In the song “Ten Thousand Angels,” the last words in the fourth verse states: “Salvation’s wondrous plan was done.” In the preceding words, He gave himself to die, followed by Salvation’s wondrous plan was done gives the idea that there was nothing left for Christ to do in order for salvation to be accomplished. However, Christ was buried, but more importantly, he had to rise from the dead, his resurrection was vital, for without his resurrection he would be as any of us who die. This song is sung by many on Lord’s say worship, yet for myself, I’ve never heard this questioned whether the last verse should be left off when singing.<\/p>\n
This reminds me of the second verse of “Amazing Grace” that implies “the hour I first believed,” as some teach, you believe and your saved; yet, within the church, it is still sung. I am just thinking about some songs and why the church song leaders don’t pay better attention to the words and leave out some verses, which would not be scriptural. For myself, I don’t sing that verse, when it’s chosen in worship.<\/p>\n
Thanks.<\/p>\n\t
In a song, a writer has limited words to express a thought, which often does not allow elaboration upon. Instead, many writers aim to invoke images of events or allude to passages that give greater light on the topic at hand.<\/p>\n
Salvation did come by Jesus’ death on the cross: “Much more then,\u00a0having now been justified by His blood<\/strong>, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.\u00a0 For if while we were enemies we were\u00a0reconciled to God through the death of His Son<\/strong>, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life<\/em>” (Romans 8:9-10). Also while talking about the salvation of both Jews and Greeks, Paul mentioned, “and might\u00a0reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross<\/strong>, by it having put to death the enmity<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:16). Yes, Jesus’ resurrection also plays a critical roll in our salvation, but it does not mean his death was not important. Notice in Paul’s quote, we are justified by His blood, reconciled by his death, and will be (future) saved by his life. The wording in the song is correct, even if it isn’t able to tell the full story. In fact, the topic of the song is to remind us of the suffering and death of Jesus. There are other songs that speak of the role his resurrection played in our salvation. The last statement of the chorus is “He died alone for you and me.” It is a reminder of “He who did not spare His own Son, but\u00a0delivered Him over for us all<\/strong>, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?<\/em>” (Romans 8:32).<\/p>\n The song “Amazing Grace” states: “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” The author is merely stating that he appreciated the value of God’s grace from the time he first came to believe in God.\u00a0 It doesn’t state what the author did in response to that belief. He could be saying that, like the Philippian jailer, he responded immediately to the offer of salvation: “And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”\u00a0 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. And he took them\u00a0that very hour of the night<\/strong>\u00a0and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household<\/em>” (Acts 16:30-33). In fact, the use of “hour” appears to be a purposeful reminder of the jailer.<\/p>\n No song is a complete message and to expect it is doing injustice to every song. The question is not whether we can find some way to misunderstand a song’s intent, but whether a song can be understood in a way that matches the teachings of the Bible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: In the song “Ten Thousand Angels,” the last words in the fourth verse states: “Salvation’s wondrous plan was done.” In the preceding words, He gave himself to die, followed by Salvation’s wondrous plan was done gives the idea that there was nothing left for Christ to do in order for salvation to be accomplished.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[48,520,47,521],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-grace","tag-music","tag-salvation","tag-songs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11901,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-everyone-who-was-baptized-have-eternal-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":0},"title":"Does everyone who was baptized have eternal life?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, From the topic of \"The Thousand-Year Reign\", you stated that baptism is the first resurrection. John also states that second death will not have an effect on those who take part in the first resurrection. Then does that mean all who were baptized will have eternal life? But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43583,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":1},"title":"Salvation by Grace (Cope)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by James R. Cope via\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 12, October, 1952. In Titus 2:11-13 we read: \"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-show-my-coworker-that-it-is-not-faith-alone-that-saves\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":2},"title":"How do I show my coworker that it is not faith alone that saves?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am in a discussion of the Bible with a man that I work with. He is Lutheran and I go to a church of Christ. His beliefs are that faith saves and continues to recite the verse from Ephesians 2:8-9. I'm sure you're very familiar with that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3533,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-thousand-year-reign\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":3},"title":"The Thousand Year Reign","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many elaborate theories have been based on\u00a0Revelation 20:4-6. Some teach that at his second coming the Christ will set up a kingdom here on earth. To help him administer this new kingdom, Christians from the early church will be raised to rule with him. After a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":4},"title":"Salvation by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we read Ephesians 2:8-10, there are four important words which stand out: grace, saved, faith, and works. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The gift mentioned in verse 8 is the gift of salvation given to us by God\u2019s grace. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Grace is an unmerited favor. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62124,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/there-will-be-a-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":2289,"position":5},"title":"There Will Be a Rapture","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton If we consider that the words \"caught up\" in I Thessalonians 4:17 are translated as \"rapture\" in Latin, then there is going to be a \"caught up\" (rapture) moment. 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