This album is an interesting one. I’ve been in several other bands/projects in the past, but none of those have had the outlandish background that this specific album has. Let me explain:

I received a new heart and became a follower of Jesus in June of 2008, after God’s relentless pursuit of me over the course of my entire life. I grew up in a Christian home, attended church for the entirety of my life, and yet, until a little over two and a half years ago, I had no idea who Jesus was, and had no understanding of the grace and mercy of our wonderful God. But everything changed in June of ‘08. My friend (and soon to be Best Man) Chris had been observing my life for a while after he had become a follower of Jesus himself. At first, he thought that I was a Christian who was ignoring the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin in my life, and actively choosing idolatry over the God that I belonged to. But as time went on, it occurred to him that although I was clearly choosing to worship many false gods/idols, I had never met Jesus. I was anything but a Christian. It was at this point that Chris pulled me aside one day, rather boldly and assertively I might add, and shared with me the message of hope, grace, and truth that changed my entire life; that message was the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He told me that because of my own sin and corruption, which was painfully evident even to me at that point, I stood as an enemy of God. I had actively chosen to worship false gods, and had abandoned the one true God, the very Creator who made me. He told me that because I had committed the greatest offense, high treason against the one true Almighty God, my sin had accrued a very deep debt; an eternal debt in fact. He read Romans 6:23 to me, which reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He explained that this means that because of my sin, I deserve eternal wrath, eternal condemnation, and that God would stand absolutely, perfectly just in pouring that wrath out onto me. But, he explained, it didn’t have to end this way. God himself had provided a way for all of his children to be back in right relationship with him, despite our sin and corruption, by sending Jesus, the great God-Man, to live a perfect life and die a brutal death in our place. This means that when God looks at his sinful and corrupt children, they are counted perfectly righteous because Jesus was perfectly righteous; and wrath is no longer on them because God has already poured out all of that just wrath on Jesus, who is our substitute. He explained that all of this was accomplished over 2000 years ago for me through Jesus’ crucifixion if I simply put my faith, and hope, and trust in Jesus alone for my salvation that very day. He told me that there was nothing that I had done, or could do, to earn such a salvation, but that it was given to me freely as a gift by the blood of Jesus Christ himself. I had to do nothing, but believe Jesus had already done everything. After hearing this great message of hope, this wonderful Gospel of Jesus, I received the gift of faith in Christ and became a believer and follower of Jesus on June 18th 2008.

What makes this album interesting is that although I became a believer in Christ in June of 2008, the songwriting for this album began in 2007. If you do the quick mental math, what it amounts to is that I began work on this album prior to actually becoming a follower of Jesus. Furthermore, the songwriting for this album continued well into 2010. This means that this album contains very blunt evidence of the change in my life that I experienced by God’s grace when I met Jesus in June of ‘08. This makes this album very unique, as several tracks contain lyrics that are overtly sinful, selfish, and in some cases just downright awful, as well as songs that were written after my conversion as a way to glorify and enjoy the God that I love, side by side.

Why do this? Because I want people to understand that Jesus really does save and redeem His people. Even the title of this album, Honest to God, is a play on words testifying to this fact. On the one hand, it is an illustration of the fact that this album is a confessional one to God himself, as I confess to him my own sin and failure as well as singing praise to him, about him, for his glory. It is me, being honest, to God; about myself and about him. But on the other hand, the album’s title speaks to the fact that I am simply relaying to you, the listener, the clear cut facts; that I am a sinner, I was blind, and now I see, that Jesus is Lord and Savior, the one and only! Honest to God that is the truth! And Honest to God, this album is the true story about how Jesus changed my life forever. Despite the fact that I still sin and worship different little idols on a daily basis and have to repent of something about every hour of the day, God’s grace still stands, as Jesus stands daily interceding for me through his blood that he shed on the cross for me over 2000 years ago.

You may be thinking,
“Is he preaching at me?”
Yes, and unapologetically so.
I want every one of you to come to know the God who created you, and loves you with a love that is indescribable, despite the fact that you have done/will do nothing to deserve it. The message is simple: God saves sinners just like you and me through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, I hope that this album stirs you, makes you uncomfortable, and ultimately helps in leading you to repent of your idolatry and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation.

As the song goes: “I’ve no one to blame but myself,” and “no one can save but my Lord,” Jesus Christ. I hope you enjoy this album; Grace and Peace.

-Seth Williams