May 04, 2018. Today we’ll be taking a look at “I Just Need U” by TobyMac which currently sits at #1 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.
This is probably one of the better TobyMac songs I’ve reviewed. I found the writing to be quite honest and well-intentioned. The Psalms he drew from weren’t being stretched out of context and the song doesn’t make false promises. This song finds itself on the positive side of the middle ground. It falls short of a full Approval because it lacked a clear Gospel, but at least it bore a confession of needing God. Let’s listen to the song and read the lyrics.
Video
Lyrics (via K-Love)
I Just Need U
I just need U.
Last night put the heavy on me
Woke up, and I’m feeling lonely
This world gotta a way of showin’ me
Some days it’ll lift you up
Some days it’ll call your bluff
Man, most of my days I ain’t got enough
And all I know is You’re my only hope
When I’m up, when I’m down
When the wolves come around
When my feet hit the ground
I just need, I just need U
On my darkest days, when I’m losing faith
No, it ain’t gonna change
I just need, I just need U
Lord, I need U
Yeah, I just need U
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil for thou art with me
Thy rod and thy staff …
They comfort me when I’m beat down broken
Hold my heart when it’s split wide-open
Turn these eyes to my sole protector
And break the will of this born defector
When You pull me closer I come to life
Ain’t no way this thing gon’ change, it’s U
I need on my darkest days, when I’m losing faith
I need U every single day, every breath I take
I need U
Publising: Achtober Songs (BMI) (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / So Essential Tunes / RELWOF (SESAC) (Admin. at EssentialMusicPublishing.com) / Blake NeeSmith Publishing Designee (BMI) Writer(s): Toby McKeehan, Bryan Fowler, and Blake NeeSmith
Discussion
Overall, the song isn’t bad. The Premise of the song is a little bit wonky, as it seems to be a song about Toby dealing with popularity and the highs and lows of it all.
Verse 1. The first verse frames the discussion oddly.
Last night put the heavy on me
Woke up, and I’m feeling lonely
This world gotta a way of showin’ me
Some days it’ll lift you up
Some days it’ll call your bluff
Man, most of my days I ain’t got enough
The focus is on how he can’t live up to the world’s expectations but stops short of calling the world evil. We’re not seeing the problem of sin being set up here, just sort of a cry of not “being enough” or not “having enough”. The problem is in the underlying theology. This follows the notion that being a Christian means having access to power once we’ve reached the end of ourselves. We turn to God when we need a life raft as if we didn’t need Him long before we were aware of our need.
Chorus. Now, the chorus does include “when I’m up”, so one might argue that this clears the song of what I just pointed out as a problem. However, the emphasis on the first verse and the rest of the song is on being down.
When I’m up, when I’m down
When the wolves come around
When my feet hit the ground
I just need, I just need U
On my darkest days, when I’m losing faith
No, it ain’t gonna change
I just need, I just need U
Lord, I need U
Yeah, I just need U
For the most part, this is a good confession of an enduring need for God. Odd that it goes from the thought of “losing faith” to “it ain’t gonna change”… how is the artist attempting to resolve the thought of losing faith? I don’t think TobyMac knows quite what to do with that. I think that’s why TobyMac memes and most of his lyrics amount to “dedicate yourself harder”, “do more”, “love more”, “strive/endure/persevere”, etc.
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.
Galatians 3:2-9 (ESV) Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
I bring these passage up because they are critical to understanding Law and Gospel properly distinguished. In each letter, Paul is teaching these Churches (predominantly Gentiles) the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. Faith is a Gift from God working through His Word. Both saving faith and growing in faith, which is why I brought in the passage in Galatians. Too many treat the gift of faith as something necessary to “get saved” but then rely on works to grow to maturity. Paul rebukes that thoroughly. So, my point in bringing this here is that I genuinely believe TobyMac is looking for an answer to building faith in spite of trouble, and he keeps looking to the Law. I’m not calling him unsaved when I say the problem is that TobyMac needs to hear the Gospel preached to him and for him, today and every day of this life until Christ returns.
