Flawless, by Mercy Me
Mercy Me's 2014 song "Flawless" is embedded with deep theology, the main message being that faith in Jesus makes you perfect.
The lyrics are good, but it's the 2015 official music video imagery that adds so much impact. The real people depicted in the video clip who are accompanied by silent words on the screen remind us that we are not alone in our struggles.
As the music video progresses and God's grace becomes more and more evident, vivid visual changes occur to the band. No spoiler alerts, but watch it here: Official Music Video
How faith in Jesus makes us perfect, and the sound theology of this song:
All salvation is achieved by Jesus, and Jesus alone. Nothing that we can do or have done makes us worthy of God's grace. Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."
John 3:16 tells us the magnitude of God's love for us: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Upon a person receiving salvation, a number of things occur simultaneously. This list of the works of God toward a sinner who is saved may be the subject of a future blog, but for now these will suffice to demonstrate the theology of Flawless:
We are redeemed. God cannot tolerate sin, and for Him to entertain a relationship with a sinner is inconceivable; but the work of redemption has already been done by Jesus who died in our place. No longer does God see us as sinners; He sees us through the lens of Jesus' own sacrifice. Jesus' blood redeemed us. That is, His blood purchased us from death. We are perfect because we are redeemed.
We are reconciled. Our previous broken relationship with God has been restored to a perfect relationship. That is, we have been made righteous and suitable to be in relationship with God because of what Jesus has done. Imputed righteousness is found in 2 Cor. 5:20, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Just as you may reconcile your accounts with your budget at the end of the month, we have been reconciled to come into line with God's standards. We are perfect because we are reconciled.
We are forgiven. God's forgiveness is not temporary, requiring ongoing sacrifices like in the Old Testament, but it is permanent and once-for-all. Romans 8:1 teaches us that we are no longer condemned, and we are reminded at the end of the chapter that nothing can separate us from God's love (vv. 38-39). We are perfect because we are forgiven by God.
Lyrics
Than going back and forth
From doing right to doing wrong
'Cause we were taught that's who we are
Come on get in line right behind me
You along with everybody
Thinking there's worth in what you do
We're on the edge of our seats saying it's too late
Well let me introduce you to amazing grace
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
That we simply can't believe
That this unconditional
Kind of love would be enough
To take a filthy wretch like this
And wrap him up in righteousness
But that's exactly what He did
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
Right here right now I'm ok
Because the cross was enough
We're on the edge of our seats saying it's too late
Well let me introduce you to grace grace
God's grace
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
Or what you think you are
The day you called His name
He made you flawless
He made you flawless
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless