Have you ever heard the phrase, “it’s just a song”?
When it comes to corporate worship, that’s a really dangerous phrase. As God’s people, music has always been an integral part of our corporate worship. The songs we sing have lyrics. And those lyrics have meaning. With our song lyrics, we are simultaneously learning and proclaiming something about God. The question is, what are we learning and what are we declaring?
Colossians 3:16 tells us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
It is important that we analyze the lyrics we sing. Are we faithfully admonishing each other in truth with the words we sing? Do the words we sing evoke in us awe and reverence for the God of the universe? Do they convey the gratitude in our hearts for the grace God has extended to us in the gospel – the person and work of Jesus Christ?
Questions like these are good starting points when considering a song for the King’s Chapel catalog. Let’s take a look at the newest addition to our repertoire, “Nailed to the Cross” by Rend Collective.
Listen
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V1 & V2:
When I stand accused by my regrets
And the devil roars his empty threats
I will preach the gospel to myself
That I am not a man condemned
For Jesus Christ is my defenseWhen my doubt and shame hang over me
Like the arrows of the enemy
I will run again to Calvary
That rugged hill of hell’s defeat
My fortress and my victory
We have all been plagued by the nagging guilt and shame of past sin. It can be crippling and even depressing. One of the ways in which Satan works to tear down believers is to perpetuate lies: “There is no forgiveness for you. You are forever defined by what you have done. You can never be loved by God.”
So how do we combat such schemes?
With the truth of the gospel.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1–2).
If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ and have confessed and repented of your sin, then you have received the glorious gift of God’s forgiveness for your sins. Forgiveness means that you do not stand condemned before God for your sin. Jesus Christ took your condemnation on the cross. Our faith and trust in his perfect atoning work allow us to live in the reality that “in Christ, there is no condemnation.”
“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:19–20).
Preaching the gospel to ourselves is the greatest defense we have in our battle against sin. In his book A Gospel Primer for Christians, Milton Vincent says, “The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my conscience), and so incredible (according to my timid heart), that its is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should. There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemning of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel.”
Chorus & Bridge:
My sin is nailed to the cross
My soul is healed by the scars
The weight of guilt I bear no more
Praise the Lord, praise the LordMy sin is nailed to the cross
My soul is healed by the scars
Now I’m alive forevermore
Praise the Lord, praise the LordIt is finished, sin is vanquished
Hallelujah, praise the Lord
All the glory, all the honor
To my Savior, Christ the Lord
The truth of the gospel is that Jesus Christ left paradise to come down to a broken and hurting world. He lived the perfect and blameless life that we couldn’t live. And yet he still went to the cross and was crucified to pay the penalty for our sin. He was buried and on the third day victoriously rose from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)!
The rehearsing of that gospel message empowers us to rejoice in the security and finality of our salvation (1 Peter 1:3-5), gives us peace in knowing we have been reconciled to God (Romans 5:10), and grants us confidence to live on the mission of demonstrating and declaring the gospel (Hebrews 3:6). It also reminds us of our identity in Christ. We are the redeemed sons and daughters of God (John 1:12).
The truth of the gospel is the only weapon sure to defeat sin. As stated in our core value Identity, “The gospel is not just entrance into the Kingdom of God, but the way we make all our progress in our new life. The gospel is not just the way we grow; it is the solution to each problem and the power through every barrier we face.”
We sing “Nailed to the Cross” corporately to press the truth of the gospel into our hearts and minds.
“It is finished, sin is vanquished, Hallelujah, praise the Lord! All the glory, all the honor. To my Savior, Christ the Lord!”