lauren daigle

DiM | “You Say” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

disapproveCCM Radio Edition.

October 02, 2018. Today we’ll be taking a look at “You Say” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #1 on the Top20 chart at 20theCountdownMagazine.

Lauren Daigle is a gifted singer with an amazing voice. She could sing the menu at McDonald’s and keep my attention… and probably move me to order a meal as a result. It’s too bad she has been taught a version of “Christianity” that praises “me and my identity” rather than Christ crucified for our sin. This song falls into the category of “theology of glory” rather than a Theology of the Cross. I’m sure there will many who read this and try very hard to fix the theology of the song by eisegeting (adding to the text) the full preaching of Law and Gospel, but this isn’t about what we can turn the song into; rather, this is about what is in the song. Based on what we find in the lyric of this song, it falls well into the category of Disapproved.

Video

Lyrics (via K-Love)

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know

You say I am loved
When I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong
When I think I am weak
You say I am held
When I am falling short
When I don’t belong
You say I am Yours
And I believe
I believe
What You say of me
I believe

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity

Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet
You have every failure, God, and You’ll have every victory

Oh, I believe
Yes, I believe
What You say of me
Oh, I believe

Publishing: © 2018 See You At The Pub & CentricSongs (SESAC) / So Essential Tunes & Fellow Ships Music (SESAC) / Flychild Publishing & So Essential Tunes (SESAC)
Words and Music by Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury

Discussion

Verse 1. I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough So from the beginning we start with a presentation of the problem. Inner voices saying “I’m not enough”. Everyone can relate to this thought of “not being enough”… you don’t even have to be Christian to have these thoughts. Heck, even Nike plays on this theme… their solution “just do it”. Let’s see if the song gives us something more specific. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up Is this a lie? Depends on what is being measured and by what standard. If you’ve read through some DiM, you probably know where I’m headed with this, so let’s finish out the verse. “Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know” Now here we get a typical minimization of the problem of sin as merely “a low” but greater than that error is the overall focus of the problem in the first verse and where the singer is turning for the solution. The focus of the problem is “how I measure up” being different from all of the lies being told her. She’s going to attempt to convey a gospel without acknowledging the truth… that we don’t measure up, that we aren’t enough, and if we were the sum of only our highs we’d STILL fall short of the Glory of God, which is the standard of the Law.

James 2:10-13 (ESV) For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Romans 3:21-26 (ESV) But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

We cannot move on to the Gospel by skipping the Law. The Gospel doesn’t invalidate the Law, it is the answer to the Law. The only answer.

Chorus. The chorus is a string of platitudes supposedly God’s affirmation of “me” despite anything I might think of myself, feel of myself, or am told about myself. The singer is leaving a lot of room for the listener to read him/herself into the lyric and finding “encouragement” in these platitudes… but, again, we’ve completely skipped what the Law has clearly revealed about us in our fallen, human nature.

You say I am loved

John 3:16-18 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

When I can’t feel a thing relying on emotion to discern truth is an error. At least, in this case, the song is indicating that our feelings lie.

You say I am strong When I think I am weak We don’t just think we are weak, we ARE weak.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV) But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (ESV) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

You say I am held When I am falling short Right back to emotional language. We’ve already addressed the fact of Scripture that all have fallen short due to sin. This isn’t merely a “past tense” situation… this is true “today” for Christians, we sin and fall short daily. Now, there is room here for a greater discussion of where Christians look for comfort. A careful reading of John 16 is a great place to look. Jesus is preparing the Disciples for what is about to come and already teaching them (and us) the role of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit isn’t an emotion or a feeling, but a Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7-15 (ESV) 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.

What remains in the Chorus is filler, emotional manipulation in mystical form (repetition of self-affirming platitutes) to a soothing score as if to communicate to the listener that “this is the answer”. The focus is “belief”, but not clearly belief in Christ the Son; rather, a belief in what the singer is saying God says of “me”.

