Passion (Feat. Kristian Stanfill) – Whole Heart

Passion Church, much like Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation Worship, started as a small-time church.  They held their first Passion conference in 1997 in Atlanta, Georgia, and created their own music.  Since then, they released a monumental 23 live and studio albums!

Also, check out my reviews of Holy Ground, There’s Nothing That Our God Can’t Do, Behold the Lamb, and Glorious Day.

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?

This song repeats the same message three times.  Passion was in sin and shame, preventing them from seeking God.  They were unworthy.  Yet, God’s love broke through, unconditioned by Passion’s performance.  His shed blood making forgiveness possible for any who wish to receive it, shifting Passion’s identity from worthless sinner to child of God.

This song follows basic format, with Chorus starting after Verse 2 instead of the usual Verse 1.

Score: 10/10

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

The entire song and the Bible agree with one another.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

I once was captive by the enemy
He had me thinking I was out of reach
O Jesus, mercy shut his mouth

Based on Verse 2, line 1, Passion’s enemy is shame, preventing them from seeking God’s forgiveness.  God’s love shown through sacrifice eliminates the need for guilt, rendering it powerless (John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, and 1 John 4:9-10).

[Verse 2]

I once was crippled by the weight of shame
Embarrassed, I couldn’t even show my face
O Jesus, then I heard You speak

Repeats the same ideas in Verse 1.

[Chorus]

Your love
It comes with no conditions

This is not to be confused with a relationship with God.  His love is unconditional.  There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s love nor will Passion’s sin prevent His love from shining through.  After all, God is love (1 John 4:8).  However, to have a personal relationship with God, we must surrender (Luke 14:25-33).

You give us Your whole heart

See commentary in Verse 1. Particularly, regarding sacrifice.

My hope
Is in the blood of Jesus

That is, Passion is washed by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, and 1 Peter 1:18-19).

I know who I am
Because of who You are

Passion’s identity is adopted son or daughter of the Most High God (see John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3).

[Verse 3]

I hear You calling me beyond my sin
You tell me that grace has taken care of it
O Jesus, You’re my victory
O Jesus, You’re my victory

Grace is undeserved favor.  Verse 1 presents Scripture that shows how God’s love dealt with sin, granting Passion victory over it.

[Bridge]

I serve a King with good intentions

God is King (Exodus 15:6, Exodus 15:11, 1 Chronicles 29:11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 110:2-3, Psalm 104:1, Psalm 145:5, Psalm 145:12, Job 37:22, Isaiah 24:14, Isaiah 26:10, Hebrews 1:3-4, Hebrews 8:1, Revelation 4:1-11, and Revelation 19:7-16).  As for “good intentions”, According to Merriam-Webster, intention means “the thing that you plan to do or achieve : an aim or purpose”. To say that “I serve a King with good intentions”, then, means that Passion serve a King who has good plans to achieve His goals, which points to Jeremiah 29:11.

God, You will never
Turn Your back on me

God will not forsake those who are His (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:8-9, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 118:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, and Hebrews 13:5-6).

How could a wretch become Your treasure
The love of God
Has changed my destiny

God is in the business of transforming undeserving ugly people into beautiful works of art (Proverbs 21:16, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-2, Colossians 2:13, and 1 Timothy 5:6).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Most of it will be easy for unbelievers to comprehend.  Passion explicitly names Jesus as the One whose blood is our hope.  For most unbelievers, they will conclude that it’s the Christian message of salvation through Jesus.

I suspect many will misunderstand the concept of sin.  For the typical non-Christian, sin is error but not lawbreaking.  Also, the idea that God doesn’t forsake us will be foreign to some, believing that God will answer prayer and hasn’t.  For such individuals who left Christianity due to unanswered prayer, it would be helpful to add something like “sometimes, there’s a reason God says no” to alleviate this misunderstanding.  On the other hand, I also recognize that songs aren’t meant to be sermons and they can’t tailor to every audience who might misunderstand, especially unbelievers.  Yet, my commentary is something for seeker-sensitive churches to consider when presenting this song.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through presenting a soft Gospel message, that we can enter God’s Kingdom through receiving His sacrifice.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Passion’s Whole Heart is a good song.  It describes our spiritual poverty and unworthiness as guilty sinners who require Christ’s shed blood to receive forgiveness.  God loves us regardless of our performance, transforming our identification.  We’re no longer slaves to sin.  We are now children of the Highest, who bring Him glory.  Those outside Christianity will understand Passion’s message, though not understanding sin as violating God’s laws and perhaps reacting poorly to God not forsaking them.

I highly recommend this for corporate worship for churches that are not seeker-sensitive.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Whole Heart (listen to the song)

Artist: Passion (Feat. Kristian Stanfill)

Album: Whole Heart

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 6:02

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

*Copyright © 2018 Sounds of Jericho (BMI) worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) Worship Together Music (BMI) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) sixsteps Songs (BMI) Capitol CMG Paragon (BMI) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

01/19/2022 – Upon reading Em’s reply, I added commentary to Bridge on “good intentions”.