I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.
John Newton wrote those words hundreds of years ago, at a time when British ships still carried African slaves to ports around the globe. Newton could look back on a life that used to be filled with sin and vice and wickedness. He himself was involved in the slave trade, and before that he used to laugh at and despise Christians and their gospel message.
But eventually, through several brushes with death, as well as the ministry of preaching and reading of literature, John Newton was converted. He became an ordained minister and a writer of hymns. He wrote his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace,” in 1773 as an illustration for a New Years Day message. Today this hymn is known and sung around the world, even by secular pop singers. But sadly, many who sing these famous words fail to grasp their meaning.
As we examine this hymn, let’s consider what the Bible says makes the grace it speaks of so “amazing.” The first line tells us that the very words “amazing grace” have a “sweet” sound to the writer. Some of the sounds around us are sweet to our ears...others, not so sweet. Think of the melody of a songbird or a rippling brook...the comforting sound of a mother’s lullaby...the closing bell at the end of a long day at work or school. All of these sounds are sweet to us.
What makes the words “amazing grace” so sweet to a person’s ears is contained in the word “grace” itself, as well as the source of that grace, and also in its recipient. If we examine what grace is, from whom it comes, and to whom it is given, we will plainly see why it is so sweet to the listener, and what makes this grace so amazing.
The basic meaning of the word “grace” is some good thing that is given and received, not because it is merited or deserved, but by the good will of the one giving it. The simplest example of this is the giving of a present. If I gave you a present because I wanted you to give me one in return, that would not be grace. That gift would only be grace if I gave it simply out of a desire to bless you and do you good.
The “amazing grace” Newton writes about isn’t a common, everyday kind of present--it is a gift of immeasurable value! It is grace “that saved a wretch like me!” We read in Ephesians 2:8, “It is by grace you have been saved.”
From the very beginning chapters of Genesis, we see a mankind in need of saving. Adam and Eve, our first parents, received amazing grace from the hand of God when He created them and placed them in a beautiful paradise, the Garden of Eden. Everything in the garden was theirs to enjoy and feed upon, except one tree: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was the one and only test God gave them to see if their love and obedience would remain faithful.
God warned them that eating of the forbidden tree would bring death, but they failed to heed God’s warning. The crafty serpent brought doubt, confusion and deception into the Garden. He caused Eve to question God’s grace and rebel against His authority. Then, Eve tempted Adam to do the same thing so that both of them were guilty of disobedience and deserving of death. But God gave them more amazing grace by not carrying out their death sentence immediately. He still loved the man and woman He’d created and had already planned to save them from the full penalty for their sin against Him.
Along with delayed physical death and the other curses brought by our first parents’ sin, God also gave us a gracious promise that one of Eve’s descendants would one day defeat the serpent and rescue mankind. This future Savior would succeed where Adam and Eve failed and would provide a perfect record of obedience for God’s people! Furthermore, He would die an atoning death for His people on the cross, bearing the weight of all their sin, including the wrath of God that all our sin deserved.
Of course, that promised Savior, born thousands of years later, was none other than Jesus Christ, the Friend of Sinners.
And how we sinners needed, and still need such a friend! The grace that saves sinners comes from Jesus Himself. In the Gospel of John chapter one, we read that Jesus the living Word was “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The grace of Jesus Christ--His free gift to all who will receive it--is the gift of Himself, given for our salvation. How amazing that the God of the universe would take pity on poor, wretched, blind, helpless sinners, and would take on Himself a human nature--actually become one of us! He did this so that He could save us from the penalty our sins deserved.
If I offered you a present, and you left this room without it, never took it and opened it, ignored it and forgot about it, that gift would never truly be yours, would it? Well, look at the present Jesus offered: He came here to earth and was born, lived, suffered, died, was buried, arose and ascended. And He now offers the gift of forgiveness and eternal salvation to all who will receive it. But, most people never accept this gracious gift...why not? Because it is received by faith.
The Book of Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” To receive a gift by faith, a person must be convinced that the giver is really there and is able to give such a gift. Also, the gift being offered must be something that the receiver really hopes for, or desires. Most people don’t accept the fact that Jesus is offering them this saving gift, and besides, they have no desire to be saved from their sins. They laugh at the idea that God will one day make them pay the penalty for their sin in hell forever.
John chapter nine tells how Jesus gave physical sight to a man born blind. Think of it: never had this man known anything but darkness. He knew about shapes and colors, skies and stars and sunsets, only by listening to the descriptions of others. But one day Jesus took pity on him and performed a miracle by granting sight to this man.
Many of the Jewish leaders refused to believe that Jesus did this by the power of God; they insisted that Jesus was in league with the devil. But Jesus said that one of the reasons He’d come into the world was to make blind people see, and seeing people blind! We all know people who believe that they know everything, or seem to. When we try to correct them about something, they claim to know all about it already--there is nothing new they can be taught.
Some of the Jewish leaders were sure that they knew how to please God, and needed no new insight from a man like Jesus. They believed their spiritual eyes had 20/20 vision and that their record before God was just fine. Jesus told them that their guilt remained because they claimed to see without His help. So many people are like this; they are so convinced they can see clearly and God allows them to remain blind to His gift of grace.
Ephesians 2:8 goes on to say, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” In John Newton’s words, we are “wretches”...poor, helpless, miserable sinners...who are “lost” and need to be “found”... “blind” and need the ability to “see.” Is this how we normally see ourselves? Sinners, guilty and in danger of eternal torments, unable to save ourselves, in desperate need of being saved? Or do we think we are just fine the way we are, able to please a holy God on our own, not really in need of Jesus to save us?
It is only when I realize how sinful and blind and wretched I am that I will cry out to God for a Savior, and welcome His beloved Son when He offers Himself as a gift of grace for my salvation. Nowadays we are told about how advanced and intelligent and worthy of self-esteem we humans are. How all that old talk about judgment and brimstone is just outdated nonsense. But what does the Bible say?
Romans 6:23 reminds us that “the wages of sin is death.” Not just separation of my soul from my body, but eternal separation of soul and body from God forever in Hell. Jesus suffered this kind of awful separation from His Father when He hung on the cross for sinners--but only for those sinners who place their faith in Him alone for their salvation. The verse goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Grace--God’s grace--saving grace for sinners. It is a free gift of forgiveness and eternal life, purchased by Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. It is amazing because it is offered freely to all who believe. Amazing because it comes from Jesus, who now sits enthroned at God’s right hand. Amazing because it is received by wretched sinners who recognize their need and bow to Christ by faith. Amazing because God Himself gives us the the spiritual “eyes” to see and desire and receive His gift.
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.
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