Sing a New Song

My wife and I live in Taiwan—and although they do actually have a few good churches here, the vast majority of Taiwanese churches invariably lean toward some species of salvation by works and other associated doctrinal errors. I can only speculate as to how this came about, but virtually every church in Taiwan—regardless of the name on the door—seems to be of the opinion that "good works" are required to keep a solid grip on one's salvation.

Along similar lines, many Taiwanese Christians also believe (because they have been taught it and accept it without question) that they will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment to learn whether or not they made the cut, so to speak, and will enter heaven. Many believe that if their works fall short and they don't make the cut, they will be sent off to something that has the distinct odor of purgatory, although that word is never used because the Roman Catholics have had dibs on it since the fifteenth century.

To be honest, however, I don't get bent out of shape over it. I have discovered that everybody is wrong about something in the Bible (this writer included), and so no church is free of error. I'm generally willing to let a few doctrinal missteps slide just to be able to gather to worship God and give my Taiwanese wife Phoebe a chance to make some Christian friends. In other words, I don't go for the preaching. I say that because many years ago I made the decision to adhere to a simple principle I like to call DIY: Doctrine Is Yours.

In other words:

Don't get your doctrine from a denomination.

Don't get your doctrine from a certain preacher.

Of course, you can and should learn from other sources that you come to trust over time as being reliable. And never lose sight of the fact that godly people can disagree over various secondary doctrinal points without coming to blows. The point is that in the end, your doctrinal beliefs are on you.

You need to get your doctrine by studying to show

yourself approved, a workman who need not be

ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Because that's what we are commanded to do in 2 Timothy 2:15. And legions of people in churches all over the world today would do well to follow the same maxim to the best of their ability.

But I digress. All I wanted to say is that a couple of months ago my wife and I started going to a different church that's on the opposite side of Taipei City from where we live. And although it's a pretty long stretch, we both really like the preaching. They have services in both English and Chinese, and we go to the English service since Phoebe's English is w-a-y better than my Chinese. The pastor is Australian, and I can sum up the reason I like him in four words:

He. Preaches. The. Word.

No touchy-feely anecdotes. No cartoonish life applications. No huffing and puffing and spitting on everybody in the first three rows. Just the Word of God, straight and true. I hate to say it, but the truth is that you could attend the great majority of churches in Taiwan every single Sunday for years and never once hear a clear, straightforward presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The attitude seems to be that you must already be a Christian since you walked in the door of the church, so we don't need to bother with all that basic stuff—just join a group activity and get involved...and see ya next Sunday! 08)

But this preacher from Down Under? So help me...this guy can't go 10 minutes without referencing the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins at Calvary so that we could be eternally reconciled to a holy God who loves us. And he's the type that carefully explains exactly what the Bible says and means to the best of his ability—word by word, verse by verse (including Greek!) Now that's my kinda preacher, and that's what makes this church a rarity in Taiwan and a real treat for me and Phoebe—and we gobble it up like a couple of hungry coyotes that stumbled across some choice carrion.

(Relax...I'm getting there.) So that's one thing we like about this church. But I gotta be honest: There is one minor, incidental thing about this church that just leaves me flat as a cōng yóu bǐng (green onion pancake), and it was something I always loved about the church my family went to when I was a kid growing up in a small town in the heart of the Midwest:

The songs!

As good as this church is in ways that count, before God the songs they sing just suck the life out of me. I don't know (and don't care) who wrote them, but they are the most boring, insipid, lifeless excuses for hymns I have ever had the misfortune of hearing and pretending to sing.

Now, don't get the wrong idea...the lyrics to most of these songs in isolation may be boring, but they are at least doctrinally sound, generally speaking. But just try to imagine singing a Shakespearean sonnet put to a melody that plods along in a pedestrian fashion and just goes nowhere. Yeee-haweth.

So although I really like this church, their sorry excuse for songs couldn't help but bring back fond memories of the songs we sang in the church I grew up in—songs that made the Holy Ghost punch you in the gut, pack a load of firecrackers in your spirit, and put a blowtorch to your heart in ways that such boring, feel-good fuzzy-wuzzies just don't—at least not for me.