Verse 2. This isn’t a full verse… it’s designed to add some thoughts and loop right back into the chorus. “The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity” So the singer is reinforcing her proposed solution to the stated problem of the lying voices of doubt in myself. But this problem has been so poorly framed, that now we’re also jettisoning what Scripture clearly teaches to be true of us… that we’re sinners who fall short daily and we need to be forgiven of our sin. Typical of CCM, this song tries to affirm the listener’s “self esteem” without preaching Law and Gospel. Trying to share the Gospel while skipping over and even ignoring the Law doesn’t work… because the Old Adam (your sinful flesh) simply asserts its self-worship, the extolling of our own virtue, our own worth, with a thin veil of “this is how God thinks of me”. There is an errant view of Salvation at work here that ignores the simul (that we are simultaneously sinner and saint as Paul lays out in Romans 1-8). So that the Christian Life, rather than being a life of repentance, becomes a life of “meaning” or “worth”, that the point of being a Christian is finally “being someone” or “having value in God’s eyes”. Clearly these are by-products, so to speak, of Christ’s Saving work, but the focus of the Gospel is that Christ has paid the price for our sin, that He took our place on that cross to pay the full price of not only our sins before, but the sins we continue to commit in our weakened flesh (weakened by sin) until the Day of His Return, the Resurrection. This song’s focus is on “self-esteem” rather than on Repentance and the forgiveness of sin by Grace alone, through Faith in Christ alone. Self-esteem is what our sinful flesh is always craving, always self-justifying, always demanding… but a life of repentance is a denial of self.

Luke 9:23 (ESV) And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Bridge. Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet You have every failure, God, and You’ll have every victory Well, this is mystical language. We aren’t actually “laying everything down”, this isn’t like the Israelites bringing their sacrifices to the Temple. What does it mean to bring God “every failure”? Well, if CCM had a proper understanding and doctrine of Sin, this wouldn’t be less ethereal and could simply be phrased as “Confession and repentance of sin and receiving the Absolution (Forgiveness of sin)”. God has every victory already, so we see this wrong notion that somehow God cannot bless us *unless* we let Him. Revivalists and Charismatics have this very strange (unbiblical) notion of a God who cannot do unless we let Him. Again, this is a theology of glory, in our glory, our sacrifice, our surrendering of… well, really just emotions and doubts of our own self worth? The context of the song is off-center, the Gospel isn’t that Christ died on the cross so that we can have better self-esteem.

The song closes out with a refrain that I believe what God says of me… this is like Joel Osteen’s pseudo-creed of “…this is my Bible, I am what it says I am…” The focus of the Scriptures is Christ, not us.

John 5:39-40 (ESV) You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Conclusion

It’s little wonder how this song made it to the #1 position on the CCM charts. It’s all about pumping up the listener’s self-esteem by saying how awesome God says the listener is. No Law, no sin, no confession, no repentance, just a declaration of how awesome the listener is despite how the listener feels, what the listener think, or what anyone says about the listener. Who’s NOT going to want to hear that message sung by such an amazingly beautiful voice? Sadly, the doctrine at play is self-centered and quite carnal. This message of self affirmation is one the world proclaims daily… and it is dying in sin and trespasses. In the very first verse, the artist talks about the lie of “not measuring up”… but nowhere in the song does the artist clarify the measuring standard or how far we truly fall short, or that we do so daily. When you avoid the Law you leave no room for the Gospel.

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.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Hard Love” by Need to Breathe (feat. Lauren Daigle)

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments

disapproveCCM Edition.

September 19, 2017. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Hard Love” by Need to Breathe (feat. Lauren Daigle) which currently sits at #6 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

The version that is on the Top20 track isn’t the album version, it is the version done for the movie adaptation of the heresy-filled novel, “The Shack”. We’re not here to debate the book or the movie, but if this is news to you here is a good article that goes over the basic problems of the movie. For more on the book click here. Let’s give the song a listen and read through its lyric.

