The Gospel of Protection

This afternoon, I was re-introduced to one of my favorite albums of 2019, Kanye West’s “Jesus is King.” There is much to say about Mr. West’s high profile political choices, marriage and/or divorce, and creative decisions. I have been a Kanye fan for a while now, and when he said he was a musical genius, I was in full support. But at this time, I’m not going to bore you with a history of Kanye West’s relevance in music history and how he turned the rap game upside down. No, I’m writing about one of my favorite albums of 2019 and a specific song that has brought a new amount of weight and relevance in my Christian walk even today. The song is “Use this Gospel.”

Why has this song played an important part in my life? That’s the million-dollar question isn’t it. Some of you may be hoping to hear me rattle off point after point of West’s lyricism. Now, Am I going to walk lyric by lyric exegeting the original language of West’s masterpiece?  No, because all I have to do, after the opening “Oh oh’s” of the song, is point you to the first words.

“Use this gospel for protection.”

When I first heard the song, I was in my freshman dorm in Flippen-Perrin Hall surfing YouTube for any video recordings that share a glimpse of what was to come on West’s first gospel album. I had listened to conversations, read blog posts, and talked to many people about the upcoming work. Safe to say, I was hooked. So, when I came across an exclusive fan video from the Sunday Service Choir in Washington D.C., I was not ready for what I was about to hear. I had lofty expectations, and they were truly met. But all I heard were the “Oh oh’s” and the one line:

“Use this gospel for protection.”

Once the album released, I listened to its entirety on a frequent basis. I talked to everyone about it. Countless people went to Twitter to give their thoughts. Even more articles and podcasts were put up with underqualified and overqualified individuals sharing their opinions. I read and listened to most of them. (At this point in the blog post, you may have checked out, but great things come to those who wait.) Day after day, I listened to the album, memorizing lyrics and watching the music videos, but after a while, it joined the many other albums in my iTunes library… on the streaming shelf. New months and years bring new music, and my attention was grabbed by the new stuff, yet the one line that would never leave my mind rang true:

“Use this gospel for protection.”

My heart for the gospel has grown over the last few years. Even though I might not know where my place is in relation to my call for a life of gospel ministry, whether vocationally or not, the heart for the gospel is present still. God’s word is powerful, and as the author of Hebrews says it is, “Sharper than any two-edged sword.” I knew that. I felt that. I lived that. As a guy that loved reading the gospel-centered books of John Piper, Timothy Keller, and R.C. Sproul, the subject matter of the gospel in all aspects of life was very much present in my formative years. The gospel was what I knew. There was no question about it, but that’s why the words of West were so astounding to me. 

“Protection, huh? That’s quite the word choice.”

Fast forward to now. Second semester of sophomore year brings plenty of new fun and new struggles, and to spare you the details, this week had plenty of struggles. In the midst of the struggle, here comes Mr. West and his song. Today I was given a new perspective of what the gospel provides—protection. The church will often use the word “comfort” in the explanation of this aspect of the gospel, but it might not always grab the attention in the same way. In Sunday School growing up, we were taught that God’s Word is the sword of the spirit. It’s our sword, and the only thing my young mind could think about was attacking. Yet swords spend just as much protecting as they do in attack. The gospel is both defensive and offensive, but we always want to focus on defending the truth of gospel and not the gospel defending us. 

We want to write Mr. West’s song as, “Use this gospel for attacking,” but that’s not the goal at all. It’s missing the point. We miss the point. I missed the point, and we paint Jesus in a much different light when we miss the point. Jesus is the Great Debater, and not the provider of eternal comfort. He’s the Perfect Political Gravitas not the Good Shepherd, and that is a false gospel. His gospel gives more than it takes away.  If Jesus appeared to us today, much of the American church would hope he unites the political parties and fights for the good of “The Christian Nation” instead of uniting all of his people around the world, every nation, tribe, and tongue, under the banner of holiness, grace, and love. We no longer want to spread the gospel of protection, because we no longer want to protect anyone but ourselves. 

The Church has a responsibility to spread the gospel of protection, but the Church also has a responsibility to use the gospel to protect ourselves. If we don’t do the former, we most certainly are not doing the latter, because why spread something that you have no bother using? For example, TV Infomercials do not have people half-heartedly selling the product. Phil Swift more than anyone will do whatever it takes to sell his Flex Seal family of products. He saws boats in half for crying out loud. While that may be an outlandish example, and for those thinking, “The gospel isn’t a product,” I am in full agreement with you, but the truth of the illustration still stands. We have to use the gospel if we believe in the gospel, and if we believe in the gospel, we are going to spread the gospel. It is as simple as that. 

I say all this out of an attitude of wanting to use the gospel because the gospel has protected me. It has protected me from sin, temptation, depression, and fear, all of which come from my biggest enemy, myself. Christ has accomplished that for me. Christ can accomplish that for you. In the midst of a rough week, if not one of the roughest weeks, I have come under a greater understanding of what it means to follow and live out the gospel. It protects, convicts, and heals unlike anything else. Christ died for me and you, undeserving sinners in need of the Savior. May we use the gospel of protection for protection, and may we serve the King, the Good Shepherd who is willing to meet and provide for us in our darkest of days. Amen.