Choosing Songs for Young Children While Avoiding False Assurance
Leading worship through song for young children is a delicate balance. We are to instill a love for God and truth in their little hearts. We want them to love to sing about Jesus and the truths found in His inerrant Word. And yet, we must be mindful of their developmental stage and theological understanding. This isn’t so much about words that are above their understanding but rather concepts that they have not embraced or grasped. A common concern among children’s ministry leaders revolves around song selection: Should young and yet unredeemed children be singing songs of personal salvation? Could this inadvertently create a false sense of assurance in a child’s faith? Let’s break it down this way. We want to move beyond simple children’s songs, yet some traditional hymns as well as modern worship anthems, while theologically rich, contain language of personal salvation that might not be true of the young hearts singing them. Songs like ‘All I Have is Christ,’ with lyrics such as, ‘You looked upon my helpless state / And led me to the cross / And I beheld God’s love displayed / You suffered in my place / You bore the wrath reserved for me / Now all I know is grace.’ or ‘Made Alive,’ proclaiming, ‘I’m made alive forever with You…by Your grace, I’m saved’ & ‘My sin has been erased / I’ll never be the same,’ are powerful songs of truth for someone who has been redeemed. But are they appropriate for children who have not been redeemed and do not truly know Jesus Christ yet? The Scriptures remind us of the importance of truth: ‘Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth’ (John 17:17, LSB). All of our songs must reflect Biblical truth. However, the application of that truth to a child’s heart requires discernment. We’ve all heard testimonies of teens and adults who, despite childhood baptisms, songs, and memorized verses, later realized their early faith lacked true understanding. Question: How can we help children genuinely examine their hearts rather than simply echoing words? Answer: We shepherd them toward genuine faith by helping them understand truth and avoiding music that requires children who do not know Jesus to speak untruths about their own hearts. Can you imagine sitting 3-year-old Johnny down and telling him, ‘Johnny, even though you haven’t trusted in Jesus for repentance and forgiveness yet, you are a child of God. Don’t worry about your sin, it has been erased.’ This would be a great disservice to Johnny, potentially leading him to believe he’s always been saved simply because he was told so, without a true understanding of his sinful state and desperate need for salvation through grace and faith in Jesus. Johnny needs to understand his sinfulness and the grace offered through Jesus before claiming salvation; simply believing he is rescued because he has always been told he’s saved hinders that crucial process. Further, we do not sit these young children down and tell them to articulate complex experiences of sin, repentance, and faith before they are developmentally ready. Why would we do so through song? This isn’t legalism. It’s about shepherding—caring for and guiding—a child’s heart. It’s illogical to expect young children to fully grasp and articulate complex theological truths while simultaneously being told they have already achieved this understanding. We meet them where they are, providing age-appropriate teaching and experiences that lay a foundation for deeper understanding. This aligns with Hebrews 5:13-14 (LSB). ‘For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.’ This passage is recognizing spiritual nourishment is to be that which is right for the developmental stage. This can be a tough pill to swallow, especially for those parents or teachers that have a vast library of music or have a set curriculum that feels threatened by this approach. We must remember that children’s minds are malleable. They tend to believe what they’re told. Forcing a child to articulate words they don’t understand can lead to rote memorization and a false sense of assurance. It’s like asking a child to solve algebra before basic addition. The process is crucial. We want genuine expressions of faith, reflections of their hearts, not just echoes of adult language. This connects to Jesus’ emphasis on true worship from the heart (Matthew 15:8, LSB). We want heart transformation, not lip service. While no single verse explicitly addresses children’s worship song choices, Scripture does, in fact, speak to this through the principles it teaches. Wise shepherding and age-appropriate teaching are woven throughout Scripture. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it’ (Proverbs 22:6, LSB) emphasizes gradual instruction. Jesus welcomed children (Matthew 19:14, LSB) and taught in ways His audience could understand. Just like an infant’s food journey, we should always be testing to see if they are ready for solid foods and just like an infant learns to stand and then walk, we are to be encouraging them to progress. Yes, stagnation and under-nourishment are also a realm that we are to avoid.
Does Jesus Love Me? What about the age-old hymn ‘Jesus Loves Me’? Does the love of Jesus extend to unredeemed children? This is where discernment and theology come into a parent or Sunday School teacher’s curation of the music that they teach their children to sing. God’s love is intrinsic to His being, not dependent on our actions or location. Therefore, God loves all people, including those in hell. This love, however, is defined as ‘willing the good of another.’ For those in hell, separated from God, the ‘good’ would be reconciliation with their Creator. While God desires this reconciliation, those in hell have, through their pride & in accordance with God’s perfect plan, rejected it. God’s love remains, but its experience is drastically different than for those who are in right relationship with Him. So, does Jesus love the little children? Does 3-year-old Johnny get to sing ‘Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so’? Our verdict in this is yes, children should be encouraged to sing this song. God does love them, regardless of their salvation status. The song expresses a fundamental truth about God’s nature. If God’s love extends even to those in hell, it also extends to children who are yet unredeemed and do not know Jesus. Singing about this love can be a starting point for understanding it more fully, even if the child doesn’t yet fully grasp the concept of salvation. The song can plant a seed of truth about God’s character and His attitude toward humanity. For the unsaved child, it could be an introduction to God’s love, while for the saved child, it’s a reaffirmation of a known truth.
But What Age? Every child matures at a different rate, some at a vastly different rate. This is why it is crucial to intentionally shepherd each child individually and this is done by the parents. Sunday School curriculums and materials can be general in their age-appropriate methods, but the parent is the one responsible for training up their child and following them in their journey to understanding and the recognition of these key truths. But what about adults? We sing these songs in our church services. What about the unbelievers in our midst? First and foremost, the church is not there for the seeker. The church is there for the Christian. Christian apologist Greg Koukl speaks of the pastor’s responsibility this way, ‘My goal there is to feed the flock. And if my goal in this church service, when we all gather together, is to try to win someone to Christ that may be there, the flock doesn’t get fed.’ The church is not an evangelistic meeting. The church is for believers. However, this does not mean unbelievers are uninvited and they are certainly very welcomed in our midst. So how do we reconcile singing songs about our personal salvation in Christ among unbelievers who also may be singing these songs alongside us? The developmental difference between adults and young children is significant. Adults have the capacity for abstract thought and can engage with complex theological concepts. Young children, particularly those in elementary school and prior, are still developing in this area. An adult’s understanding of sin, grace, and salvation is often more concrete, and they have made conscious decisions regarding how they handle those truths. They are also fully aware they are in the presence of those who are converted and are singing songs pertaining to the redeemed heart even if they have, unfortunately, rejected this.
So, what’s the solution? Being careful not to put words of personal faith into the mouths of children who may not yet fully understand them is crucial. And so, we can focus on songs that emphasize the character of God: His love, holiness, and faithfulness. Songs like ‘His Mercy is More’ by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa as well as ‘Only a Holy God’ by CityAlight emphasize who God is and what His attributes are, regardless of personal belief or acknowledgement. Whether or not we believe it, the fact remains that our sins are many but God’s mercy is more! Sometimes small caveats can be inserted by the parent or intentional teacher such as the fact that song says that we stood beneath a debt we could never afford but that debt remains if we do not turn to Jesus. But, overall, these songs of truth are much more powerful tools for teaching children about God than those requiring them to sing personal declarations of faith they may not yet be ready to make. Furthermore, explaining the meaning of the songs we sing is crucial. We must create an environment for children to ask questions and explore these truths. ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:18, LSB). We should encourage them to seek guidance from their parents and other trusted adults, such as pastors, who help them understand the truths of Scripture. Ultimately, the goal is not to shield these young children from theological concepts but to present them in a way that is both truthful and developmentally appropriate. This requires prayerful consideration, open dialogue with other leaders, a willingness to adapt our approach, and, perhaps most key, having a close relationship with each child and shepherding their heart intentionally as we train them up in the way they should go.
What patience would wait as we constantly roam What Father, so tender, is calling us home He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
‘…Comfort one another with these words.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:18 LSB
One of the marks of a healthy Christian is to consistently study Scripture, commune with the saints (other believers), and come to the Lord in prayer unceasingly. The result of these practices should often lead us to see the need for adjustment, strengthening, and (at times) total realignment of our beliefs. In my studies over the past few years, I have seen the need for a stronger stance on Biblical eschatology than just ‘it’s a complex subject and, as long as we don’t believe heresy, we shouldn’t be concerned with it too much‘.
About 10 years ago, if asked, I would have stated that I loosely subscribed to a view termed as Replacement Theology (or Supercessionism) which can be traced back to Augustine in North Africa as well as others. It teaches, essentially, that Israel’s repeated disobedience and apostasy caused God to replace ancient Israel as God’s true Israel and that Christians (including Gentiles) have replaced the biological bloodline of ancient Israelites as the new people of God. Supercessionism, when carried out to its logical conclusions, portrays God as having broken His Biblical promises & covenants with the Jewish people and, instead, in turning to the Christian church to fulfil and keep all those promises originally destined for the Jewish people, He has forsaken those that He repeatedly said in Scripture He would never forsake. It is clear throughout Old testament prophecies that God elected Israel to be saved, inherit the land, become a blessing to the earth, rule from Jerusalem, and so on. These covenants and promises are all throughout the Old Testament. And so, this boils down to election, a hot button topic in Christian theology.
When studying Scripture, it is vital that we see Scripture as interpreting all else and never allow us to be deceived into interpreting Scripture based on what we see outside of it. Doing so leads to Biblical misapplication, taking passages out of context, and other dangerous errors. After deep research into Scripture and removing preconceived interpretations and assumptions which had been formed outside Scripture, it became clear to me that this doctrine of Supercessionism is in error and the overwhelming evidence of God’s unbroken promise to the people of Israel became clear. Passages throughout Scripture including Zechariah 12 – 14, Ezekiel 36 – 39, Romans 9 – 11, and others removed all possibility that God was finished with Israel or that He broke His covenant with them due to their failure to recognise Jesus Christ’s first coming (apostasy). In fact, Jeremiah 31:37 speaks directly as if to counter Supercessionism in this rhetorical passage:
Thus says Yahweh, “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also reject all the seed of Israel For all that they have done,” declares Yahweh.