So that's why I'm here: to share with you a Top 10 list of my favorite gospel songs—songs that I still remember singing as a kid in the church I grew up in. Some of these are pretty well-known hymns that most of you have heard before, and a few are perhaps not quite so well known. But each and every one is a walk down memory lane for yours truly, and move my spirit like nothing I've heard in any church since.

Notes on the songs: I have included the full lyrics and a link to a YouTube performance for each of these Top 10 songs, and I have made an effort to give you the lyrics to each of these 10 songs as they are performed in the associated video. So, some verses may be omitted or rearranged, and a few words may vary from other printed versions.

For these Top 10 videos, I did my best to search YouTube to find good quality performances in a variety of styles, ranging from my favorite gospel quartet to an amazing six-member acapella group from Uganda, so hopefully there's a little something for everyone.

(I mention two additional songs near the end of the article for which I only include a link to a generic YouTube video that displays the lyrics.)

The Top 10

1. Are You Washed in the Blood?

Performed by Joey + Rory / YouTube

[v1] Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

[Chorus] Are you washed in the blood,

In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless?

Are they white as snow?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

[v2] Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

[Chorus]

[v3] Lay aside your garments that are stained with sin,

And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;

There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,

O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

[Chorus]

Are your garments spotless?

Are they white as snow?

O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Comments: "Are You Washed in the Blood?" was written in 1878 by a Presbyterian minister named Elisha Hoffman. This song became very popular within the Salvation Army in the late nineteenth century, when the major emphasis of the Church in America was trying to reform a corrupt society rather than save individual sinners (i.e. the Social Gospel).

But even as the Social Gospel began to fade in the early twentieth century, the song remained popular in many churches around the country because—Social Gospel or no—it hammers home the key, fundamental question that lies at the heart of the gospel. And that question hasn't changed in two thousand years and never will:

Have your sins been washed away by the blood of the Lamb?

One of my favorite lines in this song has always been "Are your garments spotless? / Are they white as snow?" This always reminds me of how we will appear when we return with Christ at the Second Coming to rule and reign with Him in the kingdom:

⁷"Let's rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let's give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife [that's us] has made herself ready." ⁸It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. [We are returning to earth with Christ at the Second Coming wearing our "spotless garments" that are "white as snow."]

⁹He said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.'" [The wedding supper on earth (which follows the wedding ceremony in heaven) will be one of the first things on the agenda when we return to earth with Christ.]

(Revelation 19:7–9a / emphasis & [comments] added)

And forgive me pointing out the obvious, but this is just one reason why the Parable of the Ten Virgins cannot be about the Church. The Church in its entirety (the Bride) is inside at the wedding supper—so how can half the Bride be outside trying to get in and be refused entrance, while the other half of the Bride is allowed in to her own wedding supper?

How does that work?!

In that parable (Matthew 25:1–13), the Bride is never mentioned and has clearly been whisked away by the Bridegroom at the outset (in the Rapture). Later in the parable, the Bride is exactly where you'd expect the Bride to be: inside enjoying her own wedding supper. No...the virgins cannot be the Church: This wedding supper follows the Second Coming, and these virgins can be no one except Tribulation survivors who either maintained a faithful witness (the sheep) or who wimped out and failed to do so (the goats).

"Sheep?! Goats?! Yo, you're talking about the wrong parable, dude!"

Oh, yeah? As I have discussed in a previous article, I am convinced that all three of the parables in Matthew 25 (the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and the Sheep and Goat Judgment) apply to these same two groups of people at the inauguration of the Millennial Kingdom.

2. The Old Rugged Cross

Performed by Redeemed Quartet / YouTube

[v1] On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

[Chorus] So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown.

[v2] To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then he'll call me some day to my home far away,

Where his glory forever I'll share.

[Chorus / repeat last two lines]

Comments: "The Old Rugged Cross" was written in 1913 by George Bennard, who served with the Salvation Army in Iowa for a few years before being ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

This old gut-puncher takes you back to where it all went down: the cross. Personally, I always liked the line that says "its shame and reproach gladly bear," because in many churches today this whole concept has effectively been swept under the carpet. And what has taken the place of "shame and reproach gladly borne" is rapprochement won by political correctness. This line speaks to what Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of John:

¹⁸If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

(John 15:18–19)

So we shouldn't expect the world to love us as believers in the gospel, nor to warmly accept that gospel when we share it with them. That's the point:

The gospel was never meant to

slap a smile on the face of sinners.

