Some of the best theology is found in Christmas hymns...

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Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3 (ESV)

In writing devotionals about some of the poor music that the Christian music industry creates I have been often accused of only liking hymns, or the old guard of Christian music. My response is always the same. My issue, as with everything, is doctrine. What we sing becomes what we believe because we repeat it so much. What we sing as worship unto God should matter to us. The example I always give is that 20 years ago we sang How Great Thou Art and now we sing Oh How He Loves Us. There is a marked difference between singing about the greatness of God and singing about how great we must be for God to love us. That does not mean that contemporary music cannot be sound doctrinally. I know of many modern songs that are such and do not belong to international heretical churches such as Bethel and Hillsong. There are likewise older songs that do not pass the muster of scripture. The issue is not the age of the song but rather the age we are living in. The enemy would love nothing more than to rob God of His rightful praise and worship. Churches across the land sing a mish mosh of songs demanding their inheritance to sloppy agape songs where most people cannot tell the difference between Christian music and contemporary love songs. I cannot listen to someone like Rick Pino without feeling the need to shower after. Jesus is not your boyfriend. You alone are not His bride. He is not leading you into his chambers and for the love of God stop declaring that you wish to be on fire. I saw a brand new lyric from Kari Jobe where she declares she wants to burn forever. Methinks you do not know what you are asking. This all being said, I would hope that while some might think I protest too much, there is no better source of solid doctrine than the hymns we take for granted every Christmas. Of these, the one that can always move me to tears is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! I thought it might be encouraging to go through the lyrics in advance of the celebration of the birth of Christ. Let's us reason and sing together!

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled

The first reason I love this song is it doesn't bury the lead. It opens with the presentation of the gospel message. God and sinners reconciled! Put away all of the seminary lessons, leadership conferences, and theories of church growth. Oh, that pastors would stick to what matters. Stick to the reason they are called. God and sinners reconciled! When I was early on in my ministerial studies, I once reasoned with my pastor that I thought there were two types of sermons. One designed for Sundays to present the gospel and see people saved through the drawing of the Holy Spirit and another more designed for spiritual maturity, usually heard at the Friday night prayer meetings. I will remember his answer as long as I live. He said that any message that cannot be brought back to the cross is not worth preaching. That is what we see so wrong today. Messages of self-help and motivation stray so far away from the cross that they are useless spiritually. I once read Rick Warren advise pastors to not preach the gospel on Easter. Instead, he advised to start a series that spoke to their carnal lives so they would have a reason to come back. That is what happens when you are trying to see people get churched instead of saved. The fact that Hark begins with a message of reconciliation reveals the inherent state of man. We need to be reconciled to God. We stand apart from God. This is not a negative message as seeker friendly theology will advise. It is not negative because God does not leave us there in that state. He sends His only Son to reconcile us through the cross. Oh beloved, Hark the herald angels sing! Glory to the newborn King!

Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King

Two points here from a doctrinal purity standpoint. The first is that salvation is universal. Joyful all ye nations rise! Every nation! All people are offered the free gift of reconciliation to God. It has too often become the norm that American Christianity only focuses on this country. It has become infected with secular politics to the point that we act like it is a closed club. Us four and no more. Yet the very people the enemy tries to get us to hate and the countries he gets us to look down upon are those that need the gospel the most. Christ was not born in the USA. He was born in Bethlehem. Our brothers and sisters span the entire globe. They worship in underground churches in China and are martyred for their beliefs in the Middle East. Our citizenship is in heaven and God does not allow dual citizenship; just read the very first commandment. We are referred to biblically as pilgrims and sojourners in this world. The church was designed to see people saved out from this world but today the apostate church is more concerned with blurring the two until you cannot tell the difference anymore. If the unsaved see the church as just an extension of the world, they are offered no incentive for coming. What is different about the church from their lived experience? What makes us the shining city on a hill? That we offer hope beyond this world, hallelujah! That even the vilest sinner can be reconciled unto God, regardless of what nation they come from. Saul of Tarsus presided over the deaths of the early Christians, including Stephen, the first martyr. Yet God still used him to change the world for the cause of the gospel. He went to all the nations to see them rise. Glory to the newborn king!