Verse 2. Toby pulls lines from Psalm 23. It’s a wonderful Psalm.
Psalm 23 (ESV) | A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
The promise in Psalm 23 has an eternal focus. We are so tempted to invoke this Psalm for our temporal well being and comfort, but remember the Apostles and the 1st-century saints.
Bridge. It’s really just a mantra, nothing of substance.
Conclusion
This song is an honest appeal to faith during the struggle, a confession of our need for God. The closest we get to identifying which God is by quoting pieces of Psalm 23. I find it frustrating that Jesus has to be assumed in so-called “Christian” songs, though. I’ll not apologize for that frustration. The song does a good job of being honest about our internal struggle with doubt, I just wish it did a better job of resolving that doubt. I do believe that even here, we should see an acknowledgment that our primary issue is sin and the only resolution is Christ crucified for our sin.
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.
November 24, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Love Broke Thru” by TobyMac which currently sits at #20 on 20TheCountdownMagazine.
This song is an anthem-styled love song pulling on Revivalist “Sinner’s prayer” themes ala Charles Finney. Stylistically its one of Toby’s better songs of late. Lyrically, there is no pointing the listener to Christ, just a retelling of the singer’s description of his new life or perspective. The singer is just sharing an emotional experience tied to an epiphany he had after a prayer he prayed. If you hold to decisional theology, we aren’t going to see eye-to-eye on this one. I pray you read this review with an open bible.
TobyMac – Topic (YouTube)
Lyrics (via K-Love)
Verse 1
I was feelin’ that, feelin’ that breeze
Singin’ like a song thru the tall oak trees
It was just another summer night
Had to be the last thing on my mind
Yeah, I was all but lost in the moment
I was young and runnin’ wide open
It was just another summer night
Had to be the last thing on my mind
Chorus
When love broke thru
You found me in the darkness
Wanderin’ thru the desert
I was a hopeless fool
Now I’m hopelessly devoted
My chains are broken
And it all began with You
When love broke thru
Verse 2
I did all that I could to undo me
But You loved me enough to pursue me
Yeah, You drew me out of the shadows
Made me believe that I mattered, to You (You)
You were there, You heard my prayer in that broke down dusty room
It was the first time I said, “I’m Yours”
The first time I called You Lord
Rap/Interlude
Yeah, it was late in the summer when the northeast breeze
Sang like a song thru the oak trees
Pennsylvania
She kind of caught my soul
Which had me a little more open than closed
Walls I built
Opinions I learned
Covered in the ashes of bridges I burned
Blind to the arrow that headed to my heart
But You hit the mark
Outro
I did all that I could to undo me
But You loved me enough to pursue me
Publishing: 2015 Achtober Songs/Meaux Mercy/Moody Producer Music (BMI)/Capitol CMG Genesis/TrueMuse (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)/Bartlandia/ Simple Tense Songs (ASCAP) Writer(s): Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, Bart Millard and Bryan Fowler
Discussion
Verse 1. This verse paints quite a mental picture. Nothing comes completely into focus, but we get a sense that he’s leading up to an epiphany, or an aha! moment. This verse is pure setup, not really much to discuss here.
Chorus. This is an odd shift in the mental picture. Everything in the first verse is serene and peaceful, but now it’s all darkness, desert, hopelessness, chains. If we are giving this our best construction, I suppose we could make the assumption that Christ’s love breaking through first shatters the false notion that “I’m a generally good person” as the Law of God convicts us of our sinful state. But there is still no mention of the Gospel being preached, just a sort of inevitability of love breaking through.