It was meant to slap the

smile off the face of sinners.

According to Jesus, that's just how the cookie crumbles. We are in the world, but not of the world. If we were, the world would love its own.

Running a church today has largely become a business, and job one is to fill the pews. And it saddens me to say it, but in many of today's churches it's come to the point where the key to packin' 'em in is to appeal to the world by mirroring the societal attitudes the world espouses. That translates to taking down the crosses, not mentioning "sin," and supporting the trendy, woke social causes like LGBT rights that the world goes gaga over. In other words, the mantra of many modern churches has become:

We sure don't want to offend the world, so let's

attract the world by being more like the world.

And it works like a charm: Many churches today are filled with people who don't even understand the gospel, but are convinced they are on the cutting edge of making the world a better place...for God, of course.

It breaks my heart...and it makes me ache for the day when we will share His glory in our home far away.

3. Love Lifted Me

Performed by Jehova Shalom Acapella / YouTube

[v1] I was sinking deep in sin,

Far from the peaceful shore,

Very deeply stained within,

Sinking to rise no more;

But the Master of the sea

Heard my despairing cry,

From the waters lifted me,

Now safe am I.

[Chorus] Love lifted me, love lifted me,

When nothing else could help,

Love lifted me;

Love lifted me, love lifted me,

When nothing else could help,

Love lifted me.

[v2] Souls in danger, look above,

Jesus completely saves;

He will lift you by His word

Out of the angry waves.

He's the Master of the sea,

Billows His will obey;

He your Savior wants to be,

Be saved today.

[Chorus]

Comments: "Love Lifted Me" was written by James Rowe, the son of a British copper miner. Rowe emigrated to the United States in 1889, and this song was first published in 1912.

The song's primary reference is the scene in Matthew 14 where Jesus walks on water, and tries to get Peter to do the same but with only limited success:

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ²³After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. ²⁴But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It's a ghost!" and they cried out for fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Cheer up! It is I! Don't be afraid."

²⁸Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters." ²⁹He said, "Come!" Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" ³¹Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" [This kills me: Peter has just demonstrated miracle-producing faith, yet Jesus chides him for being "of little faith."] ³²When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, "You are truly the Son of God!"

(Matthew 14:22–33 / emphasis & [comments] added)

The song takes the image of the stormy sea and uses it as a metaphor for sin, and the love of Jesus lifts us out of our sinful condition in a way that is comparable to the way He lifted Peter out of the waves when he faltered. Although it may not be a perfect analogy, it's still effective and the song gets the point across in a spirited, powerful manner.

4. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

Performed by Redeemed Quartet / YouTube

[v1] What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

[Chorus] Leaning, leaning,

Safe and secure from all alarm;

Leaning, leaning,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

[v2] O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

[Chorus x 2 / repeat last line]

Comments: "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" was written by Anthony Showalter and Elisha Hoffman and published in 1887. According to Showalter, he had received letters from two former students saying that their wives had died, and as he wrote letters of consolation he was inspired by the following words from the book of Deuteronomy:

²⁷The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms.

(Deuteronomy 33:27a)

Few images are apt to bring any believer any greater feelings of comfort, assurance, and peace than the image of resting on the mighty arms of God the Father. This idea of us having rest, peace, assurance, safety, etc. in God is a common theme in many hymns, but I'd be hard-pressed to name one that expresses it any better than "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

5. At Calvary

Performed by the Collingsworth Family / YouTube

[v1] Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for me He died

On Calvary.

[Chorus] Mercy there was great and grace was free,

Pardon there was multiplied to me,

There my burdened soul found liberty

At Calvary.

[v2] By God's Word at last my sin I learned,

Then I trembled at the Law I'd spurned,

Till my guilty soul imploring turned

To Calvary.

[v3] O the love that drew salvation's plan!

O the grace that brought it down to man!

O the mighty gulf that God did span

At Calvary.

[Chorus]

[v4] Now I've given to Jesus everything,

Now I gladly own Him as my King,

Now my raptured soul can only sing

Of Calvary.

[Chorus]

Mercy there was great and grace was free,

At Calvary...Calvary.

Comments: "At Calvary" was written by William Newell in 1895. At the time, Newell was teaching at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and the lines of the song occurred to him while he was on his way to teach a class. According to Newell, he slipped into an empty classroom on the way to his class and scribbled the lyrics down on the back of an envelope. Hmm...sounds familiar:

Reminds me of a young Georgetown lawyer scribbling down a poem on the back of an envelope while standing on the deck of a British warship and seeing the American flag still flying in 1814—a poem entitled "The Defence of Fort M'Henry". Er...I mean "The Star-Spangled Banner."

One thing that strikes me about the lyrics of this song is how apropos the words to the opening verse are: "Years I spent in vanity and pride / Caring not my Lord was crucified / Knowing not it was for me He died / at Calvary."

Pride..the original sin and the fuel that stokes the flames of legions of other sins—and a sin we are all guilty of. But note with care the use of the words "caring" and "knowing."

Consider: If people don't care that Jesus was crucified, the clear suggestion is that they do actually know about it (and most unsaved people do know about it), but they just don't care. It's a widely accepted historical fact that Jesus was nailed to a cross two thousand years ago. But the common reaction from many unsaved people tends to be along the following lines:

(Yawn)..."So what? Yeah, I heard that in Sunday School when I was a kid. Big deal. What's that got to do with me? I try to be a good person."

They know intellectually that Jesus was crucified, but they don't care about that fact in any significant way. It's just another historical event. It means about as much to them as the signing of the Magna Carta. And the reason they feel this way is because they don't know that He died to save them.

But when a person hears the message of the gospel and the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and draws them to Christ, all that changes radically. Suddenly the fact that Christ died on a cross two thousand years ago becomes a life-changing, eternity-altering reality. At last they realize He died for their sins so they could be forgiven and they could be eternally reconciled to a holy God who loves them enough to sacrifice the life of His Son to make this possible.

Now they do care that He died. Now it's personal in a way that's deeper and more profound than anything they have ever experienced.

My point is that the artful use of the words "caring" and "knowing" in these lines captures this reality to perfection.

6. Standing on the Promises

Performed by Alan Jackson / YouTube

[v1] Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,

Through eternal ages let his praises ring;

Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.

[Chorus] Standing, standing,

Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;

Standing, standing,

I'm standing on the promises of God.

[v2] Standing on the promises I cannot fall,

List'ning ev'ry moment to the Spirit's call,

Resting in my Savior as my all in all,

Standing on the promises of God.

[Chorus]

Comments: "Standing on the Promises" was written in 1886 by Russel Kelso Carter, who was a professor at the Pennsylvania Military College of Chester as well being licensed to preach by the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Much like "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," this song speaks to the confidence, assurance, and peace we have in a right relationship with God, which is established through our faith in Christ. And a big part of that is our understanding that all of God's promises are yea and amen:

²⁰For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

(2 Corinthians 1:20 KJV)

Speaking of promises, here's a quick Top 10 list:

1. God's love and kindness endures forever (Ps. 136; Isa. 54:10).

2. God's mercy is available to all who repent (1 John 1:9; Ps. 86:5).

3. God never leaves you (Deut. 31:8; Josh. 1:9, Heb. 13:5).

4. God provides strength for the weary (Isa. 40:31; 41:10).

5. God is our rescue and protection (Ps. 9:9–10; 107:13–16).

6. God's salvation is for the entire world (John 3:16, 36).

7. God will supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19).

8. God is always comforting us (Ps. 23:4).

9. God hears our prayers (Ps. 34:17; 50:15).

10. God will work all things out for our good (Rom. 8:28).

And these and many others are promises we can stand on.

7. There Is Power in the Blood

Performed by Music of Hope / YouTube

[v1] Would you be free from the burden of sin?

There's power in the blood, power in the blood;

Would you o'er evil a victory win?

There's wonderful power in the blood.

[Chorus] There is power, power, wonder-working power

In the blood of the Lamb;

There is power, power, wonder-working power

In the precious blood of the Lamb.

[v2] Would you be free from your passion and pride?

There's power in the blood, power in the blood;

Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide,

There's wonderful power in the blood.

[Chorus]

[v3] Would you do service for Jesus, your King?

There's power in the blood, power in the blood;

Would you live daily His praises to sing?

There's wonderful power in the blood.