Jer. 31:37 LSB
Understanding the context of that passage and the rhetorical sentiments of the first portion of verse 37, I concluded, therefore, that God will not reject all the seed of Israel. I also saw that the Old Testament, which I had felt to be simply a tool or key with which to interpret the New Testament by, is far more significant than simply a key for the Gentile church. The promises in the Old Testament inform the significance of the New Testament and many other indispensable aspects but the Old Testament is also crucial in other ways. Not least of which, those in Old Testament times who read and wrote the ancient books of God knew them to be true and trustworthy. To take a position of Supercessionism would necessitate that the writers and readers of the Old Testament would have, in their day, been consuming prophecies, promises, and alliterations that were known, by God, to be untrue (due to His omniscience). One author says it this way,
‘This, then, means that the Old Testament can’t be interpreted on its own; that people who are writing it and reading it can’t have any idea what it is that they’re writing and reading. If Old Testament promises were actually for the church, and not for ethnic Jews, ethnic Israel, then those Old Testament promises are meaningless; they are utterly unintelligible, and they are irrelevant to the Old Testament reader. But this is essentially what you’re left with if you take an amillennial view; the New Testament is the starting point for understanding the Old Testament, and what you’ve just done is damage any meaningful interpretation of the Old Testament on its own. And this is basically what leads to what we call spiritualizing the Scripture; spiritualizing the Scripture – that is, taking texts out of their literal sense, spiritualizing them into some other than literal sense.‘1
John MacArthur
But what put me on the fast track more recently, is reading Romans 11 with renewed eyes.
Before diving into Romans 11, there is a prerequisite to all of this. I firmly believe that the Word of God is interpreted literally. There is no question about this and much of the deconstructionism and other apostasy we see around us today stems from a belief that the Bible is not literal in much of its accounts and instruction. Examining yourself and searching the Scriptures is required and necessary in the Christian walk. Deconstructing Scripture and spiritualising Biblical accounts is not part of this. If you say that the Bible does not, in fact, mean what it says, all definitive instruction is lost. All precision is nullified. If you take Scripture and say it may not mean what is says, you have just broken the tools of Scripture and have no ability to understand any portion of it with certainty. Now, of course, many will ask if I believe every word of the Bible is literal in a tangible way. They will mock, in their misunderstanding of what Biblical literalism is, and ask if I believe that the world is a flat circle, resting on immovable pillars, and with monsters that guard the sea. These arguments display an ignorance (willful or otherwise) of Scripture and the full meaning of passages like this. For example, the pillars are an analogy to the earth’s stability and the fact that it cannot be moved off of its intended course as set in creation. And again, the sea monsters are simply references to Leviathan which was some type of unknown & terrifying creature of the sea of which there are countless throughout history. The Biblical author was making reference to this creature to bring about a point about man’s control (or lack of it) in the world. If man cannot control Leviathan, how then can he contend with the Lord? Isaiah 40’s reference to the word ‘circle’, here, refers to the spherical shape of Planet Earth and it simply describes that the Lord is actively involved in His creation continually. As He looks down, people of the earth appear as grasshoppers. The author waxes eloquent with his speech but still fills each meaning with truth and instruction. The fast jabs at Biblical literalism fall flat because they are conjured up from emotion-driven dislike of Scripture’s truth. Contextual study of Scripture means sincere and dedicated time in the Word; something that those who despise Biblical literalism will not easily engage in. Understanding of the tone, rhetorical usage, poetry, and other aspects that define what we are reading is key. Naturally, there is no woman with an unnaturally long neck made out of ivory (Song of Solomon 7:4). This is poetry & prose. But there are other portions of Scripture that many try to claim is poetry but, unlike Song of Solomon and other passages, these references have none of the hallmarks of Hebrew poetry. Creation is another prime example of this. The creation account is narrative history and is completely literal. There is no prose, poetry, or other analogous features that are found in this account to leave room for other interpretations of the Biblical creation of the planet on which we live.
Contextual study of Scripture means sincere and dedicated time in the Word; something that those who despise Biblical literalism will not easily engage in.
And so, continuing with Romans 11’s revelation to me in my studies, my preconceived notions of Replacement Theology had no footing at all with which to stand on once Romans 11 was laid out before me in its narrative & literal manner. The words jumped off the page at me: ‘Has God rejected His people? May it never be!‘ (v1) And again in v 11, ‘did [the Jews] stumble so as to fall? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.’ Reading further through Romans 11, without external interpretations from current events or preconceived beliefs, I saw clear descriptions, laid out in basic storybook format, of what had begun at Christ’s 1st coming and continues on to the present, namely that, ‘a partial hardening has happened to Israel…’. I read on to see the future. ‘Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved‘ (v 25, 26). Interpreting things around me with the literal truth of Scripture made it crystal clear that, right now, a partial time of unbelief has come over Israel. There was no reason to be found in Scripture to believe that Israel means something other than Israel any more than Gentiles actually means Martians. It is a partial hardening or unbelief because we are, of course, still seeing a small trickle of Jewish people coming to Christ. But then, the moment that the last Gentile to be saved has been saved and the rapture of the believing church is triggered, Israel would be saved. I read and re-read the passage and others over and over. It didn’t say some of Israel. It didn’t say a few Jews like I had believed in years past. It says all Israel will be saved. Studying Romans 11 and the other passages in the Old & New Testaments showed me that Israel is the crux for eschatology. If your eschatological view of Israel is off base, the rest of your structure will be off base and unstable. Without the key of understanding Israel’s future as laid out literally in Scripture, it is impossible to grasp the rest of Scripture’s teaching about the last days.
I have believed in the Doctrines of Grace (commonly called Calvinism) for many years. This is the fundamental understanding that God has predestined all things from the beginning of time until the end and nothing happens beyond the absolute control and pre-planning of God. But, despite fighting for this doctrine in the face of Arminianism (the belief that God has not elected anyone to be saved but rather that man’s free will enables him to choose Christ or not), I stopped at the election of the church and did not see the same as true for Israel. And yet, the same God and the same terms are employed for both Israel and the church’s predestination for salvation. Why believe one is elect, but the other is not if God says both are? ‘Because,’ as the previously referenced author states, ‘if you believe in divine sovereign election, then you have to believe that as God will be faithful to His promises to His church, He will also be faithful to His promises to His elect nation Israel.‘2 As I stated earlier, election is a very hot button topic in Christian theology. But, Calvinists (those who adhere strongly to the Doctrines of Grace) are key proponents of election. And yet, many of these same proponents, while believing God has elected them to salvation, state that God’s election of Israel has fallen flat and they are no longer elect. In fact, many subscribe to Supercessionism which states that Israel has been permanently removed from the plan, due to their apostasy, and all promises and covenants have been shifted over to the church and it is now elect. The kingdom promised is spiritualised into a solely heavenly one and the earthly kingdom promises are discounted. Now, to be clear, by its very definition, election is not a temporary state. And so, Calvinists should be the very first to recognise Israel’s election still fully in place, despite their apostasy in the present time. To truly be a Calvinist and understand God’s election for the church, we must first understand God’s election of Israel. And, upon understanding God’s election of Israel, unless we manipulate Scripture to avoid this, we quickly see the blocks fall into place to form a solid Premillennialist view. By saying all of this, I am not calling into question the salvation of Supercessionists. I want to be clear that this does not appear, at this level, to be a salvific matter and, as such, is not touching on salvation of the proponent or denier of these things. However, those that do adhere to Supercessionism are mired in much deeper and confusing eschatology due to their denial of Israel’s future in the last days. Scriptural understanding is fundamentally shifted from a normative understanding to an interpretive one. This changes everything. Many building blocks are fundamentally altered in this view and many square pegs are forced into round holes when laying out Replacement Theology. Scripture is treated like a cypher which must be unencrypted. Further, without going deep into church history, it is interesting to note that John Calvin also struggled with this view and was heavily influenced by Supercessionism himself, having studied under the works of Augustine (mentioned above).
My studies, starting in about 2015, have now culminated in a shift from replacement theology, having found no proof of this in Scripture and ample proof to the very contrary. Today, my firm belief can be defined in what is often termed Premillennialism. However, with that term comes some needed clarification. Notably, a clarification would be the common association of Premillennial theology with Dispensationalism. While some aspects of the view are orthodox and not arguable, I disagree with many of the more radical Dispensational claims such as the 7 dispensations, 2 kingdoms, more than one New Covenant, more than one way of salvation, discontinuity between the Biblical Old & New Testaments, and so on. These are flatly wrong and gross misunderstandings of Scripture. My studies also informed that Scripture definitively teaches of a literal rapture of all believers (which could take place at any time as there is nothing prophetic in Scripture left to take place before this occurs). One notable caveat with this (as images of Kirk Cameron and empty airplanes spring to your mind) is that I do not see Scripture giving us exegesis of this event with moment by moment plays of how this will unfold. It is simply an event that the Lord has orchestrated into future events to remove His bride from the earth before the Great Tribulation occurs. After this, Christ will return to the earth in His second coming and Satan will be bound for a literal 1,000 years during the millennial kingdom. Again, there is no reason to believe this is not literal and, as such, should not be spiritualised away like so many other passages written in the same way as things which have already come to pass since being written. If those things came to pass literally, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the other things will not. At the end of the literal 1,000 years, Scripture lays out that Satan will be released and will lead a rebellion which will be completely crushed by God and the new heaven, and the new earth will be set up. At this point, the elect (true Christians who are saved by Christ) will live in eternity with God while all who are not truly saved by Christ will forever be relegated to total & terrifying true separation from God and thus be subjected to the removal of all the restraints of evil which will make way for the most despicable and unimaginable torment and agony on every being placed there by the sovereign God. This is hell.
All these things and countless other Scripture passages have monumentally altered my understanding of Israel’s place in history and, more specifically, the Jewish people in the future of the world and the end times. Rather than inadvertently allowing the world to inform my eschatological views of Scripture, Scripture actively informs my eschatological worldview, and this results in countless pieces of the puzzle fitting together in a perfect and beautiful way. No longer are questions in eschatology like a riddle which must be solved & reconciled with my beliefs. No longer are certain portions of God’s Word treated like a code which must be deciphered. Now, these passages of Scripture fit perfectly with the rest of Scripture, history, and even current events, having been understood through the lens of Biblical literalism.
I close with a quote by the hymnwriter Horatius Bonar:
The prophecies concerning Israel are the key to all the rest. True principles of interpretation in regard to them will aid us in disentangling and illustrating all prophecy. False principles as to them…that is Israel…will most thoroughly perplex and overcloud the whole Word of God. I am one of those who believe in Israel’s restoration and conversion, who receive it as a future certainty, that all Israel shall be gathered and that all Israel shall be saved. As I believe in Israel’s present degradation, so do I believe in Israel’s coming glory and preeminence. I believe that God’s purpose regarding our world can only be understood by understanding God’s purpose as to Israel. I believe that all human calculations as to the earth’s future, whether political or scientific, or philosophical, or religious, must be failures if not taking for their data or basis God’s great purpose regarding the latter day standing of Israel. I believe that it is not possible to enter God’s mind regarding the destiny of man without taking as our key or our guide His mind regarding that ancient nation, that nation whose history so far from being ended or nearly ended is only about to begin. He only to whom the future belongs can reveal it. He only can announce the principles on which that future is to be developed. And if He set Israel as the great nation of the future and Jerusalem as the great metropolis of earth, who are we that without philosophy of science we should set aside the divine arrangements and substitute for them a theory of man? Human guesses concerning the future are the most uncertain of all uncertainties and human hopes built upon these guesses are sure to turn out the most disappointing if not the most disastrous of all failures. I believe that the sons of Abraham are to re-inherit Palestine and that the forfeited fertility will yet return to that land, that the wilderness and the solitary places shall be glad for them, and the desert will rejoice and blossom as the rose. I believe that meanwhile Israel shall not only be wanderers, but that everywhere only a remnant, a small remnant shall be saved. And that it is for the gathering in of this remnant that our missionaries go forth. I believe that these times of ours are the times of the Gentiles and that Jerusalem and Israel shall be trodden down of the Gentiles till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. I believe that the completion of what the Apostle calls the fullness of the Gentiles will be the signal for the judgments which are to usher in the crisis of earth’s history and the salvation of Israel and the long-expected Kingdom.
Disclaimer: Although there are differences between Replacement Theology & Amillennialism and not all who hold to one hold to the other, the groundwork of Amillennialism and Replacement Theology are fundamentally linked. Conversely, the doctrine of predestination and the Doctrines of Grace are fundamentally linked with Premillennialism although, again, there are those who hold to one who seem not to hold to the other.
As we progress further into the 2020s, we are seeing, with greater numbers, another particular trend of apostasy in both famous and everyday Christian faith followers. The seed that falls on rocky ground is, of late, manifesting itself as a Presbyterian Bible teacher, a non-denominational worship leader, a Reformed theologian, a Baptist writer, a conservative Christian social media influencer, or any combination of these (or other) attributes. This person, who could be defined simply as a faith follower, is often a music artist, an author, a teacher, or another influencer who springs up for a short while, perhaps gaining attention, but slowly (faster, when famous) becomes caught up in political and social issues. Having no depth of root, those immersed in the Word begin to notice that this follower’s passion for the things of the faith is slowly wriggling out from under the authority of Scripture, particularly when justifying their newly embraced ecumenical worldview. This can look like anything from acceptance of base humor, irreverence, and sarcasm to multi-page self-justifying or church slandering exposés on current social wars filled with out of context Scripture quotations.
Apostasy by Way of Inclusivism
Next, in the progression, the follower begins to fellowship with those steeped in false worship, sharing their social media posts, endorsing their ministries, campaigns, and music. For music artists, the ecumenism may look like a Biblically sound hymnwriter going on an inclusive tour with Bethel Music, Kari Jobe, or Matt Maher. For authors, this may look like a preface to their new book being penned by Beth Moore, Mark Driscoll, Jackie Hill Perry, Steven Furtick, or a leading Anglican bishop or Episcopal priest. For the regular churchgoer or follower, this may simply show itself as a new-found embrace of High-Church liturgy or double-minded passions (for instance, sharing expletive-laced rap & faith-based chorale music on social media) which are often representative of a losing battle between the flesh and the spirit. (Romans 6:19, Galatians 5:17, James 4:1, 1 Peter 2:11) It may even manifest itself in an elevation over Christ with a political party or other movement.
Often, we find that the chain of events takes an interesting turn. While, at this point, the follower’s faith can simply wither and die, while the cares of the world choke it out, it seems that we are now seeing other stages playing a key role in the descent of many.
Apostasy by Way of Piety
While it isn’t every apostate’s story, this stage is seen much more in circles where the follower began the descent by the embrace of a certain tenet of woke theology, progressive Christianity, or other such compromising facet of a Biblically deficient worldview. Very often, this segues quickly (and rather intriguingly) into the follower converting to an Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Catholic, or other outwardly reverent or pious, but inwardly Biblically bankrupt, theology. For some, this is a conscious act of rebellion towards those they would, almost always falsely, term as Puritanical, chauvinist, racist, or other such label that ‘refuse to see the light like they have‘. For others, the conversion is simply another step in a subconscious drift towards beliefs that tempt them with (false) freedom to believe & live out an appealing progressive worldview while still believing themselves to be firmly rooted in the ‘safety’ of an historically Christian umbrella. And most commonly, it seems, there are those that see the pious legalism of such denominations as a means to satisfy their faith habits, thus feeling at home. All this occurs while the follower is still able to be fully immersed in their Biblically antithetical urges such as idolatry, irreverent humor, holy sounding yet hollow music, ecumenism, teaching roles (for women), and so on. This middle ground is an attractive draw for the apostasy headed follower.
Apostasy by Way of Bitterness
Another stage, which isn’t universal in the apostate’s journey, but has shown a dramatic increase lately, is Another stage, which isn’t universal in the apostate’s journey, but has shown a dramatic increase lately, is when the follower claims abuse in the church or is offended by a teaching or practice found there. This, with the aid of social media and the current cultural climate, can quickly blossom into an unhealthy obsession with church abuse investigations, claims, reports, takedowns, & legal action. This is not to say that it is wrong for false teachers to be exposed and brothers & sisters in Christ to be called out by the church, always in line with Scripture, when in error. However, this is an unhealthy obsession which, for many, stems from a deep-seeded bitterness towards the church and a desire to destroy those (in the very general sense) who caused them pain while elevating self to a position of moral superiority. To be clear, false teachers must be exposed. Impropriety must be dealt with in the church. But this behavior is in grave error when the motivation is sinful such as the bitterness, arrogance, or hatred described here. And these sinful motivations are often one of the final stages in the Christian apostasy of many today.
It All Ends the Same Way
Whether or not the segue into piety or bitterness occurs, the conclusion is invariably the same. Finally, sometimes after many years; sometimes only a few months, the follower comes to an advanced level of understanding, bitterness, or arrogance (call the conscious denial of Christ & His Word what you will) and the once passionate faith follower publicly denies the faith entirely.
Recently, I watched a video on YouTube. It was one of those innumerable educational videos put out by entities such as universities, think tanks, and other outlets (Big Think, Second Thoughts, NowThis, TED, and countless others). The ‘now you know‘ approach in these documentary styled clips is very popular and topics range from historical to scientific, religious to political, business to education, and anything in between. This particular video’s title spoke of the evils of pharmaceutical companies taking monetary advantage over consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The video was presented in an educational format, laid out its framework, and built the argument upon that foundation. But, the presenter’s peppy, yet bitter, even passive aggressive, demeanor, coupled with his rapid-fire jabs at any opposition to what he believes, turned whatever truth about pharmaceutical companies into a mouthful of arrogance and degradation upon my 1st watch and subsequent re-watching. Of note, this was despite my personal views not aligning with either his or those opinions and holders of such that he disparages.
The majority of what the video wove in had little (or nothing) to do with exposing a pharmaceutical company taking unfair advantage of uncontrollable global circumstances. The presenter seems to have simply used this video as a conveyance to distribute an imbalanced political world-view and promote a hatred & bitterness towards a certain group of human beings. His conveyance of this matter (no matter how truthful the business aspect of his video was) did nothing to heal deep divides and everything to further the disparities that are splitting the world.
So why bring this up?
Many of the bite-sized ‘educational’ videos found across YouTube & other platforms are unwitting carriers to carefully re-train us into a certain unquestioning mindset, while giving us ‘knowledge candy’ to savor while doing so.
Q. So, what are you saying we are being trained to do or think by these videos? A. To think of certain groups of people with contempt & hostility while truly fooling ourselves into thinking we are just helping these people rise to our level of enlightenment and understand ‘the facts’.
Not only does this demean others and cause greater rifts among us, but it slams the door on the Gospel and any avenue we may have to share it with others who may be on the other side of that divide. Romans 12:17-19 reminds us that we are to live, ‘Never paying back evil for evil to anyone, respecting what is good in the sight of all men, if possible, so far as it depends on you, being at peace with all men, never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God.’
Do you spend your days viewing these videos? Does this sound a bit over-reactive? The video I watched premises much of the argument on this statement regarding COVID-19, ‘Thanks to a combination of our cult of capitalism and weaponized idiocy of a certain type of person, the United States has officially made the situation far worse than it ever needed to be.’ It goes on to say, sarcastically, ‘Forget the at risk people in other countries who caught the disease despite their best efforts. Let’s waste these treatments on the idiots who think the virus is a Chinese Communist Democrat hoax and who will go right back out without a mask as soon as they leave the hospital.’ (Ref. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcXkXknzmwc) It truly has no bearing on a believer’s views on COVID-19 crisis or it’s handling to understand that this attitude is completely incompatible with a Biblical understanding of those created in the image of God. (see Gen. 1:27) This type of sentiment encourages a prioritization scale of compassion & life based on the recipient’s thoughts. It is saying that if someone thinks a certain way, they really should not be helped. I want to get into the nitty gritty here, as a believer, and ask why, again as believers, we would entertain these types of sentiments by promoting these videos? Why would followers of Jesus Christ endorse (much less adopt these views) when they are so antithetical to the Christ-honoring & Scripture saturated lives we are called to live? The same applies unequivocally to any content that encourages beliefs so out of line with Scripture, whether it be coming from TED talks, InfoWars monologues, Second Thought sessions, PragerU videos, or BigThink productions. Let’s put it this way: if we endorse or adopt the mentality that some people are so far gone in their way of thinking that we should cast them aside, how can we possibly love them enough to share the Gospel with them? Matthew 28 famously sums out our calling. ‘And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”’
CNN host Van Jones, a commentator I would seldom agree with on anything, in a rare move, stepped back and viewed his own political viewpoint and saw an ugly truth. Liberals, he said, ‘basically treat red states the same way that colonizers treat Third World Countries. “These are ignorant backwaters in the south, full of unwashed, uneducated, dumb people. And what we need to do is convert them to our NPR religion and force-feed them some kale so they can actually rise to our level!”‘ He goes on to lament to others who share his political views, ‘Do you hear yourself?’ (Ref. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFfWv0EnHQw&t=162s) But this is precisely what so many of these ‘mind expanding’ videos are doing. Now, this is not to say all these ‘fix the world’ videos are bent on converting the cultural pariahs (‘the dumb folk’) into those who have ‘arrived’. But, a lot are.