“The Shack” Version (Audio Only)

Lyrics

Trading punches with the heart of darkness
Going to blows with your fear incarnate
Never gone until it’s stripped away
A part of you has gotta die today

In the morning you gon’ need an answer
Ain’t nobody gonna change the standard
It’s not enough to just feel the flame
You’ve gotta burn your old self away

Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love

You know the situation can’t be right
And all you ever do is fight
But there’s a reason that the road is long
It takes some time to make your courage strong

Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love

When the wolves come and hunt me down
I will face them all and stand my ground
‘Cause there’s a fire burnin’ in me
They will see my strength in this love I found
Oh

Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love

It’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love
Oh, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love
Oh, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love, it’s a hard love

Hold on tight a little longer
What don’t kill ya, makes ya stronger
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
You can’t change without a fallout
It’s gon’ hurt, but don’t you slow down
Get back up, ’cause it’s a hard love
‘Cause it’s a hard love

Songwriters: Nathaniel Rinehart / William Rinehart
Hard Love lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

Discussion

Well, now… that’s an example of confusing Law and Gospel. The Law isn’t the Gospel, nor should it ever be presented as such. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the Law kills. That’s what it does. Under the Law everything that isn’t Holy is destroyed. Only God is Holy; therefore, under the Law everything is destroyed. There is nothing you can do to avoid it, because there is nothing in ourselves that is Holy. The ONLY hope is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He’s the Only One (both fully God and fully Man) who fulfilled the whole Law in our place. Jesus paid the full price of sin in our place, as our substitute. He drank the full Wrath of God against all sin, and with His dying breath on that cross He declared tetelestai, “It is finished”.

John 19:28-30 (ESV)

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Colossians 1:13-23 (ESV)

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

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (ESV)

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The second reason this confusion of Law and Gospel should be avoided is that it makes the person, the sinner, the star of his own salvation. This is the glaring problem of this song, it focuses entirely on the person enduring this “hard love” and makes the person the hero of his own journey. Whatever this is, it isn’t the Gospel. This falls right in line with the nonsense that is “the Shack”.

Ephesians 2:4-9 (ESV)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The full work of salvation is the LORD’s, not ours. None of it is our own doing, and no one may boast in it.

Now, some might argue that this song isn’t about “getting saved” but about sanctification. To that I would like to say that the song isn’t overtly Christian. So, to try to rescue the song by claiming it to be an exhortation to sanctification is to ignore the primary fault in the lyric… it’s appealing to a sanctification that is focused on the sinner rather than the Savior. It’s generally assumed to be delivering a Christian message since it is being played on “christian” radio stations and was highlighted in a “christian” movie based on a “christian” book. In fact, the book was abysmally heretical (more), the movie is slightly toned down in its heresy, but it’s still there, and the song is theologically no better than Katy Perry’s Roar or David Guetta’s Titanium. That is to say that the song glorifies the singer and the listener. If we’re to make this “hard love” a stand-in for God’s love, we’ve completely and totally missed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Total confusion of Law and Gospel.

Conclusion

This song fails on every count. A complete confusion of Law and Gospel and its focus is on the sinner rather than the Savior. What’s worse, is that this particular version of the song serves to promote a heretical movie based on an even more heretical novel. Full disapproval in this DiM.

Jude 17-25 (ESV)

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

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

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Come Alive (Dry Bones)” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 1 Comment

disapproveCCM Edition.

November 08, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Come Alive (Dry Bones)” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #18 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.

Lauren Daigle has one of my favorite voices to listen to on the radio. God gave her a beautiful voice. This post isn’t about Lauren’s voice. It’s about the song and the theology being presented in its lyric. There have been several emails and comments lately rebuking me for judging the hearts of the artists. That’s not what we are doing, we are examining the lyric and the theology being presented (or what’s missing from the lyric, namely the Gospel). Let’s begin today by watching how the artist describes what this song is about.

