By PASTOR MICHAEL T. GJEFLE
Faith Independent Baptist Church, Ontario
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
John Newton gave us the hymn “Amazing Grace” in the later 1700s. Prior to his coming to know God’s forgiveness by faith in Jesus Christ, he was a slave trader on the seas and a very ungodly man. After his conversion to the Savior, he became a powerful preacher and a leader in the fight against slavery and went on to write many hymns as well.
In the hymn “Amazing Grace,” John Newton wrote, “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.”
Have you grasped, in your own plight, that all of us are in the same situation? Apart from salvation in Christ, we are dead in sin, lost and perishing. Often we sing or listen to hymns like “Amazing Grace,” never really digesting the words sung. How wonderful to us perishing people that in Jesus Christ is found God’s amazing grace whereby we can be saved and have eternal life. Oh, can you sing about the grace whereby you have been saved? If not, repent of your sins now and trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior. If this is a reality in your life, then walk with God and tell others daily of that grace … God’s amazing grace. It saved the Apostle Paul and others years ago and continues to save those who come to Jesus Christ in faith today.
Interestingly enough, the last stanza of “Amazing Grace” begins, “When we’ve been there 10,000 years … ” Where will you be 10,000 years from now? It’s something to think about!