Reformed Rap: Shai Linne

by Matthew Barrett

The Lord is doing something incredible today and this “something” has been termed by many as a “Reformed resurgence” or the movement of the “Young, Restless, and Reformed.” I am not ashamed to include myself in this category. Young Christians are tired of a small, small, small God, and are hungry – very hungry – for a BIG God. Consequently, many young thinkers are Calvinists. No surprise there. Calvinists love to exalt in the sovereignty of God, because this is exactly what Scripture does.

One way these young, restless, and Reformed types are changing things up is through music. While not all Christian music falls prey to superficial, shallow lyrics, much does. However, one genre of music that is on the uprise is Christian rap, but not just any Christian rap, “Reformed Rap.” Trip Lee, Lecrae, Flame, Marcus Gray, Voice, Shai Linne, and others have become well-known names. For more on these rappers see here, here, here, here, and here.

Each of these artists deserve your time. Their music is filled with tons of theology. Today, I want to focus in on one of them, namely, Shai Linne. Time and time again I have been so impressed with the deep theology in his lyrics. My head first turned to Shai Linne when I heard his “Spread His Fame,” which he performed at Grace Evangelical Free Church. His “The Greatest Story Ever Told”is also amazing, as it explains the story of redemptive-history. Today though, I want to bring to your attention “Mission Accomplished.” As you can see from the lyrics below, “Mission Accomplished” articulates the doctrine of limited or particular atonement. To be honest, Shai Linne explains the doctrine better than some Calvinists I have heard. Pay special attention to his argument concerning the unity of the Trinity, a point I have tried to make myself on more than one occasion. Well, I have said enough…I will let his words speak for themselves. Make sure you listen to the actual song, which you can find here.

Verse 1

Here’s a controversial subject that tends to divide
For years it’s had Christians lining up on both sides
By God’s grace, I’ll address this without pride
The question concerns those for whom Christ died
Was He trying to save everybody worldwide?
Was He trying to make the entire world His Bride?
Does man’s unbelief keep the Savior’s hands tied?
Biblically, each of these must be denied
It’s true, Jesus gave up His life for His Bride
But His Bride is the elect, to whom His death is applied
If on judgment day, you see that you can’t hide
And because of your sin, God’s wrath on you abides
And hell is the place you eternally reside
That means your wrath from God hasn’t been satisfied
But we believe His mission was accomplished when He died
But how the cross relates to those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

Verse 2

Father, Son and Spirit: three and yet one
Working as a unit to get things done
Our salvation began in eternity past
God certainly has to bring all His purpose to pass
A triune, eternal bond no one could ever sever
When it comes to the church, peep how they work together
The Father foreknew first, the Son came to earth
To die- the Holy Spirit gives the new birth
The Father elects them, the Son pays their debt and protects them
The Spirit is the One who resurrects them
The Father chooses them, the Son gets bruised for them
The Spirit renews them and produces fruit in them
Everybody’s not elect, the Father decides
And it’s only the elect in whom the Spirit resides
The Father and the Spirit- completely unified
But when it comes to Christ and those in hell?
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

So if we can agree that the election of the Father is not universal,
And that the regeneration of the Spirit is not universal,
Then why would the atonement of the Son be universal?
That would put the persons of the Trinity completely at odds with one another.
But the triune God is completely unified.

Verse 3

My third and final verse- here’s the situation
Just a couple more things for your consideration
If saving everybody was why Christ came in history
With so many in hell, we’d have to say He failed miserably
So many think He only came to make it possible
Let’s follow this solution to a conclusion that’s logical
What about those who were already in the grave?
The Old Testament wicked- condemned as depraved
Did He die for them? C’mon, behave
But worst of all, you’re saying the cross by itself doesn’t save
That we must do something to give the cross its power
That means, at the end of the day, the glory’s ours
That man-centered thinking is not recommended
The cross will save all for whom it was intended
Because for the elect, God’s wrath was satisfied
But still, when it comes to those in hell
Well, they be saying:

God knows He tried (8x)

Look, at the end of the end this is about giving God the maximum amount of glory
We proclaim a cross that actually saves,
not one that makes salvation merely possible.
Matthew 1:21, “His name is to be called Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Not might save them, not try to save them,
No, but he will actually save them.
It’s a definite atonement.
And yo, this ain’t controversy for the sake of controversy.
Or, theological nitpickin.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Let’s get into the text and see what the Scriptures have to say about it.
Lord, thank you for the cross.
Word up.

Also, check out Shai Linne’s upcoming album called The attributes of God. Yes, that’s right, an album on God’s attributes (when was the last time you saw an album like this from any artist in any genre?). On his blog, lyrical theology, he explains his motivation behind this new album:

As the time approaches for my new album The Attributes of God to be released, I wanted to share with you about why I did it. This idea has actually been in the works for years. Those of you who have been following my music for a while know that on Grassroots Vol. 1, there was a song with myself and Timothy Brindle entitled The Holiness of God. That song was supposed to be included on the Attributes album that Tim and I were working on. The song Humility of Christ,which appeared on Tim’s classic 2005 release Killing Sin, was also supposed to be on the project. When Tim stepped away from public ministry in 2006, the project was shelved. As time went on, it wasn’t clear whether or not Tim would be returning. In the same way that I was burdened to do an album on The Atonementin 2007, I began to feel burdened in 2010 to do an album on God’s character. Since Tim wasn’t back yet, I moved forward with it as a solo project. Thankfully, Tim has returned, and we were able to include him on a few of the songs as we got near completion of the project.

So why was I so heavily burdened to do this project? The answer may be surprising to some, but here’s why I did it:

Because A Lot of Christian Music Is Not Actually About God

I don’t mean for this to sound harsh or overly critical, but have any of you noticed that the vast majority of music that would fall into the category of “Christian” is not actually about God Himself? I think this is particularly the case with Christian Hip-hop, but it can be seen in other genres as well. How can I say this? Well, most of the music I hear is more about US and our response to God, but not God Himself. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a place for music that deals with our response to God, but when that is the overwhelming majority of the music, we slowly begin to distort the truth about who the God is that we’re supposedly responding to. The Tozer quote above was written over 50 years ago, but could have been written yesterday. Our culture is extremely narcissistic and man-centered, and it seems that much of Christian music has followed suit. The Bible, however, is radically God-centered, and I believe that a radically God-centered worldview should be reflected in the songs we write. Because of our man-centered tendencies, the songs we sing about God usually deal with the things we like about Him (which are usually the things that directly benefit us the most), such as His love, mercy and forgiveness, etc. These things are glorious and we should write songs about them. However, if that’s all we talk about, we create an incomplete and deficient view of God, which is not in line with His self-revelation.

So, for instance, when was the last time you heard a contemporary song that echoed the ancient songs of David about the righteousness and justice of God (Ps. 11:7)? Which Christian hit on Billboard sings along with Nahum that God is “jealous, avenging and wrathful” (Nahum 1:2-3)? Who is producing songs that speak to God’s sovereign rule over His creation (Ps. 2, 115)? Can you direct me to a popular song that celebrates God’s omniscience along with Hannah (1 Sam. 2:3)? God’s eternality along with Moses (Psalm 90:2)? God’s judgments along with Miriam (Ex. 15:21)? These things are often spoken of in Scripture, particularly in the context of Biblical songs, yet they tend to be largely missing from our songs today. That’s not to say that no one is doing it. God has raised up an increasing number of songwriters who are expounding on His character. But when something so foundational and essential has been so under-done, it becomes important for others to step to the plate and contribute. The Attributes of God album is simply my attempt at one such contribution.

grace and peace,
shai

Shai Linne blogs at Lyrical Theology

Matthew Barrett (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. Barrett has contributed book reviews and articles to various academic journals and he also writes at Blogmatics. He is married to Elizabeth and they have two daughters, Cassandra and Georgia. He is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.