You can hear personal testimony throughout the song "Proof of Life" by former Creed front man Scott Stapp. He relates with listeners about his story right from the opening lyrics: "Do you suffer in silence? Do you live your life in your dreams? Do you walk in defiance to escape from reality?"

Throughout this great album, Proof of Life, Stapp challenges listeners to give up vices that have trapped you in the past, and lay them at the feet of Jesus. The Bible tells us that "you were washed, you were sanctified; you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." I had the great opportunity to interview Scott in-person before his concert in Philadelphia about the title track, "Proof of Life."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song. 

I wrote this song with Tyler Connolly from Theory of a Deadman. I showed up and had an idea musically for the song. I was showing them a guitar progression that you hear for the song and where I wanted to take it. Then, I asked Tyler if he had any ideas and he said, "3 words: proof of life." We ran from there.

Once we laid down the music, the lyrics started flowing from there, as a stream of consciousness, with my feelings about what that meant to me in that moment. It really resonated with me. As I wrote for this album, that's exactly what this album is for me personally, proof of life. Those three words caused the rest of the words to pour out.

In the song, in some regards I'm speaking to myself in the verses, asking myself those questions knowing in my own mind what it meant to me that everything in my life that I was pouring into this album and tour and all of the changes I was making in my life, that was my purpose. This was all to symbolize that I rediscovered my purpose and was coming out of my darkness and cage and self-inflicted prison.

Essentially when you are in that place, you might as well be dead. What that means to me and what I was saying throughout this album was about my proof of life and that's how this song became the title and theme for the album.

Please talk about the meaning of the lyrics, "Someone to save me, but no one came," and the vertical profession, "You're the proof of life."

The line "someone to save me, but no one came" is about the darkness that I was in, and I think with self-pity and how drugs and alcohol took me to that place I was waiting for someone to help me, grab me and pull me out. In reality, at that point in time the only one who could save me was me. I needed to humble myself enough to ask for help and to get out of that situation. It was a reflection of that place where I felt helpless, and felt like a deer in the headlights. I knew I needed to stop, and wanted someone to save me. To get out of that, all alone, I cried out to God.

In my relationship with God, it allowed me to have the strength to finally take action. I had to get out of my own head and be still enough to listen and finally the moment of clarity came. It's all about doing something. You need to take action.

The key to the song is found in the question, "Are you playing the victim when you know that you volunteered?" Victimhood did me in for years. You couldn't tell me that I was responsible for the choices I'd made. Yet until I owned up to that responsibility, I couldn't accept my story. My day-by-day recovery is anchored in the acceptance of my past as the necessary link to my present and future. When I sing, "You can't deny the truth that hits you right between the eyes," that truth is rooted in accountability. And the most profound truth--as well as the most profound proof--is that I'm alive today because I'm accountable for my thoughts and actions as an imperfect human being.

Which Bible passage connects to the song?

Romans 6:23 (The Voice): The payoff for a life of sin is death, but God is offering us a free gift--eternal life through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King.

What is the takeaway message?

Our heavenly Father wants to save our lives. That's why He gives us His Word to guide us. I've learned that Scripture firsthand. I am blessed to be alive today to share about it. It starts with a tiny door that you walk in and compromise and that can lead to death. I learned that the hard way.

I'm thankful to God what He taught me and He has inspired me to share about those experiences. Until this album I thought I had wasted my life and ruined God's plans for me. God took that and repurposed it for me. He helped me see that He could take that and use it if I was willing. That's all part of faith and having faith.

Despite our frailty and weakness and mistakes, if you accept God's love, you can be free from all of that. I'm still learning what grace is and in surrendering and accepting it, I need to press on. I believe He loves us and wants us to be happy.

How are you straddling the faith-based and mainstream music markets?

The important thing for me is that we as Christians give the impression that we are inclusive, not exclusive. [It should be] that people are attracted to us, and see something about our lives and how we behave in regular settings like a rock and roll show, and they are attracted to that.

When you have the opportunity to share, that's a great way to open up and let God do the work. When the opportunity is there, right now I'm learning that in my life. I'm surrendering to where God has me, and in every situation to love and show love, and all the things that have turned people away from the Church and Christ and judgment and the perception of perfection and that whole air that goes with that.

I think that's something we need to shed and be more Christ-like. I found that I've connected with God in places and felt the Holy Spirit in places I've never expected. I'm able to feel His presence and love, and God's doing it and He's going to bring Christians and non-Christians together as long as we are willing to love and demonstrate love like Christ did. God will do the work.

Lyrics:
Do you suffer in silence?
Do you live your life in your dreams?
Do you walk in defiance to escape from reality?
Are you caught in the headlights standing still?
Don't you wish you could run away?
Have you lost your desire waiting for
Someone to save you?
But no one came.

What's your proof of life?
You can't deny the truth that hits you right between the eyes.
So just name your price.
I'll give anything to justify the reason I'm alive
What's your proof of life?
What's your proof of life?

Are you playing the victim
When you know that you volunteered?
No excuse for your sickness,
It's your choices that got you here.
Are you caught in the headlights standing still?
Don't you wish you could run away?
Have you lost your desire waiting for,
Someone to save you?
But no one came.

What's your proof of life?
You can't deny the truth that hits you right between the eyes,
So just name your price.
I'll give anything to justify the reason I'm alive
What's your proof of life?
What's your proof of life?

Someone to save you?
But no one came

What's your proof of life?
You can't deny the truth that hits you right between the eyes,
So just name your price.
I'll give anything to justify the reason I'm alive.
What's your proof of life?
What's your proof of life?

You're the proof of life.

The theme Scripture verse for this song and this album is Romans 6:23 (The Voice): "The payoff for a life of sin is death, but God is offering us a free gift--eternal life through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King." Scott Stapp is living out what it means to him personally to have proof of life. He is living proof that God is the ultimate "liberating King." 

Jesus came to die on our behalf the death that we all deserve so that we might live with Him in Heaven for eternity if we've put all of our hope and trust in Him for our salvation. Jesus is the proof of eternal life. Scott Stapp has been liberated from the trappings of this world and what people pursue and think will fulfill them instead of life with Jesus Christ. He has lived out what the world considers successful, selling 30 million albums and winning Grammy awards, but without his relationship with Jesus it was nothing but a "Slow Suicide" towards destruction of what really matters and ultimately isolation and death.

God is the ultimate proof of life. Jesus is risen, and He lives in each of us who are followers of Jesus by indwelling in us His Holy Spirit. Once we die to ourselves, we can be born again and truly live. That's what Scott's song "Dying to Live" is all about. We can be new creations in Christ. Anything that destroys us needs to be pruned from our lives in order to truly live. That's when we can enjoy the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV): "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law." That's something worth living for, and this song reminds us that we can be free from addictions, sin and death and sing along with Scott to God, "You're the proof of life." Amen to that!

(Listen to the song here.)