Ep. 87 | In Christ Alone | Louder Than Words

Listen in as Mary Beth Everett shares today’s daily devotional featuring the song "In Christ Alone." Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

Ready to connect? You can send us a message through our website theorchardcc.org, or email Pastor Eddie Blalock at eddie@theorchardcc.org. You can also follow The Orchard Community Church on Facebook and Instagram to stay connected, and find more content on our YouTube channel.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Music has a unique way of touching the heart. A song can bring back a memory, lift our spirits, comfort us in a difficult season, or help us express what words alone cannot. That's one reason music has always been an important part of worship. Through the songs we sing, we celebrate God's goodness, declare his truth, and remind ourselves of his faithfulness. Over the past several weeks, we've been formed by God's Word as we've journeyed through Genesis. Over the next two weeks, while Pastor Eddie is away on a mission trip, several leaders from the Orchard Community Church will guide us through a special formed by the Word series called Louder Than Words. Together we'll explore the scriptures, truths, and personal stories behind some of the worship songs that have shaped our faith and encouraged our walk with Christ. Our prayer is that these devotions will help you listen more carefully to the songs you sing and deepen your appreciation for the God those songs celebrate. So wherever you're listening today, lean in and open your heart. The God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today. Let's listen together.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

You see, I have without a doubt sung this song more than any other song in my entire life. I know that that's a bold statement, but I can confidently say that because this is a song that I've sung to my three kids every night at bedtime since our youngest two were babies. And those babies just celebrated their eighth birthday at the end of May. The song I'm going to be talking about today is In Christ Alone, written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townen. I started singing this song to my kids every night sometime like around 2018 or 2019 when our twins were still babies. Before this song became an every night staple, we just had a rotation of worship songs that I would sing, mainly that just consisted of anything that was either a current favorite of mine or of my oldest son's. And typically it was just the chorus a few times or whatever parts that I could remember off the top of my head. At some point, though, in Christ alone entered into that rotation of songs and it never left. I don't really remember if the first time I heard it was at church or on the radio or whatever streaming music service we were all using in 2018. But I do remember that once I started singing it to my kids, something about it really stuck with me. I never got tired of singing lyrics. I will admit though, there have been nights where I might have skipped over a verse or two just out of pure exhaustion at the end of the day. But my love for this song has never faded. A few months into singing this to my kids at bedtime, I decided that this was going to be the song that I would sing over them every night of their childhood. My hope and prayer is that the gospel truths in this song will be hidden in their hearts and minds. And when they become adults and are navigating life and really all the highs and lows that come with it, that they'll be able to recall the lyrics with ease and the scriptures that they bring to mind. The song in Christ Alone is a modern hymn outlining the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the salvation that we have as believers that comes through him and him alone. It points to the sufficiency of Christ for our salvation, which in turn indicates that we ourselves are insufficient. I wasn't sure how I was going to go about sharing this song with y'all without literally reading you the entirety of the four verses because they are jam-packed with so many scriptural references. So that's what I'm going to do. But don't worry, I'm going to break it up and I'm going to stop and talk about each verse along the way. So here we go. In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when strivings cease, my comforter, my all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand. Those first three words of the song, in Christ alone, set the tone for the whole thing. Everything that follows is possible only in Christ, not in Christ plus my hard work or in Christ plus my circumstances, but in Christ alone. That line continues on, in Christ alone my hope is found. Scripture tells us in 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 3 and 4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. This great hope is also written about in Hebrews when the writer is reminding the readers of God's faithfulness. Chapter 6 in Hebrews, verse 19, states, We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Not only do we have this hope because of Jesus, but it's steady, set in place, and secure, which leads perfectly into the next line that I'm going to highlight from this first verse. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. Chances are most, if not all of you who are listening to this right now have felt some sort of fierce droughts and storms of life, some even fiercer than others. This verse doesn't shy away from the fact that even the Christian life will bring hard seasons, seasons of loss, heartache, struggle, and just plain brokenness. It states this tough fact of life while simultaneously reminding us that we have the solid ground of Jesus holding fast for us. Jesus himself tells us in Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 and 25. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn't collapse because its foundation was on the rock. Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. When speaking in building terms, a cornerstone was the first and most important stone laid when building a structure. It sets the direction, the alignment, and the stability for the entire building. If the cornerstone is strong and correctly placed, the building will stand firm. I really would love to go line by line with each of these verses, but I'll be way over my time if I do that. So I'm gonna go ahead and move on to verse two, which I actually recently found out is left out of some really popular versions of this song. In fact, I didn't even know about this verse until I started looking into the history of the song to prepare for recording this podcast. Don't worry though, I've since added this verse into my bedtime rendition with the kids. So here it is. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God, and helpless babe, this gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live. So in doing a little digging, I came across an interview with John Piper where he was asked his thoughts on this song. More specifically, his thoughts on the second verse and why he thinks some people don't sing it. Piper says, They will not sing about the wrath of God being satisfied by the fact that he, Jesus, died. That's tragic because I think the sweetest news in all the world is there's a reason why God's not angry at me. He continues in saying, probably the people that push back on this song for that reason don't really believe in the wrath of God, and they don't think anything drastic like the death of the Son of God has to happen to absorb all of that wrath. Now, those are John Piper's words, not mine. But after learning about this verse and contemplating the heaviness of the truth that it lays out, I really can't imagine leaving it out. I can't imagine not singing it. It brings to mind 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. It also reminds me of Romans 3, verses 23 through 26. This is gonna sound pretty familiar to a lot of you, but for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus. This verse in this song details what we call the great exchange, in which Jesus took upon himself the punishment that humanity deserved, and in exchange believers receive his righteousness, forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Okay, let's move on to verse three. There in the ground his body lay, light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave he rose again, and as he stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me, for I am his and he is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ. So those first two lines, there in the ground his body lay, light of the world by darkness slain. Although it appeared at first that darkness had won when Jesus was crucified and buried, we know that that's not the case. The next line in verse three is where the song kind of ramps up. I'm sure there's like a technical musical term for that, but I don't know what it is. So it ramps up. Up from the grave, he rose again, and as he stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me. As followers of Jesus, we are freed from the penalty of sin, which in and of itself is amazing news. But when I sing this line, I don't only think of being saved from my sin and only benefiting from this in eternity. I think of Romans chapter 6, verse 17, when Paul wrote, But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching in which you were committed, and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I think of 1 Corinthians 10 13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Because sin's curse has lost its grip on me, yes, I am free from the penalty of sin, but I'm also free from the grip of my sinful nature. As believers, we know that our sinful nature can still rear its ugly head sometimes. But because I am in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, I'm able to resist the temptation to sin. Do I always resist this temptation? No. That's why I'm doubly extra super thankful for the gift of Jesus' righteousness when it comes to the forgiveness of my sins and reconciliation with God. The next line, for I am his and he is mine. I can't spend time on this one, but it always makes me smile when I sing it. Bought with the precious blood of Christ. To be reconciled with God came with a price, and it was costly. The cost was the precious blood of our Lord Jesus. I don't ever want to take that for granted or forget this. My salvation is a gift, but it wasn't free. I just wasn't the one who had to pay for it. All right, rounding out with verse four no guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his hand till he returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. This verse of the song reminds us of the security that we can have in our salvation because of the finished work of Jesus and the faithfulness of God. We know what is waiting for us when we cross into eternity. When we are in Christ, nothing can separate us from Him. When Jesus was speaking in John 10, verses 27 through 30, he said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand. I and the Father are one. The last two lines of the song end in such a great way, till he returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I stand. I could go on and on for at least five more minutes about this song, but I'll stop there. There's still so much more that I didn't even get to cover. If you're not familiar with this song, I hope you'll give it a listen. I also want to shout out another song written by the same songwriter that probably would have been my second pick if I didn't pick this one. That song is How Deep the Father's Love for Us. So give that one a listen, also. All right, let's close out in prayer. God, thank you for the truth that our hope, our strength, and our salvation are found in Christ alone. Thank you for making a way for us. Help us rest in your grace, stand firm in your promises, and live each day with confidence in the power of Christ and your faithfulness. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.