Come Alive (Dry Bones) | Story Behind The Song | Lauren Daigle & Michael Farren

Today’s song pushes the Word of Faith Heresy. The notion that God somehow requires us to speak things into existence for Him to move, or to save. The idea that faith becomes a sort of fuel that we use to empower our words. This is not how Scripture teaches prayer, faith, or the Salvation of God. Notice how smoothly the songwriters slide into narcissistic eisegesis, reading ourselves into Ezekiel, as if this Prophecy was about us or about some formula we need to follow in order to save others. Now the problem these two wanted to write a song to address is real. Their solution simply isn’t a biblical solution. The Biblical solution is to preach Law and Gospel, repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Let’s listen to the song, read through the lyric, and then discuss the theology.

LaurenDaigleVEVO

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Through the eyes of men it seems there’s so much we have lost
As we look down the road where all the Prodigals have walked
One by one the enemy has whispered lies then led them off as slaves

But we know that you are God, Yours is the victory
We know there is more to come that we may not yet see
So with the faith You’ve given us we’ll step into the valley unafraid

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive

God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love
Rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward sons
By Your Spirit breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save
You alone can save

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive

So breathe, Oh breath of God now
Breathe, Oh breath of God
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe
Oh breath of God
Breathe, Oh breath of God now breathe

(chorus)
As we call out to dry bones come alive, come alive
We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive
Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive
We call out to dry bones come alive

Oh come alive

Publishing: © 2014 CentricSongs (SESAC) / Word Music & Pocket Full of Rocks Publishing (ASCAP)
Writer(s): Words and Music by Lauren Daigle and Michael Farren

Discussion

There is so little clearly stated in this song lyric, that I decided to look up a “behind the scenes” type video. As a former NAR guy, I recognized the Ezekiel 37 theme immediately, and the entire thrust of the song is Word of Faith (WoF) false teaching. Hopefully you watched the intro video to see what went into the inspiration of the song. I’d like to reiterate, the problem they cited as their focus, that they wanted to write a song to comfort the mother of a prodigal child, is real. The theology in this song presented as a solution is utterly false, we’ll get to that, but know that I’m not in any way discrediting the stated goal, we want to reach out to the prodigals and their hurting families, but we want to do so Biblically. False hope is no hope at all.

Verse 1. The WoF Evangelicals don’t really have a solid grasp on the Biblical concept of sin, particularly original sin we’ve inherited from Adam. WoF folks like Creflo Dollar and Joyce Meyer are always pushing the “little gods” teaching that once we get saved we are now little gods who should be decreeing and declaring health and prosperity and authority and victory over sin. Joyce Meyer has even gone on to declare that she is not a sinner. So, she’s declared herself better than the Apostle Paul… made herself one of the super apostles Paul derides in 2 Cor 11-12. WoF is false, heretical, teaching. It takes our eyes off of Christ and onto ourselves changing prayer into spell casting and supplication into blasphemous demands. So when this segment has such a poor grasp on sin, one has to ask what is meant by prodigals walking away being led off as slaves. It’s heavily coded speech. WoF teachers have no vocabulary for sin, so they invent “word curses” and “soul ties” that (of course) require us to take authority over and break. They make sin to be something that clings to you externally in their false theology and thus something you need to break away from. You can’t look to Scriptures for clarity because none of this is taught in Scripture, you have to have one of these false teachers esplain[sic] it to you in one of their many books for sale at the local “Christian” bookstore.

In the parable of the Prodigal son, the prodigal is led away by his own sinful desires. There is no external tempter in that story, no externally driving force taking the boy captive. He sins from the heart, as do we all. As Christians, we are simultaneously sinner and saint. We are sinners in the flesh due to the corruption of original sin, and we are saints by Grace through Faith in Christ Jesus. The first three lines of this song demonstrate a lack of understanding of the nature of sin and our sinful nature.

The next two lines are generally true. God IS the victory. Jesus Christ literally IS our victory, in His Body and Blood shed for the forgiveness of sin. He IS the temple, He IS the Head of His Church, whom He washed by water with His Word to make Holy. The Victory was sealed at the Cross, when He declared “It is Finished”! There is more to come in this life than we can see, that is true, but our focus should be on what God has already revealed in Scripture, not in constantly hoping to see something new.

The last line of the verse shifts from the notion of the Prodigal over to eisegeting Ezekiel 37 for the chorus.

