell of smoke, because in Christ we’ve been washed clean and forgiven completely.
Daniel 3:26-29 (ESV) Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
Indeed, there is No Other who can Save. In Daniel 3, we see the faith of these men was in God who has the power to save eternally, and temporally, but their hope wasn’t set on God saving them simply from the fiery death. Their hope was in the God who Saves. Contrast that a bit with the men in the boat we looked at, whom Jesus rebuked before rebuking the storm. We serve a God who Forgives and Saves eternally, graciously, and perfectly. These men didn’t even smell of fire… and when God forgives you of your sin, it’s forgiven, buried, forgotten in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Christ bled and died on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, for the sin of the World. It is Finished. In Revelation, John recognized the Lamb who was slain, but His return will not be humble, it won’t be meek, it will be as King, LORD, a roaring lion. He will return in the clouds with a shout of command, and this will not be a secret return. All of Creation will stand still and bow… those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life will rejoice, the rest are condemned already for their unbelief. Some may plead, bargain, curse Him, but He has already told us what He will say to them.
Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
He carries my healing in His hands. Indeed, He does. The one promised to us is the healing from sin, death, and the grave. The stain of Adam. The condemnation of hell, the Wrath of God. Christ heals us from all of that, that promise is sure, in Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Savior, and Healer. In Christ we will be given new bodies, perfect bodies, eternal bodies, forever healed of sin, suffering, and death. That’s real healing. That’s the healing promised to all who call upon the Name of the LORD. The promise of scripture is eternal. It is often lifted out of context to make it a temporal promise, one that the word-of-faith (WoF) crowd push as they demand your money. But doing so ignores the context found within the single verse, much less the whole chapter 53 of Isaiah:
Isaiah 53 (ESV)
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
And we get a similar teaching, with the same contextual focus, from the Apostle Peter:
1 Peter 2:23-25 (ESV)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
So please, stop tossing this passage around like it’s some sort of blank-check for temporal healing, or worse, some sort of litmus test as to whether or not you are “truly living in faith”. Bondage. Blasphemy. Lies. This promise of healing is of eternity. We will all die here, for our flesh is still corrupt and it must be put off. Some of sickness, some of persecution, some of old-age, but all will die. This Promise of healing is far more important and far greater in value than what the WoF and prosperity-false-gospel wolves are selling you. Focus on the Healing that Scripture Promises, the Healing that is assured. Pray for earthly healing, too, but as a petition, a request. Scripture doesn’t give us room to make demands of temporal healing from an Eternal God.
The rest of the song is intended as a crescendo of repetition building up to the climax of the allegorizing of all of the Scripture passages into the notion that “and Jesus will do all these things for me in my circumstances, too”… at least, that’s how it comes across to me. It is what we should expect from folks whose doctrine of “worship” fits this formula. Every song that ends with trailing musical instrumentals with repeated choruses (or anthemic bridges) is following this formula. It’s emotional manipulation designed to give the impression that the Holy Spirit is moving in the room. If reading the lyrics straight doesn’t convey the message, it’s an emotional experience, not Biblical worship.
Conclusion
There is some good in the song, or that can be made of the song. Where this song suffers is in how these attributes of Jesus are being presented as a veiled promise that calling on the Name of Jesus will yield a temporal fix to your problem. Scripture doesn’t promise to rescue you temporally, His promises are eternal. God is all-powerful, and nothing can tie His hands from acting in time and space, and God’s Word testifies to His Lordship over all of creation. God’s Word also teaches us to focus on eternal things, to lay up treasures in Heaven, not on Earth. We will face trials of many kinds, testing the genuineness of our Faith in Christ Jesus. When we stumble and doubt (we will), we have a God who is ready to forgive and restore those who humble themselves and repent in Jesus’ Name.
Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV) Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Have you ever been listening to a sermon about tithing or fundraising or about our need to proclaim and declare prosperity because we serve a God who owns the “cattle on a thousand hills”? What does that phrase mean? Where does it come from? How does it relate to me? Well, today, we’ll take a look at this portion of a verse and then we’ll examine its context. We’ll find Biblical answers to all of these questions, and I’ll try to address some of its abuses.
The partial quote comes from the second half of Psalm 50:10.
Psalm 50:10 (ESV) For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
Interesting verse, but this isn’t a proverb, comes from a Psalm. So let’s read the Psalm and confirm who is speaking to whom, and what the topic of this conversation is.
Psalm 50 (ESV) | God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of Asaph.
50 The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
Okay, so far we have the LORD God who who speaks and summons the earth that He may judge His people. Let’s continue to see what He is saying.
