Saturday, March 3, 2012

A Flaw in Christian Contemporary Music


(If you want to see the music video for this song here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF5CjtrIl_c )

I was listening to Todd Friel (I do not recommend everything by him, so please use discretion) recently and he played this song, claiming it to be the "worstest" (Yes, that is what he said) song out there today. He told us about the music video, which I've attached a link to above, so I later went back and listened to it again with the video. I know I say that Christian songs have to mention the cross, Jesus, God, or something to be considered as songs I would recommend.

This mentioned all of them but yet has a horrible message. The message is a failure that I think could mislead someone in the fundamentals of Salvation.

The message of this song is that you are someone special and YOU ARE WORTH DYING FOR! That is a horrible lie. The Bible clearly states that we are hell deserving, rotten sinners that deserve eternal punishment. It clearly states that Jesus Christ came down to this earth, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross for us... but we DID NOT deserve it! He did it because He loved us! "For God SO LOVED the world." Not, "For God thought we were people that were worth dying for so he decided to come... save the cool guys."

More and more CCM music is an abomination to the Lord and the Christian faith, and we should rid ourselves of all but the best music with good and true messages.

Matthew

5 comments:

T.D. said...

Oooh, good reminder, Thank you! Sometimes, if all the "right" words are there, it's easy to get fooled.

Lalie said...

I have been struggling with songs like that for a while. I knew something is wrong with them but I really couldn't put my finger on it. You have hit it just right and I thanks you deeply for your thoughtful post! Maybe its best to stick with the old songs.

Aaron Campbell said...

You are absolutely correct in that the Bible states that we, without Christ, are sinners deserving Hell and facing God's wrath. However, in Romans 5:8, we are told the wonder that, notwithstanding our sin, Christ loved us enough to die for us. Apparently, to Him we ARE worth dying for.

I think the lie in our culture (well, one of them) is the devaluation of people. We see this in abortion and such practices of course, but also in the way people are portrayed as simply complicated machines. The Christian faith teaches that we have an intrinsic value, being made in God's image and being the objects of His love, but many accept the lie that they are worthless, a lie which leads to depression and even suicide.

However, one thing in the song caught my attention: "The Cross has proven that you're sacred and blameless"; a statement which can only be made of one who has placed his or her faith in Christ and has been redeemed.

Josiah said...

Aaron, you throw out a couple interesting points that I would like to "expand" on and increase in understanding.

I myself, as well as the authors of this blog, are trying to use this blog to learn and grow in our faith with Jesus; so all of the following questions or comments are in love and are written for more knowledge, not out of hatred or rebellion. :-)

Christ did love us enough to die for us. But I personally believe that we are not worth dying for, that's the reason why Jesus came down to earth to die for us; because we weren't. I looked a little closer into the verse you provided: Romans 5:8 and I noticed that you took the verse out of context. Let me type out the full context of what Paul was talking about.

Romans 5: 1-8 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perserverance; and perserverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demostrated His own love toward us, in that we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.

I could keep writing more and more scripture, since Romans is so good, however I will not and only work on those few verses. A couple times, the words sinners, ungodly and the like were used to describe those who Jesus saved. And yes, you are right, Jesus did die for us, however it did not say we are worthy for Him to die for us.

Jesus came down onto this world to save us from out sin-filled lives. We were not worthy to be save by Him, instead, all of us, everyone on earth deserves to be in hell for our sins. However, because of the grace of God and the mercy of Jesus Christ, He came down, laid down His life for our sins, so that we may be saved through Him and live everlasting life with Him.

I know this may sound like I am correcting you, which I kind of am, however please understand that I am only trying to better understand the faith with Jesus Christ.

I have been brought up in a household that has taught me to look around and see the context of the verse that many people use in today's culture. It has helped me a lot, and that is what I am doing here.

On another note, you said (or sounded like you said) that those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ, are blameless of their sins and are sacred. I understand that when we give our lives to Jesus, get baptized, and receive Him in our hearts; our sins are forgiven. But I wouldn't say we are blameless, especially not sacred.

Please further explain this section for me. Thanks a bunch for your comment, and please continue to read our blog and share your thoughts on our posts.

God bless, Josiah

Matthew said...

Hey Aaron, thank you for stopping by!

Your comment definitely made me think, but I mainly believe there is a distinction between the words "worth" and "loved." God so loved us that He gave His only Son (John 3:16). He loved us enough to do that, but it is not because of worth, it was because of love.

When I go to farm shows to purchase poultry, I frequently pick runts. I pick them, not because they are worth anything. In fact, runts are usually worth less because they can get sick easier and are smaller. I pick them because I love and care about them and their future. I know that I can give them a good, safe home and raise them up into full adult birds.

It's the same with Christ. He picks us, though we are undeserving and weak. He takes us under His wing and is raises us out of love, not because we are big and strong and worth saving, but because He loves us.

In response to the sentence you pointed out in the music, I am not doubting the salvation of the band (as we've talked about in other groups), but instead their theology and accuracy, and who they are reaching out to. I think Todd Friel distinguishes this group in the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTnHeg9oYE&feature=player_embedded

God Bless, Matthew