He once rapped that he is a god.
Arrogance was his middle name.
He’s now rapped Jesus is King!
Kanye West is now a Christian!
The world’s astonished when a
celebrity repents and believes in Christ as his God and Savior. Then, for a
variety of reasons, we wonder if his conversion is genuine or not.
They suspect he’s weaponizing his
faith to elevate his business.
His infamous invite-only Sunday
services for the rich and famous disgusts many Christians.
Controversies shadow Kanye West,
even his conversion.
But the big question is this: Should
we audit Kanye’s conversion? Then again, who are we to audit his conversion?
Kanye’s Christianity?
Watch him with Jimmy Kimmel1
or Jim Corden2 or Joel Osteen3; his Christian talk is
impeccable.
Listen to his best-selling album
Jesus Is King. Except for a few doctrinal concerns (which we shall get to a
little later), his lyrics are unsullied as well. Here’s an excerpt from the
website of The Gospel Coalition (Australia Edition):4
Every Hour
The opening
track features a Gospel choir, who declare humanity’s need of God, ‘Every hour,
every minute, every second’. Kanye joins them and sings:
Sing ’til the power of the Lord comes down
(Let everything that have breath praise God)
Sing ’til the power of the Lord comes down
(Praising the Lord, praise God in the sanctuary)
Sing ’til the power of the Lord comes down
(For His mighty works and excellent grace and His
mighty power, yeah),
Sounds pretty
good so far, Kanye. In fact, I’ve heard less biblical music in church.
Selah
‘Selah’ is the
Hebrew word found in many Psalms, which is most likely a musical notation of
some kind. In this track, Kanye shares the story behind this album, his
testimony.
Everybody
wanted Yandi. Then Jesus Christ did the laundry.
‘Jesus is
King’ was originally titled ‘Yandi’ and was set for release in September
2018—but then Kanye came to know Christ. The album was delayed and then
transformed into its current form.
John 8:36.
Whom the Son set free is free indeed. He saved a wretch like me.
Closed
on Sundays
The lyrics of
this track, once you get over the strange reference to Chick-Fil-A, are
remarkable. Chick-Fil-A is an American fast-food chain, owned by Christians,
which is closed on Sundays. Kanye sings about how his family life and values
have changed since following Christ.
Closed on Sunday, you’re my Chick-Fil-A . . .
Hold the selfies, put the ‘Gram away
Get your family, ya’ll hold hands and pray
When you got daughters, always keep em’ safe
Watch out for vipers, don’t let them indoctrinate …
Raise our sons, train them in the faith
Through temptations, make sure they’re wide awake
Follow Jesus, listen and obey
No more livin’ for culture, we nobody’s slave
Stand up for my home
Even if I take this walk alone
I bow down to the King upon the throne
My life is His, I’m no longer my own.
Listen to that
again. The man who once claimed, ‘I am a god’, is now singing, ‘I bow down to
the King upon the throne. My life is his, I’m no longer my own’.
God Is
This is my
favourite track on the album, musically and lyrically. Remember, this is the
man who once said, ‘You may be talented, but you’re not Kanye West’.
Listen to him
now:
Worship Christ with the best of your portions
I know I won’t forget all his done …
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, all the things he has
instore
From the rich to the poor, all are welcome to through
the door
You won’t ever be the same when you call on Jesus’ name.
Jesus is Lord
This track
contains only four lines, on repeat. They come straight out of Scripture.
Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
Jesus is Lord
Jesus is Lord.
Kanye’s Christian Doctrine?
Kanye seems to have adopted the health & wealth or the doctrine of Prosperity Gospel. His lyrics point to
this notion:5
On God
This track
opens well, ‘How you get so much favour on your side?’ ‘Accept Him as your Lord
and Saviour’, I replied’.
The only
concerning lyric in this song is, ‘That’s why I charge the prices I charge …
No, I cannot let my family starve’. Kanye, brother, you earned $150 million
last year. I don’t think your family is at risk of starvation. I hope someone
reminds you of the words of your ‘Lord and Saviour’ in Matthew 19:24, ‘it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the kingdom of God’.
Everything We Need
This track is
testament to the joy of knowing God’s provision. Kanye asks:
What if Eve made apple juice?
You gon’ do what Adam do?
Or say, ‘’Baby, let’s put this back on the tree’’,
cause we have everything we need.
However, it is
worth noting that one verse of this track encourages listeners to ‘spoil
yourself’. I wonder if Kanye’s definition of God providing ‘everything we need’
is still a little too focussed on material provision.
Water
Here, Kanye
asks God, ‘Clean us like the rain in spring’. He goes on:
Jesus, flow through us
Jesus, heal the bruises
Jesus, clean the music
Jesus, please use us
Jesus, please help
Jesus, please heal
Jesus, please forgive
Jesus, make us well
Jesus, help us live
Jesus, give us wealth
Jesus, is our rock
Jesus, give us grace.
Amen, Kanye.
Except, maybe, ‘Jesus, give us wealth’. Unless, of course, you’re referring to
‘treasures in heaven’. Let’s hope you are.
That Kanye has found Christ is more
important than his doctrinal distortion. At the same time, let us pray that he
realizes the fallacies of the prosperity gospel. Prayer is more important than any
undue criticisms of his faith.
Kanye needs more love and
encouragement than criticisms.
Kanye’s song Hands On reveals that he is well aware of the judgmental attitude
of Christians. Hence, he would protect himself from any gratuitous judgments.
Should We Audit?
Should we be concerned about Kanye’s
faith?
Yes, at least for one good reason.
If Kanye’s faith is proven to be invalid, then Christians, especially the
younger Christians should be protected from the spiritual hazards of following
a flawed celebrity.
But these are the early days of his
conversion. For heaven’s sake, let us graciously give him time to grow in
Christ.
Ever since his conversion, Kanye has
been vocal about his commitment to Christ and being Christlike. His
conversations with Jimmy Kimmel and James Corden are excellent instances.
Moreover, the lyrics in his album Jesus Is King glorify the Lord. Why are
we not joyful?
Instead of being vicious about
Kanye’s conversion in social media, why do we not audit our own standing with
our Lord? For if we are mature disciples of Christ, then we would not be
vicious with our brother who has just committed his life to Christ.
Let us hope and pray that God would
use the Kanye-vessel for HIS glory.
When God loves and provides for
those who not believe in HIM, why should we be spiteful with a brother who has
just committed his life to the Lord?
To err on the side of love is better
than to not love at all.
An article from Calvary Chapel’s
website is a good conclusion to this topic:6
Many within
"the Church" remain skeptical of the legitimacy of Kanye’s repentance
and of genuine reconciliation with Jesus. Do Kanye’s songs reflect enough? Is
it even possible for someone to make the declarations that he makes without
having experienced spiritual rebirth and regeneration? Can we move forward and
embrace Kanye West as a brother in Christ, as a fellow disciple and as a fellow
seeker? Do these lyrics declare Jesus boldly enough for Jesus to declare Kanye?
Do his lyrics declare enough for me to accept Kanye? Should the Church embrace
Kanye West?
The Bible has
an opinion on this matter:
"…If you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For
the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall
be saved'" (Romans 10:9-13, NKJV).
"…No one
speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that
Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).
Has Kanye said
enough? Scripture makes it simple: Yes, he has. The Church should embrace Kanye
West. The Church MUST embrace Kanye West. At this point, with as much as has
been declared, it would be sinful, even shameful, to do anything less than
rejoice with the Angels of God that a sinner has repented, and as the Church,
to extend our most heartfelt welcome to him. Will he make mistakes in his
sanctification process? Sure. Will the road ahead be ugly at times? Absolutely.
He is going to need the same patience, compassion and love that we all need as
we progress through our own sanctification.
Endnotes:
1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlR3C9sb5Xo
2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgLOv36an3s&t=716s
3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9dYenI2QOw
4https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/kanye-west-damascus-road/
5Ibid.
6https://calvarychapel.com/posts/can-the-church-embrace-kanye-west
Websites last
accessed on 26th November 2019.
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