Verse 2. Not much to go on for a reference point in this first line. Is he now describing live as an unbeliever as being “doing all I could do to undo me”? An unbeliever IS undone. There is a tendency for synergists to act like unbelievers just don’t know any better and are only doing what they do because they haven’t yet made the right choices, said the right prayer, or “devoted themselves” or “made Jesus their Lord and Savior” (decision theology). The problem with this way of thinking about our sin is that this isn’t how Scripture describes the sin of unbelief.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) 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.
Notice the wording is “dead in the trespasses and sins” not “dying”. Being dead precludes decisional regeneration. This is not easy to accept, I grew up in decisional theology. The point of this verse is to imply the “sinner’s prayer” and the decision to finally accept Christ (I’m Yours) as Lord.
Okay, so let’s address this point about salvation. The one who lacks faith cannot pray to God. Sure, they can utter prayers as the pagans do, but my point here is very specific, without faith, no one can draw near to God.
Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
We are not born with faith, nor the capacity to have faith, we are born dead. So how does one receive faith? By hearing the Word of Christ preached.
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.
So, I don’t take issue so much with the singer having an emotional memory of a moment he can remember first realizing that Jesus is LORD… but such emotionally dependent memories are fleeting and subjective, easily tossed about by the seas of doubt, trials, and tribulations. Rather than focus on such an internal focal point, we instead choose to focus on the moment when Christ claimed us as His own, when He declared “It is Finished”. We can also look toward our baptism, for it is God’s work, not ours.
Romans 6:3-11 (ESV) Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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. 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. We know that our old selfwas 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV) Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
So, the singer is pointing to his own romanticized recollection of a decision he made, presumably in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The comfort of the assurance of salvation needs to be solid when our emotions aren’t in check, when we are afraid, or burdened with guilt, or confused. This is the folly in tying assurance to an emotional experience, or a recollection of something you realized or a prayer you uttered. Far better to place your trust in the objective Word of God. The Promise of salvation in Christ Jesus is assured and unchanging, no matter your emotional state or physical circumstance.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Rap/Interlude. I think we are seeing somewhat of a confession, or at least a depiction of the artist’s life. Not sure which timeframe. Maybe this was before “being saved”, or maybe it is a particular crisis of faith, but this part of the song seems a bit raw and unfiltered. But here the lyric makes Jesus out to be Cupid shooting his love arrow. /sigh. The one thing we can focus on in this is the idea that we take no part in our salvation… so the idea that Christ would save him without his knowledge like an arrow being shot without his knowledge.
Outro. This thought could also be pointing at the work of God the Holy Spirit in preserving us in the faith.
Hebrews 12:5-7 (ESV) And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
I suppose we could do some work to try to salvage the messaging of the song if we ignored the sinner’s prayer bit and focused in on God’s discipline and reproof. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it might be helpful for those who really want to like the song due to its style.
Conclusion
While I did try to offer ways of giving the song a positive construction, the synergism presented in this song places this one in the “Disapprove” category. Stylistically this song is pretty good, but lyrically it’s a bit of a vague mess. With so many TobyMac memes with sporting the #speaklife tag, I really wish they spent more time clearly conveying the Gospel of Jesus Christ and less time being cool, relevant… and completely vague.
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.
April 4, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Move (Keep Walkin’)” by TobyMac which currently sits at #16 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.
TobyMac puts out another motivational song devoid of scriptural foundation or prescription. In today’s song, I’m not even sure he’s clear on what the problem is. We’ll work through the lyric together, but this song ends up being the musical equivalent to “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.” There’s no Gospel here, no Law, just empty cheer-leading and an allusion to a false promise. We’ll do our best to clean up the narrative, but frankly this is a rather indulgent and empty motivation song.
Verse 1
Another heartbreak day
Feels like you’re miles away
Don’t even need no shade
When your sun don’t shine, shine
Too many passin’ dreams
Roll by like limousines
It’s hard to keep believin’
When they pass you by and by
Pre-Chorus
I know your heart been broke again
I know your prayers ain’t been answered yet
I know you’re feeling like you got nothing left
Well, lift your head, it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet so
Chorus
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
Move, keep walkin’ until the mornin’ comes
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
And lift your head, it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet
Verse 2
Echoin’ inside your head
Are the words that your sweet momma said,
“shoot for the moon, my dear”
So you took aim out of this atmosphere
Between high stakes and pump fakes
You’re feelin’ like you can’t buy a break
I can hold your hand, but I can’t turn your eyes to freedom
Pre-Chorus
I know your heart been broke again
I know your prayers ain’t been answered yet
I know you’re feeling like you got nothing left
Well, lift your head, it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet so
Chorus
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
Move, keep walkin’ until the mornin’ comes
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
And lift your head, it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet
Bridge
Hold on, hold on
Lord ain’t finished yet
Hold on, hold on
He’ll get you through this
Hold on, hold on
These are the promises
I never will forget
I never will forget [x2]
I know your heart been broke again
I know your prayers ain’t been answered yet
it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet so
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
Move, keep walkin’ until the mornin’ comes
Move, keep walkin’ soldier keep movin’ on
And lift your head, it ain’t over yet, ain’t over yet
Discussion
So the over arching theme of this song is simple: Don’t let your current circumstances bring you down, just keep doing the Christian thing and eventually you’ll have victory.
So what’s wrong with that? Well, the song doesn’t get any more helpful than that, and there are lines that suggest that victory will be born out in our circumstances and that we’ll have our prayers answered because God’s not yet finished with us so we needto move, keep walkin’.
Verse 1. Here, TobyMac presents the dilemma for the first time. What’s the dilemma? Well, we have a heartbreak day when someone feels isolated and alone… but not like in a scorching desert; rather, it’s like being in the dead of winter under a prolonged night… no sunshine. Not clear on the pronouns if it’s a scenario where the person feels that way because their own light isn’t shining (depressed) or if its because of a trial the God has brought (or allowed to be brought) upon the individual. Vague pronoun use is part of TobyMac’s colloquial style. So the unclear sun that doesn’t shine could be an internal mood thing or an external circumstance thing. It’s the next portion of the first verse that has me rather frustrated.
Too many passin’ dreams
Roll by like limousines
It’s hard to keep believin’
When they pass you by and by
So, not only do we have the individual heartbroken over dreams, they’re dreams that roll by like limousines? So they are big dreams? Is this where our Christian focus should be properly fixed? On the wealthy? on the Celebrity? on the spectacle? Hard to keep believing in what, exactly? Your dream-destiny thingy, or on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose again on the third day so that by His blood we may be forgiven of our sin and gain eternal life? We’re going to camp out on these lines now, because once we get this cleared up the rest of the song is tripe…. and not the tasty kind in Phở Bò.
Firstly, I think we need to visit the 10 Commandments, specifically the last couple of commands:
Exodus 20:1-17 (ESV) | The Ten Commandments
20 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Now, often times when we think about the sin of coveting our neighbor’s things, in our minds we connect it to stealing as in, “by allowing ourselves to covet we invite the temptation to steal”. While that is true, that isn’t the only way in which coveting is wrong. Coveting is a sin unto itself, it is the sin of discontentment with the provision of God in our lives. Our coveting of our neighbors things creates enmity between us and our neighbor… and in extreme cases between us and God for not having given us what he gave them. This is a sinful condition that needs repentance and forgiveness that can only be found in Christ Jesus. We weren’t all promised limousines. Contrary to what you’ll find in the local “Christian” bookstore or shared on various evangelical memes, we weren’t even promised dream-destinies or to have our dreams fulfilled. We weren’t even all promised to dream dreams of our purpose or directions for our lifelong pursuits. The song is describing someone who is feeling lonely, heartbroken, in the dark… and possibly coveting those who get to ride in limousines. Whether we take that as a metaphor or literal doesn’t make any difference in this problem… it’s covetous. The individual in question is heartbroken because his/her life isn’t going like his/her neighbor’s.
Pre-Chorus. Once again, not clear about the pronouns here. I have no clue who the “I” is supposed to be, the singer or God? No clue. Are these declarative statements or are they slightly patronizing dismissals of the hurting individual’s “woe is me” rhetoric? Still unclear. So this “I” knows the person’s heartbroken again, and knows their prayers aren’t answered yet? That’s odd. Unless the prayer is to be in heaven, or for Christ to return, or that the heartbroken feeling be taken away, we don’t know anything about these prayers and whether or not they are answered in the affirmative “yet”, or if the answer has already come in the form of “no”. Empty motivation. I’m sure some who seek to defend TobyMac and this song are probably thinking up of some scriptures that “promise” that God always answers His children with a “yes”, but before we go there, let’s see what James wrote about unanswered prayers in light of this song’s setup of potential coveting going on.
James 4:1-10 (ESV) | Warning Against Worldliness
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Well, that doesn’t play into the narrative of this song, does it? What does it mean to humble yourself before God? Repent and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name. It’s not something you can “do”, it is something only He can do and has done For you.
Chorus. Modern evangelicalism is absolutely flooded in works-righteousness. Sure, they give lip service to the Grace of God, but everything they teach, preach, and insist upon is works. They push sanctifying works onto professing Christians to rid themselves of sin or to somehow untie God’s hands so that He can finally grant you that blessing He’s been wanting so badly to give you, His best friend, if only you would let Him. False narrative for a false gospel, from a false god. The Triune God of the Bible doesn’t need you, lowly mortal man, to do anything for Him to then bless or keep you. That’s a lie of the devil. The Truth is far more beautiful.
Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV) | Spiritual Blessings in Christ
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
What did we do for this? Nothing. He did all of it for us.
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.
So, you think this “only applies to salvation”, but once saved we need to do our part working in harmony with the Holy Spirit to sanctify ourselves? The Apostle Paul had a different answer to in his letter to the Galatians
Galatians 3:1-9 (ESV) | By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Yeah, Paul is clearly talking about continuing in the faith and living the Christian life after having been saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ (having begun in the Spirit). Splitting justification and sanctification into two categories where Christ’s finished work on the cross justifies us by Grace in one hand, but we need to do our part in working toward sanctification in a separate category is bad theology (are you now being perfected by the flesh?). They are indeed separate terms that communicate different things, but both are works of the Holy Spirit, neither is a work of the flesh.
Verse 2. Wow, didn’t even attempt to bring this to any sort of Biblical narrative. He’s exegeting the proverbial dear old mamma pep-talk of “shoot for the moon”? Really? That isn’t Christianity speaking, that is secular humanism!
Bridge. These are the promises… huh? What promises? From whom? What is TobyMac talking about here? He hasn’t shared any of God’s promises in this song. No Law, No Gospel, No Christ. Just empty encouragements hold on, keep walkin’, soldiering on, and shooting for the moon and hopefully you heart won’t be broken anymore and then you might be the one in the limousine (figuratively or literally, who knows?).
Conclusion
The song is worthless. Maybe TobyMac is struggling with his own career, maybe he is having a crisis of faith and setting it to music hoping to give himself some sort of spark of revival… who knows, but the theology in this song is thin, pale, and vacuous. Please pray for TobyMac and those who clamor to see him. They need the rest that can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV) | Born Again to a Living Hope
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
February 24, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Beyond Me” by TobyMac which currently sits at #11 at 20theCountdownMagazine.
We’ll continue using this top 20 song list until I find a better list. Your feedback in this would be greatly appreciated.
TobyMac has been in the business for a long time. He’s quite the innovator when it comes to the Christian music scene. He’s been very successful with the youth of late. What we see in this song is prosperity/overcomer theology in quasi-humble language. In fact, it seems to play on the same sort of self-indulgent theme found in Hillsong’s Oceans (Where Feet May Fail). The song has no value, it’s just empty self-esteem talk disguised as a prayer of humility.