Chorus. As we call out to dry bones… What does this mean? The stated inspiration for this song is Ezekiel 37. Let’s read through the prophecy being hijacked here.

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV) | The Valley of Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Dear Christian, you are NOT Ezekiel. In fact, Ezekiel isn’t even doing what these WoF folks are claim this passage is teaching. Ezekiel isn’t mustering up something to declare, the LORD God took Ezekiel into the Valley, commanded Ezekiel to speak the Word of the Lord and then told Ezekiel exactly what to say to the dry bones, and then the Lord did the work of saving. This is NOT prescriptive of how we are to go about Christian prayer life. The LORD God explains what this vision is about, it is about the whole house of Israel being brought to life by God. It points forward to Christ, the Way the Truth and the Life, the Only way of Salvation.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV) | By Grace Through Faith

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

This is the Salvation of the LORD. If we are crying out to dry bones, to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, we had better be crying out with the Word of the Lord that has already been breathed out in Scriptures, we had better be preaching Law (that all have sinned and fallen short) and Gospel (repentance and the forgiveness in Jesus’ Name).

So getting back to this chorus, there’s a WoF logic loop that we need to address. WoF teaching at face-value, we see what looks like us commanding God to do something we want Him to do. That’s blasphemous. But their response will likely take the form of “no, we are participating in what He wants to do in the Earth”. So He can’t just do it? No, we have to activate His Will in the earth by our words filled with faith (or something along those lines). It’s circular and not based in Scripture. As we saw in Ez 37, they can’t teach it from the actual text, they have to paraphrase very loosely and then just declare that this is how it all works.

There is also a line in the Chorus that seems to pull from Joel’s Army / Dominionism / New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) false teaching. What’s with all of this militant langauge? The New Testament is focused on the Church, the faith once and for all delivered to the Saints. We are told to Preach the Word so that those who hear it might be granted saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:11-17 (ESV) For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 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? 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!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Verse 2. I like this verse. It’s a good verse. It’s incomplete, but if the song had a good chorus and solid supporting verses this could be good. So, “spirit breath upon them” is odd but could be right in the right context. It’s odd because it seems to be asking God to save as He wills, which is a solid petition, but one that doesn’t truly fit the synergism that these artists, modern-day evangelicals, and the WoF teachers hold. God’s Word gives us the means through which the Grace of God for the forgiveness of sin is applied to us. He has been gracious enough to provide us with His Written Word in our own languages. As we saw in Romans 10:11-17, Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Preaching of the Word is a primary means through which God grants us saving faith. Let’s look at how the Apostle Paul described scripture in 2 Tim 3:14-17.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (ESV) But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Instead of twisting, mixing, paraphrasing, summarizing, and supplanting Scripture… Preach the Word. The New Testament Epistles read like sermons. Let the Apostolic writings speak for God, for they are His Word. Stop looking for formulas and rituals and codes and prescriptions in the Old Testament… they weren’t written about you, they were written about Christ for you.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (ESV)  | The Supremacy of God’s Son

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The rest of the song slides into new-age “presence” theology, emotional mysticism, trying to drum up a “feeling” of being in God’s presence. It’s self indulgent and it’s an empty solution to the mother of a prodigal child.

Conclusion

This song encourages the listener to eisegete Ez 37 through the lens of WoF heresy. In attempting to address a real problem, it fails horribly due to unsound theology and a twisting of scripture. The desire to comfort the mother of a prodigal is a good desire, but providing false comfort via WoF nonsense only adds insult to injury. What the prodigal child needs is the Law of God preached, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God unto repentance, and then the child needs to hear the Pure Gospel of Jesus Christ so that he might be granted Faith. This is God’s doing, and we have His Word given to us in the Scriptures.

To the mother of the prodigal, we share in your grief. For the Body of Christ is One Body, and we are all individual members of it. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26 ESV). We pray, asking the LORD to bring the prodigal home. We reach out as the body of Christ to bring Law and Gospel to the prodigal.

