Cody Carnes & Brandon Lake – Too Good To Not Believe

Contemporary Christian artist Worship leader Cody Carnes started his career in 2009.  He released two albums and two EP’s, including:

• The Lighter Side (EP, 2009)
• All He Says I Am (EP, 2014)
• The Darker the Night The Brighter the Morning (2017)
• Run To The Father (2020)

He took part in a GMA Dove Award last year for Elevation Worship’s The Blessing (Live) for Worship Recorded Song of the Year.  He was one of its writers.

Check out my reviews of Nothing Else, Christ Be Magnified, Run to the Father, and The Cross Has the Final Word.

Brandon Lake is an American worship leader for Bethel Music and Maverick City Music.  He released three albums and one EP, including:

• Closer (2016)
• House of Miracles (2020)
• House of Miracles (Live) (2021)
• Almond Eyes (EP, 2021)

He won a GMA Dove Award for Gospel Worship Recorded Song of the Year (This Is a Move (Live), 2019) and Songwriter of the Year in 2021.  He was also awarded in 2021 for his work on Graves into Gardens, receiving credit for a GMA Dove for Worship Recorded Song of the Year and a Billboard award for Top Christian Song, both in 2021.

Also, check out my reviews of Pour Me Out, We Praise You, and This Is a Move.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Cody-carnes-and-brandon-lake-too-good-to-not-believe-lyrics.

Side Note: While I normally review the original version, this version was originally requested and is less repetitious than Bethel Music’s original.  It also contains two of this song’s writers.

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.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is about Carnes’ and Lake’s belief that miracles have and will continue to occur on this earth through the name and power of Jesus Christ.  These include:

• Cancer
• Broken bodies
• Resurrection (physical and spiritual)
• Mental health
• Broken families
• Prodigals coming home
• Deliverance of troubled souls
• Freed addiction
• Revival
• Nations glorify God

My small concern is that there is much emphasis placed on healing. What happens if someone believes that God will perform miracles and does not receive them? I’m not against continual belief, but there’s nothing stated here for those who God has clearly said “no”. This is a common issue that could easily be addressed with a statement such as “Even if you do no miracles, we worship you” or a similar statement that says we’ll worship God regardless of His response.

Despite this critique, Carnes and Lake cite that miracles exist to glorify God.  This puts healings in their proper perspective.

Score: 9/10

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

The song has Biblical merit.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: Carnes and Lake credit Jesus as the One who proved He is faithful to them (2 Timothy 2:13), the source of experienced miracles, and incomprehensible beauty (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 27:4, and Psalm 29:2). Bridge gives a few examples of such miracles that Carnes and Lake witnessed.

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, Carnes and Lake believe God performs miracles. That’s difficult to deny given Bridge and the many miracles Jesus performed during His earthly ministry.

Line 3: Repeats line 2.

Lines 4 and 5: See commentary on lines 1 and 2.

Line 6: Repeats line 2.

Lines 7 and 8: Matthew 20:34 and Mark 1:41-42 cites compassion as Jesus’ motivation to heal.

Line 9: Repeats line 5.

Lines 10 and 11: Essentially repeats line 5, with a call to Casper the friendly ghost.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: While I found no cited examples of invoking Jesus’ name that results in a physical resurrection, Peter restored a man’s leg by invoking Jesus’ name (Acts 3:6-7). Christ said signs in His name would follow those who invoke it (Mark 16:17-18). It seems reasonable that physical resurrection, though not listed or cited anywhere I could find in Scripture, would be a sign.

Line 3: Carnes and Lake state that miracles exist to glorify God (John 14:13).

Line 4: Repeats Verse 1, line 1.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3: I don’t know any Christians who will dispute that God cannot heal cancer or broken bodies, given the many other miracles cited in Scripture (see commentary on Chorus, lines 1 and 2).

Line 4: Repeats line 3.

Lines 5 and 6: See commentary on lines 1-3.

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats line 3.

Lines 9 and 10: See commentary on lines 1-3 alongside Luke 15:11-32.

Lines 11 and 12: Repeats line 3.

Lines 13 and 14: See commentary on lines 1-3.

Lines 15 and 16: Repeats line 3.

Lines 17 and 18: To cite one example, we’re seeing this in the underground church in China right now, according to this article.

Lines 19 and 20: Repeats line 3.

Lines 21 and 22: Every knee will bow and confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10-11).

Line 23: Repeats line 3.

Line 24: The implied second part of line 3.

[Outro]

Line 1: See commentary on Chorus, line 8.

Line 2: As stated in Bridge.

Line 3: Quotes from Hebrews 13:8 with an implied reference to Christ from Verse 1, line 4.

Line 4: While it’s true that Christ cannot lie (Titus 1:2), tempt others to do evil (James 1:13), or deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13), this statement is about miracles, not general things Christ cannot do.  To that respect, yes, what is impossible for man is possible for Jesus (Luke 18:27).

Line 5: Combines part of Chorus, line 2 with the word “Hallelujah”.  The latter is a compound Hebrew phrase, with “hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise in song” and “jah” or “yah”, which refers to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Put together, we are singing “we joyfully praise God in song” when we use this word.

Line 6: Repeats part of Chorus, line 2.

Lines 7-9: See commentary on Chorus, line 8.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside the camp of Christianity will see the name of Jesus associated with miracles, pointing towards a Christian interpretation.  They will see that this song places a huge emphasis on Carnes’ and Lake’s belief that God will do miracles today.

My concerns about “heal every person” in section 1 are more pronounced for unbelievers, who may walk away from Jesus when their prayers for a miracle aren’t answered in the affirmative.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that He has the power to perform miracles and that they exist to glorify Him, my minor critique on Carnes’ focus on healing slightly veils it.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

Cody Carnes & Brandon Lake’s Too Good To Not Believe is pretty good, though not without concern. I agree with Carnes and Lake on principle, that Jesus performs miracles preceded by faith and that such healings bring Him glory; However, my small issue is that these lyrics might be misconstrued as 100% guaranteed healing from God.

I recommend this song for corporate worship provided an adequate explanation of how healing works.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Too Good To Not Believe (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Cody Carnes & Brandon Lake

Album: N/A

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2021

Duration: 10:34

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

Updates:

05/12/2022 – Forgot to include a review of Brandon Lake’s We Praise You, which came earlier than this review.

02/08/2022 – Updated review to remain consistent with others with a similar critique.  This significantly raised the song’s overall score, from 6.5/10 to 9/10.  I also updated my recommendation from “no” to “perhaps”.