My Thoughts on Soulforce

By Matt Tyler

Today, I was interviewed for my thoughts on Soulforce coming to SBU. For those who do not know, Soulforce is an organization that by "relentless nonviolent resistance, works to end the religious and political oppression of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people." Every year they go on an "Equality Ride" in order to visit campuses to promote Soulforce's cause and beliefs. Many of the colleges visited are members of the Counil for Christian colleges and Universities. In other words, they believe my university's policies are discriminatory against LGBTQ students.

Much can be said about this and I am quite certain that I will have future blog posts on this subject, especially as the day approaches. Today, however, I was interviewed about my thoughts on Soulforce coming to SBU. Once the article is written I will try and get permission to post it on the blog, but for now I will post some of my responses to these questions. I took with me some notes (okay, more like paragraphs) on the points I wanted to make sure to stay on. I did not say everything I wrote down and I said things I did not write down, but this is a general overview of my thoughts on the subject (I added a bit from the draft I took with me to clear some things up).

What are your personal beliefs on homosexuality?

I want to make sure that I go back to Scripture for everything. My Christianity affects my outlook on all aspects of life. So I want to see what the Word of God says about it. The Bible is God breathed and therefore my ultimate standard. My standard is not science, popular opinion, or the fear of hurting others' feelings. The Bible is clear in both Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9 that homosexuality is a sin. Those verses are clear. Romans 1 is clear that, when people continue in sin and unbelief, God "gives them over" to their wickedness in order to show the hopelessness of life apart from God. Of course, I also believe that all sinners, including myself, are deserving of God's wrath. Our sin is offensive to God and we deserve to be punished for them. The good news, though, is that all people, including homosexuals, can be forgiven, on the basis of God grace, if they turn from their sins and trust in Christ for salvation. And God promises victory over sin to those who trust in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). However, the Bible is clear in Romans 6:11-14, Romans 8, and 1 John 1:5-7 that those who truly have repented and trusted in Christ will not continue in sin. While all Christians fight sin, and they will so until Heaven, true Christians will not live a lifestyle that is characterized by sin. Therefore a practicing homosexual, along with anyone who continues practicing willful known sin, is not a true believer. The difference is that a Christian fights, struggles, and falls into sin, while the unbeliever blatantly continues to sin refusing to acknowledge God. The normal pattern of life for the Christian is a progressive growth in sanctification.

How do you feel about Soulforce coming to SBU?

This is a question I want to be as clear as possible on. SBU has been working very hard since Soulforce announced they were coming. I know a lot of work has gone into this, a lot of things have been discussed; hopefully a lot of prayers have been prayed. There are factors that I am sure I do not know. In addition, I am a student with limited info. And so for those reasons I don't know if I have a right to speak definitively on this situation. I have sat in a few RA meetings with other students, as well as in a meeting with faculty and staff, and I have personally talked with Rob Harris. I have seen and heard things in those meetings that have both encouraged me and discouraged me. Overall, I think that SBU has handled this situation with care. I am certain that there are things that I probably would have handled differently. Perhaps there are things that should have been considered that were not. But let me put it this way: Whether or not it is appropriate that SBU is allowing Soulforce to come, at this point, isn't the point. SBU has made that decision. And whether that decision is right or wrong, they are allowing Soulforce on campus. So looking at it in that light I think they are and have handled the out workings of this process well and will hopefully continue to do so.

How do you hope for SBU's student body to respond to Soulforce?

