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"Devil Can Try" by Alex Young And Friends: Standing Firm in Faith


(By Jasper Tan) Alex Young And Friends' latest single, "Devil Can Try," is a surprisingly gritty, faith-driven southern rock/swamp pop track that blew my mind. Say what you will about how rock music shouldn't have a place in Christian Music, but there are times when these types of songs energize our spiritual life. Take, for example, this song; it comes out as combative, with the band being imbued by the Holy Spirit as they ward off the advances and the temptations of the evil one. I'm a believer that Christian Music also needs to evolve with the times. But there are certain types of songs that belong to the secular world but are actually rooted in our Christian Faith. Not to say that traditional Praise and Worship songs are outdated, those types of songs are still what we need to sing in Churches. But once we venture out to the secular world, we need to strategize on how we can bring God's word and reach out to those who have yet to encounter and accept Jesus Christ in their lives.

Alex Young And Friends - Devil Can TryThis song's rocking sound can easily garner interest from the secular audience that loves listening to rock music. I can easily envision the band playing in front of a crowd inside a bar joint along with secular bands, yet it still belongs to the ambiance of the evening. And once they can hook in some of the audience with the song's root message in the lines "But victory is sure as death, The tax is paid, we'll resurrect"… of course, as Christians, we know who the band is referring to. 

Jesus paid the price of our sins by dying and resurrecting from death. Thus, we shall be redeemed from sin once we accept Jesus in our lives. The band will just need to expound on that eventually, but the primary role for bands/artists and songs like this is to be the one to venture outside the confines of the Church and to reach out. Get them interested in Jesus' life and his teachings, and when that interest is sparked, they can then lead them to the Church. That's how I always viewed Christian Contemporary Music's role in evangelization. It is never to replace the traditional hymns, but rather to compliment it.

(Related scripture: James 4:7; Luke 10:19; 2 Timothy 1:7)

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