Countless of these informative clips that are very popular right now seem to have one notable massive draw, which is also a flaw. Not only do the clips usually strike one or two chords and say a thing or two that we strongly resonate with but feel we haven’t been able to articulate (giving us a false sense of trust in the presenter), but they also appeal to the disgruntled and victim nature that we, as carnal humans, have a strong tendency towards. Think about it. If we have a really tough day at work and we then hear a radio DJ on the way home mention something about the rising percentage of those burned out by their jobs, how likely is it that we will respond will a heart-felt verbal affirmation and ‘listen on’? We feel we have found a fellow sufferer in the radio DJ and are far more likely to let our natural guard down and trust subsequent things he says even if they aren’t true. These videos also present their suppositions, views, and judgements as actual facts, which we will often resonate with in some way, in the first few moments of each video and then base everything else in the video off of that groundwork, which, in many of these short videos, is not truly interested in fact or neutrality. Time & again, like much of entertainment & media available, these, too, are also being used as carriers, nudging us to sneer at or even demonize certain people.
In an age of information, this is an unpopular view, even among Christians.
Finally, if nothing above has given cause to give a second look at the content being pushed out in by a world that we know hates truth and it’s Author, I hope you can at least take this away from what I’m saying. These ‘educational’ info-videos, churned out by pop up producers & universities, make us feel like we have arrived at the only sound conclusion by our own accord and on our own analysis of these ‘facts’. The bankruptcy of this situation is that there is very little analysis and truth seeking we have done here and, instead, we are simply holding, now, to the very same conclusion that the producers hold.
What do I mean? When consumed in the manner with which they are produced, these inside scoop clips end up making us feel smarter and enlightened at the end, when in actuality, we have just been indoctrinated.
So what do we do?
Instead of spending untold hours seeking a new piece of knowledge that has little or nothing to do with our loving, holy, and omniscient God, we fill our minds with the mind of God: His Word! We immerse ourselves in the lives of brothers & sisters in Christ. We commune in prayer with our Savior. We sing! These videos are often the auto-playing unlimited downfall of truth-seekers and those that seek to amass information. Bible teacher, John MacArthur has this to say about the seemingly endless stream of knowledge & entertainment available to us. ‘As Christians, our worldview must be grounded in reality, not in the imaginary worlds of Hollywood. People can deny reality, and they can distract themselves with fantasy, but they cannot change the fact that one day they will stand before God (Hebrews 9:27). At that moment, the riches, pleasures, and accomplishments of this world will be of no use to them.’ Granted, the pursuit of knowledge is likely a more worthy pursuit than fantasy, riches, and pleasures. But Scripture warns us of pitfalls with this type of propensity, particularly unchecked. Don’t become like those in Romans 1:21-23, ‘For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.‘ or Isaiah 5:21, ‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding in their own sight!‘ And in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20, ‘Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”’
There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence.
No, this is not about the 1967 song to Alfie, nor is it about reindeer, giving hearts away the very next day,… or even a ’54 convertible. I want to take just a moment to talk about Christmas; that one time of year when you can walk into some big stores and still hear solid truths being loudly proclaimed in song through the store’s speaker system. No, we know Christmas Day isn’t the day Christ was born (for one thing, December is cold in Israel also, no outdoor shepherding). But, despite the wrong time of year coupled with some flawed traditions and habits; whatever the day’s roots & no matter it’s history, Christmas is now a day on which believers come together, just as they do year-round, to reflect and give thanks to God for the gift of His Son, our Saviour. It is also a time when many are potentially more receptive to the truth of the Gospel making this time of year a wonderful opportunity to share the truth (Matthew 28)! Now, perhaps this day was originally designated as an observance to honour a Syrian sun-god. But we don’t and I’d just be hubristic to state that Christians who observe Christmas are engaging in pagan worship. We also use the standard (pagan) names for the months and days of the week, right? What helped me as I struggled with this a few years ago is 1 Cor. 5:10. Our focus is on our Saviour – at this time and all times! He is the reason for all seasons! We know that for the Bible believing Christian, the focus is not on some calendar date that coincides with countless other events; the focus is that the ‘Word was made flesh’ & that we who are humanity may be redeemed by the coming, death, and resurrection of Jesus! May we avoid the temptation to turn the celebration associated with this season into consumerism, greed, tradition, or conflict. And when we expunge those distractions, we may just find that (shining through any back-story) the greater opportunity to demonstrate Biblical love by sharing the Good News of Christ overwhelmingly redeems the roots of the day that has come to be associated with Jesus’ birth.
‘Go spread the news of Emmanuel Joy and peace for the weary heart Lift up your heads for your King has come Sing for the light overwhelms the dark Glory shining for all to see Hope alive let the gospel ring God has made a way He will have the praise Tell the world his name is Jesus’
🎻 Sing We the Song of Emmanuel! 🎶 -Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, & Getty Music
It does not stem from a personal preference in musical styles. It is not a matter of opting for hymns instead of contemporary worship songs simply based upon orchestration, melody, or artist. This is far more than the type of music I enjoy. The following is a clarification on ‘Lyrical Discernment‘.
I have received feedback from my previous article entitled ‘Lyrical Discernment‘ which seems to show that many recipients of this challenge simply chalk it up to a style choice; that I prefer the sound of hymns and slower music as opposed to a faster, rhythmic, or contemporary sound of much of today’s praise & worship or Contemporary Christian Music. However, my reasons for urging lyrical discernment reach far broader than a superficial orchestration preference, genre, composition era, or a like of one group or writer’s instrumentation over another’s.
This is a challenge for a church-wide return to meaningful Biblically grounded music that teaches truth rather than repeating self-focused similes (often sung countless times in a chorus until the memory of the meaning is totally lost)!
‘This didn’t feel good nor was it fun to differ from friends and relatives on something I had agreed enthusiastically on in the past. As I cut to the core, some of my favourite artists over the past 10-15 years were falling headlong into the Biblically deficient music category.’
While it is true that I love many hymns, there are also several hymns that are just a damaging as the contemporary songs that are riddled with false doctrine such as Holy Spirit (Battistelli) & What A Beautiful Name (Hillsong). The traditional hymn ‘And Can It Be That I Should Gain’ has a wonderful and stirring melody but we must remember that the words, not the tune, are what matter, right? And the words here state that Jesus ‘left his father’s throne above, so free, so infinite his grace, emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race. In order to avoid any misconception that Christ was not still fully God and fully man, songwriter Aaron Keyes adjusted the words to read, ‘emptied Himself for all for love’ to correct this theological error. Even the beautiful hymn Blessed Assurance can be damaging. One might feel that once we are saved, all will be happy and blessed and we shall experience perfect submission to our Lord’s will. But believers know that this is anything but the case and our sinful nature vies against God’s will in favour of our own. Dan Phillips describes the difficulties and stumbling that can stem from these words:
The effect of all this was that I was constantly taking my spiritual pulse, constantly checking within, freezing up, paralyzed, spiraling down into deeper and deeper morbid introspection and depression. In the name of “looking to Jesus” (revealed in His Word) I was constantly looking to myself, within myself.
I still enjoy and share Blessed Assurance because I understand this to be a song depicting the assurance of Christ but it must be taken cautiously and with an existing background and knowledge of our Saviour & the rest He gives. Mike Leake says this about Fanny Crosby’s beloved hymn.
‘So where do we get our perfect delight from? This hymn would say it comes from perfectly submitted. A naïve reading of these words could drive us into ourselves to find assurance. But the Scriptures drive us to the finished work of Christ and not into analyzing the level of our submission.’
These are potentially minor issues in the study of hymnody. There are many more examples of hymns and old songs that are damaging in their doctrine and even more that can be misleading or are simply not edifying nor Christ exalting, Gospel saturated, or rich in theology. These are grounds that should be used when choosing songs both in church worship through song as well as listening enjoyment & instruction on a personal or family level. It is for this reason that I can also love, not only many traditional and modern hymns, but also many songs with Christ exalting lyrics that do not fall into the category of hymns.
In a further clarification, many of the songs that I have grown to love may, in fact, not be set to a preferred musical style, instrumentation, or quality. And yet, I have grown to love these songs for their truth content and sincere worship to our holy God!
I pray that everyone who reads this would examine their own music choices and be reminded that intake of musical lyrics is not passive. Absorbing music that is not edifying or is deficient in the truth is never harmless. At best, it is a waste of our time and it dulls our senses to the solid food of the Word; at worst it impresses upon us lies about our Saviour & His attributes while damaging our testimony and representation to the world of the one & true God.
Dear church, this is not about the sound, instrumentation, age, or author of the music we sing. This is about the words they teach us, this is about the Gospel they preach to us, this is about the Christ they describe to us, this is about truly exercising lyrical discernment in every song we allow into our minds and let pass from our lips.
Challenge: Can your music choices both in church and personal life be described as falling in line with both of the attributes in 1 Cor. 14:15b? ‘I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.’ #WorshipThroughSong
Recently, restrictions placed by leaders around the world as a result from the COVID-19 virus have resulted in multiple camps of thought worldwide, perhaps nowhere more so than in the United States of America. Social media has provided a venue for virtually everyone to feel the need to have an opinion on what should and should not be done and to express why others are carrying out their restrictions or lack of them in the wrong way. But, a phone call from my state to another area of the United States recently caused me to realise that there is an escalating situation among professing believers in Christ that must be addressed and, while some believers may not see this happening in their local body or area, others are witnessing the ugly effects of this first hand in their churches, among friends and families, and even in their own hearts fueled by sentiments on social media, political commentators, the 24-hour news cycle, or even sparked by their own worldviews which have strangely become separated from that which is formed from the Word of God. As a Christian, my view must be taken from and dedicated to the Word of God above all things, bar none.
