Point out Christians songs that are biblically wrong

[seeker2122]

I've always loved Christian praise and worship songs. I'm not talking about Hymns but I mean modern Christian music I guess we refer to it has CCM (contemporary christian music).
From Sunday school songs to Youth ministry to now so many songs have been very influential to my christian life.

It's only recently that I started to really focus on what part of the song is actually biblical-based and comes directly from scriptures. In fact, what I try to do now is recall all the songs I liked (still do) and see where they got their lyrics from in the Bible or a footnote/citation for every line in a song that uses a scriptural reference. Doing this suddenly has given me a greater love and appreciation to some of the songs because I didn't know at the time but now I do, that they were biblical verses or biblical values/beliefs/theologies.

It makes singing the songs even more passionate and powerful now. I kind of wish that every song beside the title or in parenthesis would post the bible verse where the song got inspired from. I am having to do this manually by myself now which is actually a pleasant process to my surprise

But my question was, can you guys point out or call out any famous christian songs say in the last 30 years to present that are NOT accurate to Biblical truth or misleading/misinformation? It would be good to know this in case we are singing songs thinking it's biblical but in fact completely in error lol.

 

[Sabertooth]

I kind of wish that every song beside the title or in parenthesis would post the bible verse where the song got inspired from.

Keith Green did that with his songs.

But my question was, can you guys point out or call out any famous christian songs say in the last 30 years to present that are NOT accurate to Biblical truth or misleading/misinformation? It would be good to know this in case we are singing songs thinking it's biblical but in fact completely in error lol.

Here is an older one,
You Can't Be A Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine...

My corrected lyrics,

You can't be a beacon if you don't have the Light,
You can't be a beacon if you don't have the Light.
All the Light's in Jesus, so it's not by power or might.
You can't be a beacon if you don't have the Light.

 

[timewerx]

Wouldn't surprise me if more than half is not biblically accurate.

Advice I can give you is check every song you're listening or singing to. That's the only way to be sure.

 

[Sabertooth]

Wouldn't surprise me if more than half is not biblically accurate.

Advice I can give you is check every song you're listening or singing to. That's the only way to be sure.

And some songs might agree with one denomination, but not another...

 

[Jonaitis]

An EP (exclusive psalmody) friend of mine would say, "All of them."

 

[seeker2122]

A song that seems quite popular in most churches these days is
CityAlight - Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me. I really liked it and
I would trace it to --> Galatians 2:20 and Philippians 4:13 and 1 Cor. 15:10

Hillsong - None But Jesus -> Romans 7:24-25
I Cast All My Cares Upon You -> 1 Peter 5:7
The Lord is My Shepherd --> Psalm 23 (Sunday School favorite)
Worthy is the Lamb --> Rev. 5:12
Give Thanks --> 1 Thes. 5:16-18, Joel 3:10 (let the weak say I am strong part)

just some examples

 

[Sabertooth]

Almost everything by the Maranatha Singers is directly from Scripture, particularly their Praise albums.

 

[seeker2122]

Almost everything by the Maranatha Singers is directly from Scripture, particularly their Praise albums.

How about Vineyard? I grew up listening to a lot of Vineyard albums!

 

[bmjackson]

It really narks me that reformed churches use Charles Wesley's hymn 'Love Divine' but change the words in Christian Hymns, so that it sounds less like the doctrine of second blessing holiness. they should write their own hymns.

 

[Kees Boer]

We only sing Scripture Songs here. The only thing that can go wrong is that they are out of context. For instance we sang Psalm 118:24, Which says: "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." I asked the groups. "What day is this?" They answered: "Any day" or something like it. So, they missed the context. So, we added verse 22, and 23 to the Song and so they could sing that it was the day Christ died.

If you want to hear these Songs, and feel free to download them, they are here. Having said that, they are all in Spanish. But if you know Spanish and sing all of Them, you would almost have 300 Verses memorized!

Scripture Songs 031322 - Google Drive

By the way, if are a good singer and would like to sing Them in English, we got them all in English, but not recorded. We would just need erase the Spanish vocal track and replace it with an English track.