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge! Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
Interesting. The phrase we are examining today finds itself among several references to the fact that God is in-fact God, and that everything belongs to Him already. Who is God speaking to? Those who made a covenant with God by sacrifice, those under the Mosaic covenant. God declares that He will testify against Israel, for He is their God. God does not rebuke them for their sacrifices, their burnt offerings are continually before him, but notice he shifts immediately by saing He will not accept a bull from the house of Israel, nor goats from her fields. He owns every beast of the forest, all the birds of the hills and all that moves in the field. This reference to “a thousand hills” isn’t to be taken as a literal 1,000 hills, as if there could be cattle on the 1001st hill that didn’t belog to God, God is saying He owns them all. But where is this going? Is this headed toward a health, wealth, and prosperity teaching?
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
Israel was not the only nation whose worship included animal sacrifice, they were just the only nation who worshiped the LORD God. The pagans (consider the Egpytian gods, and later the Greek and Roman gods) sacrificed to idols and false gods, for their gods had to be fed, served, nourished, and appeased. Here, God is reminding Israel that He did not require these blood sacrifices for His sake, and even if He could hunger, He wouldn’t look to us for His sustinence. God doesn’t need your permission nor your cooperation, the world an everything in it belongs to Him. The notion that God has need of us in any way is a purely pagan one. The sacrifices of the Mosaic Covenant are part of their current covenant, but more importantly they point ahead to the Last Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Christ, the Son of the Living God.
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
What does it mean to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving? It first requires faith that it is God who has provided for your needs, that it is God who has saved you. For this definition I’m borrowing heavily from Hebrews 11:4-6. Both Cain and Abel brought sacrifices, but Abel found favor in the eyes of the LORD by faith. But now we get to the judgment against the people. Remember, their observance of the animal sacrifices under the Law isn’t why God is pronouncing judgment on Israel, so let’s look at what has been missing.
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
Verse 16 hits Israel of the day, and today’s prosperity false-teachers, right between the eyes. You don’t get to demand that God keep His promises “according to the Law” in response to your faithless attempts at keeping the Law. God plainly lists how Israel falls short of the Law. Sure they keep the outward works of the sacrifices, but the lack faith, therefore their gestures are not pleasing to God. Notice how it’s beeing worded, you cast My Words behind you… you who forget God. A good cross-reference for this Psalm can be found in Isaiah 1 where, again, God is calling out Judah for her lack of faith despite the multitude of sacrifices. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
This thanksgiving is a fruit of faith in God’s Word, for apart from faith in God’s Word we do not give thanks to God. As we examine our lives according to the 10 Commandments, we see that we fall woefully short of these today. As we examine the sins pointed out in the Psalm above, we see that we fall in that very same category. We sin. We are not under the Mosaic covenant, so where does that leave us? We look to the cross of Jesus Christ, and we believe in His finished work on the cross. We offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for the body and blood of His son, Jesus Christ, received by Grace through faith.
So how does this Psalm 50 reference apply to us? We don’t feed God by our sacrifices, He feeds us by His Word. This passage in no way points to our temporal prosperity.
Conclusion
Whenever someone pulls out the description of God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, know that the Psalmist is declaring God to be God of all things, the whole earth, all of creation and all that is in it. If the invoking of this description of God isn’t focusing on giving thanks to God for our salvation, be careful… it’s probably being lifted out of its context. This isn’t a “do more good works” text. God isn’t rebuking Israel for their lack of good works; rather, for their lack of faith.
Romans 16:24-27 (ESV)
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
It has been a while since we shared a good sermon on Friday. This summer we packed in too many trips in too short a time frame, so the blogging and the yardwork have both suffered greatly. I’d like to get back to sharing sermons on Fridays, though I don’t have a lot of time to research sermons from pastors I don’t already listen to.
Today’s sermon is an older sermon from back in April. While on road trips my wife and I usually listen to sermons while the kids sleep or watch movies in the van. This latest trip we caught up on some great sermons by Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller.
Bryan Wolfmueller is a pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Aurora, Colorado (www.hope-aurora.org).
He has a number of theological hobbies, including:
PODCAST: Co-host, Table Talk Radio podcast, the world’s most popular theological game-show, (www.tabletalkradio.org). (Subscribe)
Bryan, his wife and four children live in Aurora, Colorado.
Bryan has a pipe, and it trying to start smoking it, but just doesn’t have the discipline. He enjoys walking around outside, reading the first ten pages of all kinds of books. He has a curious interest in productivity blogs.
But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
CCM Edition.
CCM Edition.
Have you ever been listening to a sermon about tithing or fundraising or about our need to proclaim and declare prosperity because we serve a God who owns the “cattle on a thousand hills”? What does that phrase mean? Where does it come from? How does it relate to me? Well, today, we’ll take a look at this portion of a verse and then we’ll examine its context. We’ll find Biblical answers to all of these questions, and I’ll try to address some of its abuses.
It has been a while since we shared a good sermon on Friday. This summer we packed in too many trips in too short a time frame, so the blogging and the yardwork have both suffered greatly. I’d like to get back to sharing sermons on Fridays, though I don’t have a lot of time to research sermons from pastors I don’t already listen to.
Faithful Stewardship 
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