In my attempt to go deeper into this passage and give Biblical justification for just how the believer is to respond to cries of ‘government overreach’, reductions in ‘freedoms’, or the response to COVID-19, I came across a message delivered online which has succinctly organized & laid out the convictions, conclusions, and resolves which I have been arriving at through study into Scripture over these past several weeks. In his message from the 10th of May 2020 titled ‘The Christian’s Mandate: How to Respond When Government Disappoints’, Pastor Steve Swartz of Grace Bible Church in Bakersfield, California advises that Christians ‘should be making judgments based on what Scripture would have us do while carefully considering the actions of Godly men, not hot-headed argumentative men!’ He goes on to state that those with an argumentative spirit are, in fact, ‘the last people we should be looking to; those are the ones who would have us make decisions based on emotion.’
‘Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor.‘ (1 Peter 2:13-17)
So, in breaking down 1 Peter 2, we come across several key points (Pastor Swartz breaks them down into 8 points) as to why Scripture mandates that we, as Biblical Christians, are submissive to rulers and authorities over us. Whether it is oppressive regime rule or capitalist democracy, Scripture doesn’t make a distinction between capacity or the type of rule they exercise over us. We are simply commanded by Scripture to submit to the authority God has placed over us. ‘Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.’ (Romans 13:1-2)
This leaves no room for revolution, rebellion, insubordination, or even protest. It isn’t part of the equation whether the leader is good, wicked, a Democrat, a Republican, Libertarian, Socialist, Nationalist, Communist, or even a mass-murderer: there is no place for rebellion or resistance because to do so is to resist God and those who resist will be punished (v. 2)
Wicked rulers are part of God’s plan to punish wicked nations and to fulfil God’s purpose in His sovereign plan. As John MacArthur puts it in his message Why Christians Submit to the Government, ‘The powers that be are ordained of God. They are not ordained by the opinions of the governed, the will of the majority, or the will of one man.’
So, why are we to be submissive to every ruler and every authority that God sets over us in our lives, whether good leaders or bad ones? We submit for the Lord’s sake because God said so! But to break it down even further through a Biblical lens, we find that Scripture is saturated with reasons why submission, not protest & rebellion, is the Christians directive.
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to demonstrate loyalty to God. ‘Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.’ (1 Peter 2:13-14) Hebrews 10:24-25 commands believers to assemble but the context is not in cases of external restriction from the government or others. Rather, this passage refers to rebellion in our own hearts as believers. The passage can however be applied to the time in which we find ourselves when it states, ‘Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.’ One of the ways we may do this during an admittedly challenging and different time in history is by meeting online, teaching and being taught in the Word through this means, and seeking at least a shadow of fellowship with the body of Christ through the resources God has provided to us in this digital era, that is, until the Lord provides the opportunity to restore true in person fellowship, accountability, service, corporate worship, & communion. But, while Hebrews 10:24-25 doesn’t really speak to governmental stay-at-home orders, quarantine, lockdown, or other new concepts we are coming to terms within this type of scenario; the apostle Peter does in 1 Peter 2. Although, as Pastor Swartz supposes, ‘James Madison and Alexander Hamilton would probably counsel us to rebel under abuses of power in order to maintain a republic’, in keeping with 1 Peter 2, ‘Peter says no!’ He further states that if we truly believe in the sovereignty of God we will believe that if God‘wants our republic to remain, it will. And if He doesn’t, it won’t.’ This is indeed a very bitter pill for Christians that are caught up in political wars of this world. Many mainstream Christians have fallen headlong for holding onto freedoms that they falsely claim are ‘God given’ and they demonstrate an un-Christian refusal to adhere to laws they claim are ‘unconstitutional’: a status that, in many ‘evangelical Christian’ worldviews, strangely trumps any Biblical precept or authority, including the clarity of the Christian’s mandate in 1 Peter 2. But, we read in Mark 8:34 that, if we are to truly follow Christ, we are to deny ourselves! This devotion to Christ is expressed in how we live and, as 1 Peter 2 says, it is ‘for the Lord’s sake’ contrasting very clearly that we are not to live for our sake! Followers of Christ would do well to remember that the Christian life is a life of submission! In fact, an un-submissive Christian is an oxymoron. Such as thing does not exist in Scripture. Even when our employers, governments, parents, pastors, or other leaders that God has sovereignly and intentionally placed in our life disappoint our expectations, desires, or needs, there is no Biblically justified cause to cease submitting or to engage in any rebellious action!
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to respect God’s decisions. (1 Peter 2:13) The human institutions and leaders of this world do precisely what God would have them to do in His providence! ‘The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.’ (Proverbs 21:1) Taking this truth from Proverbs 21 to its logical conclusion, Pastor Swartz lays out, in no uncertain terms, how we are to view the decisions that any and all leaders make in our lives. ‘Who made the decision in the state of California to issue a four-stage plan for reopening the state? God did! And, by the way, just a reminder, God did not sign the Declaration of Independence! Nor did he sign the Constitution. God is not bound by the Constitution of the United States in His decisions. So, there are really only two choices. Either you respect God’s decisions, or you do not.’
No, it doesn’t matter what country we live in, what authority we are under, or how that authority changes from good to bad or bad to good: if our first instinct is non-compliance, the Bible is very clear that we are categorically wrong. God has made those decisions; He moves the hearts of our leaders where He wills and for us to question Him by refusing to comply shows a misunderstanding of who we are and who our God is. Followers of Christ must not fall into feeding this attitude by becoming captivated by government slander, constant gossip on other leaders, and absorbing the whispers of those whose chief end it is to stimulate others into frustration, non-compliance, & dissatisfaction against leaders (whether or not they are or are not corrupt). Scripture makes it very clear that these sentiments & reactions are out of the will of God, ‘for there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.’ (Romans 13:1b)
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to express our love for God. Obeying God demonstrates and expresses our love for God because in so doing, we are keeping His commandments. (John 14:15; 1 Peter 2:15) However, selectively interpreting the Bible to fit any political or patriotic ideals we may have demonstrates that we are holding our standard above God’s standard, our will over God’s will, our view of what is right over God’s sovereign control of what is right. Reading Scripture we see that if anyone had a right to protest a disappointing government, it was Jesus Himself! We see in his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion story that corrupt rulers sat upon His throne and condemned Him to death! But even when given the opportunity to protest His innocence, He remained completely silent! (Matthew 26:63) Jesus knew and submitted to God’s will and that will was for Him to be crucified by Rome, not overthrow it! And we know that Jesus perfectly demonstrated that love for His Father: ‘not My will, but Yours be done!‘ (Luke 22:42)
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to rightly represent God. 1 Peter 2:15b states that ‘by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.’ As Christians, we have been transformed. We are a new creation in Christ but when we give the appearance of being rebellious, hot-headed, un-submissive, and ready for a fight against leadership, we have misrepresented God to those who are accusing Christians to be thinking of themselves as above the law (foolish people noted in 1 Peter 2:15). The Bible teaches that believers are to give the world nothing but good things to say of us and, through that, lead lives which are so above approach that we are noticed to be accurate bearers of the name of Christ, not those that would tarnish it with anger and a fighting or un-submissive spirit! ‘For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favour with God. (1 Peter 2:20) In his message, Pastor Swartz speaks of church leaders who have fallen into this pit of distraction and misrepresentation of Christ. ‘What a wasted opportunity when pastors are leading their people to be angry, to be over-reactive, to be pugnacious, to be belligerent, to be argumentative, to be contentious…! How does that represent God? How does that set the Christian apart from the world?’ Brothers & sisters in Christ, we are first and foremost citizens of heaven, not any earthly nation, and therefore we obey God over all else. In this circumstance which the world finds itself, it means we obey His command to submit to the leaders He has placed in authority over us, bar none.
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to follow God’s priorities. ‘Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.’ (1 Peter 2:17) These mandates are not to be viewed as individual but rather as a one three-fold command! By honouring our leaders and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, we fear God.
