Seeker Friendly Church?

The idea of a "seeker-friendly" church is an oxymoron. It is a misunderstanding of what church is about and denies the biblical doctrine of mankind's fallen state. Scripture teaches that prior to conversion we are dead in our trespasses and sins and that apart from grace men do not seek after God.

"As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God,'" Rom. 3:10-11.

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil," John 3:19.

To design a worship service based on unbelievers is 180 degrees opposite of the biblical model. Worship is for God not men. And church is primarily for believers, not unbelievers. The problem is, our culture's consumer-driven; entertainment mentality has crept into the church. Instead of a holy place of reverence, churches have become a multimedia experience replete with lights, smoke, a rock band, video presentations, and motivational speaking. Instead of going to church to celebrate the union we have with Christ through His blood, which has brought us into the family of God; to hear the exposition of Scripture, partake of the sacraments, and use the gifts God has given us in service to the body, we go to be entertained. And if we don't like the presentation; if it doesn't suit our tastes, we find another church. This is not what church is about. Don't mistake entertainment and the hip charisma of celebrity "pastors," for true worship.

The gathering of believers on the Lord's Day is to offer worship that is pleasing to God, to have genuine fellowship with other believers, and hear the Word faithfully preached, so that we may be conformed to the image of Christ, and be equipped to go out and share the gospel.

God is holy and worthy of untold honor. Therefore, our worship services should be centered on Him, not unbelievers. We should ask ourselves; does our church radiate the holiness and glory of God? Are the pastors and leaders pointing to His glory or their own? Is sound doctrine being taught so that members are built up in the faith and able to share it? Is the service designed to cater to shallow, consumer-driven Christians and so-called seekers, or focused on the unfathomable majesty of Jesus?

Those Who Believe

Much of the debate between monergists and synergists (Reformed and non-Reformed) revolves around the subject of belief. Who believes, how they believe, and why? I dealt with this in part in my last post so hopefully I won't repeat myself here. I by no means think I have plumbed the depths of this topic and there are certainly many theologians who have done great work on the subject. I write these posts not only to help others, but mostly to help myself try to articulate what I think the Scriptures are teaching. Here I want to focus on certain misconceptions with regard to the nature of belief, free will, and saving faith.

John 3:16

John 3:16 is a beautiful passage of Scripture. It tells us that God loves the world and sent Jesus into the world to save sinners. But what I find interesting is how synergists think this is a proof text that somehow destroys Reformed theology, as if no Reformed theologians were aware of it, or as if this text has never been treated by them. We are not ignorant of the text, for it comports well with Reformed theology and offers no difficulty whatsoever. I think part of the misunderstanding people have is that, 1) it is assumed the word "world" must mean everyone, and 2) that everyone has the innate ability to believe.

John 3:16 tells us that whoever believes in Jesus receives eternal life. Of course, what could be more plain than that? What it doesn't tell us; however, is why or how someone believes. This passage says nothing about whether or not someone has the ability to believe. So the question concerning who can believe and how they do so, must be found elsewhere. Many are under the impression that just because the Bible commands us to do something, that implicit in the command is the ability to do it. This is simply not true and I will show why.

There are many things in Scripture that we are commanded to do, yet that doesn't necessarily mean we have the ability to do them. We are commanded to keep the law, but which one of us is able to keep it? We are commanded to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do we do that perfectly? What about sin in general? Scripture clearly commands us not to sin, but does that mean we have the ability to stop sinning? In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says we must be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. Yet we all know that perfection is something we will never attain, so this idea that implicit in the command or exhortation is the ability to carry it out, is false.

Commands, exhortations, warnings, etc., in the Bible are simply telling us what we ought to do, not necessarily what we are able to do. If we, in our own power, have the ability to obey God perfectly, why is grace necessary? And if some retort, why does God bother commanding us to do things we can't do? The answer is easy; because it shows us our dependence upon His grace.