[Chorus x 2]

Comments: "There Is Power in the Blood" was written in 1889 by Lewis E. Jones, a graduate of Moody Bible Institute who went on to work for the YMCA. Jones, who wrote hymns as a hobby, wrote this song while attending a camp meeting in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland.

Speaking of power, I love this song for its powerful simplicity: It just gets right down to the nitty-gritty—the way any good hymn should, and does it in a joyful, spirited way that's just plain fun to sing.

It strikes me that a lot of modern church songs, as good as they may be, somehow manage to avoid the hardcore, in-your-face elements of the gospel and opt for the soft and smooth stuff. And the blood Jesus shed on the cross is about the hardest core, most in-your-face element of the gospel there is.

I'm sorry, but there's nothing soft and smooth about that.

And I like songs that give you a chance to shout those hardcore, in-your-face elements from the rooftop.

8. What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Performed by Redeemed Quartet / YouTube

[v1] What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

[v2] Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

[v3] Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge;

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In his arms he'll take and shield thee,

Thou will find a solace there. [repeat last two lines]

Comments: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" was written in 1855 by Joseph M. Scriven, an Irish immigrant to Canada. And the more you read about Scriven's tragic life, the more you can appreciate what motivated him to write such a song.

Scriven enrolled in military college to prepare for a career in the army, but poor health forced him to abandon that idea. Not long after that, his fiancée drowned the night before their wedding in 1843. He became a school teacher in Ontario, and then a second fiancée died following a brief illness in 1860. After that, the increasingly eccentric Scriven drifted from menial job to menial job, largely living off the generosity of others. He was a member of the Plymouth Brethren, and set about attempting to live according to Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in a completely literal fashion.

In his latter years he reportedly suffered from depression, and like his first fiancée, he died in a drowning accident in 1886. And we'll probably never know for certain this side of heaven, but there are some who suspect his death may have been a suicide rather than an accident.

So, it is indeed sobering to think of the depths of pain and sorrow that gave rise to this powerful song—a song that has blessed, encouraged, and lifted the spirits of millions of people over the years.

Including mine.

9. Mansion Over the Hilltop

Performed by the Acappella Company / YouTube

[v1] I'm satisfied with just a cottage below,

A little silver and a little gold;

But in that city, where the ransomed will shine

I want a gold one, that's silver lined.

[CHORUS] I've got a mansion just over the hilltop,

In that bright land where we'll never grow old;

And someday yonder, we will never more wander,

But walk on streets that are purest gold.

[v2] Though often tempted, tormented and tempted

And like the prophet my pillow is stone;

And though I find here no permanent dwelling,

I know he'll give me a mansion my own.

[CHORUS]

[v3] Don't think me poor Lord, deserted or lonely,

I'm not discouraged, I'm heaven bound;

I'm just a pilgrim in search of a city,

I want a mansion, a harp, and a crown.

[CHORUS x 2]

Comments: "Mansion Over the Hilltop" was written in 1949 by Ira Stanphil, one of America's most prolific gospel songwriters. He was an Assemblies of God minister (the same denomination as the church my family attended when I was a kid) and he composed over 500 hymns.

I've always loved songs like this because they help us imagine what heaven will be like—and the image of a mansion on a hilltop is arguably about as close as we can come.

And that's just it:

We really can't imagine what heaven will be like!

But at the rate things are going, we're probably close enough to the day when we will enter "that bright land where we'll never grow old" that we might as well start giving it a bit more thought.

10. When We All Get to Heaven

Performed by Alan Jackson / YouTube

[v1] Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,

Sing His mercy and His grace;

In the mansions bright and blessed

He'll prepare for us a place.

[CHORUS] When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!

[v2] Onward to the prize before us!

Soon His beauty we'll behold;

Soon the pearly gates will open—

We shall tread the streets of gold.

[CHORUS / repeat last two lines]

Comments: "When We All Get to Heaven" was written by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt in 1898. She was a teacher and prolific hymn writer who was involved in numerous activities in the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where she lived for her entire life.

This is another song that focuses on the unimaginably wonderful place we will inhabit soon and very soon—a place Jesus told His disciples He would go to prepare for us so that where He was, we would be also.