I hope and urge every person who reads this to spend an extended time reading, meditating, and praying over 2 Timothy 2:14-4:5 and then responding appropriately by applying to their lives the Truths that those few chapters contain. Summarized, these verses say we are not to quarrel, babble irreverently and we are told to not have anything to do with foolish, ignorant controversies for several reasons, all of which can be read in that passage. Instead, Christians are told to present ourselves to God by handling the Bible rightly and unashamed about what the Bible says. We are to treat people with kindness, we are to teach patiently, correcting those who are wrong in hopes some will be saved from hell. We should remember the warning in 3:1-9. We should flee sin in our own lives and depart from iniquity and MOST IMPORTANTLY we are to preach the Word of God to all people at all times regardless of whether we think they have heard the Gospel or not. In other words, we are to do our Christian duty of verbally sharing the Gospel with all people. The Gospel being that men and women can be reconciled to God because of the work of Christ when they repent of their sins and trust in Christ for their salvation. Christ lived a perfect life when we could not, died on the Cross, bearing our sins in his body, and absorbing the wrath of God due to us. He arose three days later defeating sin and death. When we trust in Christ and turn from our sins we will be saved.

Stop Confessing and Start Walking

By: Matt Tyler

The title of this post is a bit deceiving. I sort of chose it to gather a little bit of attention. Let me make myself clear: I am not opposed to confessing our sins to one another. In fact, James 5:16 talks about confessing our sins to one another. Yet our culture's practice of confessing sin to one another is, I think, different than the Biblical model of confessing sins. In our culture, confessing sin usually turns into a pity party in which Person A confesses his sin to Person B, C, and D. Person A never makes a genuine commitment to change and usually falls deeper into sin. Failing to remind Person A of the Gospel, Persons B, C, and D never help A fight his sin. Furthermore, confession of sins is usually done with peers of the same age. I find this disturbing on a few different levels. As for myself, it is difficult to confess my sins to my peers. Many of them are more than willing to gossip about a wide range of issues, why should I entrust them with my secret sins? In addition, many of my peers struggle with the same sins that I struggle with. They cannot offer me any help or advice because they are struggling with these sins themselves. I find it much more beneficial and useful to go to my parents, an older person in my Church, or my Pastor. They have experience in mortifying the sins I have in my life because these wise people have already mortified them. Bottom line: I am not big on confessing sins with my peers.

I want to focus specifically though on something I said earlier. Often times I see professed believers enslaved to their own sin. Professed Christians are completely willing to whine (yes I used that word purposely) about their sin and never actually change. I know I have been guilty of this. The problem with this is that Christians do not live a lifestyle of sin. A Christian progressively grows in sanctification that results in greater maturity and conformity to God's moral law (thank you Tabletalk!). Romans 6:14 is very clear: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Go back and reread that verse. This does not mean that Christians do not sin. This means that Christians do not live lives that are characterized by sin. Christians fall into sin; they do not swim in it. When the Holy Spirit convicts a Christian with a sin, the Christian mortifies that sin (see John MacArthur's book: The Vanishing Conscience).

I find it sad that so many are willing to open up about their sin and yet never change. It shows a hardness of heart that would give Pharaoh a run for his money. It demonstrates a lack of maturity. Worse still, it gives evidence to the fact that post-modern American Christianity is not Biblical Christianity.

The solution to this problem is quite simple. When I mentioned it to a group of my friends one time, not only did they not believe me, they flat out denied it. Apparently they haven't been reading Romans: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus(6:11)." Romans 6:15-20 basically says to become slaves to righteousness which leads to sanctification. Romans 8: 2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:5 says that those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

The solution is the Gospel. Jesus lived a perfect life fulfilling all righteousness. We could not do that. He then died on a cross in order to pay for the sins of His elect. Three days later he arose demonstrating victory over sin and death. For those who turn from their sins and put their trust in Christ God will save them. This salvation will result in the Holy Spirit's process of sanctification. Christian, do you want to be free from sin? Walk in the Spirit! Walk in Victory! Unbeliever, do you want to be free from sin? Trust in Christ!

In John Bunyan's classic allegory, the Pilgrims Progress, Christian and Hopeful are walking towards the Celestial City. Somewhere along the way, they veer of course because they believe they have found a shorter path (this is sin). Veering off course brought them to Giant Despair who locked them up in Doubting Castle (this is where sin leads). Having been trapped and beaten for days, Christian and Hopeful find themselves wallowing in their sin fearing that there is no escape. Finally Christian makes a discovery:

'Now a little before it was day, Good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech, "What a fool," quoth he," am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will (I am persuaded) open any lock in Doubting Castle." Then said Hopeful, "That's good news; good brother, pluck it out of they bosom and try." Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt (as he turned the key) gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out….Then they went on and came to the King's highway again, and so were safe.'

