Is 'What a Beautiful Name' Biblical? Teaching Kids to Evaluate Christian Worship Songs

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Hello, friends. Today's podcast question says, How do we teach our kids to think critically about popular Christian songs to see if they align with God's word?

I love this question. This is a really important one, because we want our kids to be thinking critically and biblically about everything, including content that is produced within the world of Christianity. So this is a topic we're going to dive deep into today.

A Personal Story (and an Important Caveat)

I was kind of chuckling as I read through this question, because it just made me think about a time when I was on a worship team at a church I was part of over a decade ago. I am the type of person who is always thinking about the lyrics in every single song. So it would be frequent that on a Sunday morning we'd be rehearsing, and we only had rehearsal on a Sunday morning, so it wasn't like I could have done this on a Wednesday evening or Thursday evening or something. But we'd be rehearsing a song and I'd say, "Okay guys, I think we need to think about this lyric. Is this actually theologically accurate?"

I remember one time the worship leader looked at me, and he was so kind, and he was like, "Elizabeth, I love your heart for pursuing the truth. 45 minutes before the sermon starts is not the time to be asking me this question." And I was like, "That's really fair. I should probably be looking at the songs ahead of time and asking them ahead of time."

So this is a topic I am passionate about. But before we dive into it, I want to give a caveat. As we are teaching our children to be discerning, we want to be very, very careful that we are not training them to be overly critical or to be prideful in making judgment calls. It's very, very easy for us and for our children to fall into this trap.

I just think about social media, where people are pointing out errors, and many times people are right in the errors they're pointing out, but just how prideful and overly critical we can be. We're told in 1 Corinthians 13 that love does not delight in evil. So when we find something that isn't accurate, we're going to be tempted to think, "Oh, look at me. I figured this out, even though this Christian recording artist didn't figure this out." That is not something we should do. This is something we're directly commanded against in scripture. Yes, we are to think critically and evaluate things biblically, but we are not to delight when we find something that is inaccurate. We're not to take joy in finding theological errors in songs or in sermons or in other materials.

While it may be true that there are some songs produced within the world of Christian music that we want to completely stay away from, there's usually something we can glean from any worship song, some truth from scripture that it reveals. There are certain songs we're probably not going to want to immerse ourselves in continually, but there's pretty much always something we can learn.

That's usually the attitude I try to take when I'm listening to a sermon as well. Obviously there are some preachers out there who are not preaching God's word at all, they're just preaching some motivational speech. But even if a sermon is based on a biblical text and I disagree with most of the pastor's evaluation of it, there's usually always some nugget of truth I can glean from it.

So we want to be really careful that we are not training our children to delight in finding theological errors. We want to teach them to think critically and biblically, but we don't want to teach them to delight in this.

Start With Scripture, Then Practice

So how do we train our kids to think critically through Christian music, through worship music? Well, how do we train our kids to do anything? We need to practice. We practice over and over and over and over again. So if we want our kids to be thinking critically about the Christian music they're listening to, we need to have them practice evaluating it.

The first thing we need to train our kids to do is to actually know what God's word says. They're not going to be able to evaluate whether or not a song is biblically accurate if they don't know what the Bible says. So if you're not already doing this, start reading scripture together. Start reading a passage or a chapter together each night and start asking just what truths are revealed about God in this passage. When we ask that question, we're placing the focus on where it should be: on God in the text.

If you haven't taken the children in your care through our Studying the Bible curriculum here at Foundation Worldview, I highly, highly recommend that you go through that material, because it's going to equip your kids to study, read, interpret, and apply scripture on their own, so that they're equipped to seek God through his word all the days of their lives.

So start reading scripture together. Start equipping your kids to understand how to read scripture, because once they know what scripture says, then they're going to be able to evaluate things biblically.

Once you've already started to dive into God's word together, then you can start evaluating songs. Maybe focus on evaluating one song a month. Maybe one night a week at dinner, you take that song you're evaluating that month and read through a portion of the lyrics, and then look at what scripture has to say.

This will require some prep work on your part. You're going to have to look through and ask, Okay, what passages of scripture am I going to take my kids through so that they can evaluate whether or not this portion of the lyrics aligns with scripture?

If you have older kids who might not be that interested in this, a way to get them involved and more motivated to go through this process is to allow them to choose songs they would like to evaluate.

The Three Categories of Worship Songs

As you're choosing maybe a song a month to evaluate, I recommend you choose songs that fall into all different categories. There are probably three main categories that most Christian worship songs fall into.

First, there are songs that are biblically faithful through and through. Think about A Mighty Fortress by Martin Luther. That's a song that is thoroughly biblically accurate. Think about the hymn In Christ Alone by Keith and Kristyn Getty. That is fully theologically accurate. We're going to want to include some of those songs, where every line we go through, it's like, yep, this aligns with what scripture says.

Second, there are songs that are mostly faithful, but we're going to find a few inaccuracies in them. Some examples might be the song What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong. And if you're like, "Wait, what inaccuracy does What a Beautiful Name have?" Just hold on. We're going to evaluate that song in a few minutes.

Another example would be the song Word of God Speak by MercyMe. Most of it is biblically faithful, but then I remember the first time I thought of this and I was like, Oh wow, this I think was just created to make a good rhyme and not actually be biblically accurate. One of the lines of that song says, "Please let me stay and rest in your holiness." And I was like, We do not rest in God's holiness. God being holy, him being perfect, exalted, and set apart, that is why we are all condemned to hell when we're born. It's because we are sinful, and God is holy, and in our sinfulness we cannot be in God's holy presence. It's only through the perfect righteousness of Christ that we can approach the holy God. So we don't stay and rest in God's holiness. But the rest of that song, there's lots of good things about it.

Third, there are songs that pretty much don't say too much that's objectively true. For example, the song Holy Spirit (You Are Welcome Here) by Jesus Culture. It just kind of goes through that chorus: Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Please come into this place, flood the atmosphere. And it's like, we look at scripture. The Holy Spirit never has to be invited somewhere. He is already present, and whether we welcome him or not, he's going to do what his will is.

Another song that kind of makes me laugh a little bit is Fight My Battles by Michael W. Smith. It's a pleasant song to listen to, but basically all he says is, "This is how I fight my battles." And it's like, Okay, what are you actually saying here? Maybe this is how you fight your battles, but why do I need to hear this 1,600 times? These are just songs where, again, it's not like we need to say, "Oh, these are terrible," but it's like, okay, they're not really saying much that's objectively true.

So those three categories: songs that are pretty much biblically faithful through and through, songs that are mostly biblically faithful but contain a few inaccuracies, and songs that really just don't say anything objectively true. If we help our kids evaluate songs in those three different categories, it can be helpful for them to see that there are songs out there that are completely biblically faithful; there are other songs where there's a lot of truth, but a few inaccuracies; and there are other songs where, eh, it's really not saying much that's true, so this probably isn't the type of song I'm going to want to spend most of my time with.

Modeling It: 'What a Beautiful Name' Line by Line

Now I'm going to model for us how we could actually walk our kids through evaluating a song. As I said before, we're going to walk through What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong. I'm going to walk us through line by line, and we're going to look at some scripture and then evaluate: Is this line true? Is it not true?

Opening Lines

The opening lines say, "You were the Word at the beginning, one with God the Lord most high." So we can read that with our kids and say, Okay, is it true that Jesus was the Word at the beginning, and he was one with God the Lord most high? A passage of scripture we can take our kids to is John chapter 1, verses 1 through 2:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

So we ask, Okay, according to this passage, is that line accurate? Yes, he was the Word at the beginning. He was one with God the Father and God the Spirit. So yes, this is correct.

Then the next lines say, "Your hidden glory in creation, now revealed in You our Christ." There are two passages we could take our kids to. The first is Romans chapter 1, verses 18 through 20:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

So we ask, Okay, this song line says that his glory is hidden in creation. Does that align with this passage in Romans 1:18 to 20? No, it actually doesn't. This passage says God's glory isn't hidden in creation. His invisible attributes have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world. So God's glory isn't hidden in creation. God's glory is on display in creation.

Then the next passage we can read is Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 through 3:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

So the song said "your hidden glory in creation," which wasn't accurate, but then it says, "now revealed in You our Christ." Is God's glory revealed in Jesus? Yes. It says in verse 3 of Hebrews 1, he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. So yes, God's glory is revealed in Jesus. We can see that line is half not true, half true.

The Chorus

Then the chorus says, "What a beautiful Name it is, what a beautiful Name it is, the Name of Jesus Christ my King. What a beautiful Name it is, nothing compares to this. What a beautiful Name it is, the Name of Jesus."

A great passage of scripture we can take our kids to is Philippians chapter 2, verses 8 through 11:

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So we can ask our kids, Is Jesus' name beautiful? Does nothing else compare to it? Absolutely. It says in this passage that God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at his name every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. So that chorus is accurate.

"You Didn't Want Heaven Without Us"

I'm not going to go through the whole song, but we're going to go through two more portions. The next verse says, "You didn't want heaven without us, so Jesus, You brought heaven down."

A passage I think we can take our kids to is Acts chapter 17, verses 24 and 25:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

We can say to our kids, Okay, what is this passage revealing about God? It's revealing that God doesn't need anything. He doesn't need to be served by humans. It's him who gives everything.

This is where I think Christians probably debate about the accuracy of this line, but I would say "You didn't want heaven without us" is an inaccuracy. Does God have affection for us, and does he desire that we be reconciled to him? Yes. God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. But this line makes it seem like God was lacking something, like he didn't want heaven if we weren't there. Even if we weren't there, God would be completely satisfied, and he would be completely God.

It's not like God was lacking something and so therefore he decided to have Jesus come down and rescue us. Yes, God has affection for us, but he has no need for us. So I would argue that this line, "You didn't want heaven without us," is actually not accurate.

"What Could Separate Us Now?"

Then the last two lines we're going to go through. That second verse says, "My sin was great, your love was greater. What could separate us now?"

A passage we can take our kids to is Romans chapter 8, verses 38 and 39:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can ask our kids, So according to this passage, is that verse accurate? "Your love was greater. What could separate us now?" Yeah, it is. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. That's how great God's love is for us in Jesus.

Now, I just walked us through this really quickly. I would not, in one dinner, walk through all of these. I would probably walk through a verse one week, and then a chorus another week, and then another verse the next week. But I hope you see how, if you do a little bit of prep work, you can help your kids evaluate: Okay, this passage of scripture, does it reveal that this verse or this chorus aligns with scripture, or does it contradict it?

So this song, What a Beautiful Name, is a mixed bag. There are a lot of things in it that are true, and then there are some things in it that just don't line up with what scripture says. Again, we don't want to create in our kids a critical, judgmental, haughty spirit, but we want to equip them to critically and biblically evaluate every idea that's coming their way.

Questions to Ask When Choosing Songs

In our homes, as we're choosing the music we're playing, we can discuss why we're choosing to engage in certain songs. Specifically when we're thinking of worship songs, as we choose the music we're listening to, we want to be asking:

Are we lifting high the name of Jesus? Are we lifting his name high? Are we praising the Father, the Spirit, and the Son? Are we speaking these truths over ourselves about who God is?

Songs are powerful. I really like something I think I first heard from John Piper: songs are catechizing. They are training our hearts in what we are focusing on and what we are thinking on. So we want to be asking ourselves, Are we focusing our hearts and our minds on songs that are magnifying the name of Jesus, that are praising the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, that are speaking truths over our hearts and our minds about who God is?

When we're choosing the songs we focus on in times of family worship, and just in general the songs we're going to play around our house, I think we can ask ourselves a couple of questions.

The first question is: Is this song truly praising God, or is it just singing about my feelings? Now, singing about our feelings isn't always bad. When we look at the Psalms, we do see the Psalmist pouring out their heart before the Lord. However, the Psalms are never just about the Psalmist's emotion. The Psalmist will pour out his heart before the Lord and then come back to the truths of who God is. So is this song actually bringing us back to the truth of God?

The second question is: Is this song actually pointing me toward truths about God, or is it just saying nice things about God? If we're just saying that God is great, that is completely true. But are we just kind of patting God on the back saying that God is great, or are we reminding our hearts of true things about God: that God is greater than all, that he holds life and breath in his hands, that he is sustaining the universe by the word of his power? Are we pointing our hearts to truths about who God is?

I hope as you're listening to this, you're understanding that I'm not implying we can never engage in worship songs or Christian songs that aren't completely accurate or don't have all of these things we wish. But what I'm trying to point out is that we just really need to be intentional about the types of songs we are focusing on, because songs are powerful tools for training our hearts and pointing others toward truth.

Equip Your Kids to Read Scripture for Themselves

Here's the thing: your kids won't be able to evaluate a worship song biblically if they don't know what the Bible actually says. That's the prerequisite. The framework in this episode (line-by-line comparison against scripture) only works if your children can open their Bibles, read with comprehension, and recognize what each passage is teaching about God.

That's exactly what our Studying the Bible curriculum is designed to do. It walks children step by step through how to read, interpret, and apply scripture on their own, so they're equipped to seek God through his word all the days of their lives, and so that when they hear a worship song, a sermon, or a TikTok devotional, they have the biblical foundation to evaluate it.

As we leave our time together, my prayer is that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of his Son. I'll see you next time.