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.

As much as I love this song and its message, the repetition within the Chorus is an irritant, with a total quad-stanza count of 8. The last portion repeats 5 more times within the Refrain and Outro combined.

Score: 8/10

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. Though following the same annoying trend of recycled lyrics, 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: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: God’s Not Dead (Like a Lion) (listen to the song) (buy the song)

Artist: Newsboys

Album: God’s Not Dead (buy the album)

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:

03/27/2020 – 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.

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