My Thoughts on Doug Pagitt Coming to My School

By Matt Tyler

"You can't be content with people who have pieces of the Truth." John MacArthur

I can only imagine how unpopular this post will be. I am already wondering how many comments I will have either on this blog itself, Facebook, or in person. My only request is that all, and I mean ALL, who before reading will commit to doing the Biblical practice of examining oneself. I have had to think about whether my blog post is written in a Christ-like way (and I understand some will disagree with me on that). I ask that you do the same with your comments. I also ask that you read EVERY single Scripture that is referenced to in this post. Everything must go back to the Word. Read the verses. Please. And finally, make sure you read the whole post. Don't skip around. I realize this is an extremely long blog post. But read it all anyway, with the verses, while examining yourself! Please do not comment without doing that. And I promise to do the same.

Stop right here. Don't go any further until you go read Matthew 23 and Luke 20:45-47. Read these passages slowly. Take note of how Jesus confronted false teachers in his days. Examine the language that Jesus used. When I read these passages I see a Jesus that is much different from the Jesus taught about in much of our culture.

I have been familiar with the Emerging Church Movement for a few years now. I've read books and heard talks given about the movement and I believe that I can adequately critique the movement based on the Word of God and the research I have done. While I could spend several posts on the dangers, inadequacies and problems with the Emerging Church Movement, I don't see it as beneficial since others have done it much better than I ever could (see The Truth War by John MacArthur or Why We're Not Emergent by Deyoung and Kluck).

While much of the Emerging Church is crumbling and dying out, the "heroes" of the Emerging Church Movement are still around and they are having an impact on many people. One such leader is a man named Doug Pagitt. Doug Pagitt is the founding pastor of Solomon's Porch. It has been reported that he is the one who coined the phrase "Emergent Village." Having read some of Pagitt's work and listened to some of what he has said then, I had a lot of concern when I found out he would be speaking in Chapel at my university. I started posting videos on Facebook and encouraged some to write letters to one of our administrators questioning why Pagitt would be allowed to speak in our Chapel. It seems I was not the only one concerned.

After this particular administrator received letters and did some research on Pagitt, he decided that it would be better if Pagitt spoke in an evening session. Students were not required to attend. So on September 28^th and 29^th Pagitt came to SBU to speak. To be perfectly honest I use the word "speak" very lightly. Pagitt had several questions aimed at him. However, I am thoroughly convinced he did not answer one question while he was here. Oh, he talked. A lot. But he talked in circles.

I am not going to recount Doug Pagitt's talks on Monday and Tuesday night in much detail. Much of what he said can be found online or in his books. All I will say is that:

1. Doug Pagitt is wrong on his view of Hell. The Bible is clear: Hell is a literal place of eternal torment for sinners. We all deserve to go to Hell. Throwing Hell out cheapens the work my Savior did for me on the cross.
   Here are just some of the verses..
   
2. Doug Pagitt is wrong on his view of the Gospel. It does not change depending on the person. Everyone needs to hear that we have sinned against a holy God. We deserve hell. However, God in his great love and kindness sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross. He bore our sins and died but rose three days later. We can be reconciled to God when we turn from our sins and put our trust in Jesus Christ. That is the message of the Bible.
   
3. Doug Pagitt is wrong when it comes to his "quasi"- Universalist stance. A Universalist, has many connotations, but let's just sum it up as someone who believes that all roads lead to Heaven. Doug has never given a clear statement on what happens to people who do not put their trust in Christ. His book, "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope" has statements that indicate that Christ is not the only way to Heaven.
   
4. Doug Pagitt is wrong about the Bible. It is God's Holy, inerrant, inspired Word. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness. God is the center of our faith, but He has revealed himself in His Word and His Word is the Bible. We need the Bible.
   