God loves the world. He providentially oversees and takes care of the world. He makes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He sent His Son to seek and save those who are lost. But sometimes the word "world" should be taken in a limited sense. Now many people immediately object to this, but even they themselves take the word world in a limited sense whether they realize it or not. Let me give some examples of this. In John 12:19, the Pharisees, talking about Jesus, said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him." This obviously doesn't mean the entire world followed Jesus, in fact, many did not believe in Him including the Pharisees themselves. Luke 2:1 says, "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered." Does this mean every single inhabitant of the earth came to be registered? What about Romans 1:8, which says, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world." Is Paul here referring to Australia, or Alaska, obviously not? So those who say world means world, are simply mistaken.

John 3:17 says, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him." So is this passage teaching that everyone will ultimately be saved? Are we Universalists? Verse 18 goes on to say, "…whoever does not believe is condemned already…" So salvation is limited only to those who believe.

Now the next relevant question is: what was God's intention in sending Jesus into the world? Many deduce from John 3:16 that it is God's intention to save every single person. And if you read this passage apart from the rest of the Bible it does seem to convey that. However, we must take the whole counsel of God into consideration and not isolate individual passages. We have already seen that God sent Jesus into the world to save it, yet not everyone is saved. Only those who believe receive eternal life. So if God's intention was to save everyone, are we to conclude that He has failed because not everyone is saved? In fact many are lost. Something else to consider is the fact that to say God loves the world, or Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, (John 1:29) was a foreign concept to Jewish ears. To a Jew in John's day, this was an extraordinary statement. They were under the impression that salvation belonged only to the Jews. They were after all, God's chosen people, but as we see in Romans 9:6-8, not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, but only the children of the promise. So the message that the rest of the world could receive salvation was a revolutionary concept to them. Therefore, we must understand the world to mean all people without distinction, not all people without exception (Rev. 5:9). If not, then you end up with the horrible notion that is God trying to save everyone but is constantly being frustrated. If God's eternal plan of salvation can be thwarted by man's free will, then man is sovereign, not God.

Free Will

I do not intend that this should be an extensive discussion on the subject of free will. If you want that read Jonathan Edwards.

Suffice it to say, I believe “free will” is a philosophical presupposition imposed on Scripture, not derived from Scripture. However, this term means different things to different people, so when discussing free will it’s helpful to explain what we mean. Of course we have the ability to make choices. We do this every day. We can choose Coke or Pepsi, Ford or Chevy, Windows or Mac. But with regard to spiritual things and salvation, unregenerate sinners do not freely choose the things of God apart from grace. Why? Because they have no desire to. You cannot choose something you have no desire for. Prior to conversion we are dead in our trespasses and sins, Eph. 2:1-3. Spiritually dead people do not choose Christ. They’re dead. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have the freedom to make choices; it just means that they only choose evil (Gen. 6:5). Jesus said he who commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34). So if we don’t have the ability to stop sinning, how can it be said that we are truly free? If you are bound by sin, then you are not free.

Further, God's infallible foreknowledge makes all future events necessary. In other words, they cannot not be. Whatever choices or events take place; they must take place as God has decreed they will otherwise His knowledge is falsified, in which case He is not omniscient. In fact, He would no longer be God. If you believe the biblical teaching concerning the nature of God, you simply cannot avoid this.

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Yet the synergist would have us believe that the natural person is not only able to see the kingdom, but choose it prior to regeneration. I have yet to hear a cogent, biblical argument that explains how an unbeliever can produce saving faith. No, Jesus said you can’t even see the kingdom; much less enter it, unless you are born again. Something must take place before a sinner can choose Christ. They have to be regenerated, quickened, made alive by the power of the Spirit. Paul in Romans 8:7-8 says:

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Notice the word "cannot" in this passage. That's right; those who are in the flesh cannot submit to God's law or please Him. Is repentance and faith pleasing to God? You better believe it. But Paul says those who are in the flesh can’t do it. This is why grace is necessary. Without the grace of God, which is effectual grace, our will is hostile toward God. We see the same thing taught in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

Notice the words, "not able to." The natural person as opposed to the spiritual (born again) person is unable to even understand the things of God. This is why the Reformed maxim states: regeneration precedes faith. Faith must be the result of the new birth, not the other way around.

