God’s Amazing Grace
Written by Jimmie Burroughs
“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… Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” – John Newton, 1772.
In that great old hymn, there are four kinds of grace, though not mentioned in word: convicting grace, saving grace, living grace and dying grace. We will discuss those later, but first, what is “God’s Amazing Grace?” According to Steve McVey’s definition, “Grace is a system of living whereby God blesses us because we are in Jesus Christ, and for no other reason at all.” I like that definition; it is simple, to the point and extremely accurate.
From the definition above we glean that grace is “unmerited favor” and “unconditional love.” So, first we need to explain those two words to get a clear grasp on what grace truly is.
To begin with, what does “unmerited” mean. We know the opposite word “merit” means to earn something or to deserve something. Therefore, “unmerited” means to get something not earned or something that you do not deserve. The word “unconditional’ means that there are no conditions required such as personal behavior.
So, unmerited favor is something given to us out of the kindness of someone else; in the case of “God’s Amazing Grace” it is God who is that someone else. According to the definition of grace, God cares enough to give you something you did not earn or deserve.
In what way does God show us grace? There is a little acrostic taken from the word grace that goes like this “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God’s grace is not free; it comes to us through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who gave Himself on the cross to enable us to receive God’s gift of eternal life. Our sins were placed on Jesus as He died on the cross and as He was punished for what we deserved. It was through what He did on the cross that we have the gift of a relationship with God and are part of His heavenly kingdom, which we could never merit or deserve. God’s promise to those who will believe: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.
Let’s take a deeper look:
As mentioned above, grace has several applications: convicting grace, saving grace, living grace and dying grace.
Convicting Grace: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,” John 6:44. We don’t just one day decide to follow Jesus as the song indicates: “I have decided to follow Jesus.” Salvation is by invitation only; that is the Holy Spirit’s convicting power in the life of an unbeliever, actually God’s warning to the unbeliever of their need to be saved from the wrath to come. Convicting grace is a gift from God to a lost sinner making them aware that they need Jesus in their life. It is a conviction of sin and a need for forgiveness. This is the only connection God has with an unbeliever. It is an invitation that needs not be ignored lest the heart grows hardened and unyielding as time goes by.
See what the Bible has to say: Romans 2:5, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” 2 Corinthians 6:2, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I assisted thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
As people age, they become less susceptible to God’s Convicting grace. The graph below shows that the percentage of people who come to know Christ declines with age:
(The data in the pie graph or chart comes from research done at the Global Ministry Center of the Church of the Nazarene.)
It is indeed shocking that only 4% become Christians after 30 years of age. Each of us as Christians can recall that time in our life when God was convicting us of the need to come to Jesus. I was only 13 years old. You might be an older person, but don’t think just because you are that your chance of salvation is gone. Today if you have a desire to know God, that may be evidence that God is sending you His invitation to salvation. The important thing is not to reject His invitation because it can go away: “And the LORD said, my spirit shall not always strive with man,” Genesis 6:3. Remember that this is a life-or-death decision and it is yours only to make.
Saving Grace: “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see…” God stands ready to save anyone who will place their faith in His Son, Jesus. Romans 10:10, 10“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” First comes the convicting grace of God. You realize that you have sinned against God and need His forgiveness, and then you repent of the way you have been living and turn to Jesus, believing in Him to change the person you are into one of righteousness, acceptable unto God, and then with your mouth, in prayer, you confess your faith and make it known to God. Faith is believing both Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, and that He did that to pay the penalty for your sins. For a step-by-step guide for finding God, based on the Bible – CLICK HERE.
Living Grace: “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ‘tis grace has brought me safe thus far…” Life throws a lot of trouble our way, but there is a way to face it without anxiety, fear or worry, and that is by trusting in the grace of God to bring you safely through. “Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace in difficulties,” – C.S. Lewis.
God’s grace is present when we need it. It may not be a lot but enough to face whatever comes our way. Those troubles that come our way have to pass though God first. He allows those things to increase our trust in him and to mature us spiritually. When troubles come, remember that great promise of Scripture; “And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose,” Romans 8:28. The troubles themselves are not good, but God makes all things to work out in the end according to His will and purpose.
Dying Grace: “Grace will lead me home.” Not only does God give us living grace but He also gives us dying grace. King David said at the end of his life that “he was going the way of the earth,” which is death. The Bible says, “it is appointed unto man once to die.” I’m going to die, and you’re going to die. All must die with the one exception, and that is, if Jesus should return first those who know Him will be caught up to meet Him in the air.
We who know Jesus, need not fear death for as the Psalmist once said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me,” Psalm 23:4. In the movie Ghost, black demons came to usher away those, at their death, who were evil. Perhaps that is real, but the opposite is true for the believer; the Bible indicates we will not be alone when we die; angels will come to accompany us into heaven, of course, if that is our destiny. Jesus taught, in one of His parables, that a poor man who had suffered much during his time on earth died and that “the angels carried him to Abraham’s side [that is in heaven,”] Luke 16:22.
While at the present you may be somewhat apprehensive about dying because of the unknown, be not troubled because when the time for dying comes, God’s dying grace will be present.
C.S. Lewis once said, “Grace is what makes Christianity unique.” How true that is because with it we can know Christ and enjoy a personal relationship with Him. By the grace of God, we can experience love joy and peace in life. With His grace we can conquer anxiety, fear and worry. We can face anything that the world brings our way, even death. We don’t merit grace, or can we ever earn it or deserve it. It is both priceless and it is free, and just as John Newton wrote so long ago, it is so amazing, “God’s Amazing Grace.”