And for the leaders in the church today, 1 Peter 5:2 clearly states one, and only one directive: ‘shepherd the flock of God’! Pastor Swartz has some potentially very difficult words for many who claim Christianity in America today, particularly pastors and leaders in the church. ‘It is not the duty of the shepherd of the church to defend the Constitution. It is the shepherd’s duty to defend the flock of God from sinful waywardness & to teach them to submit to and to trust a sovereign God. How can we preach the sovereignty of God and the minute anything gets just a little bit difficult we find human solutions immediately?’ As believers, we are to be consistent; searching the Scriptures for answers in all things and at all times! Times may be rough. We may find ourselves living in North Korea under one of the harshest leaders of our day. We may find our homeland becomes just as harsh. Does that change our directive to submit? No! But do not despair! We know that one day all government oppression, injustice, & sinful actions will be brought to account when Christ returns but until then, we are to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6:10) and, while encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ to do that same, we are to ‘honour everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the emperor!’ (1 Peter 2:17)
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to become more Godly. ‘First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.‘ (1 Timothy 2:1-2) There is hardly a quicker way to break a spirit of rebellion, anger, and controversy towards leaders than to stop and sincerely pray to our God for them, the decisions they make, and that they would come to a knowledge of the Lord! And even when we would rather do anything than pray for wicked and evil people, we are commanded to do so even in the face of oppression, persecution, even death! This posture or attitude towards our leaders may not provide for the oppressive situations to be solved but it will orient our hearts on things above and mold us towards leading lives that are more dignified and Godly. Yes, in times when leaders are oppressive, we are still to submit without rebellion allowing for the trial to produce endurance, perseverance, or steadfastness. ‘We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’ (Romans 5:3-5) God’s Word is contrary to what seems to be the knee-jerk American reaction when a so-called freedom is infringed upon, but praying with proper perspective and intent makes us more like our Saviour, counting all trials & oppression in whatever leadership God has set over us as joy. This, not rebellion, dissention, complaining, or protest enables us to ‘lead a peaceful and quiet life, Godly and dignified in every way.’ (1 Timothy 2:2b)
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to express our trust in God. The true believer strives to, in times of trial, walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord! Never is there cause to take matters into our own hands and, in so doing, claim that God didn’t get it right or do well by us! Followers of Christ take Him at His Word and walk through injustice & suffering, not disobeying the Word of God by saying with our thoughts and actions that we can do better than God! But, how do we walk through injustice & suffering? We do so the very same way Job did when God removed his entire earthly life in one day. (Job 1:13-22) We fall on our face and cry out to God and bless His name! We must ask ourselves in times of personal and global trial and oppression: do we trust Christ with our lives, jobs, and daily needs? Do we trust God with regards to His church; that it’s fate is not in the hands of the government but rather in the hands of the One who has guaranteed her success? (Matthew 16:18) Back to his message, The Christian’s Mandate: How to Respond When Government Disappoints, Pastor Swartz speaks in no uncertain terms on those who have blended the message of the Word of God with fallible documents of an earthly government, turned the pulpit into a political opinion platform, & forgotten their ‘first love’. ‘How sad it is when many unbelievers are complying with the government and reading in the news that Christians are not! Instead, the unbelievers should be hearing about the peace that passes all understanding. They should be hearing that we believe God when He commanded, “Do not be anxious about anything!” They should be hearing that we trust Jesus when He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” They should be hearing that our salvation from sin, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is so powerful in our lives that we trust God that all things will be made right, that all wrongs will be vindicated because we believe according to Zechariah 14:9 that someday the Lord will be King over all the earth! That’s what they should be hearing! They should not be reading of Christians defying the government because it ruins our witness and it says we don’t trust God! We submit because we trust God. You might say, “I don’t, nor do I trust our Governor.” Could I say this? Who asked you? God didn’t. God didn’t ask you. He did not require your opinion when he set all things into motion. Isn’t it easier and isn’t it much more peaceful to just sit back and trust God and let the world see what a peaceful Christian looks like?’ It is truly shameful and a slander on the name of Christ for believers to spread dissension, rebellion, and protest (through any medium, even social media) against the leaders that God has placed in authority over us. Many will disagree, still struggling with the deeply rooted blend of patriotism, ‘American freedoms’, and Evangelical Christianity. But, for the heart that truly puts Christ and His mandates above all else, these tendencies must be stopped short at the words, ‘honour everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the emperor!’ (1 Peter 2:17) Usually, at about this point in the conversation, Acts 5:29 tends to be brought up as a justification for disobeying our leaders when freedoms are removed. The apostle Peter says, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ This is absolutely true; we are to obey God over men! And, as there is no sweeping law in the United States of America at the time this was written which prohibits obedience to God, we are therefore commanded by God to ‘honour everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the emperor!’ When such a law is enacted that prohibits us from doing something God commands or commands us to do something that God prohibits, we shall continue to obey God over man. God does not command defenses of and protests for free enterprise, the American dream, the US Constitution, or even benefits & retirement funds from free enterprise. God does not command us to open our businesses when the government says otherwise. God does not command or even authorise any type of rebellion or insurrection when leaders rise up in tyranny and remove all freedoms that many incorrectly believe we are ‘entitled‘ to! Remember, these very passages of Scripture were written at a time when the government in authority over the writers was killing people to use them as torches to light the royal gardens. Still, Peter and the others submitted to these evil men whom God had placed in authority over them in His sovereign plan.
Bible believing Christians are to be submissive to all rulers and authorities set in place over us in order to spread the Gospel. There is a steady, logical, and pronounced progression in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 which starts with praying for our leaders and ends with spreading the Gospel to others (and their subsequent salvation). Instead of fighting for our rights, we ought to be praying for the Gospel to be spread through our submission to all leaders in our government, jobs, and even families! We must not allow our deceitful hearts to lead us into obsession over politics, employment, news, or even health! Instead, through application of the Word and constant prayer to God and fellowship with His people, our hearts must be molded into submissive vessels with a passion for the Gospel and the furtherance of it. Pastor Swartz recounts, ‘One article this week reported that 500 churches in California are reopening on May 31st. “The churches are not asking for permission,” said Bob Tyler, a religious freedom attorney advising the pastors. “The governor is sitting here as a dictator, trumping the Constitution and is kind of hanging on to the state emergency for as long as he can hold it.”’ Pastor Swartz goes on to probe, ‘Since when does the church of Jesus Christ base the outworking of our faith on consulting an attorney? No! We consult the Word of God!’
Pastor Swartz closes with the challenge to every believer in Christ, ‘When this crisis is over, did you walk through it in peace and submission or did you walk through in anger and with a rebellious spirit? Could I encourage you to let your boast be that you trusted Christ and you truly believed the sovereignty of God?’
Of note, something that does not enter in or influence the conversation here is the particular flavour of American Exceptionalism which often feels that the American experiment is exempt from the mandate to submit to governmental leaders. It claims that America does not have leaders that require submission in the way that leaders in the New Testament did. But we have only to only look at 1 Peter 2’s ‘every human institution‘ to know that this argument is flawed and comes, yet again, out of the strong aversion that our human nature has to submission, even when mandated by Scripture. Many will state that the story of Paul’s interaction with Roman authority authorises protest and rebellion. But this is not in the way most would carry it out. Paul is willing and ready to submit himself to the judicial system of Rome but he also, in his quest to further the Gospel and his mission here on earth, makes sure that they understand their own law and his relation to it. Paul calls the Roman leaders to account when they overstep the bounds their own law has set for them but at the same time he is bold in proclaiming and exemplifying that his allegiance is not to Rome but to God. This is a far cry from stirring others to defy, protest, or rebel against ruling authorities, law enforcement, governors, or others that God has set in place regardless of any differences in the civic model between the United States and Bible-era world powers. Finally, Paul, in Romans 13, states that every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. He goes on to define a good & just ruler but makes no exception or allowance to defy or not submit to a ruler if they are corrupt. In fact, the rulers during Paul’s day were exceedingly corrupt and yet Paul still wrote about the Christian’s requirement to submit to them, in no uncertain terms. American Exceptionalism has fundamentally adjusted the way many see themselves, God’s Word, and the United States and is altogether flawed, having no power to excuse or modify Biblical mandates.
Again, it should go without saying that we are always to obey God over men and if men become so corrupt as to begin to use their powers to prohibit what God commands or enforce what God prohibits, we shall continue to obey God over man and cease, in that case, to submit to their anti-God mandates.
You might have noticed that my personal view on the current COVID-19 actions taken by local and national governments and whether they may be overreach, warranted, or not enough don’t enter into this discussion. Nor should they. Any personal belief I have on this has absolutely no bearing on what Scripture states is to be our response towards the authority He has set in place over us. Instead, Bible believing Christians must seek new opportunities to share the Gospel that may arise through this and all distresses! Think about the long lines we are stuck in to get food or supplies at the stores. Voices behind masks can still travel more than 6 feet; share the Gospel! God, in His sovereignty, has allowed stores, church buildings, & places of employment to close for the time being. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we do not rebel, grumble, protest, or stir up discontentment! No, we seek out Gospel opportunities in this upheaval in the lives of virtually everyone on earth! And may we never cease to, ‘Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor’!
As believers, this is what we train for! This is the type of moment that Christians have imagined, practised for, & even, in some way, waited for. Now that the Lord has brought this about, will we squander this time with distractions of defiance?
Many will ask, ‘So, when do we not yield or submit? When do we defy?’
Answer: When the authorities mandate behaviours that are in defiance of God’s mandates, unlike the present COVID-19 restrictions. (as of 18 May 2020)
For more, please see ‘We Will Not Bow‘ – an excellent message on when we refuse to bow.
We are excited to announce that our brand new streaming channel is now live and featured on the AccuRadio platform! Worship through Song Radio streams over 400 hand picked, carefully curated, & Gospel saturated songs that we’ve chosen from a wide range of styles but all unified with Christ exalting lyrics that are rich in theology and Biblical truth. The channel features music by hymn-writers Keith & Kristyn Getty, Shane & Shane, Matt Boswell, City Alight, and many others dedicating their talents to the glory of God and the edification of His church.
AccuRadio’s brand new Worship through Song channel has been recognised as highlighting an area that is largely unrepresented in Christian radio & streaming platforms today and introduces several new or re-discovered artists as well including Sebastian Demrey, Sandra McCracken, and The Enfield Hymn Sessions.
I sincerely hope these songs minister to you throughout your day, encourage your heart, and set your mind on the things of Christ.
Please tune in online, download the app on iOS and Android, and share with your family and friends!
No sign up, app, or subscription required. Just open & press play. ▶
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide an alternative to the popular, yet fatally flawed mainstream Contemporary Christian Music industry by curating playlists of both traditional and modern hymns, psalms, & spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19) with beautiful lyrics that are rich in theology. By doing so, we hope to encourage churches, groups, families, and friends to listen to, learn, and sing together this distinctly Gospel saturated, Christ exalting ‘worship through song.’
What is the Modern Hymn Movement?
In recent years, modern worship music with a distinctly theological lyric focus blending hymns and Biblical spiritual songs with newer instrumentation, has emerged in some branches of Protestant Christianity. Artists in this movement include well-known groups such as Shane & Shane, Andrew Peterson, CityAlight, and modern hymn-writers, Keith & Kristyn Getty as well as others like Matt Papa, Sovereign Grace Music, Matt Boswell, The Enfield Hymn Sessions, Stuart Townend, and Aaron Keyes. The modern hymn format is gaining traction in some churches and other aspects of Christian living. 🐦@WorshipThruSong 📷@WorshipthruSong
Spotify Playlists
Music with a primary focus on Biblically focused, Christ exalting, & theologically rich hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs for the daily Christian walk. feat. Keith & Kristyn Getty, Sovereign Grace Music, Matt Boswell, Shane & Shane, Enfield, & more
What lyrics are heard around your house or in the car? These hymns, psalms, & spiritual songs are produced especially for the little ears among us; to encourage, give joy, & fill minds with Christ exalting truths! feat. Getty Kids Hymnals
Teach your family the songs of truth & hope. This dynamic list was designed with families in mind but can be used by anyone seeking to learn new songs each month. Designed for a daily routine with a new song to learn each week. Features songs that are rich in theology, accentuate Biblical truths, & exalt Christ.