Saving Faith

Belief is not enough. Even the demons believe and tremble, (Matt. 8:29, James 2:19) yet they are not saved. If you ask a secular historian whether or not they believe in Jesus, they will most likely affirm that Jesus was a real historical figure, but not the Son of God who rose from the dead. When Paul told the Philippian jailer to be believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, he was talking about a different kind of belief. We call this saving faith. So what is saving faith? Saving faith is not only mental ascent to the truth of the gospel, but also repentance from sin, and trust in Jesus alone for salvation. So where does this faith come from? We would argue that saving faith is not something conjured up by unbelievers, but the gift of God. Let's look at a few passages of Scripture.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," Eph. 2:8

This is a very familiar passage. It is both clear and glorious, so I'm not going to debate the gender of the Greek words here as many do. I think the clarity of the passage is unmistakable. Salvation is the gift of God. We didn't do it. We contributed nothing. Grace, faith, the whole package if you will, is a gift.

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God," John 1:12-13.

This passage destroys the idea of free will. How are we born again? It's not by blood (natural descent). It's not by the will of the flesh, and it's not by the will of man, but of God. I don't see how it gets any clearer than that. This should be the end of the discussion right here!

"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake," Phil. 1:29.

Here we see that belief is something that is granted. And not only belief, but suffering. This passage is rich and would require too much time to delve into. However, if belief is something we do by the power of our own free will, why does this passage say belief is granted for the sake of Christ?

"When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life,'” Acts 11:18.

Here again, God grants repentance. Many other texts could be cited, such as Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 36:26, John 6:65, John10:26-29, and Acts 13:48.

Now some will still object to this and ask, "But doesn't God want us to come willingly?" Of course! But we never will until He first opens our eyes; until He changes our heart. That's the whole point. When the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit breaks through the darkness of Satan's prison house where we were helplessly chained to our own sin; shining the light of Christ's forgiveness, and delivering us from our bondage, oh yes, we come to Christ most willingly!

So we conclude: free will isn't actually free at all, repentance is granted to us, and saving faith is the gift of God. From first to last salvation is by the grace of God alone.

No Room for Synergism

There is no room for synergism in John chapter 6, or as I like to say, there's no "wiggle room." In fact, I would say there's no room for synergism with respect to salvation in all of Scripture. So what do I mean by that? In the realm of soteriology, there are two systems of thought with reference to "how" a person is saved. The Arminian or Semi-Pelagian view which is synergistic and the Reformed view, which is monergistic.

Let's define our terms before we proceed. Synergism is the idea that two or more agents are involved in something in which both parties are required to produce a desired result. Think of a symphony orchestra. You can't play Mozart's 40th Symphony with only one violin. You need the entire orchestra playing together. Monergism is the idea that there is only one agent required to produce the necessary effect or goal. So when it comes to salvation the crucial question becomes, is God the sole author of salvation or is the will of man required?

Man's Freedom or God's Freedom?

Some Christians are so committed to the idea of free will that they end up sacrificing God’s freedom in the process. They claim that God is sovereign over all things and has the authority to do whatever He pleases, yet if you examine their soteriology; you end up with God trying to save people, but being thwarted by human free will. Since God is in fact sovereign over all things, then He is sovereign over salvation as well. As the Bible says, salvation is of the Lord, Jonah 2:9, Psalm 3:8. Fallen sons and daughters of Adam may resist for a season, but when God decides to bring about their salvation, there is nothing that can thwart Him, Job 42:2.

Pastors and teachers don't often talk about how a person is saved, they mainly preach about the need for salvation or give a gospel invitation, and there's nothing wrong with that. This is exactly what they are commanded to do. But I want to focus on the "how" question because it is very important to our understanding of the nature of man, the purposes of God, and the glorious salvation that Jesus perfectly accomplished for us. If we look at the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, we see some amazing things in this regard.

