Photo by Jonatan Pie
Ever since I reviewed Newsboys’ We Believe, it got me thinking about a particular song that inspired three movies and became a global phenomenon that got people talking about God. That song, of course, is God’s Not Dead.
Former DC Talk member Michael Tait replaced Peter Furler as the Newsboys’ lead singer in 2009. God’s Not Dead is Tait’s second album release with the band, following Born Again in 2010. It features Kevin Max also from DC Talk, though TobyMac is conspicuously absent. I’m still holding out for that coveted new DC Talk release.
Perhaps I should stop holding my breath.
Update: Reddit user karateexplosion informed me that Daniel Bashta is the original writer and artist who recorded this song under the title Like a Lion. Since the Newsboys’ recorded release came earlier, I added Bashta as a separate entry in the Song Review Index to honor him as the original artist. It links to this page.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Ah yes, another song that triumphantly declares Christ as alive, but with a twist. It takes the opposite approach and prefaces it with the opposite claim in the negative, that God’s not dead. The song’s verses focus heavily on reviving dead faith, with love as the battery that powers it. It also touches on the Holy Spirit residing within believers and God’s power to help us overcome the world.
Side Note: For those sensitive to massive repetition, Chorus contains a total quad-stanza count of 8. The last portion repeats 5 more times within the Refrain and Outro combined.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
Though initially confusing at the beginning, progression clears up ambiguity and demonstrates each line as Biblically sound.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
Let love explode and bring the dead to life
A love so bold to see a revolution somehow
Verse 3 clarifies the confusion within this combination of ideas. It is the love of God that brings to life a dead faith (James 2:14-26), starting with Christ (Romans 5:6-8). It is this though love that evidences our identity as Christ followers (John 13:34-35) and shows that our faith is alive (James 2:18). It also fulfills the Law according to Jesus (Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25–37) and will undoubtedly start a revival.
[Verse 2]
Let love explode and bring the dead to life
A love so bold to bring a revolution somehow
Repeats Verse 1.
[Pre-Chorus]
Now I’m lost in Your freedom
Once again, Verse 3 comes to the rescue to clarify this statement. It is freedom from darkness to hope. Or, put a different way, from a slavery of sin (John 8:34, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:20-22, and 1 Corinthians 6:12) to hope in God (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 39:7, Psalm 62:5, Isaiah 40:31, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8:24-39, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, and 1 Peter 1:3-6).
And this world I’ll overcome
Given that Christ overcame the world (John 16:33), God gives us the power to escape its snare (1 Corinthians 10:13).
[Chorus]
My God’s not dead
In perhaps direct opposition to atheist German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche’s statement “God is dead”, arguing that enlightenment has killed the need for belief in God, Newsboys’ bold declaration points to the fact that…
He’s surely alive
…Christ rose from the dead (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8), proving that He is not only God, but also that death is defeated (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, Luke 20:35-36, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, and Hebrews 2:14).
He’s livin’ on the inside
The Holy Spirit resides in those who follow Jesus (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).
Roaring like a lion
Probably a reference to Jesus, given that He is of the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:1–6 and Luke 3:31–34) and is referred to as the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), the Holy Spirit moves in much the same way as Christ did on the earth.
God’s not dead
He’s surely alive
He’s livin’ on the inside
Roaring like a lion
Repeats lines 1-4.
[Refrain]
Roaring, He’s roaring, roaring like a lion
Derivative of line 4 of the Chorus.
[Verse 3]
Let hope arise and make the darkness hide
My faith is dead I need a resurrection somehow
As mentioned previously, these two lines clarify ambiguity in earlier lyrics. While the first line refers to God’s light that drives out darkness (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9), the second is explained in my commentary on Verse 1.
[Bridge]
Let heaven roar, and fire fall
The first part references line 4 of the chorus while the second, given line 3, most likely refers to Acts 2:1-4, where the Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus’ disciples in the form of a flame, setting the course for revival in Judea.
Come shake the ground
With the sound of revival
See commentary on line 1.
[Outro]
He’s roaring, He’s roaring, He’s roaring like a lion
He’s roaring, He’s roaring, He’s roaring like a lion
Repeats refrain.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
I think that unbelievers have the message by now. God’s not dead. He’s alive.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
See #3.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Perhaps with some bias on my part, Newsboys’ God’s Not Dead is an excellent song, worthy of all the accolades it has received over the years and years of utilization in worship sets worldwide. Its biblical lyrics have thoroughly penetrated outside its Christian walls, glorifying God and inspiring three mediocre to really bad films.
It’s a good thing these movies aren’t part of my review.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion) (listen to the song)
Artist: Newsboys
Album: God’s Not Dead
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2010
Duration: 4:18
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2010 worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) Go Forth Sounds (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement. I also moved my commentary to a side note increased section 1’s score, raising my overall review from 9.5/10 to 10/10.
03/27/2020 – Upon further reflection and prayer, I decided that repetition does not impact an unbeliever’s interpretation or the lyrics’ inherent glorification of God. Therefore, I changed my score in sections 3 and 4, raising this review from 9/10 to 9.5/10.
Comments
Albert Crosby
I know this is an older blog post.. Oh well…
Ya know, this song does ring well. But I don’t know about the surface message:
My God’s not dead — He’s livin’ on the inside.
Is that sort of like how Grandma’s always living on in my heart and memory?
I like to think of my God as Really Alive — Living in the Real World, Rulin’ like a Lion.
tastywallet
Albert,
The song is even older than that!
Not quite. It is a spiritual experience provided by the Holy Spirit.
-TastyWallet
Ben
Hi Vince,
Just curious to know if you’ve actually watched all the God’s not Dead movies? I notice that you said that you thought those movies were bad but could you clarify if this was this based on a secular publication or personal experience? Whether you liked the storylines or acting of the first 2 movies or not I felt that there were many wonderful apologetic filled arguments for the Bible and faith. I don’t feel that it is Christian propaganda as the first 2 movies were based on real events in which Christians were being targeted for their faith – instead I feel it encourages Christians to learn how to stand up for their faith and defend their beliefs in the spirit of 1 Peter 3:15(ESV) “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”. – Just my thoughts!
Vince Wright
Ben,
Great question! I saw the first two and, to your point, I thought that these two films were a decent introduction to the world of Christian apologetics. One of my favorite apologists, J. Warner Wallace, appeared as a witness in the second film. I was also delighted to see Lee Strobel.
So, what is my issue with both films? I have three objections.
First, as someone who read extensively into both Christian and Atheist perspectives on the best arguments/objections within the realm of fact and reason, I was highly disappointed at the portrayal of Atheists in both films. Few would hold to Atheism because they “really believed God exists but were denying it” as many fundamentalists claim, citing Psalm 14:1 as their proof text. The word “fool” is that context refers to a close-minded individual, stating positively that God does not exist. Most atheists, at least the ones I interact with, are not of this type. They don’t believe because they aren’t convinced Christianity is true, not because of a secret denial that God exists. To make this about Christians vs. Atheists is contrary to Ephesians 6:12. Our war is against ideas, not people!
Some of us as Christians complain when Christian authorities (pastors, clergymen, priests) are cast in a bad light in the films. Yes, there are bad Atheist actors out there, but they aren’t the majority. Yet, these films give the impression that all Atheists are mean-spirited jerks who want to rid the world of Christianity. Little can be further than the truth.
Second, what were the best arguments presented for Atheism? Or, at least against Christianity? In the first film, Jeffrey Raddison’s best argument is essentially an argument from authority, citing Stephen Hawking and John Lennon to make his arguments. Atheist portrayal and argumentation aren’t much better in the second film, with not a hint of perhaps the strongest of objections to Christianity: why a good God allows people to suffer. Especially children. For Josh or Grace to tackle that difficult question would have been a great opportunity to present solid Apologetics!
As for the third, the secular link provided in my review gives a good summary of my thoughts on the Christian persecution complex. I assume you have already through that. I think we are experiencing increasing amounts of pressure in the USA, but we still have a lot more freedom than, say, Iran, under Sharia Law.
There’s more I could say, particularly about the utterly unrealistic (and lawbreaking) actions of Raddison in class and the ACLU in court, the confusion of including side plots, and the obvious preachy nature of certain individuals. However, I think I gave you a flavor for why I thought that the God’s Not Dead films 1 and 2 aren’t good, and why I hesitate to watch the third.
-Vince Wright
W
I have always been uncomfortable with the phraseology “roaring like a lion ” because when we see those specific words in scripture, they refer to Satan.
Neal Cruco
W,
I am glad to hear that you are evaluating song lyrics in the light of Scripture! However, I would encourage you to look more deeply into how the Bible uses lion imagery. Here is a reply that Vince Wright made to another commenter (on another page) who had the same concern as you:
“You are correct, that there are no references that specifically cite Jesus as a “roaring lion”; However, there are other instances to examine:
1. A strong angel of the LORD is compared to that of a roaring lion in Revelation 10:1-3:
“I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.
2. God is called a roaring lion in Hosea 11:10:
“They will walk after the Lord, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will roar And His sons will come trembling from the west.”
3. David’s enemy of Bashan is called a roaring lion in Psalm 22:11-13:
“11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 They open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.”
This shows that Satan is not the only “roaring lion” in town. How do you address these passages in light of your view?”
And here is an addition that I made to that conversation:
“In addition to Vince’s comment, I’d like to point out John 10:10- “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (NASB) The thief here represents Satan. Is there any logical reason why Satan would declare that the grave has no grip on us? Isn’t that the exact opposite of his will?
Also, 1 Peter 5:8 describes Satan as “like a roaring lion”. All modern Bible translations that I checked use that wording. That’s a bit different from “the roaring lion” being a title of Satan.
So in context, it makes no sense for Satan to be “the roaring lion” in this song, and “the roaring lion” is not a title that the Bible uses specifically for Satan.”
Christopher
When I hear of roaring lion I think of Gods wrath and justice and also that scripture tbats says Satan goes around like a roaring lion its always bothered me. Also when I hear about fire fall. I am thinking of false fire that fell and consumed Aaron’s sons in genesis for not worshipping the right way. So just be careful with the wording of it.
Em
I would say when it comes to movies defending God i think the Case for Christ movie is quite exceptional compared to the Gods not Dead movies. Though wonderful ideas are spread through Gods Not Dead it just doesn’t do that as effectively as Case for Christ does. Though the song is amazing and i hold this song close to my heart