Amazing Grace

Introduction

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. As Jim just said, probably we’ve sung that song so many times that we may sing it without really thinking seriously about the very words that we’re singing. And perhaps maybe we feel like those words don’t fully describe me. To say uh a wretch like me, God’s grace would save. Oh, I know I’m not perfect. I’m not a really perfect person, but I’m not all that bad. A wretch. That God’s grace save me. Well, tell you John Newton, who wrote the song almost 250 years ago, he understood and felt like he was a wretch. It is said that John Newton was raised by a mother and father, a mother who was God-fearing.

A father who was an infidel and a sea captain at that. His mother died when he was but seven years old. And John Newton, soon under the leadership of an ungodly father. He did go to sea when he was only eleven. But by the time he became a teenager and could escape that reign of a father, he fled and joined the British Navy. He was a rebellious teenager, though, and he didn’t really last long in the British Navy. He fled from that as well until he was captured and spent some time behind bars. And then when he was released, he went back to the sea. That was what he knew. He didn’t know much book learning. But he knew the sea. His father had taught him that.

But he signed on to the lowest of all kinds of sea vessels. He was a slave trading sea, seaship. But it wasn’t long until John Newton began to walk the bridge of his own, as captain of his own vessel. But the truth is, maybe some influence of his mother he might have remembered or whatever, his conscience began to bother him somewhat. That on that vessel they were just trading slaves for money. And really not considering the fact that they were human beings as well. And as he began to read books more about Jesus Christ, his conscience began to bother him all the more. And what really brought it to fruition was that on one of his trips to the Atlantic Ocean, there was a severe storm that occurred.

And like most people in time of grave danger, they’re no longer atheists, are they? It’s been said there’s no atheist in a foxhole. And there’s probably no atheist in the midst of a vicious storm on the Atlantic Ocean. It was at that time that John Newton made a vow to the Lord, if he could but land the shore safely, he would quit selling men as slaves. He did. He got safely to land. And he got a job by day, but by night he began to study and to learn. And to learn more about the Word of God. Till he said some 17 years later, in fact, he was ordained as an Anglican preacher. It was soon after that that he wrote the words of this song, 1779, to be exact.

That’s how old the song is. 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.

1. Saved by Grace, Not of Works

Can we fully describe it? It indeed expresses the grandest theme of the Bible. How sweet the sound that God would provide the means by which I might be saved. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 is one of the most beautiful of passages in the Bible as it summarizes really. How that indeed we are saved. And saved by grace. The scripture says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works lest anyone should boast. Well, that is a great passage. Unfortunately, it has been often misused. That part that says, not of works lest any man should boast happens to be a passage that some people go to to prove, they think, that baptism is not essential for the remission of sins.

Even though Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins. They see that as a work we might do. And you know that passage says it’s not of works, lest any man should boast. And I say that illustrates a failure to properly take verses in their context and understand what they’re saying. He is not saying, well, now Christ died on the cross and he’s done everything, and you don’t have to do a single thing. Grace. And there if you, therefore, baptism is not essential. In fact, they would sort of think that if that’s a work that we’re doing in order to be saved, then that would nullify grace. That’s the argument that is made.

But really, when you look back at Ephesians chapter 2, if you have your Bible open, you’ll notice in that context, he’s talking about the mercy of God as well as by the grace of God. The chapter starts off with the very fact that God had made, or he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually separated from God because of our sin, in which he said you once walked. And then he proceeds to talk about the mercy of God. In verse 3 or verse 4, God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you’ve been saved. See, mercy of God means that he does not give us what we deserve.

Well, if you’re a Bible student, you know at least that as sinners, we deserve separation from God. Spiritual death, and that results in eternal death called in the lake of fire and brimstone. Revelation chapter 20, verses 14 and 15, and chapter 21 and verse 8. You see, God set up in the very garden of Eden. He created man and woman, made them in his own image, meaning we have choice. God doesn’t force anyone to heaven. He really doesn’t force anyone to hell. It’s a choice that we must make. But in the Garden of Eden, God told man that you have the right of choice, but there’s a tree called the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the day you eat thereof you shall surely die.

The penalty for sin is set by God from the very beginning story. That in the day we sin we shall surely die. And that really measures repeated many times. In Ezekiel chapter 8, then verse 20. God through his prophet Ezekiel said, Man will not inherit sin. The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the sin of his father, the iniquity of his father. Nor does he inherit the righteousness of his father. You cannot pass on faith. It is a gift. It is something that each one of us will either choose to have life or choose to have death. It is our choice.

Deserves eternal separation from God. And therefore, in Ephesians chapter 2, what the apostle is writing to these people at Ephesus, he said, You once walked that way. And you deserved that death that God promised for those who sinned against Him. But God, through His mercy, did not give you what you deserved. Instead, by grace, and grace is undeserved favor. He gave you what you didn’t deserve. So when he comes to the passage in verse 8, he says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. In other words, what did man do before the cross to deserve the cross? What have we done? Have we done anything we could say back looking at the gift of God itself?

Oh, well, Lord, I know you died for me because I was such a good person or what? It’s kind of like, you know, if somebody came up to me and said, Bob, I know you’ve been preaching for over 60 years, and I just want to give you a great gift for that. I’m going to give you a new Mercedes to drive. I don’t mind if you don’t do that. But uh if I reach in my pocket and I said, you know, I don’t want you to do that. That’s that’s so much, and I get out a dollar bill. I said, here, I want could could I say, well, we bought this Mercedes? You know, it’s a gift. You know, what am I doing to try and even add to that gift?

