Any great testimony has three basic elements: the old life before knowing Christ, coming to Christ, and transformation after knowing Christ. Personally, I enjoy listening to testimonies. Everyone has a unique story to tell. I am not the only one who enjoys them! That is why testimonials are so popular in Christian music.

Crowder’s “All My Hope” (featuring Tauren Wells) is such a song. That is why, in addition to my usual criteria, I will check for these three elements that make up a great testimony. In my humble opinion, without one of these elements, our testimony loses its power. For that reason, it deserves a more rigorous test.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Crowder-all-my-hope-feat-tauren-wells-lyrics.

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?

Broken, chained, a slave of sin, a prodigal, he is now washed clean, by the blood of Jesus, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, with no shame, no guilt, and all sins are forgiven. All his hope is in Jesus.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of it!

[Verse 1]

Line 1: An allusion to Psalm 139:10.

Line 2: Possibly referencing Acts 2:1-4, that is, indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

Line 3: In so far as line 3, the phrase “down to the river” is somewhat of an enigma. My best guess is that this refers to water baptism, which is mentioned in several places in the New Testament (particularly John’s baptism, the great commission [Matthew 28:16-20] and the book of Acts). One commenter, in particular, believes that it is a prayer offered to God. If anyone else has any better insights, I am willing to listen!

Line 3: Referring to Luke 15:11-32 as a spendthrifty, wayward son.

[Chorus]

Line 1: Self-explanatory, finding Biblical support in 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.

Line 2: With our sins forgiven, we can focus on the new man and women that God intended for us to be (see Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 6:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10, and Ephesians 4:24).

Line 3: An explicit reference to God’s forgiveness of sins. This is due to Christ’s sacrifice (see Matthew 26:28, Acts 2:38, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, Romans 4:7, Romans 5:6-8, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Colossians 2:13-14, James 5:15, James 5:19-20, 1 John 2:1-2, and 1 John 2:12).

Line 4: Interestingly, this is explicitly stated in Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, and Hebrews 9:22.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Refers to slavery to sin, found in John 8:34 and Romans 6:6.

Line 3: Juxtaposed with lines 1 and 2, referring to forgiveness. See commentary in Chorus, line 3.

Lines 4-6: A declarative prayer that lines up with Scripture.

[Bridge]

The entire bridge repeats themes given in Verse 2, lines 1-3.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Forgiveness is available Someone who does not know Jesus will no doubt have many questions about the transformed life from a prisoner. It is probable that the line “I’m no stranger to the prison” will be taken literally.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Transformation in Jesus.

Score: 10/10

Final Comments

Not surprisingly, Crowder’s hit song nails it (no pun intended). Highly Scriptural, it has all the elements that make a great testimony a great testimony, though perhaps more relegated to a 30-second spot at church rather than for mainstream worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: All My Hope (listen to the song) (buy the song)

Artist: Crowder

Album: American Prodigal (buy the album)

Genre: Gospel

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 4:14

Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

07/30/2020 – A little bird (Neal Cruco) told me that Merriam-Webster dictionary updated their dictionary for the word “Prodigal” Therefore, I am forced to take back my critique of this word, raising its score to perfection!

Share this: Share

Facebook

Twitter



LinkedIn