Worship through the songs of Christmas with a sprinkling of the French Noël. feat. Sebastian Demrey, Fernando Ortega, Chris Tomlin, Keith & Kristyn Getty, Sovereign Grace Music, & more
If your church doesn’t have a hymnal or is seeking new music, PLM Studios has curated a playlist of Gospel saturated songs, both old & new, arranged for Bible focused churches intent on shepherding believers with Christ exalting, edifying, and theological worship through song.
Commuting by rail, bus, car, bicycle, or foot – this is an alternative to the stale morning show and questionable content with mix of both timeless favourites (like His Mercy is More) and fresh discoveries (Psalm 150: Praise the Lord)! Updated regularly.
A diverse list of tracks, both familiar and unfamiliar, that consistently speak truth to our hearts.
A joy-filled & upbeat collection of modern & traditional hymns, psalms, spiritual songs, and praise to our God that is rich in theology and Christ-exalting lyrics. feat. Enfield, Keith & Kristyn Getty, Shane & Shane, Sovereign Grace Music, & more
Originally created prior to the 2016 United States Elections & the turmoil surrounding the pursuits of the world, REFOCUSED (orig. Encouragement: ’16 & Not Our Home) directs the believer’s thoughts & attitudes on Christ alone in the face of trials & temptations through songs of Biblical truth.
A collection of hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs rediscovered from ancient and traditional sources of found from modern hymn writers and producers. To listen, learn, teach others, and sing together!
PLM Enterprises top 20 picks for poignant, Biblical, theological worship through song.
Chorale music from congregations, universities and other groups from around the world lifting voices in unison to our God.
Une collection de louer a travers le chant pour le monde francophone. avec: Sebastian Demrey, Mission Timothée, Matt Marvane, Antydot, Chorale Psalmodie…
Esta es una colección de ‘Adorar a Través de la Canción’ diseñada para que las iglesias y las familias escuchen, aprendan y canten juntas.
Timeless favourites for rare moments where words are out of place (ceremonies, fellowship, etc)
Instrumental & peaceful songs to rest to for very young children. This list is meant to be an encouraging alternative to parents from many of the baby songs currently circulating.
We also assemble playlists for local churches who wish to share their set lists and favourite songs with the body of Christ.
These are the songs sung in the ‘worship through song’ time of the service at Christ Bible Church in North Hills, CA.
These are many of the songs sung in the ‘worship through song’ time of the service at Free Grace Church in Fresno, CA.
It isn’t hard, especially in the United States, to flip on the radio and find a radio station playing today’s Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) pop. And most mainline streaming platforms have a category streaming these same hits. A very high percentage of church services, mostly in Protestant derived groups, play, perform, and sing a steady stream of music from artists in today’s evangelical scene such as Elevation Worship, Lauren Daigle, Bethel, Passion, Kari Jobe, Hillsong, and multiple others. Many years ago, I owned a low power Christian radio station and, without question, aired any song with a ‘Christian’ label or theme. But there is a particular sequence of events that, since then, caused me to take a second look at most of what is found in the Christian pop, CCM, and church music circles today. Before my story, I want to clarify that this is not an attack on music written after a certain date, arranged in a specific musical format, or containing certain instruments. Nor is it a blanketed exposition concerning every artist producing music heard in the CCM genre. I love numerous songs written over multiple centuries & generations including ancient, traditional, & modern hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs. But this sequence of events was a culmination of questions, Biblical study, & answers that kindled and subsequently burst into flame an acute realisation of a desperate need for lyrical discernment not only in churches today but in my own life! It started one afternoon when my wife and I heard a song playing on a nationally syndicated Christian radio station in our car.
As it was topping the Christian music charts at the time, it was hard to avoid hearing this particular track several times a day on any CCM station. But this time the lyrics of Jesus Culture’s popular anthem caught our attention with renewed awareness. ‘Holy Spirit, You are welcome here’, Francesca Battistelli sang, with strong emotion driven chords. The Bethel Church artist went on to call upon the Holy Spirit to ‘flood this place and fill the atmosphere’ and then quickly moved into a repetitive chorus calling for participants to experience the Holy Spirit’s presence, multiple times.
It was as if I had awoken from a passive slumber. Suddenly, I was alert. I’d heard this song countless times before but had never really considered earnestly the legitimacy of the lyrics. Passively taking in the music on popular Christian radio for years, I had simply considered it to be a reasonably safe ‘Christian music’ zone. Yes, I had raised my eyebrows over certain questionable lyrics in the past, but surely there was no real need to exercise heightened discernment here. After all, Christian radio speaks about Jesus Christ & God. And Christians believe there is only one God, right?
But my awareness of the attributes of the Holy Spirit had recently increased thanks to an expositional series at our small church in northern Los Angeles. We’d just learned, in depth, about His defining qualities and we’d also learned from Scripture exactly what the Holy Spirit is not. I began comparing the lyrics of this popular CCM mantra with Scripture. As we know from the Bible, the Holy Spirit is just that, spirit. He is immaterial. Perhaps the KJV’s Holy Ghost gave us the impression He wafts around like Casper, The Friendly Ghost. I don’t know. But that concept could not be further from the truth. The Holy Spirit is not a mist or a gas that can be breathed in. The Holy Spirit is, in fact, the sovereign God of the cosmos; He is the Triune God. And the Holy Spirit unlocks our minds to Scriptural truths, gives us understanding, and (directly contrary to this song’s concept of Him), the Holy Spirit already abides in us, completely and fully, if we are in Christ! As children of God, He dwells within us; there is no more of Him, there is no less of Him that we are able to call down at any given moment; He is either dwelling within us completely or He is not at all! Finally, the Holy Spirit requires absolutely no invitation from us, for if He did, (think about it) that would give us the power to allow or disallow God to do something thus making us more powerful than God!
I was shocked. I began to study more about this song and others. I asked myself, ‘What exactly have I been taking in and singing out, no questions asked?’ Had I been passively taking in untruths about our God without searching His Word to see if these things were, in fact, so? To be what is termed by many as a Berean (Acts 17:11) is to search diligently to see if the things you are hearing, reading, or being taught are indeed in accordance with Scripture.
It was becoming clear that I had not been a Berean in my music choices.
I began to be more aware as I listened to Christian radio on my commutes. ‘You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus, You brought heaven down,’ Hillsong Worship sang.Wait, what did I just hear? This was very clearly & totally inaccurate information about God. Nowhere does the Bible state that some type of unsatisfying solitude in heaven was even one of God’s reasons for redeeming His people! Rather, the theme that resounds throughout Scripture is God’s desire to glorify Himself by redeeming sinners. In fact, Romans 3:21–26 explicitly describes Christ’s atonement as the display of God’s righteousness, not a display of loneliness! Undoubtedly, the cross was also the demonstration of God’s great love for sinners (John 3:16), but that doesn’t mean He was incomplete without us. There is just no Biblical justification for this false teaching through song lyrics and singing these words simply gives listeners a false conception of our God. It also is furthering the false belief that we are a requirement for God’s completion or happiness which, in turn, elevates us, not our Creator! I concluded that this was not just a misleading & mindlessly emotive verse but also one that cannot be backed up by Scripture or any of God’s attributes therefore making it extra Biblical, deceitful, and materially harmful to the true Gospel.
Still, I wanted to give some leeway about the majority of music I was hearing in the CCM genre. ‘After all,’ I thought, ‘where else can you find music that speaks of God in today’s broken and lost world, especially on the radio? The rest of the songs seem OK, right?’
I moved on but thoughts in the back of my mind still nagged me persistently. To be honest, the notion had started to grow back when I had begun to form a Biblical worldview and the subsequent stance on Biblically antithetical movements in recent years, in particular, the sexual revolution. It had to do with what the Bible defines and teaches about love versus what the world defines and teaches about love. Slowly it began to dawn on me what was wrong with so many of these Christian pop songs and their conception of who God is, how followers of Him should behave, and so much more about the fundamentals of the movements producing so many of these CCM anthems. I began to realise that, just like the world, these churches and their praise bands are seeming to confuse the term love by defining the love we are to have for God as philia, eros, or some other form of love which is completely inappropriate for God and the love reserved for Him alone: agape. Getting this attribute of our Saviour so completely wrong materially changes every aspect of who they feel God is. And this distorted Christology is showing up blatantly in the songs written and sung across the board in thousands of churches and on CCM radio stations today. It affects effectively every aspect of the music and through this, the teachings found in the majority CCM music massively contradict Scripture.
Right about this time, Los Angeles’ first metro wide Christian music radio station signed on the air. Those who know me know I am very keen on new businesses, branding, and media: especially Christian ones! And so, in my excitement, I put these concerns on the back burner, hoping I might be wrong about much of the music I was finding to be in serious error. But I quickly became disappointed and saddened as I ran into yet more inescapable kill-joys. One memorable moment was the morning I heard the band Rend Collective belt out the phrase, ‘We are the hope on earth!’ I was instantly re-awoken from my somewhat forced state of excitement for this new station. ‘No, we aren’t!’ I shouted back, ‘Jesus is the hope on earth! He is our only hope!’ Looking back, I can only hope that’s what they meant by these otherwise inwardly focused lyrics.
Unsure where to turn or how to respond, I kept listening in the hopes that somehow the Christian music industry would catch these Biblically antithetical songs and introduce music which spoke truths from God’s Word. But I already felt defeated in my hopes. I began noticing that out of an hour of songs, there would only be one, sometimes two songs that weren’t seriously flawed in their lyrical teachings. Sometimes every single song on my hour commute was either rampantly self-focused, devoid of any mention of God, or was speaking untruths about my Saviour at a rate that I just could not excuse any longer.
