Message of the Month February 2023

AMAZING GRACE 

 

One of the amazing things to me is the way in which unbelievers - certainly here in the UK - all know, and seem to love, the hymn: “Amazing Grace.”   

It is sung at funerals and on other occasions, where most non-Christians would not know - or want to sing hymns. Here are the first two verses…   

 

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 

 

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear 

And grace my fears relieved 

How precious did that grace appear 

The hour I first believed… 

 

There are over 3,000 published recordings of the song.  It was recorded by Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and countless other artists and notably, it is often played or sung accompanied by bagpipes. 

 

Amazing Grace also became the anthem of Martin Luther King’s great Civil Rights Movement in the USA. 

 

This year is the 250th anniversary of the hymn which was written by John Newton. 

It was sung for the first time on New Year’s Day 1773. 

 

The actual tune that we sing today, and is so famous, was written later - by William Walker in 1835. 

 

John Newton was born in 1725 and his mother died when he was just six years old.  He went to sea with his father when he was 11 years old and he became a seaman.  

 

In 1743, Newton was forced to join the Royal Navy against his will. At one point he tried to run away and was punished in front of the crew of 350 men. Stripped to the waist he was whipped 96 times and was reduced to the rank of a common seaman again. 

Following that disgrace and humiliation, Newton seriously wanted to murder the captain and then commit suicide by throwing himself overboard - but he changed his mind. 

 

In 1748, during his return voyage to England, the ship was caught in a severe storm off the coast of Ireland and was about to sink. Newton began praying for God's mercy, after which the storm began to die down. This was the beginning of his journey back to God. 

 

He began to read the Bible and from that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling and drinking, although he continued to work in the slave trade. Newton confessed later that he did not consider himself “to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards" which was when he became an advocate and supporter of the ABOLITION OF SLAVERY movement which was going on at the time. 

 

In 1757, he applied to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England, but it was more than seven years before he was eventually accepted.  

 

Later, John became the curate of the Anglican church of St Peter and St Paul in Olney near Milton Keynes, England. He had good connections with the Baptist church and the Independent Chapel in the town and each year they took it in turns to hold a service on January 1st for young people. 

 

In 1773 it was Rev Newton’s turn to preach and he wrote the hymn Amazing Grace, to go with his sermon as his testimony to all that God had done in his life, including his shame at having been the captain of slave ships for a number of years.  

 

I suppose if we are honest, we can all relate to John Newton’s word’s about being “a wretch” and I guess that deep within we all know we are unworthy of God’s favour.  But the sad thing is so many who will sing or listen to the song, will not receive that amazing grace - because there is only one way to experience it – and that is to BELIEVE: 

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For it is by GRACE you have been SAVED,  

through FAITH 

– and this is not of yourselves, 

it is the GIFT OF GOD 

– not by WORKS 

so that no one can boast. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 

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I have read many commentaries that say that the gift of God referred to here, is faith – that you cannot be saved without God giving you the faith to believe. That is Calvinist theology.  

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The major message of the Reformation was that we are saved by faith not by works so that interpretation is understandable, but I would suggest that there is another explanation of those verses (and of course you do not have to agree): 

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The subject of the sentence (grammatically) is GRACE – in contrast to WORKS.   

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GRACE is the gift of God in this sentence and when we receive His GRACE - through faith - then we receive His ultimate gift of salvation.  

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God’s grace is amazing but strangely it’s a concept that is difficult to grasp.  

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We can easily describe it as God’s undeserved kindness, mercy and favour 

or “G – R – A – C -E” ~ “God’s – Riches – At – Christ’s – Expense.”  

All of these are accurate – but actually, there is so much more to it. 

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Receiving salvation is just the beginning of experiencing 

God’s grace for the rest of our lives! 

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I had always defined it with the simplistic definitions above and somehow was left unsatisfied until I really experienced GRACE in a tangible way nearly seven years ago. 

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In July 2016, my dear wife Rosario was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer. She only had six weeks from that diagnosis until she went to be with the Lord.   

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It was the worst thing that had ever happened to us and nothing can prepare you for such a time.  But I can honestly say that we really experienced God’s grace during those six weeks in a way we had never known it before.   

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It was tangible – it was all around us – all over us: 

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The Grace of His Presence 

– He walked with us through the valley of the shadow of death. 

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The Grace of His Goodness 

His favour to us in big things and in little tiny details. 

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The Grace of His Strength 

– His grace was sufficient – His strength was made perfect in our weakness. 

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The Grace of His Help 

– He helped us directly in so many ways - and also indirectly through many of His people and others. 

 

The Grace of His Peace 

When Rosario had gone to Glory and all her trials were over (and we were all missing her terribly), God’s grace continued to be with us as a family. 

 

On the afternoon of the day Rosario died, we went to the park just to get some fresh air and I just broke down.  I wanted to get back home so my son took me back to the car and I walked through the park with tears streaming down my face and people passing us by – but I didn’t care. 

 

The day after she died, I woke up early in the morning and decided that I was going to lock myself in my study and scream and cry all day if necessary.   

So I went into the office, shut the door and sat down at my desk and I said: “Lord this is You and me…” and before I knew it, something amazing happened!  

 

The only way I can describe it is that it was like an invisible canopy came down on me and then it went up - and it took with it – all that trauma, all the shock, all the horror, all the pain, all the agony, all the heavy sorrow, and replaced it

- with perfect peace. 

 

AMAZING GRACE! 

I still miss her – but I have to remind myself she is in GLORY now.  I’m left here, but I can say I’m still experiencing His amazing grace, as John Newton wrote in his hymn… 

 

Through many dangers, toils and snares 

I have already come 

'Tis is grace that brought me safe thus far 

And grace will lead me home! 

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