James 5:19-20 (ESV)

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

But most importantly, we need to address the false teaching that is leading so many astray. The sort of teaching that ignores the reality of original sin, the danger of apostacy, and the ever-present need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sin. Christians need to hear the Gospel. In fact, the gathering of the saints on Sunday mornings is to gather together around the Preached Word of the Gospel of Grace. We need to preach the full counsel of God’s Word, both Law and Gospel, rightly divided. To those who think little of their sin, they need the Law Preached full-bore. To those who are crushed by the weight of their sin, we preach the Gospel of Grace for the forgiveness of sin. We trust God the Holy Spirit to continually draw His sheep, for He loves them far more than we can ever imagine. Our Hope is in eternity, our Hope is in the LORD. Salvation belongs to Him.

Revelation 21:1-7 (ESV) | The New Heaven and the New Earth

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Christ is our victory, He is the only begotten Son of God, and He is the Good Shepherd.

Revelation 22:20-21 (ESV) He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Amen.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
In Christ,
Jorge

 

DiM | “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 12 Comments

Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

February 23, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #15 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.

I first heard this song a couple of weeks ago while on my morning commute. Lauren Daigle has a wonderful voice with a unique sound. It’s beautiful. The problem here is with the lyric and what is being conveyed by it (both intentionally and, I think, unintentionally). In a musical industry promoted and pushed by the Word of Faith (WoF), Prosperity, and Presence heresy houses… there is at least in some sense a realization that the theology “doesn’t work”. I wish they’d repent of their false theology, but they keep pushing it. But what happens when all of the “decree and declare” and “sun stand still prayers” yield no results? What happens when we do everything we can to “bring down strongholds” only to lose a loved one to cancer, or drug overdose? One should reexamine their doctrine, return to the Word of God to see if what you are being told is Scriptural. This song almost seems to go there… but it doesn’t. It goes back to the proof texts of WoF and re-declares them in an odd way. When I hear this song, all I hear is “God, when you let me down and don’t keep your promises… I forgive you”. Maybe it’s my sinful nature that prevents me from hearing the overall message of this song in any other way. I’m open to the idea that I’m being overly dismissive of this song. Let’s take a look at it.

Lauren Daigle VEVO

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wondering
Never changes what You see

I’ve tried to win this war I confess
My hands are weary I need Your rest
Mighty Warrior King of the fight
No matter what I face You’re by my side

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You

Truth is You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So in all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

(bridge)
You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The Rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

Publishing: © 2014 CentricSongs (SESAC) / Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (SESAC) / Word Music & Pocket Full of Rocks Publishing (ASCAP)

Writer(s): Words and Music by Lauren Daigle, Paul Mabury and Michael Farren

Discussion

We’re going to assume the “You” in this song to be the God of the Bible. I mention this because it isn’t clearly stated in the song, and that’s bad. The Name that is above All Names should be proclaimed in every Christian song.

Okay, so if you don’t see where I’m hearing “God, I forgive you’ it’s in the repetitive I will trust in You as it falls immediately after all of the expressions of disappointment. The Bridge is the best part of the entire song. These are all good confessions of Who God is. But the theology being expressed in the verses and chorus make me question whether or not Jesus Christ (the Rock) is the firm foundation of her faith. Let’s work through the disappointments listed:

  • When you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move. There is an expectation that with enough faith God will move the mountains in our lives. This is somewhat pulled from the account in Matthew 17:14-21, but what is the context? Should we contextualize the demoniac or the mountain as anything we decide we need to have happen? I don’t think we should do that. WoF theology twists this passage to present faith as a magic lamp that if we rub right we’ll get the Holy Spirit genie to come out and grant us wishes. Is that what Lauren is after here? Not directly, but the focus here is one of disappointment that something she’s prayed for God to remove yet remains.
  • When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through. Again we have an expectation of something happening that is loosely connected to the parting of the Red Sea, but not clearly defined. The parting of the Red Sea points to water baptism, to salvation in Jesus’ Name. WoF (of the Prosperity variety) teachers often continue to contextualize the parting of the Red Sea into some sort of present-day spiritual warfare thingy in our everyday lives. Is there something blocking your healing/promotion/prosperity? Well, it must be your Red Sea moment… God will part the waters if you have enough faith. The problem with such contextualizing is that it actually minimizes the Red Sea and falsely elevates our everyday trials and tribulations that we should expect because God’s Word tells us to expect them. James 1:2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
  • When You don’t give the answers As I cry out to You. There is an expectation that we should be receiving direct revelation from God. That we should be hearing God speak to us either audibly or via some deep impression in our “spirit” when we pray. The notion that prayer should be a two-way street isn’t taught in scripture. Yes God can speak in any way He chooses, but that’s not to say that is the role or purpose for prayer. And God did speak regarding prayer and we have His Words in Written form. Consult the Word of God directly and know it is God who breathed out those words.