Call it a reason to retreat
I got some dreams that are bigger than me
I might be outmatched, outsized, the underdog in the fight of my life
Is it so crazy to believe
That You gave me the stars put them out of my reach
Called me to waters a little too deep
Oh, I’ve never been so aware of my need
You keep on making me see
It’s way beyond me
It’s way beyond me
Yeah, it’s out of my league
It’s way beyond me
It’s way beyond me
It’s way beyond …
Anything that I got the strength to do
In over my head keeps me countin’ on You
I’m leaving the sweet spot, sure shot
Tradin’ it all for the plans You got
Is it so crazy to believe
You take me to the place where I know I need You
Straight to the depths that I can’t handle on my own
And the Lord I know, I know I need You
So take me to Your great …
Take me to Your great unknown
The one redeeming quality in this song is that it acknowledges somewhat the hard truth that God will take us to the place where we know we need Him. However, the song puts it in the wrong place. The song seems to presuppose that wherever we are now, as Christians, is a place of safety and comfort, but God is going to take us to a place where we’ll need Him. Nope. Where we are, right now, in our sin and transgressions, is where we need Him. How did Jesus teach His disciples to pray?
Luke 11:1-4 (ESV) | The Lord’s Prayer
11 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
We also find in James a strong warning to the Church regarding worldliness:
James 4:1-10 (ESV) | Warning Against Worldliness
4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
We do need God in every day and in every way imaginable. So how does He take us to a place where we acknowledge this need? By His Word, particularly the Law.
Galatians 3:15-22 (ESV) | The Law and the Promise
15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
So, then, the Law convicts us of our sin and our wholesale dependence upon God’s mercy and Grace. Once the Holy Spirit grants us faith, by the hearing of the Word of God, we are brought to repentance at the foot of the cross and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Unless your physical body dies in that moment, your fallen flesh will continue living and desiring sin waging war against the Spirit. Such is the temporal existence for those who have been redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ. We won’t graduate from this until the Resurrection. We must daily seek His forgiveness in humble repentance. We need Him, for apart from Him we can do nothing.
Concerns
As usual, we see no reference to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No repentance, no forgiveness, just empty promises. This isn’t an attack on TobyMac for having an empty song as much as it is on the Evangelical community that eats this stuff up propelling it to the Top 20. We’ve become theologically diabetic, and it’s killing the Church, particularly our youth.
The song starts in a bad place. Rather than address the substance of the singer’s dreams and aspirations, it just assumes that these dreams were God-given. It then springboards from that presupposition to justifying “dreaming big” as a clear sign that God wants him to know he needs God. Is that supported in Scripture? No. We aren’t promised individual greatness or individual “potential”… we are promised a Savior, Jesus Christ.
The message of the Gospel is indeed that righteousness is “way beyond me”. That’s why He gave us His Son, the Lamb of God. The message of this song is skewed to suggest that God’s plan for our lives (our dreams) are way beyond me but He’s gonna make it happen. Well, what if greatness isn’t in God’s plan for our lives? The post-modern answer would be to simply redefine “greatness”. That’s ridiculous. The problem isn’t in the definition of “greatness” it is in the perspective of the song and the theology that is driving it.
Conclusion
The song is just a self-esteem, dream big, purpose driven, seeker hook. I used to follow the TobyMac Facebook page, but had to stop because of the routine sharing of false memes like this one. TobyMac is running a very successful musical enterprise; however, this song has questionable theological underpinnings. The seeker-sensitive prosperity or purpose-driven versions of the Gospel are false Gospels. Toby has been involved in a lot of good work over the years, and I do not question his sincerity in ministry. I pray he isn’t swept away in the seeker-mergent sludge being passed off as Christianity these days.
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.
