I heard someone say that Christians should be careful not to learn their theology from Christian songs they hear on the radio. They further explained that a person’s ability to write a great song that is popular on the radio, does not necessarily indicate that the same person has sound theology.
And I’m sure they’re correct. But let me ask you this: how do you sing songs without letting them inform how you believe? I’m asking because I don’t know how to do that.
From the time I was a small child, I was learning by singing. I’m guessing you were also.
There’s a reason why small children learn rhymes like Patty Cake, sing the Alphabet, and love to sing along with Sesame Street’s disco hit, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5—, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10—, 11, 12!”
Did ya sing it?
Whether we mean to or not, the songs we learn and sing along with are very likely to become part of what we believe. So if I am a person who loves God, and I am in a place like a church, I am very likely going to learn theology (what I believe about God), from the songs we sing in church. Maybe even more-so than I was likely to learn to count to 12 from Sesame Street. I mean Sesame Street didn’t lead me wrong on the one through twelve thing, so why would the church teach me wrong with what they sing about God?
And yet, it’s so easy for popular, moving songs that kind of don’t agree with the Bible, to end up being part of a God-loving church’s Sunday morning service. And I am concerned about this. This is even one of the ways that slightly wrong ideas start to be identified as Biblical ones. They’re really close, but as Charles Spurgeon famously said, “discernment . . . is telling the difference between right and almost right.”
You may have heard a popular song that says, “I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough, every single lie that tells me I will never measure up.” (“You Say,” by Lauren Daigle) But isn’t the whole reason that Jesus needed to come and die on the cross to save us from our sins based on the Biblical theme, that I am way super-duper-not-enough?
. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus . . .
Romans 3:23-24
There’s a beautiful song by Megan Woods, called, “The Truth.” And I love a LOT of this song. But there’s the part where she says that when God looks at me, He wouldn’t change a thing. And I can’t sing that song because I know that the Bible says to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) and that when I am in Christ, I become a NEW creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that Peter admonishes us to continually cultivate Godly virtue by adding qualities to our faith to make us more fruitful to our Lord Jesus Christ! (2 Peter 1:5-11)! I don’t even want God to look at me and not want to change a thing! I need Him to change me!
Please listen when i tell you I’m not here to attack anyone. Not ever. Because the part of Megan’s song that agrees with scripture is that you are made in the image of our Perfect King. So I appeal to you, brothers and sisters in Christ. Can we please be mindful that the songs we sing, or play on the radio, or especially in church gatherings – that these songs are teaching us?
The Bible is our standard for what is true; it’s our giant letter/history book from God Himself to help us understand what is true – truly true. We really need to use it.
I’m very concerned about the growing popularity of the preaching and promoting an “almost right” gospel in our churches. A gospel that says indirectly that we don’t really need God – that we just need Him to affirm us as we are. That’s not what the Bible says, and if we believe that, we don’t believe the Bible. It does say that He LOVES us exactly as we are and where we are. 10,000%.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Thank you for your time.
Humbly, your sister in Christ,
Beth
