I have a confession to make: I'm not a big Elvis fan. I have nothing against the late-great entertainer, but as a kid his music was played primarily on the "oldies" radio stations, the music my aunts and uncles blasted at family gatherings. I appreciate his musical and singing talent, but admittedly I was never into his music. Because I never owned one of his countless albums, there are a lot of songs I am unfamiliar with - like his famous "If I Can Dream."
I was driving and listening to ABC Radio recently and "If I Can Dream" was performed by Elvis with great passion and conviction. I listened to the lyrics and was surprised by the shocking theology (or lack thereof): "We're lost in a cloud with too much rain; we're trapped in a world that's troubled with pain. But as long as a man has the strength to dream he can redeem his soul and fly..." What? I was incredulous at the suggestion. After arriving home I checked out the lyrics online to ensure I indeed heard correctly - that a man's strength to dream enables him to redeem his soul? Where did that idea come from? Not from the Bible - which is the only authority on the redemption of souls.
Man is no more capable of redeeming himself than he is able to conceive himself without mother or father. Then there is the problem of sin as Proverbs 20:9 says: "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?" If we cannot wash ourselves from the guilt of sin, how can we redeem ourselves from it? God redeemed the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt with His mighty power as a gaal or kinsman redeemer. Moses sang of the LORD's deliverance in Exodus 15:13: "You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation." Men talk of "redeeming themselves" but it is a broken cliche, for the redemption of souls is solely God's sovereign work by His grace.
Peter spoke to disciples of Jesus and explained how they were redeemed by the blood of Jesus in 1 Peter 1:18-21: "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." The right of redemption was reserved for a near-kinsman as Boaz was to Ruth, and Jesus Christ is the only One worthy among men whose blood is acceptable as the Lamb of God without blemish. No amount of money, gold, silver, good works, or dreaming is able to redeem our souls from death: redeeming us from the curse of the Law and granting us all the blessings of God. Jesus alone can redeem, and to say anyone or anything else can is abominable blasphemy.
Man cannot fly unassisted, and he also cannot redeem his own soul - despite his grandest dreams. The hope of redemption will remain a dream, a fantasy forever elusive without placing faith in Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour. This world remains in darkness and is inhabited by countless people who are lost, but Jesus is the Redeemer. God can use being lost, trouble, and pain to draw us near to Himself. Jesus went through excruciating pain to redeem our souls and grant us eternal life. The prophet spoke the truth concerning the Messiah Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53:4-5: "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
I was driving and listening to ABC Radio recently and "If I Can Dream" was performed by Elvis with great passion and conviction. I listened to the lyrics and was surprised by the shocking theology (or lack thereof): "We're lost in a cloud with too much rain; we're trapped in a world that's troubled with pain. But as long as a man has the strength to dream he can redeem his soul and fly..." What? I was incredulous at the suggestion. After arriving home I checked out the lyrics online to ensure I indeed heard correctly - that a man's strength to dream enables him to redeem his soul? Where did that idea come from? Not from the Bible - which is the only authority on the redemption of souls.
Man is no more capable of redeeming himself than he is able to conceive himself without mother or father. Then there is the problem of sin as Proverbs 20:9 says: "Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin"?" If we cannot wash ourselves from the guilt of sin, how can we redeem ourselves from it? God redeemed the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt with His mighty power as a gaal or kinsman redeemer. Moses sang of the LORD's deliverance in Exodus 15:13: "You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation." Men talk of "redeeming themselves" but it is a broken cliche, for the redemption of souls is solely God's sovereign work by His grace.
Peter spoke to disciples of Jesus and explained how they were redeemed by the blood of Jesus in 1 Peter 1:18-21: "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." The right of redemption was reserved for a near-kinsman as Boaz was to Ruth, and Jesus Christ is the only One worthy among men whose blood is acceptable as the Lamb of God without blemish. No amount of money, gold, silver, good works, or dreaming is able to redeem our souls from death: redeeming us from the curse of the Law and granting us all the blessings of God. Jesus alone can redeem, and to say anyone or anything else can is abominable blasphemy.
Man cannot fly unassisted, and he also cannot redeem his own soul - despite his grandest dreams. The hope of redemption will remain a dream, a fantasy forever elusive without placing faith in Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour. This world remains in darkness and is inhabited by countless people who are lost, but Jesus is the Redeemer. God can use being lost, trouble, and pain to draw us near to Himself. Jesus went through excruciating pain to redeem our souls and grant us eternal life. The prophet spoke the truth concerning the Messiah Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53:4-5: "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
No comments:
Post a Comment
To uphold the integrity of this site, no comments with links for advertising will be posted. No ads here! :)