John 6

We all know the story of the feeding of the five thousand, but on the next day in Capernaum Jesus’ followers come looking for Him and they get into a discussion about bread. But this time Jesus turns the conversation around and begins talking about spiritual bread; the living bread, which came down from heaven. In this context Jesus says:

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,” John 6:35-40.

So what is all this talk about The Father giving people to the Son? I thought we come by our own free will? But you don't find free will in this passage do you? No, in verse 37 the text says all that the Father gives to the Son will come. They will come to the Son and the Son will certainly accept them. In verses 39 and 40, Jesus perfectly fulfills the will of His Father and will "lose nothing of all that he has given me," but raise them up (give them eternal life) on the last day.

We also see this in John 17:6, "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world." And again in verse 9, "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." On the night before He is about to die on the cross for our sins, Jesus specifically prays, not for the world, but only those whom the Farther has given to Him.

In John 6:41, the Jews begin to grumble because Jesus said He came down from heaven. Then Jesus responds to their complaint by saying, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day," John 6:43-44. There is a direct correlation between coming, and being raised up. Those whom the Father draws, come; and they are the same ones who are raised up on the last day. Jesus reiterates this again in verse 65. I think the context is clear, coming refers to believing, and being raised up refers to the resurrection unto eternal life. Jesus clearly says here that no one can come (believe) unless something happens first, namely the drawing of the Father. So this idea that the Father is drawing everyone in the same way doesn't work because according to this passage, everyone would inevitably come to Jesus. Remember in verse 37 Jesus says, "All that the Father gives me will come to me…" There is a special drawing that is being referred to here, which is also delineated by Paul in Romans 8:30:

"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Everyone who is predestined is called, justified, and glorified. It's an unbreakable chain. You can't be called and not justified, and you can't be justified without being glorified. This is the glorious truth of God's purpose in the redemption of His people. His calling is effectual. It cannot fail. All who are brought to the Son find Him to be a perfect Savior. They will never be lost, John 10:28.

Let's get back to John 6. When Jesus' disciples heard His words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, (verse 53) it was too much for them. They said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus was not talking about physical things:

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father,'" John 6:63-65.

It doesn't get any clearer than that. Coming to Jesus must be granted by the Father. This answers the "how" question. And this comports with other passages of Scripture such as John 1:13, Acts 11:18, 13:48, 1 Cor. 1:30, Phil 1:29, 2 Timothy 2:25. It is God who draws, and those whom He draws will come. And those who come are the same ones who are raised up on the last day. There’s no wiggle room here. This idea that God draws everyone and then some by their own free will believe, and others don’t, is not found in John chapter 6. The same idea is communicated in John chapter 10. Look at the reason Jesus gives for why the Jews do not believe in Him.

"So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,'" John 10:24-27.

The reason Jesus gives for why they don't believe is because they are not His sheep. This is an amazing statement. Jesus could have perhaps given other reasons for their unbelief, but instead He said, "You are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice," implying that the reason they don't hear is because only His sheep hear Him. But didn't they have the free will to respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd? They were physically hearing His words, and yet they didn't have ears to hear. They didn't believe. Why? Obviously, because some have ears to hear and others do not, otherwise Jesus wouldn't have so frequently used the phrase, "for him who has ears, let him hear," Matt. 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8, Rev 2:7, etc.

Why Do Some Believe?

This brings us to another crucial question. Have you ever wondered why some people repent and believe the gospel and others don't? How you answer this question is vital. Let's say two men attend the same church one Sunday morning. They even sit next to each other in the same pew. They both hear the gospel clearly preached; one believes and is born again, and the other rejects it and leaves still in his sins. The question we must ask is, why? Why does one believe and the other doesn't? Is there something better about the one who believed? Is he wiser, smarter, or more spiritually in tune? Isn't repentance and faith pleasing to God? Yes, of course. So why did he believe? Where did his faith come from? Most people answer this question by saying they don't know. This is the error of the synergistic view of salvation. It simply cannot give a satisfactory answer to this question because the logical conclusion of synergism is that the ultimate deciding cause of salvation is the self determination (free will) of the agent. Unless the man cooperates with God, he cannot be saved. God can't overcome his will in the synergistic view. So if the ultimate deciding factor in the salvation of a sinner is the sinner himself, how does this not make man sovereign? God is giving 99 percent. He wants to save the man, but He just can't do it without his cooperation. The man must give that one percent; the decisive one percent, the one percent that makes all the difference in the world. This is a man-centered salvation in which God is subservient to His own creation. Perish the thought!