I love the line "when we all see Jesus," because when we see Him, we will see Him as He is because we will be like Him:

²Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

(1 John 3:2 AKJV)

In heaven after the Rapture, we will all have glorified bodies that can function in both the earthly and spiritual realms, and we will be able to move back and forth between the two. (My personal word for this is "transdimensional.") This will be necessary because we will (a) exist in heaven, but also (b) return to earth to rule and reign with Christ in the kingdom. That's one way we will be like Him, and when we finally see Him we will be able to see Him as the transdimensional being He is because we will be in bodies with a similar ability to move in and out of dimensions we don't currently have access to.

Think about it: This this is why the disciples freaked out when Jesus appeared in a locked room with them somewhere in Jerusalem later in the day of the Resurrection (Luke 24:36–43). They thought He was a ghost, and I think Jesus asked them for something to eat just to calm them down and convince them it was really Him in the flesh, so to speak. The point is simply this:

They couldn't see Him as He was

because they weren't like Him.

That's why He scared the pants off them when He appeared out of nowhere.

But glory to God...that won't be the case for us "when we all get to heaven." We will all be in glorified bodies similar to that of Jesus, and so we will be able to move about in much the same way.

CW hits

No, not Country & Western: cringeworthy. As I joyfully reminisced about the 10 songs above, I recalled a couple of songs we sang that had something in the lyrics that just ruffled my feathers. Not not in terms of doctrine necessarily...but something. There were two songs that we sang in our church that had something in the lyrics that just caused me problems.

• "He Lives" The first song I want to mention is "He Lives" (YouTube with lyrics), and it's popular enough that I'm guessing many of you have heard it before. I'll just give you the final bit of the chorus, because that's the part that makes me cringe:

"Don't ask me how I know He lives:

He lives within my heart."

...right along with Elvis, the Easter Bunny, and my grandma. Don't get me wrong—this is a wonderful, powerful song, and it shouts out something of vital importance: Christ does live, and that's why we can be reconciled to the Father through faith in His Son's work of atonement for our sin.

But if someone were to ask me how I know He lives, this would be the last thing I would say in a million years because it is arguably the weakest possible answer you could give. Why? Think about it: "He lives within my heart..." A Muslim could give you the same answer for Allah. A Hindu could give you the same answer for Krishna. A member of virtually any other false religion on earth could give you the same answer for whatever false god they worship.

Sorry sports fans, but that's not gonna cut it.

And the reason is simple:

False religions are replete with fantasies.

Christianity is replete with historical facts.

Big difference. You don't have to dig too deep to discover that the fact that Christ rose from the grave in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and precisely as documented in New Testament Scripture can be substantiated by historical facts in a number of ways—ways that are only rejected by those who simply refuse to believe no matter what.

This topic is well beyond the scope of this article, but I will at least give you two quick points:

1. The reaction of the Jewish religious leaders.

The Jewish religious leaders were so desperate to hide the inconvenient truth of the Resurrection that they paid the Roman guards to lie to their superiors about how several of Christ's scurrilous followers had broken into His tomb and stolen His body while they slept on watch—which in the Roman army was an offense punishable by death. The Jews paid them a handsome sum and promised they would protect them if they came under any scrutiny (Matt. 28:11–15).

One particular item that would appear to lend additional support to this is the Nazareth Inscription, a marble tablet that turned up in Nazareth in 1878 (although it is unclear where it was actually discovered) that has been dated to the first half of the first century, and that contains an official inscription in Greek from an undetermined Roman Emperor that ordered capital punishment for anyone who desecrated a grave or tomb, especially the body itself.

Some experts are of the opinion that this decree never pertained specifically to Christ, but they can't conclusively prove it doesn't. It strikes many New Testament scholars as intriguing, however, since so few grave robbers wasted their time with the actual bodies. I mean, why would they??

They were after booty, not bones!

In other words, in the opinion of many, it is entirely possible that the Jewish religious leaders raised such a ruckus with their lie about how some of Christ's scalawag followers broke into His tomb and stole His body (and enough people fell for it) that it ultimately motivated the Romans to invoke such a decree in the hopes of preventing such body-snatching shenanigans in the future.

We may never know for certain, but it does mesh with the historical narrative.

2. The reaction of His disciples.

Even more compelling in my mind, however, is the reaction of Christ's disciples following the Resurrection. After the Crucifixion, they cowered behind locked doors in various locations around Jerusalem, hiding out in fear of the Jews. With their fearless leader Jesus out of the way, the Pharisees would waste little time in rounding up His cohorts and punishing them as well.

