The Lyrics Were Wrong by Dr. Johnny O. Trail, LMFT
Our family loves to listen to music on the radio. Sometimes my wife and I hear songs that we listened to when we were much younger. When we were children, we would sing along with those songs with a lack of understanding regarding the wording of the music. As we grew older, we learned that we had been singing the wrong lyrics for many, many years.Songs like “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant were misunderstood by my young ears and sang incorrectly. Instead of singing “down to electric avenue,” I would sing “don’t do electric avenue.” Another popular song, “Africa” by Toto, was misunderstood by yours truly. Instead of singing “There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do,” I sang “There’s nothing that a hundred men on Mars could ever do.” I continued in ignorant bliss for many years not knowing the true lyrics of these songs and many others that could be named.
Then it happened! Smart phones started carrying an app that would listen to the song being played on the radio and produce the lyrics to the composition. Oh, happy day! We suddenly had the actual lyrics to the songs, so that we were able to sing the song with accurate wording.
I suddenly realized that many of the songs I had sung for many years had been sung incorrectly. I had to change the wording to fit the actual composition or continue to sing the words incorrectly. Sometimes I still sing the words incorrectly just to annoy my spouse, but I cannot deny the actual wording of the song with apps that provide the correct words.
Considering these things, I started to ponder about spiritual truths that some might have held incorrectly for many years only to learn, after a study of God’s divine writ, that they were wrong. Sometimes it is hard to acknowledge error; especially when we sincerely believed we were right for many years. Correcting the words of a song is comparatively easy, but correcting a spiritual error regarding salvation, morality, or worship can be a difficult task to overcome.
The Apostle Paul “sang the wrong lyrics” in denying that Jesus was the Messiah for some time before arriving at the truth on a road headed for Damascus. Acts 26:9-11 says, "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” When Paul learned the truth about Christ, he immediately changed.
There is a tremendous difference between learning the truth and changing versus denying the truth once a person has learned it. One does not have to continue in error unless he chooses to do so. Remember what Paul said, “I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth?” The word “thought” implies that this was his disposition at one time.
When Paul learned he was wrong, he instantly changed his position and preached Christ. Act 9:20-21 says, “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?" This former persecutor was preaching about the One he had formerly denied.
Many of our friends in protestant denominationalism have been hearing and “singing the lyrics” wrong for many years. If you have listened to a “pastor” who taught salvation by faith only for most of your life, when you learn that the Bible teaches baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2.38), for calling upon the name of the Lord and washing away sin (Acts 22.16), and for salvation (I Peter 3.21), you are faced with a choice. Do I continue to follow something that I know is wrong or do I change my understanding to reflect what God’s word teaches?
When one learns that it is possible for a child of God to fall from grace (Galatians 5.4), do they change their tune to resonate with what the Bible teaches? The Bible is replete with passages which demonstrate that one canfall from grace, yet many in the religious world continue to teach error on the subject (Hebrews 12.15; I Corinthians 10.12; I Corinthians 9.27).
Furthermore, the Bible teaches that the first century church partook of the Lord’s supper upon each first day of every week (Acts 20.7; cf. I Corinthians 16.1-4). When a person learns they were wrong about the frequency of observing this command of worship, are they willing to change the lyrics to be in harmony with the teachings of scripture?
More doctrinal observations could be added, but all people are faced with a decision when they learn the truth and it is not consistent with what they have heard or been taught. Does one change his behaviors and thoughts to be in line with God’s word (II Timothy 3.16) or continue to “sing the lyrics” wrong? Paul changed when he learned about his error in opposing Christ and tormenting his followers. Would you be like Paul and change if you are not living in a manner consistent with scripture?
