Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
When we’ve been there 10,000 years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun
The above are lyrics to the song Amazing Grace. The movie by the same title, released in 2006, begins this way: By the late 18th century, over 11,000,000 African men, women, and children had been taken from Africa to be used as slaves in the West Indies and the American colonies. Great Britain was the mightiest superpower on Earth, and its empire was built on the backs of slaves. The slave trade was considered acceptable by all but a few. Of these, even fewer were brave enough to speak against it. That is until William Wilberforce came on the scene. Thanks to his tireless efforts despite many defeats year after year, British involvement in the slave trade was brought to an end, being made illegal on May 1, 1807. The overall abolishment of slavery took effect on August 1, 1834. Originally, Amazing Grace was a poem by former slave ship captain John Newton. The Library of Congress notes that there is no direct link between Amazing Grace and the abolition of slavery in Britain. Nonetheless, the hymn was written by a man who was moved to speak out against something from which he had once profited. In an essay Newton said: "I hope it will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me . . . that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders." Thus we have the most recognizable hymn of all time.
The Greek word for "grace" is "charis." That's where Andrew Wommack got the name for Charis Bible College. Larry Pierce's Outline of Biblical Usage defines grace as affording joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, including in speech. Grace is goodwill and loving-kindness. It is the favor due to grace. Grace is thankfulness for the benefits, services, recompense, and reward that come from it. I like to say it the following way: Grace is not just God giving us good things we don't deserve. It is empowerment from the Holy Spirit to help us live the lives God wants us to live. The testimony of John Newton's life, and anyone who has truly been forgiven by Christ, is that God's grace is so amazing because not one of us deserves it, yet he freely offers it to all people. Like Newton, once a person truly recognizes the depths of their sinfulness, grace can be properly appreciated and activated to change a person from the inside out. Charles Spurgeon said sinners will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy law. A person can have an emotional reaction to the idea of God's grace without it actually touching their hearts and changing them. The fruit of a changed life is the evidence of true conversion.
Romans 5:20 AMP says the law came to increase and expand [the awareness of] the trespass [by defining and unmasking sin]. But where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more. How do we make grace amazing in a culture that is losing not only its moral compass but the God who makes who gave us that moral compass? We make grace amazing by reminding people of our true condition before the almighty, perfect creator of the universe who is just and holy. The law is not outdated or useless. It just needs to be used properly, to show us our true state so that grace can be made amazing to us once again, individually and collectively. When I look at my own sinfulness in light of God's law, not only before I came to Christ, but after, and in some cases even in the present time, I cannot help but marvel at God's grace that I absolutely, positively do NOT deserve. And that makes me all the more thankful for it. May it do the same for you.
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