The newborn king is the second point here. A great deal has been made in the modern church about relationship versus religion, portraying religion as somehow being bad. The problem with that argument is God established religion, in the bible. In and of itself, religion was created by and for God. Man however, can always corrupt what God intended for good. In the days of Jesus the Pharisees made religion be about the rules instead of the spirit. We have seen this throughout church history where churches copy the Pharisaical model. The idea of relationship however can also be corrupted. Jesus is not your buddy or wing man. He is not your spiritual bellhop or busboy. He is not your blessing dispenser. He is not your boyfriend or lover. What I love about Hark is it reminds me who Christ is to me. He is my King. Many in the church like to confuse things by citing the verse where He declares that now He calls us friends but they neglect the context where Jesus tells us that if we are His friends we will do as He says! He did not come here to give you your best life now. He came to save you, and me, and all ye nations. Glory to the newborn King!

Christ by highest Heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus our Emmanuel
Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King

Solid doctrine upon sold doctrine. The promise of Christ and salvation is everlasting. It is not bound by mere human measurements and constraints of time. The incarnate deity and the Godhead veiled in flesh! Emmanuel - God with us! These are all reaffirmations of John 3:16 - that God so loved the word that He sent His only Son to save us. Why do we need saving? Because we are sinners unreconciled to God! Offspring of a virgin's womb reaffirms that Isaiah prophecy of the coming of Christ. The herald angels have a great deal to sing about indeed!

Hail the Heaven born Prince of peace
Hail the son of righteousness
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings

Going a little deeper here it is important to remember that before Christ, we lived in darkness and under the curse of death. Likewise, those that we seek to reach with the gospel are living in darkness and under the curse of death. These are not trivial matters and it extends to those who are in the modern apostate church system. Jesus once preached how deep is the darkness for those who have convinced themselves that their darkness is light. I tell the story all the time of the testimony of Kim Walker-Smith, lead worship leader for Jesus Culture from Bill Johnson's Bethel Church. She often tells of a waking visitation she claims she received from Jesus who whisked her away to the throne room where she met the Father face to face. She asked him what he was thinking when he made her and this entity masquerading as god ripped out a piece of his own heart and shaped a miniature version of Kim to dance ands sing for him while he clapped maniacally. Now the story in and of itself sounds so demonic but we can be assured this was not God because the bible tells us no one can see God and live! Assuming she was not lying, we are left to conclude that she was accosted by demons and could not tell the difference. How could she being raised and taught in the demonic cesspool of Bethel? This is how deep one's darkness can get but the light of the true gospel can pierce any darkness and ends the curse of death. When Christ defeated the grave He rose us above it, those that believe in Him. That is the healing spoken of here. Jesus brings spiritual healing, which is the process of reconciling us back to the Father. This is not to be confused, as places like Bethel do, with physical healing. God still can heal physically because He is God. Beware false teachings that assert God must heal us. The healing He rose with was a spiritual healing over the curse of death in reconciling us back to the Father. Glory indeed!

Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King

Hark the Herald Angels Sing concludes by continuing the emphasis on being born again. Jesus was born that man no more may die! Born to raise the sons of earth! Born to give them second birth! Do not be deceived by the wiles and logic of man. There are not many ways to heaven. One must be born again and one only comes to the Father through the Son. This is why Jesus taught that we would be hated. People hate Christianity because of its exclusivity. There is but one way to heaven! One way to no more die. One way to be raised with the sons of earth! That way is the second birth. It is what Jesus was teaching to Nicodemus in our key verse. One cannot see the kingdom of heaven unless they are born again. You see Hark the Herald Angels sing of the glory of what God has done through His Son but never lose sight that narrow is the way and few are those who find it. Many will say Lord Lord on the last day only to discover that Jesus never even knew them. As Paul Washer once said, right now God is drawing man unto Him with one hand while holding back His wrath with the other. Soon he will drop both hands.

One of the common criticisms of discernment ministries is the appearance of being overly negative. The truth however is that there are far too many Kumbaya ministries that do not even pretend to preach the uncompromised gospel. Folks are churched. They may even see miracles and demons cast out but on the last day they will mournfully lament, "Lord Lord." There is nothing more positive than encouraging someone under false teaching to leave that teaching while there is still time. To step into the glorious light and embrace the promises contained in the bible and sung in Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Jesus was born to raise the sons of earth! Born to give them second birth! Hark the herald angels sing! Glory to the newborn King!

Reverend Anthony Wade - December 23, 2021

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.