(From our church-wide devotion book at Pinedale Christian Church, "You 2.0")
One of the most well known and popular hymns of the last 200-plus years is the hymn “Amazing Grace.” John Newton, a slave-ship captain, wrote this hymn from his own experience. He knew himself to be a wretched sinner who practiced vile and crude behavior and mocked Christianity at every turn. But during a deadly storm at sea that lasted many days, Newton looked back and remembered the Christian Gospel taught by his mother when he was a young boy. Looking at where he started and where he sunk to, Newton wondered whether a man like himself could be worthy of forgiveness.
He found a New Testament and began to read, and he was especially moved by Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
That night Newton surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and started a new journey of prayer, a study of the word and preaching the gospel. Over the years, he wrote many hymns, but his best-known one was Amazing Grace. It spoke of the new grace that he found on that ship in the midst of a violent storm— grace that transformed his cold, wicked heart to a heart of life and love for Christ.
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”
Grace... the free and unmerited favor of God. It’s a gift from the Heavenly Father given through His son, Jesus Christ. It is God reaching down to us despite the fact that we don’t deserve it.
That’s the keyword: Undeserving. Grace is a gift. It can’t be earned, bought, or bartered (Ephesians 2:8). Our own efforts, no matter how sincere, will not make us worthy of God’s love. Instead, the Bible says that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Think about that: Because of our sin, we all deserve death, but because of God’s love for us, we receive life through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the giver of grace.
It’s one thing to read about God’s transforming grace. It’s another thing entirely to live it. I’m still in awe of what God has done inside of me over the past decades, and I am also amazed at what He has done in the lives of those I love.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of watching God work in the life of a friend. This young man’s world revolved around drugs, sex, alcohol, and himself. One night at a church basketball open gym session, he became convicted by his lifestyle, much as John Newton did so many years earlier. Before the night ended, he knelt and asked Jesus to be his Savior, (i.e., grace for his past), and to be the Lord over his life, (i.e., grace for his future). That night changed the trajectory of his life!
For the next year, this young man and I met together each week to read the Bible, discuss life, and pray. During that time, I witnessed how God worked in Him. He continued to struggle with temptation, of course, but now God was doing in Him what He wasn’t strong enough to do in himself. I watched him grow before my very eyes.
Eventually, this young man began to share with others what God was teaching him. He led Bible studies at his Church and preached at every opportunity. He started to volunteer in prison ministry. The life that was once centered around himself became centered around God.
One night, when he was just 28 years old, my friend’s wife found him in his bed, his Bible in hands, and it looked like he had fallen asleep. Instead, he had passed away and gone to be with His Savior.
Some said, “How tragic! What a sad story!” But those of us who were closest to him felt differently. On the one hand, we were devastated by the pain of separation from our friend. On the other, we rejoiced at what God had done in his life. Because of God’s Grace, my friend was in paradise, in the presence of Jesus. He went from a life of spiritual blindness to looking at his Savior face to face.
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”
“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” - Anonymous
“Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.”
- Martin Luther
“My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
-John Newton