But three days later, something strange happened that is extremely difficult to explain in natural terms. Literally overnight, these trembling, distraught men—men who feared that everything they had lived for over the last three and a half years had been brutally crushed out of existence—suddenly and inexplicably became the boldest, most fearless evangelists the world has ever seen, and all but John were ultimately martyred for their unwavering testimony that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the grave to atone for our sin.

Yet some desperately wish to believe they gave their lives to spread the gospel knowing full well it was a fantastical fiction they had contrived. Really??

Few die for the truth.

Who dies for a tall tale?!

• "In the Garden" This second song makes me cringe even more, and it's a beautiful song entitled "In the Garden" (YouTube with lyrics). But as beautiful as it is, I find it difficult to listen to some of the lyrics—and here's one line that makes me wince every single time:

"He speaks and the sound of His voice

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing."

Several other lines have essentially the same effect on me...and what effect is that, one might innocently inquire.

OK, I'm squirming here...I'm not sure how to phrase this, and I'm trying to be polite and all that. But I may as well just come right out and say it:

To me, the lyrics of this song make Jesus sound like your secret boyfriend.

There, I said it. It's a beautiful song, but before God—I just cringe every time I hear it...and I'll just leave it at that. If you like "In the Garden," and I hope you do, I pray it blesses you. Same for "He Lives."

And please, whatever you do, don't let my screwball reactions to these two marvelous songs affect your enjoyment of either one of them in any way whatsoever. That's just weird li'l ol' me being weird li'l ol' me.

But forgive me if I give them a pass and stick with my Top 10.

Bustin' loose

As you may have already guessed, the title of this article comes from the book of Revelation, where we see the raptured Church represented by the 24 elders "singing a new song" along with the four living creatures before the throne in Revelation 5, just before Jesus starts opening the seals of the scroll to kick off the Tribulation in Revelation 6:

⁸Now when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹They [i.e. both the four living creatures and the 24 elders] sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, ¹⁰and made us [far more likely: them] kings and priests to our God; and we [far more likely: they (see comment* below)] will reign on the earth."

(Revelation 5:8–10 / emphasis & [comments] added)

*Comment: It's not relevant here, but I discuss in a previous article why I am convinced that verse 10 should be in the third person (them/they), and is being sung by the four living creatures about the 24 elders (the raptured Church). Apparently the four living creatures and the 24 elders are singing in a back-and-forth antiphonal style, and the 24 elders sing verse 9 about themselves, and then the four living creatures sing verse 10 about the 24 elders. And I would encourage you to read the article I linked to sometime if you're interested, because the manuscript evidence for what might seem to many people as an unusual interpretation of this passage is surprisingly compelling.

That "new song" focuses on how Christ is worthy to unleash judgment on the earth, since He shed His blood to reconcile us to His Father, and has made us kings and priests to rule and reign with Him in the kingdom.

And I don't know about you, but I can't wait to sing it.

Of course, today there are probably hundreds of good gospel songs that I know and love, but the majority are songs I've become familiar with as an adult. But I'm not talking about those here. As I said, I'm only talking about songs I heard as a child in the little church my family attended—and so each of these is an uplifting stroll down memory lane for me.

And speaking of family, when I see my mom and dad in heaven, I want to thank them for taking me to that little church every Sunday, because I came away from that upbringing with the following precepts firmly established way down in the murky depths of my ornery little pea-brain:

The blood Christ shed on an old rugged cross at Calvary had the power to wash away my sin, and that Jesus was a friend whose promises I could stand on, whose everlasting arms I could lean on, and whose love could lift me out of the depths of sin and make it possible for me to dwell in a mansion on a hilltop when I get to heaven.

Although it would be a few more years until those precepts finally brought forth fruit, it was songs like these and many others that I sang as a child that did a lot to help prepare the soil of my heart to come to know Jesus on a real, life-changing spiritual basis as a young adult.

So, since a "twinkling of an eye" doesn't sound sound like it's gonna give you much time, the moment you hear that trumpet sound I suggest you grab your earplugs as quickly as possible—and I'll be happy to tell you why:

I'm liable to bust loose and start singing "When We

All Get to Heaven" before we all actually get to heaven.

From Greg Lauer @ A Little Strength—MAY '25

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