A Realisation
With a deteriorated excitement, I got into my car each morning trying to tell myself how great it was that at least some Christian music was now being heard all over Los Angeles and I tried to focus on some of the lyrically sound music I heard on occasion by artists like Casting Crowns, Laura Story, or Chris Tomlin. But I was disturbed and couldn’t rest. I listened to the words of each song intently. After all, if we are intaking any type of media, we should never be consuming it without question, simultaneously shutting off our Biblically charged conscience for the duration. And through my analysis, I found that, in fact, a large percentage of the music on Christian radio isn’t speaking to or even of God. Most of what is aired on Christian radio and found in the CCM top charts today contains vague & ambiguous language evoking a focus of self with an occasional clichéd phrase from the evangelical world or a brief reference to God in the midst of our personal struggles. And for those songs that spoke to and of God, I discovered them to be almost solely taken from the worship anthems and choruses usually penned or performed by groups like the Australian band Hillsong Worship, Bethel Church’s Jesus Culture, UNITED, Elevation Worship, Gateway Worship, and countless others. These songs claim to talk about the one true God but the concept of Him portrayed through song is fundamentally flawed. So many of Christian radio’s favourites such as Kim Walker-Smith, Kari Jobe, Lauren Daigle, Joel Houston, Cory Asbury, & Josh Baldwin are in these destructive movements and are therefore churning out music with damaging theology. I began to realise that, not only are these lyrics simply not defining Christ by His proper attributes but, reflecting teachings of the movements these writers stem from, these songs are describing God to be what He is not!
An overwhelmingly high percentage of music that is found on Christian radio simply does not describe or worship the same God who is found in and authored the Bible!
I shut off the radio & adjusted my streaming service favourites, heartbroken but firm in my resolve to seek out those who had come to this realisation as well and find where they had turned for true theologically sound, Christ exalting, & Biblical music.
About this time, I began to discover (in some cases rediscover) a few songwriters in what is known as in the modern hymn movement. These few determined to make a stand for Biblically grounded music with a clear & direct focus on Christ-exalting lyrics. Hymn-writers and composers like Keith & Kristyn Getty, Sovereign Grace Music, Matt Boswell, Shane & Shane, Matt Papa, Stuart Townend, and others were now producing music that is not only professional and beautiful, but far more importantly, the lyrics are filled with solid Gospel truth. Writing & recording both new and traditional hymns & songs, these few continue to release music that immerses us in Scripture, teaches us sound theology, and reminds of the attributes of God as we go about each day. I have been blessed with a car that plays audio from streaming sources and now, after a trying day at work, my soul is refreshed with rich and restoring Scriptural truths set to music.
‘Who is like the Lord our God? Strong to save, faithful in love My debt is paid, and the victory won The Lord is my salvation!’
The Lord is My Salvation (Keith & Kristyn Getty) 2016
Poignant lyrics of truth challenged me when my mind was weak:
‘When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end to all my sin!’
Before the Throne of God Above (Sovereign Grace Music) 2003
These words set to music encouraged and uplifted my heart in perspective reorienting ways. Far different from fleeting emotional highs during music sequences, these new lyrics of truth would playback in my mind when difficulty, sorrow, praise, and encouragement of daily life arises!
🔊 Listen to ‘Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call’ | Free audio courtesy of Tim Challies
‘Lord, from sorrows deep I call When my hope is shaken Torn and ruined from the fall Hear my desperation For so long I’ve pled and prayed God, come to my rescue Even so the thorn remains Still my heart will praise You’
Lord, From Sorrows Deep I Call (Matt Boswell & Matt Papa) 2018
Those emotive & deficient mantras on CCM radio and echoing in many churches now ring hollow. Their skewed concepts come back empty and shallow like junk food. The repetitive, extra-Biblical, self-centred lyrics in the highly commercialised mainstream contemporary Christian music industry hold no meaning for me anymore. Occasionally, I am still subject to songs that are emerging in CCM industry. An all-new Christian Worship station brand on the radio in our area actually describes itself as ‘feel good worship music’ as it broadcasts emotion-driven anthems such as one by CCM singer, songwriter, & church worship leader Kari Jobe. Note the ambiguous wording, slang, and, at times, almost sensual terms the artist uses to define the attributes of God.
‘I wanna sit at your feet, Drink from the cup in your hand. Lay back against you and breathe Feel your heart beat This love is so deep It’s more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, It’s overwhelming’
The More I Seek You (Kari Jobe) 2006
This type of experiential (even sensual) composition simply holds no value, does not edify, build up, teach truths, or expound on (or even talk about) the same God of whom I read about in the Bible.
A Double-Take
Soon, my newfound advocacy for deep, Biblically driven music found opposition as the theologically rich stanzas countered and subsequently hollowed out easy-to-listen-to choruses driven by the vague analogies and charismatic conceptions of Christian sounding sentiments found in CCM pop.
And still, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t enacting the proverbial phrase by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Perhaps not all songs by some of these popular groups contain the types of gross inaccuracies or unbiblical teachings that awoke us from our slumber into a heightened sense of lyrical discernment. And so, to check our motives and reasons, we asked ourselves if there was anything that could be truly redeeming, challenging, or edifying in our walk with Christ in these popular songs topping the CCM charts? Could any of the mega-hits by Hillsong, Bethel’s Jesus Culture, or others be seen as informative; offering anything we could pick and glean from in the lyrics? Maybe we could adjust them for our church services so they wouldn’t be as inaccurate or misguided? Perhaps.
But if we try to hold on to, edit, or salvage these fundamentally flawed songs written by Biblically deficient movements, we are simply destined to come away with one or two broken or endlessly repetitive choruses riddled with gaps and still devoid of any truths not found in the original artist’s work to begin with.
Still, I personally wanted to really research this. This didn’t feel good nor was it fun to differ from friends and relatives on something I had agreed enthusiastically on in the past. As I cut to the core, some of my favourite artists over the past 10-15 years were falling headlong into the Biblically deficient music category. And so, as I whittled my music library down, I wondered if possibly some of the other songs on the radio and elsewhere might be less harmful or at least more neutral. After all, weren’t some of these songs just talking about how strong we are or how “I am free; got my own identity”? Some were simply singing about how we are “gonna see a victory” because “I believe, oh I believe”. But, stepping back from the rising and falling crescendos of the melody and the repetitious & catchy power-phrases, I had to be honest with myself. What lasting positives & truths are they actually offering in this type of motivational music? Is there any depth to the meaning of these ‘other songs’? Then too, what kind of picture of Christ would this song be painting to an unbeliever? How can we claim an identity found solely in Jesus Christ if we’re singing about getting our ‘own identity‘?
To be honest, when considering the consistent study of God’s Word & hearing it faithfully taught & discussed throughout each week, most of this music just sounded like a B-grade movie, or worse. And then, song after song, my wife & I would again hear those lyrics that just fall so far short of the whole truth. To tell God that He is ‘close’ 24 times in one song brings absolutely nothing to true worship of the Lord. ‘I hear You whisper, ’cause You’re close, close, close’. Dear Christian, just saying this repeatedly doesn’t make it true and if we are feeling distant from God, we should be on our knees beseeching Him to draw near to us and reveal any sins in our lives that are causing this rift! As a side note, the closeness or proximity of God does not affect our ability to hear Him ‘whisper’. Our God is not confined by space, time, or location. These are, at best, very careless lyrics that fall under the same severe warning that we must all give account to when our Lord returns (Matthew 12:36).
A former pastor of mine speaks of music stating that when researching what songs to sing for Sunday morning, why should we just pick an OK song to sing which may or may not briefly touch on the sermon’s subject matter? He declares passionately that he wants to find the absolute best song they can possibly sing in preparation for Sunday morning’s message; absolutely the best song to shepherd the church! And in the same spirit, we must ask ourselves, why should our worship through song during the week be any different from our worship through song on Sunday? Is Christ deserving of less wholesome and attributive praise on Monday through Saturday in the name of being more peppy or emotive? And so, my wife & I concluded that the CCM industry’s music is falling far short in producing any content that is truly nourishing to our souls or edifying in our worship of God! Largely absent are the songs which truly convict the heart or declare that Christ is the one and only way to eternal life. The industry is just that, an industry. And the music that makes it into the charts contains very little, if any, mention of our sinful state or the true nature of Jesus Christ and the true love He defines! For if it did, we began to realise, it would not be gaining popularity or traction in a world that has violently turned their back on Christ-like love and the one, true God of the Bible.
I must add that this music is in no way a substitution for the unquenchable need to immerse ourselves in the reading and study of the Word of God consistently and fervently. But this rich worship through song acts as a beautiful aid to such study. Its truths, set to music, enrich our thoughts with Biblically grounded truths. These are truths which I catch myself humming and being reminded of in all I do in every day. These words of truth deeply encourage and grow me like no music ever has before.
‘What riches of kindness he lavished on us His blood was the payment, His life was the cost We stood beneath a debt we could never afford Our sins they are many, His mercy is more!’
His Mercy is More (Matt Papa) 2016
Looking Ahead
I don’t think I could ever go back to the junk food that is so universally accepted by Christians and considered to be ‘all there is’ today after having listened to, learned, and sung so many of the Gospel focused hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs praising our Saviour for His mercies & His attributes.
The songs found in the modern hymn movement and others are ones that exalt Christ above all things. This worship through song puts truth to music; truth that returns to our minds throughout our lives as we commit to our hearts these words so rich in Scripture and theology. These musical arrangements speak to us of our sinful tendencies and helpless state. But these songs don’t leave us there; they remind us and encourage us in the knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for us. While much of this is totally contrary to today’s self-esteem movement even in Christian circles, I discovered from the Bible that the lower opinion that I have of myself, the higher view I may have of our Saviour.
‘How great, how sure; His love endures forevermore Magnificent, marvelous, matchless love! What grace, that You entered our brokenness; You came in the fullness of time How far we had fallen from righteousness, But not from the mercies of Christ!’
Magnificient, Marvelous, Matchless Love (Keith & Kristyn Getty) 2018
As for me, I now see Christian music in an entirely new light. For true Christian music; music which is worthy of listening, learning, and singing, consists of engaged worship through song, preparing the heart for worship through prayer and worship through the Word.
What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. (1 Corinthians 14:15)
This playlist is curated for a focus on Biblical, Christ exalting, & theologically rich hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs for the daily Christian walk. feat. Keith & Kristyn Getty, Sovereign Grace Music, Matt Boswell, Shane & Shane, Enfield, & more
More recommended reading with regards to this topic:
1 Cor. 14:15b- I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.
Gal. 5:16-17- But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Disclaimer: I understand one of the groups referenced as writing and publishing solid theological lyrics has also published a cover of the song Holy Spirit. I cannot vouch for their reasons in doing so nor do I see any reason to discredit their music due to the single cover of this song. Other songs they have covered & written contain solid truths and Gospel saturated lyrics.
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