Reformed theology however, can answer this question because we believe that Jesus saves. He doesn't merely make salvation possible; He accomplished it on the cross, Isaiah 53:11-12, Hebrews 7:25. He died to secure it, Hebrews 9:12. He can overcome our hard hearts; our resistance, and take out our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh, Ezekiel 11:19. It is God who makes the decisive decision, not man. And it is by His grace alone and for His glory alone, Ephesians 2:8. Salvation is monergistic; it is all of God. The power of the Holy Spirit regenerates dead sinners; He brings us to life. He gives us the grace and the faith to believe, and we do so most willingly because once we were blind, but now we see. We were deaf and now we hear. We were dead in our sins, but now we have been made alive. Free will is powerless to do these things; it cannot produce saving faith. It cannot pull itself up by the boot straps and believe because it isn't free; it is a slave of sin, John 8:34. Only God can break the chains of sin. Only God can raise the spiritually dead.

So how do people come to Christ? They must be drawn by the Father. All whom the Father gives to the Son will come to Him. The sheep hear the voice of their Shepherd calling, and they follow Him, and He gives them eternal life.

Switchfoot and Christian Music

For those who haven't read it, here is the blog article I am interacting with in this post: http://ctkblog.com/2013/12/05/why-switchfoot-wont-sing-christian-songs/

First, I want to say that I love Switchfoot; always have, ever since The Legend of Chin. They are one of my favorite bands (although their last few albums have been a little underwhelming). And I agree with some of what Jon said, but much of it is very disappointing. I think there are some glaring errors in his reasoning and I want to examine them in light of biblical revelation.

In my opinion Switchfoot has a very counter-cultural message, which is great, and I have been impacted by many of their songs, however, I think as Christians, we fail to realize that we get a lot more out of their music than the average pagan. I’m not sure unbelievers are reading between the lines like we are. With respect to the gospel, their lyrics are ambiguous at best.

I know that Switchfoot is involved with charities and I commend them for that. I agree that how we live is very important. The person who works 9-5 at some obscure job has the same responsibility to live for Christ as the national music artist. Yet, whether we are in a famous band or we are a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker, we all have the same duty to preach the gospel. This is what is missing from Jon’s response.

The question I have is: how is Switchfoot fulfilling the Great Commission? Jon seems to be forwarding the notion that we are to “preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Nothing could be more unbiblical. Where do you find this in Scripture? If Jesus and the Apostles took this approach, no one would have ever heard gospel. The Great Commission is not a suggestion, it’s a command. What does Paul say in Romans 10:14, 17?

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

To the objection, “Just because I’m a Christian song writer doesn’t mean all my songs should be about Jesus,” I would simply ask, why not? Why? If you are a believer, why wouldn’t you want to sing about Him? I don’t understand this thinking. Now I don’t mean you have to repeat the name Jesus ten times in every song, no, but why wouldn’t you want to communicate the life-changing power of the gospel? You have a huge platform. You can reach millions of people. Why would you want to be ambiguous? Again, I would argue that most unbelievers don’t know what Switchfoot is talking about in some of their songs. Their lyrics could mean different things to different people. Sometimes I’m not sure what they’re talking about myself. As Christians, shouldn’t we be clear?

When it comes to popular bands, I think they should be especially careful and clear because they are proclaiming a public message. They are in the public eye. Whether it’s a rapper talking about money and drugs, or a country artist singing about their ex-girlfriend, they are all preaching something. They are communicating a message. What does that message say?

All Christians, musicians included, are called to share the gospel and make disciples, but it seems like Jon Foreman is saying that’s not the calling of Switchfoot, at least not musically. So I guess they’re exempt from the Great Commission, or maybe it’s just their music that’s exempt, I don’t know.

Further, I think the connection made between Bach and Switchfoot is naïve. The difference between Bach and Switchfoot is the difference between lyrical music and instrumental music. Most of Bach’s compositions were instrumental, which is hard to classify as “Christian.” But when there is lyrical content, that content can most certainly be classified as Christian or non-Christian. What is the song about? What is the central message? Does it comport with the teachings of Scripture? Does it communicate a biblical worldview or biblical principles? What about Handel’s Messiah? Is that Christian music or not? What about A Mighty Fortress is Our God, or other great hymns of the faith? Don’t tell me there is no such thing as Christian music! What about the song of Miriam in Exodus 15:21? What about Mary’ song: The Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55, or what about the Psalms of David? How would you classify these? Look at what Paul said in Ephesians 5:19:

“speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Make music from your heart to whom?

It’s ironic that he mentions Keith Green. Keith was radical. All his songs were about Jesus. He was totally sold-out. You would never hear Keith Green saying these things; trying to distance himself from “Christian” music.

Most importantly, the question that needs to be asked is: does the music you are singing glorify God? This idea is also lacking from Jon Foreman's comments. Aren’t we supposed to do everything to the glory of God? Does Switchfoot’s music glorify Him, or is it just whatever Jon feels like writing about? This is the mistake that musicians and artists tend to make. They think they are somehow exempt from the biblical mandate. Sure they are free to “express” themselves however they want, but wouldn't it be better to focus your songwriting on the Lord Jesus? This is a systemic problem in the lives of modern-day Christians. The glory of God is not paramount in their thinking.

C. S. Lewis is also a poor example, which does not help Jon's case. No, Lewis’ fiction books do not overtly proclaim the gospel, but I would argue that there are definite and deliberate parallels, but this is beside the point, because his many non-fiction writings are clearly and profoundly Christian in nature. Lewis has been hailed as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 20^th century. He didn’t hide behind the, “my writings aren’t born again” argument; whatever that means. No, everyone knew where Lewis stood. I’ve listened to Switchfoot since the beginning. I’ve seen their music videos, and watched their concerts. Do their non-Christian fans know where they stand?

Now I’m not trying to beat up on Switchfoot. I’m not going to boycott their albums or anything stupid like that, I just think some of Jon’s reasoning is flawed because I don’t see how it is biblically justifiable. Here are some quotes I want to interact with.

"But judging from scripture I can only conclude that our God is much more interested in how I treat the poor and the broken and the hungry than the personal pronouns I use when I sing."

Actually God is interested in both. He’s interested in both our actions and our words.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,” Psalm 19:14.

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned,” Matt. 12:36-37.

These are sobering reminders that the personal pronouns we use are in fact, very significant.

"I am a believer. Many of these songs talk about this belief. An obligation to say this or do that does not sound like the glorious freedom that Christ died to afford me."

Really? This isn't why Jesus died my friend. He died to free us from our sins. We were slaves of sin, (John 8:34) and deserving of hell, (Eph. 2:3). By His grace we are saved through faith, and now we are slaves of Christ. We no longer live to do our own will but the will of the Master who redeemed us. This doesn’t sound like the words of the Apostle Paul who called himself a bondservant of Christ, Rom. 1:1, Gal. 1:10. It has nothing to do with confining your lyrics to a box; freedom in Christ has to be contextualized. The Bible speaks about freedom in Christ in different ways; freedom from sin (John 8:31-38) and freedom from the works of the Law (Gal. 5:13). Read the context of Galatians and you will see it has nothing to do with what Jon is talking about. Yes, Jon, you are obligated. You are obligated to proclaim the gospel. And if you have been given a public platform, you dare not shirk that responsibility.

