“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV)
Everything!
Wow! The Apostle Peter says in the above passage that God “has given us everything”. That is a straight forward promise! It’s a done deal! But, I believe we don’t always remember that wonderful fact. At least in the lyrics of some of our modern church worship songs anyway!
Inappropriate for New Testament believers
I usually love to sing the worship songs at church. There are so many great ones. Accept, occasionally, when the words are unbiblical or inappropriate for New Testament believers.
For instance
I travel a lot, and visit many churches, so I get to hear lots of worship songs. A song that seems to be popular right now has words that say, “God come down!” (And, it’s repeated over and over many times). It has a great tune and is easy to sing.
My problem with it?
God has already come down in the form of Jesus, who is “God with us”. (Matt. 1:23)
I notice that some modern worship lyrics are taken from Old Testament passages and then are applied to us today. The problem is they ask God for things which have been fulfilled by Christ’s death on the cross. We don’t have to beg or cry out for what He has already done for us. We accept them and receive them by faith.
For instance
The words, “come down”, are from Isaiah 63:15 & 64:12. Isaiah pictures God as shut up in heaven, removed from His people who are suffering because of their sin. In an emotional outburst, the prophet calls upon God to “rend the heavens and come down in great power”
We do not have to ask God to do what He has already clearly said He has done in His Word!
When we receive Jesus, He comes to live inside of us (John 1:12, Gal. 2:20, Rom. 8:11). And, He has clearly promised, “I will never leave or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
When we ask God to give us that which He has already clearly supplied, especially in the church songs we sing, it demonstrates a lack of faith! It doesn’t build faith, it does just the opposite!
What I do
When songs with these kinds of words are sung at churches I attend, I just think about what the Word of God actually says instead of singing along (I do this discreetly of course). I understand, too, that God understands the intentions of the heart, and that is good news.
Why are we doing this?
So, why are we asking Him in some of our worship songs to do what He has already done? I’ve pondered this question many times.
One possible answer
Perhaps we are just forgetful and need reminders about what the Bible says about these things! Our verse at top for today says, “His Divine power has given us all that we need,” which is certainly true! But, further down in the same passage, Peter says the following.
“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them … .” And, “I think it is right to refresh your memory…” (2 Peter 1:12-13)
He says the same thing twice! Perhaps it’s because we often forget basic truths we shouldn’t forget.
It’s through knowledge
The last part of this passage at top says that God has supplied our needs “through our knowledge of him.” And, that is a reminder that we must study the Bible so that we are knowledgeable about what He has already done!