 

[seeker2122]

We only sing Scripture Songs here. The only thing that can go wrong is that they are out of context. For instance we sang Psalm 118:24, Which says: "This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." I asked the groups. "What day is this?" They answered: "Any day" or something like it. So, they missed the context. So, we added verse 22, and 23 to the Song and so they could sing that it was the day Christ died.

If you want to hear these Songs, and feel free to download them, they are here. Having said that, they are all in Spanish. But if you know Spanish and sing all of Them, you would almost have 300 Verses memorized!

Scripture Songs 031322 - Google Drive

By the way, if are a good singer and would like to sing Them in English, we got them all in English, but not recorded. We would just need erase the Spanish vocal track and replace it with an English track.

I remember that sunday school song! I had no idea that it mean the day when Christ died for our sins. I thought it meant Sunday haha.

 

[Kees Boer]

I remember that sunday school song! I had no idea that it mean the day when Christ died for our sins. I thought it meant Sunday haha.

Wow, that's interesting... Sunday... No, It's rejoicing in the day that Jesus died. The interesting thing is that It's part of Psalms 113-118, Which is called the Hallel. These are Psalms that the Hebrews sang around the Passover, the Shavuot and Yom Kippur... So, the week that Christ was crucified, Those were the Songs. You can also read that Christ quoted a lot from that Section of the Bible around that time.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I don't really know much about the current state of the "praise and worship" music scene these days. We don't really use a lot of those songs in the churches I've been part of over the last 10-15 years.

But one song that comes to mind is a single line from an otherwise fantastic hymn by Stuart Townsend, How Deep the Father's Love For Us.

From the first stanza,

"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory"

The problematic line is the one I've put in bold here.

This is a very common trope that one sees often repeated in many churches and by many well-meaning Christians, and even Christian clergy. The problem is that it is wrong, theologically.

The Father did not turn His face away from His Son. This is a misunderstanding of the words the Lord speaks on the cross, when He quotes the Psalm, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?".

Jesus is quoting Psalm 22.

Many have wrongly argued that the Father had to turn away from Christ, because Jesus was so weighed down with sin that He could no longer even look at Him. This isn't a biblical teaching, and theologically it is filled with all manner of problems.

It is true that God is holy, but it is not true that God cannot be present amidst sin. If this were true, then the Gospel itself is destroyed, as we confess God the Son and Word made flesh and dwelling in the midst of sinful men. Jesus, our Lord, is God. It is God Himself who shoulders the weight of the world. It is God Himself who bleeds on the cross for our sins. God Himself bore the shame and suffering of our sin, and of death.

And what is it that, if we say this, are we saying about the Trinity? That the Father and the Son ceased to be in perfect communion in their Godhead? That it is possible for the Son to be separated from His Father, if even for but a moment?

So, no, the Father did not turn His face away from His beloved and only-begotten Son. Just the opposite, it is Christ our Lord and God, who shoulders the whole weight of sin and death for us, and takes it upon Himself and swallows it up and destroys it in His death and resurrection. And thus the Father beholds our sins forgiven, we are justified freely on Christ's account.

I do like this modern hymn. I think most of it is true and lovely. But whenever I hear this line, I cringe, because it is so very wrong.

If it were up to me, I'd want to replace this line with something that is true. How about the following,

"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
He has become our Satisfaction
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory"

Something along those lines. That Christ has become the Satisfaction for all our sins, having wiped clean all debts by His perfect sacrifice on our behalf.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[bmjackson]

I have a problem with this one:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I'll stand
Songwriters: Keith Getty, Stuart Townend.

I have bolden the bit I think is unscriptural. Jesus died to save us from sin, not guilt. we should feel guilt when we sin as Christians so we can repent.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I have a problem with this one:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
I will stand, I will stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I'll stand
Songwriters: Keith Getty, Stuart Townend.

I have bolden the bit I think is unscriptural. Jesus died to save us from sin, not guilt. we should feel guilt when we sin as Christians so we can repent.

Guilt, not as in the feeling, but as the verdict of guilty. We have been declared righteous on Christ's account, we are therefore reckoned guiltless before God.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[bmjackson]

which leads to antinomianism

 

[ViaCrucis]

which leads to antinomianism

No it doesn't.

That we are pronounced forgiven of our sins because of what Christ has done doesn't mean we can live lawlessly. That doesn't follow whatsoever.

-CryptoLutheran