So that’s the overall problem I have with the song. It is what rings loudest when I hear the song play on the radio. The singer is disappointed by her theology, but pushes on to declare she will Trust in Him. It comes across to me as an “I forgive you”. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ll confess I’ve been hurt by the failure of WoF theology and asked questions only to have the WoF thrown back in my face pointing to my lack of faith or lack of trust as the reason why something did or didn’t happen.

Verse 1. Modern-day evangelicalism is overly obsessed with our own dreams. It’s a real problem. Thankfully, she’s talking about letting go of the dreams… that’s a good start. But then she’s talking about laying them down at God’s feet? Oh, so it’s a sacrifice thing… like something you’re offering to God. Are we trying to eisegete Abraham’s offering of Isaac… because God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac… and that was to foreshadow God sacrificing His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Don’t eisegete any of that, please. We let go of our dreams not to appease God or to make Him favorable to us or our situation, we let go of our dreams because they are sinful, they come from our sinful hearts. The lyrics provided on KLove talk about her “wonderings”, but I can’t help but wonder if the word being sung or intended here is “wanderings”. As sinful creatures we are prone to wander, being lead astray by our own fleshly, sinful desires. That is why we need repentance and the forgiveness of sin regularly. When it is our faith and doctrine that starts to wander, we’re in danger of shipwrecking our faith and damning ourselves. That is why we need the Preached Word of God, we need to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the Word of God, that our faith might increase.

Pre-Chorus. There is that will of ours, striving to merit righteousness in some way. It is a good thing that she is confessing this as sin. I wish the metaphor of the Rest found in Christ were teased out a bit more. Yes, we find rest in Christ Jesus, but WoF treats it as a momentary reprieve or a stop at the charging station so that we can get back out there and do more good works… that’s not the picture of entering God’s rest. The picture of entering God’s rest is one of entering the Promised Land by faith in Christ Jesus. Yes, the LORD is a Mighty Warrior King, but He isn’t at our side, He’s out front. He has fought the battle, He has won the war on our behalf. He threw down the walls of Jericho. He killed Goliath while we all stood at a distance, condemned in our unbelief.

Chorus. We’ve already worked through this as my main issue with the song. I will add one more thing to this discussion. Faith isn’t a thing that we have apart from Christ. It’s not an effort of the will that can be prompted and urged or exercised through sheer will or zeal. Faith has to be anchored in Christ Jesus, otherwise it’s just belief, and can be tossed about by winds of doctrine. WoF heresy teaches folks to place their faith on what they declare or on promises that are nowhere given in Scripture. That’s not faith.

Bridge. This is the best part of the song. These are good confessions of Who God is. These are reasons to trust in Him, but not for the kinds of things that WoF theology promotes… the sorts of signs and wonders that led to the disappointment of the singer in the first place.

Verse 2. Her second verse seems like a throw-back to her song “First“. We still have some confessions of the Sovereignty and Omniscience of God. There’s even a continuation of the thought from the first verse of letting go of our own dreams or plans. That’s good.