There are other things, but that is enough for now. I really was not surprised by what he said at all. Instead of recounting all that Pagitt said, I want to focus on my reactions and thoughts about Doug Pagitt coming to SBU. I was against Pagitt coming to speak in Chapel from the beginning. I have read and heard many things from Pagitt. And I had come to a certain viewpoint about him before he came. Now that he has come and gone, my view is even stronger. It is with much caution that I type this and put it online, but I feel that I cannot remain faithful to the Word of God if I do not state what is truly in my heart. Doug Pagitt's beliefs are opposite of orthodox Christianity. I do not think it right to accept him into the fold when he believes things that are clearly heretical.

I can understand that, perhaps due to someone's lack of knowledge, Pagitt was scheduled to come to SBU. However, I cannot comprehend the fact that we allowed him to speak for two days without any sort of confrontation of the part of our professors and administration. I know some professors counseled with students after the sessions. I know some of the professors (hopefully) disagreed with Pagitt's talks. But no letter was sent out and no statement was made about the wrong things that were said. Indeed, not one of the blatantly unscriptural things that Pagitt said (and has said in the past) was brought to the attention of the students. In my opinion, students should have received either a letter or a public statement explaining the problems of Pagitt's view and the correct Biblical stance on those things.

I realize that people believe we should be willing to listen to other's beliefs. I realize that people believe we should be challenged in what we believe. But to invite a wolf into the fold of God to speak and to give him authority without any sort of reprimand is, to me, unthinkable! We are called to love Truth. Why would we want to invite someone in who errs in his "truth?" 2 Thessalonians 2:10 says, "They are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." So why invite him in? Is the answer 2 Timothy 4:3? Are we a people who do not want sound teaching? Are we a people who only want our ears itched? Are we accumulating for ourselves teachers to suit our own passion? To me, this is exactly what we did with Doug Pagitt. However, My Bible says, "but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1)."

I admit that immediately after I heard Pagitt speak I spent a while trying to figure out what I could take away from Pagitt's talk. While I think I can take away things about Pagitt and the experience of hearing him, I am now under the persuasion that, as far as what Pagitt said, there is not one thing I can take away from it. If I believe someone is a wolf in sheep's clothing and if I believe this person's teaching is contradictory to the direct teachings of the Bible, then I cannot see what positive things I can take away from that person. Can I take anything positive away from what the Pharisees said? I do not think so. Can I take anything positive away from the Judaizers beliefs in Galatians? I do not think so. I base this on Ephesians 5:11-14, Romans 16:17-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Titus 3:10-11. When confronting the false teacher's in his day, Jesus said to "Beware of the scribes and Pharisees.…" He did not say, have a discussion with them, look for the positives, have a conversation about your disagreements. No. He said to beware of them.

It greatly saddens me that so many within Christendom do not have discernment. So many are deceived. I do not say these things about Doug Pagitt just for the sake of saying thing. Trust me, it would be a lot easier to not say anything at all. If I felt I could go without saying anything, I would. Oh how I long, hope, and pray for the day when American Christianity looks like it is supposed to look. How much more beneficial would it be to get strong, Biblically-minded Christian speakers who preach the Word at SBU? Why do we need to get an "emergent and postmodern" outlook on engaging the culture? Why can we not get the Bible's outlook? IT ALONE is useful for teaching. We should be engaging the culture with the Word of God. It doesn't need our help to be relevant. It is relevant because it is from God.

I long to see God glorified through Christians hearing and proclaiming the Word. I want to be about the business of teaching people the True Gospel: that Jesus came to this earth as fully God and fully man; he died on the cross and bore the sins of those who deserve hell; three days later he rose from the dead, and whoever repents and trusts in Him will be saved. Oh what wonderful fellowship I would love to have with Doug Pagitt- if he would only preach that message. I am tired of people cheapening what my Savior did for me on the Cross. There is no room for that within Christianity. The Gospel message of the Bible is perfect. It does not need changing. It does not need anyone's help. No one can make it any more relevant than it already is. What we need to do, as faithful ambassadors of God, is to proclaim it every day to ourselves and to others.

Please join me in praying for Doug Pagitt and all leaders within the Emerging Church. Please pray for my school, SBU, and the students. Pray that we would all look to the Bible as God's ultimate Word to us to teach us and instruct us so that we can grown in our knowledge and understanding of Him

Evil Man and Gracious God

By Matt Tyler

"Matt is not righteous; Matt does not seek God. He has turned aside; he has become worthless; Matt Tyler does not do good. His throat is an open grave; He uses his tongue to deceive. The venom of asps is under his lips. Matt's mouth is full of curses and bitterness. His feet are swift to shed blood; in Matt's paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace He does not know. There is no fear of God before Matt's eyes." Romans 3:10-18

If I walked into a modern day physiologist's office and repeated this passage (with my name added of course) they would immediately prescribe that I come back every week until my self-esteem problem gets fixed. However, I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this would not help me. If I said anything less than this passage of Romans about myself then I would be a liar. This passage, written about me, is completely and utterly true. I am not righteous. I do not seek God. I have turned away from God and do no good. I do not fear God. My ways are full of sin.

And this isn't even the half of it.

I have told so many lies. I have stolen so many things (and this includes more than just physical objects). I have blasphemed the name of the God who gave me life. I am an adulterer and a murderer at heart according to Jesus. I do not care about the things of God.

And this isn't even the half of it.

The point is: I am bad.

I don't know how to describe it any better than that.

Revelation 21:8 says this about me: "As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, (in other words, as for Matt) their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Here's an understatement: I am in trouble. And just to be clear: The Lake that burns with fire and sulfur is eternal punishment in Hell. And to say it would be anything less, as so many so often do, would not be justice. In other words, because of my sin, if I do not get eternal punishment in the lake of fire then I would not be getting what I deserved.

This stops me in my tracks. I am in a heap of trouble.

But praise the Lord that this passage was written about me too:

"Since Matt has been justified by faith, he has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him he has obtained access by faith into this grace in which he stands, and Matt rejoices in hope of the glory of God. More than that, Matt rejoices in his sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put Matt to shame, because God's love has been poured into Matt's heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to him. For while Matt was still weak, at the right time Christ died for him (the ungodly)… Since, therefore, Matt has been justified by His blood, much more shall he be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For while Matt was an enemy he has been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that he is reconciled, shall Matt be saved by His life." Romans 5:1-11

My response to the first bit of news, as a Christian, is humility. I am humbled by the fact that I do not even seek God. I do not even fear God. I have rebelled and deserve Hell. And yet I know and trust that Jesus Christ has saved me. And this salvation gives me so much: peace, reconciliation, joy, eternal life, and so much more. So much can be written on this subject, but I would rather take the time to reflect for myself rather than write everything down.

What about you, though, fellow Christian? Does this humble you? Does this give you cause to rejoice?

And unbeliever who may be reading this: what is your response? There is only one appropriate response: Repent and trust the Savior and you will be saved from your sin and that lake that burns. You will be united with the Father. You will be free from sin. However, so many will continue in sin. I pray that you will be the former. And I pray that I will be humbled that I have received so much, so undeservingly.

Question about Jesus in Luke 22

By Mitchell Lynn


Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, with school and work it has been hard to find time to write, but I am working on a post about holding your tongue, and another about fear.

Knowing that we have some smart people reading this blog, I wanted to throw a question out there for debate: Recently Jesus' words in Luke 22:36-38 have caught me off guard. These words are often skimmed in Jesus' crucifixion story, but I think they have massive significance.

Right after Jesus tells Simon/Peter that He will be betrayed by him three times Jesus says: ""When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment. "The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."

"That is enough," he replied.

These words were hard to digest, yet I think I have come to a conclusion on what Jesus meant. However, I would like to hear your thoughts. Be sure to put his words in the context of what happens later. In Matthew's gospel, after cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus says to Peter:

Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Why did Jesus tell His disciples to get swords, and then disciplines them for using them?

Did Jesus know what his "mission" was at this point?

What was Jesus trying to accomplish here?

Comment and let me know what you think...

Holy, Holy, Holy

By Matt Tyler

"And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord
God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are You, Our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Revelation 4:8-11

Isn't it always about God? Isn't that what it's all about? What is it? It is everything. Everything is about God. Always and forever. And the best thing about this Truth is that it's supposed to be; it should be.

So many amazing Truths about God can be pulled from these four verses. How does one write about such a loaded passage in a way that does justice to the passage? One cannot. However, by the mercy of God who gives us the Holy Spirit, perhaps a reader, or at least myself, will be encouraged.

This is such a marvelous picture of the worship of our God and Savior. In a world where worship is often seen as boring unless "I" get something out of it, this passage does a great job of showing a fearsome group offering up praise to the Lord. This worship is anything but boring. This worship is anything but selfish! Day and night the beings pictured in Revelation offer up praise to our Holy God.

And doesn't He deserve it? Think about all the God gives to those who love Him. Even the mercies He offers to unbelievers are an incredible thing. In view of God's love for us, our lives should be characterized by "day and night" worship (Romans 12:1-2 for example) of the Lord God. If we really believe He is holy, should not our lives portray complete obedience to the Father? Should not our days be dramatically affected because of the belief that God is the Almighty who sits on the throne forever and ever.

If the Lord really is worth to receive glory and honor and power then we need to be a people who daily, minute by minute, hour by hour, ascribe to Him glory and honor and power.

Why?

Because He Is. And if He really Is, then He deserves it. And if He really Is and really does deserve worship from Creation THEN worshipping God is the best thing for us. We do not worship God for us; we worship God because He is God. However, By His grace he allows us to worship Him and this is the best thing for us.

Everything is completely, utterly, amazingly for God's glory. Church is not necessarily about you or me. Worship is not about you or me. Heaven is not about you or me. Even Jesus' death, which was for you and me, was primarily to glorify God.

Today, fall before Him. And not because you want some emotional experience. Let's face it: even when we worship genuinely we do not always "feel" like God is there (sometimes there are desert periods). In addition, do not fall before Him because the posture is somehow "more Holy" or "magical." But fall before Him because of His great Worth, because of His great glory. Fall before the throne of God because He deserves to be honored. And do this realizing that you are able to do it only because He has had mercy upon you and allows you to. Do this realizing that only those whose sins have been covered by the blood of Christ (through repentance and faith) have access to God (Romans 5:2 is one proof of this).

Worship Him.

The Power of the Cross

By: Matt Tyler

"What is the Gospel?"

This has been a question that has been thrown around repeatedly over the past several years. While I believe there are certain contexts in which it is okay to ask this question, it is sad to realize that so many who profess Christianity do not know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ actually is. And if they cannot even answer the question that is the most basic to our Faith then how can they be genuine Christians? I think what Jesus said is true: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter (Matthew 7)."

I would love to spend an entire blog post on this subject expanding on it and looking for some of the sad reasons why this is. However, I want to focus much more narrowly today. Since so many who profess Christianity don't know what the Gospel is then one would think that this would be displayed in the types of songs that we sing. Indeed, this is exactly the case in today! So many contemporary songs (not all, mind you) are more about worshipping "me," "myself," "I," "we," and "us." The fact of the matter is so many Christian songs lack any real theology or even praise of the One True God.

While this is another subject for another day, I would like to post a song in which the Gospel is understood and proclaimed. "The Power of the Cross" by Kristyn and Kieth Getty is one of my favorite songs and truly captures the heart of the Gospel. The song is edifying to the worshipper, but more importantly, I believe, glorifying to the Creator. Let this be the song on your heart today:

(Click on the phrases to see Bible verses dealing with that line.)

The Power of the Cross

"The Power of the Cross"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS: This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.