4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
For years I have been told my evangelism is lacking - that my beliefs are anti-evangelical, that I do not really care whether people are saved. This song is my answer, and the answer is not a defense of laziness. It is a different doctrine of how anyone gets saved at all.
What is usually called evangelism, the song calls by its real names: fear, manipulation, coercing someone to a profession of faith. I will not do that, and the reason is one line - only God can bring them to salvation, and it's not a decision they can make. If salvation is a decision a frightened person can be pushed into, then technique matters and pressure works. If salvation is the sovereign gift of God, then a coerced profession is not a conversion. It is a false one, and false conversions are a cruelty, not a kindness.
So what is left for me to do? Proclaim. I proclaim the good news of Christ, the gospel of grace that's already done. That is real evangelism - announcing a finished salvation to everyone, and trusting the God who wrote names in the Book of Life before the world began to open the ears He has chosen. Grace deeper than the words we speak. My words do not save anyone. They never could. That is not a smaller gospel. It is the only one strong enough to be true.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Misunderstood and accused of deceit,
My beliefs are called anti-evangelical,
Yet they’re based on a love so complete,
A Gospel of grace that’s truly biblical.
[Chorus]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
[Verse 2]
They say my evangelism is lacking,
But they don’t see the truth of my faith,
That God’s love for His own is unchanging,
And salvation comes through His saving grace.
[Chorus]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
[Verse 3]
They confuse the Gospel with soul-winning,
An unscriptural understanding of the Word,
Their methods are rooted in deception,
And lead to false conversions, it’s quite absurd.
[Chorus]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
[Verse 4]
I proclaim the good news of Christ,
The Gospel of grace that’s already done,
For those who believe in Him are already saved,
Written in the Book of Life, before the world begun.
[Chorus]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
[Verse 5]
I won’t use fear or manipulation,
To coerce someone to a profession of faith,
For only God can bring them to salvation,
And it’s not a decision they can make.
[Chorus]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
[Verse 6]
I am called a free-grace predestinarian,
And I know the truth of the Gospel so sweet,
And I’ll continue to share it with all who will listen,
For in Christ alone is true joy complete.
[Chorus x2]
Grace that’s deeper than the words we speak,
Love that lifts the tired and weak.
Not by force, not by fear we’re saved-
But by mercy that the Lord has made.
Commentary