Conclusion

I struggle with this song. There’s so much missing here, there’s no clear Gospel message. The focus of the song is the singer working through disappointment and committing herself to trusting in Him. I just want to tell Lauren, “let’s look in the Word for encouragement and understanding of the trials of this life”. Because the song doesn’t stand on its own, it isn’t approved. My first inclination is to disapprove the song based on the sense of the song being some sort of forgiving God for not doing something kind of message. My children sometimes do this to me, my daughter especially. She’ll do it in the middle of being scolded for one thing while asking for something else she knows she can’t have. /sigh. So, it’s our sinful human nature at work. So, since I cannot objectively disapprove of this song, it will remain in the middle-ground, and I encourage the reader/listener to exercise Biblical discernment.

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.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “First” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship Leave a comment

Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).

August 25, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “First” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #15 on 20theCountdownMagazine’s top 20 and at #8 on the KLove top 10.

Let me begin by first acknowledging just how powerful and mesmerizing Lauren’s voice… particularly in the chorus of this song. To make the jump from the verse to the high note of “First” in the chorus is difficult, and she absolutely nails it. I get chills during the chorus, her voice is that awesome. I am also a fan of the break-beat techno feel. But we are here to discuss the lyrics. The song is vague, and the best construction we can put on it is a song of expressing a desire to feel a certain way about (we assume) God. Let’s listen to the song, read through the lyrics, and discuss.

LaurenDaigleVEVO Lyric Video

Lyrics (via KLove)

First by Lauren Daigle

Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You

(chorus)
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First

Before I speak a word
Let me hear Your voice
And in the midst of pain
Let me feel Your joy
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I speak a word
I will bring my heart
And seek You

(chorus)
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First

(bridge)
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
I seek You

(chorus)
First
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
First

Publishing: © 2014 CentricSongs (SESAC) / Sony ATV Timber Publishing (SESAC) / Sony ATV Timber Publishing & Open Hands Music (SESAC) / Sony/ATV Tree Publishing & Upside Down Under (BMI) / Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing & Bentley Street Songs (ASCAP)
Writer(s): Words and Music by Lauren Daigle, Paul Mabury, Jason Ingram, Mia Fieldes and Hank Bentley

Discussion

The song does not clearly identify who the “You” is. Sure, most would assume the God of the Bible, but why do we make that assumption? Because of the station that is playing the song, or because of what we think we know about Lauren Delaigle… but there is nothing in this song pointing there. In truth, there isn’t anything in this song that would distinguish between the Mormon god and the God of the Bible.

Even when we assume the audience of the song to be the One True God of the Bible, the focus of the lyric is not the audience; rather, the focus is on the singer. The entire song is a chain of vocalized desire. The desire is to want/seek the right things, namely to keep God (assumed) first in the singer’s life. It is a desire to keep the Law.

Matthew 22:36-40 (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. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Now, the song’s hook comes more from a different passage of scripture.

Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV) | Do Not Be Anxious

25 “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? 26 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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

This is the Law of God, seek Him first. As sinful, fleshly beings, we cannot in our own strength/zeal fulfill or keep this Law. It is by Grace through Faith that we are justified in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:10-20 (ESV)

10 as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
11  no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16     in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

We sin, we fall short, even as believers. The unbelieving world is lost and bears the guilt of their sin fully. We pray that they might hear the Word of Christ and have their ears opened by the Holy Spirit so that they might come to penitent faith in Christ. For those who believe, we understand that while we desire to keep the Law, we must daily seek forgiveness for falling short of it.

Luke 9:18-23 (ESV)

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered,“John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying,“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Romans 6:1-11 (ESV) | Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 John 1:5-10 (ESV) | Walking in the Light

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Amen. Now we have clearly explored the Law of seeking God first, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that grants us forgiveness and Grace to walk in newness of life. Within this context, the song can serve as a motivational cheerleader of sorts… kind of like “B-E Aggressive” motivates football players on the field.

Conclusion

The song is vague and doesn’t remotely stand on its own. It doesn’t bring Glory to God, it’s a bit pious and empty without infusing a lot of Biblical context. I hope we’ve been able to provide some for the listener. In its best light, the song is an appeal to Law… don’t lose sight of the Gospel.

Romans 15:13 (ESV) 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge