Josh Baldwin – Evidence

American artist Josh Baldwin is currently serving as a Bethel Music worship pastor.  He released four albums and one EP, including:

• Changing (2008)
• Rivers (2011)
• The War Is Over (2017)
• Evidence (2020)
• Live at Church (EP) (2020)

Also, check out my review of Stand In Your Love.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Josh-baldwin-evidence-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?

The main thrust of Baldwin’s message is of God’s promises, fulfilled through action.  These include:

• God’s presence with Baldwin, through his high’s and low’s
• God provides Baldwin the power to push through his dread
• Christ’s death for Baldwin’s lawbreaking and subsequent resurrection, showing that there’s hope after the grave

Score: 10/10

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

All the lines are Scriptural.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: Baldwin experienced first-hand.  He’s seen where God allowed Him to go through trials to better his character (Romans 5:3-5, Hebrews 12:4-11, and James 1:2-4), recognizing that God promised to be there with him through the process (Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5-9, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 139:7-10, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Zephaniah 3:17, Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16-17, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38-39, and Revelation 3:20).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-4: Verse 1, Verse 2, and Bridge is where Baldwin provides such evidence of promise fulfillment.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: God is the strength Baldwin receives to become victorious over his fear, especially when he is weak (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 22:19, Psalm 28:7-8, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 33:2, Isaiah 40:29-31, Habakkuk 3:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 6:10, and Philippians 4:13).

[Bridge]

Lines 1-4: The final piece of evidence is that Jesus showed His love towards us, that while we were sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:6-8).  He also rose again, defeating death (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) and giving Baldwin hope of new life from his spiritual deadness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

[Outro]

Lines 1 and 2: If God is for Baldwin, demonstrated through many proofs, what room is there for fear (Psalm 27:1 and Romans 8:31)?

Lines 3 and 4: Essentially repeats lines 1 and 2.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Lack of experiential knowledge notwithstanding, unbelievers will know it’s Christian based mostly on the Bridge.  Its explicit use of “cross”, “empty grave”, and “Jesus” are clear pointers to Christianity.  Baldwin opts for everyday language to explain his three promises: presence, strength, and penal substitutionary atonement.  These three pointers should be easily understood by non-Christians.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God as the promise-keeper.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Josh Baldwin’s Evidence is a great testimonial.  It showcases God’s fulfilled promises of faithfulness through His appearance, vigor, and salvation, bringing glory to God.  Unbelievers should have little to no problem interpreting similarly, even if they’ve never experienced God for themselves.

This song is appropriate for corporate worship; However, it’s not my favorite song.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Evidence (Studio Version) (listen to the song)

Artist: Josh Baldwin

Album: Evidence

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2020

Duration: 4:02

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