The fact is, the vast majority of people are going to remember Switchfoot for their songs. Their songs are on the radio. They’re on TV. People are singing them in the shower; listening to them in the car; playing them in garage bands. Of course lyrics (including personal pronouns) matter! To say what you do is more important than what you sing is a cop out. It's both and, not either or. Again, my question is: why does Jon Foreman want to avoid being put into a "Christian" box? What is he afraid of? If you're not ashamed of the gospel, good, then why aren't you shouting it from the rooftops? I don’t understand this thinking. So when you were lost, blind, poor, and wretched; wallowing in your own sin, Christ found you. He rescued you, and with His own blood, redeemed you. In agony and humiliation on the cross, He endured the pains of hell and the wrath of God that you deserve, and gave you His righteousness instead, but you don’t want to sing about that? Jesus is worth singing about. He is worthy of our songwriting; of our all. More worthy than we could know. There is every reason in the world to sing about Him! So I want to turn it around. Give me one good, biblical reason not to sing about Jesus.

Revival or Reformation?

Before we see revival in the culture there must be reformation in the church. Revival cannot break forth in the world if the church is comfortably asleep in the darkness. The world is going to live like the world. There will be evil, selfishness, injustice, and an all-consuming desire for money and possessions. It ought not to be so with us. Too often we look to the world and bemoan its vices, or the government and its hypocrisy, as if the government is the solution to the problems of our society. Government is not the answer, the gospel is. Of course the world is corrupt, what else would we expect? And those who do not repent and believe the gospel will be judged, but we must remember that, “judgment begins with the household of God,” 1 Pet. 4:17.

Too many who claim to be Christians live lives that are indistinguishable from the world. If someone looks at your life and doesn’t see a difference between you and your unbelieving neighbor, there’s a problem. As Paul reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” (Rom. 12:2) so we should shine as stars in the darkness; reflecting the light of the Son. As the Apostle John tells us:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,” 1 John 2:15.

Do we love the world? Are we focused on ourselves instead of Christ? Do we desire earthly pleasures and possessions? Is the blood of Jesus shed on our behalf precious to us, or have we become accustomed to it? Do we have a genuine love for God? Is His glory our highest priority?

Just as the Roman Catholic Church was in desperate need of reformation in the sixteenth century, so we are today. The Reformation is not over. Yes, the errors of Rome are numerous, but we need reform in the Protestant church as well. Our worship resembles rock concerts and our preaching is glorified motivational speaking. Our churches are comfortable and casual, and our pastors are hip but lacking in biblical exposition and doctrinal depth. We want sinners to feel at ease. We don’t want to offend anyone so instead of preaching repentance and faith, we present a multimedia event. But church should be different than going to the movies. If we don’t like the music or if the pastor doesn’t say the things we want to hear, we just find another church. We treat church the same way we treat fast food. We would rather have onion rings instead of fries with our burger. Instead of proclaiming Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King, before whom we should bow, He has become our acquaintance, even our homeboy. We have totally lost reverence for the holiness of God. He is holy beyond our imagination. He is worthy of infinite worship and devotion.

We need to repent folks. We need to repent of our apathy, of our complaining, our self-centeredness, and our consumer-driven mentality. We are not called to be consumers of shallow Christianity; we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We must take up our cross and follow Him. It’s not about our tastes, or our preferences. In fact it’s not really about us. It’s about self-denial. It’s about following in the footsteps of the Master and living the crucified life for God’s glory alone. The cross is not only the starting point of the Christian life; it is center of the Christian life. Christ crucified and resurrected should be the center of our world. As the Apostle Paul said:

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified,” 1 Cor. 2:2.

Do we need revival? You better believe it! But what we don’t need is a revival of so called “manifestations” of the Spirit. What we really need is a revival of sound biblical doctrine, expository preaching, and Christ-centered living that shuns cultural conformity and is fueled by a passion for the glory of God. The truths that were recaptured by the Reformers need to inflame our hearts once more. The sovereignty of God in all things, the supremacy of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the doctrines of grace, holiness, purity, truth, honor, righteousness, faith, and genuine Christian charity. The five Solas of the Reformation codify this so well. Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria. Grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone! This says it all. This is the heart of the gospel and the soul of Christianity.

We may long for revival, but what we need is reformation!