Herb yates

Did you know that the fig tree tells us when the crucifixion happened? The Holy Spirit revealed to us (plural) that Jesus was crucified on August 17. I heard this revelation in 1983 but it was only from 1999 to 2003 that I checked whether there is any ring of truth in it or not. True enough, the revelation is correct.

August is a summer month. The fig tree put on leaves and its fruits are harvested during summer. The story of this cursing occurred during summer. Jesus must have be crucified in summer and not in spring. I posted a blog at wordpress relating the parable of the fig tree to the crucifixion. Please read my blog. Your comments are most welcome.

No doubt there are songs that exude more robust doctrine from every pore, though in some cases they were written by women. We felt that “Before the Throne of God Above,” despite two matters of doctrinal imprecision which we honed, was worthy of every effort to translate into German and publish in a songbook. We ended up investing scores of hours getting that text “right.” So, yes, a high standard of worship is important to us, but included in that high standard should be a healthy dose of fond affection (1 Corinthians 16:22 where “philei” is used).

In closing, let’s face it, scarcely anything we produce will be enduring, except as it is laid up in heaven. Many a song in Lutheran hymnals of past centuries bears silent testimony to this truth. If anything deserved to have endured, they did. Eternity will tell, but some glad day, when the possibility of hypocritical sweetness is long forgotten and only true sweetness abides, we may join in a fervent chorus: “Jesus is the sweetest name I know.” (If it will sweeten the deal, try singing “dearest” instead of “sweetest.”)

I’d love to get in on a music conference you speak at, and perhaps someday I will be able to get over to Camp Joy in January. Meanwhile, keep up the good work.

I would agree that if the song said, “a reason” instead of “the reason,” it would be a great improvement. However, it does say, “the reason.” Perhaps I am not allowing for enough poetic license and I should understand it as “a reason.” However, even with that allowance, I think that being sweet (nice), is not the same as the biblical concept of kindness. I have had many people be sweet to me, but they were not always kind to me. The American Heritage Dictionary defines sweet as, “Having a pleasing disposition, lovable.” With this definition this would mean the song is saying that I love Jesus because he is nice and lovable. That is a very shallow way to express love for Christ. Additionally, I think Luke 4:22 is talking about Jesus preaching being appreciated for its rhetoric and eloquence more than talking about Jesus being nice. The word for gracious is charis, the common word for grace in the New Testament.

The other issue I have with the song is the concept of Jesus’ name being sweet. The name of Jesus or God in the Bible is usually used to communicate his reputation and his glory. I don’t understand the connection between God’s glory and niceness. I am not trying to over parse the song, but it seems to be saying that I love Jesus because his glory is nice. That is a very strange sentiment. I don’t think the song is evil, but simply not enduring. I appreciate that many people like the song, but I think our standards for worship have been too low.

Much of the false teaching we contend with today came out of the 19th and early 20th centuries: Mormonism, JWs, the Campbellites, Seventh Day Adventists, Charismaticism, and Revivalism all come out of that period. Unfortunately, even Evangelical Christians were impacted by the spirit of that age (just as we are by ours) and it is reflected in too many of the songs in our hymnal. Additionally, during the Victorian Era many of the Christian virtues were replaced by feminine virtues. That may seem harmless enough to some, but it has feminized our churches and replaced Christian godliness with a feminine emphasis on nurture and niceness.

I hope you understand I am not on a crusade to destroy Gospel Songs, but I want folks to analyze all of our music to consider whether it is biblical or not. I hope I have not been over zealous.

Thank you for your comments Brad. I appreciate your service for the Lord in Germany.