Good Monday Morning! This season has been quite busy for us lately, and I have a few projects in the works that haven’t gotten the kind of attention they require, sadly. Today’s CTT post will be a quick look at what transpired last week when I tried to address falsehood from a well-known and liked Christian artist’s Facebook page.
On November 7th, the team that manages the TobyMac Facebook Page posted a custom-made Christian Meme making the following claim:
THE PHRASE “DO NOT BE AFRAID” IS WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE 365 TIMES
This meme popped up on my feed and at first I thought, “well that’s kinda cool”… but then I thought… “that number seems awfully high”. I opened up Bible Gateway and searched for the phrase “do not be afraid” and got the following results:
So, not even close to 365… not even if you add up the results from the 4 common translations. The meme has no other information apart from this assertion. The assertion is false… significantly false. There is no truth in this meme whatsoever. In other words, this is a lie. The intent might be to convey an idea that there isn’t a day of the year where we should be afraid. However, that is not what it actually says… it’s hoping to infer that message when someone associates the number “365” with the number of days in a non-leap-year.
My first reaction was to post a comment “My search only came up with 33” and a link to the 33 hits in ESV via BibleGateway.com. My comment didn’t get a lot of response, but here is the conversation that ensued:
(another poster) – You get more if you allow for variations on the phrase, but still nowhere close to 365. Kudos for using your head and not “going with the flow” on an Internet meme. (See also my other post in this thread.)
Jorge (me) – Agreed. I opted out of a fuzzy search because the meme actually specifies this phrasing in quotes. The Word of God does not need embellishments to be encouraging… in fact, embellishments are always detractors to the Word of God
TobyMac – Jorge–Goodness guys! No one is trying to decieve or embellish! We took an OFTEN used quote–but we did not double check it. our bad. Team toby
Jorge (me) – Not ascribing malice here, just pointing out that it is false. We all fall victim to passing along an incorrect quote. This one already has over 6700 shares. (comment posted Nov 7 at 2:30pm)
TobyMac – Jorge–we are so very glad that the PRINCIPLE is TRUE. Nothing incorrect about that. Glad for the accountability. Team toby
Jorge (me) – What about the principle of putting away falsehood (Eph 4:29)? God is not honored by the lie in this meme, nor is the church edified by it. Now shared over 13,000 times and “liked” by over 43,000 people. The meme is false and rather than repent and remove it, Team Toby seems keen to justify it. That’s unfortunate. (comment posted Nov 7 at 5:06pm)
What principle? I took a screen capture of the image this morning
While reading through the short interchange, one might get the idea that TeamToby indeed acknowledged the lie of the meme and that they were truly grateful for being held accountable. However, it is now November 10th, and the image has garnered 116,154+ “Likes” and has been “shared” 68,076+ times (the number is still climbing). Does this demonstrate repentance or accountability? No.
The photo has 1,600+ comments. Most of them are the expected response along the lines of “one for every day of the year”, but there are several calling out the lie in the meme. TeamToby replies to most of them along the lines of “our bad” and “at least the Principle is True”. In Facebook, those comments aren’t seen unless someone is interested in reading the replies to those correcting the meme. So these concessions are not a public sign of repentance or repudiation of the lie; rather, they are an attempt to calm or quiet the rebuke. Let’s look at some Scripture.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27 and give no opportunity to the devil.28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
John 8:44 (ESV)
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
I know this is coming very strongly, but there are no “harmless lies”. There is no falsehood in God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit and there is no truth in the father of lies. One cannot rightfully assert that any truth by any measure might be obtained by perpetuating a lie of any degree.
Repentance is in order. TobyMac has been given a large platform with a lot of followers. This is no small thing.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
In closing, let’s look at how Paul addressed the resolution of his rebuke from his first letter to the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 7:6-13 (ESV)
6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.9As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.13 Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
Pray for TobyMac and TeamToby and pray for the tens of thousands of people who were mislead by the lie of that meme.
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