I uh God, by his love, has given us the means of salvation. Notice I have that underlined means of salvation. He doesn’t say that God has given us salvation regardless of what we do. Although there are those who follow a doctrine called Calvinism that says God elects certain individuals before they’re even born, as though those elected by God, he’s going to give them by grace eternal life, regardless of what they choose, because he’ll virtually make them choose what is righteous. But again, that violates the scripture. As we are in the image of God with right to choose. God does not force us to choose to serve him or choose not to serve him. It’s ours, choice to be made. And therefore it could be said, the means of salvation.

2. Access by Faith, Not by Works of the Law

Solely by the grace of God. But I want you to notice another passage. If you have your Bibles to Romans chapter 5, where in Romans chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, the scripture says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice verse 2, through whom also we have access by faith. Into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Now, how do we receive this grace? Did he say it’s by grace alone, God’s going to elect certain ones and he’s going to bestow it upon you regardless of what you do? Or does he say, hey, it’s not by grace only, but by grace through faith. Through faith, we have access.

We can come into the relationship with God. We receive the benefits, the means of salvation are made provision by the Lord. Now I know if you have your Bible open at Romans 5, you may back up to chapter 4. And now you hear some people also use that verse a little bit differently, and I think out of context. When you hear somebody, well, you know, in Romans chapter 4, the scripture says in verse 2 and 3, if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. But what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Then verse 4, now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

But to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness. And they read that verse and it says, now you see there, it’s a pretty simple illustration. If you work and you receive payment for your work, it’s a payment due. It’s out of debt. And yet, on the other hand, if we don’t deserve it, then that’s what grace is. So they reason this way. Well, if you say we need to be baptized, then that’s a work. And that would nullify grace. It’d be then as of a debt. You know, I’ve heard the statement, you can take the Bible and prove anything you want to prove by it. And I’ve often said, well, if you take pictures of scriptures out of context, yes.

That’ll prove anything you want. But as you’re suiting the Bible, take its context. What’s Paul talking about in Romans chapter 4 anyway? What’s he been talking about in this context? Back in chapter 3, in fact, the last three or four verses of chapter 3, you know he’s been talking about how that the law of Moses required perfect works if one’s going to be saved by it. The Jew who was given the law of Moses. He was taught there are certain duties, there are certain works to be done. But who has been perfect under that law? Not anyone. And therefore, how can a Gentile who wasn’t even given that law, how can he be saved? That’s the really question being raised in Romans 3 and 4. Chapter 4 and verse 27, listen to him.

He says, Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No. But by the law of faith. How can anyone be saved? By the law of Moses? No. But the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude, he says, verse 28, that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Get it? The word works in this context is not talking about faith, repentance, and baptism at all. That’s not the context. He’s talking about the law of Moses and the works, the perfect works that it demanded, that no man could keep. And therefore, when he would say that, well, if it’s a matter of debt, you would have kept the law perfectly. That’s the works you would have done. But you see, the application in that text, he goes on to show how Abraham.

Abraham believed God and was counted to him for righteousness. And his point is that Abraham was accused of being righteous before and without circumcision. Now, wait a minute, to the person who keeps the law of Moses. He understands circumcision is essential. A Jew who did not have circumcised, his baby’s born, and on the eighth day he didn’t have him circumcised. That baby’s not in covenant relationship with God according to the law of Moses, the law of works. But Abraham was counted faithful. It was before even circumcision had been given by God as a sign of a covenant relationship. Long before that, Abraham had already shown faith in that he had left the land and gone to the promised land. God said, You go to a land I’ll show you.

Leave, mother, and father. Abraham had obeyed. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 6 quotes this same passage, Abraham believed God. It was counted to him for righteousness, and applies to that point in Abraham’s life. That is, even before Genesis 15 and verse 6. He was righteous because he obeyed. Abraham obeyed. And then, really, three times this passage from Genesis 15 is quoted in the New Testament, Romans 4, Genesis, Galatians 3.6, and in James chapter 2, 23. And what does James 2 23 refer to? At the time when Abraham took his son Isaac on Mount Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice. Indeed, what James 2 says, faith without works is dead being alone. And he uses Abraham’s example of taking Isaac to be sacrificed as an act of faith.

Different kind of works. You see, the word works, you have to say, what does the context talking about? Are you talking about works of the law of Moses? Or is he talking about works of faith? You see, salvation by the grace of God is a gift, the means of it. But we have access into it by faith. But not by faith only. In fact, James 2 and verse 24 says that very clearly. Not by faith only. We’re saved not by faith only. It is by our acceptance of God’s word that we must obey. Let me illustrate it. If that man did come up to me and say, Look, I’m going to give you this Mercedes. And I said, Boy, I’m sure glad to get that. They said, now what you need to do.

You need to go to the dealer and sign the papers. And I said, No, I’m not going to do that. I mean, you’re going to give it to me. I don’t have to do anything, do I? He said, how foolish God. You don’t earn that Mercedes. All I want you to do is just go sign the papers for it. You need to go up, and I refuse to do that. You know, I wouldn’t get the Mercedes, would I? On the other hand, by my going to the dealer and signing the papers and getting the key and driving that Mercedes home, it’s still a gift undeserved. All I’ve done is done what the giver asked of me to do. And that’s really what we’re doing when we say that we are saved by grace through faith.

That’s not of yourselves. It is a gift of God. In fact, faith that says is a faith that obeys. It’s that simple. Let me illustrate it again. I’ve got a $5 bill here. Before inflation, I’d use a $1 bill. But I’m going to say, now I want to give this gift. And some one of the young men here in the audience, I’ll say, if you’ll just come up here and I’ll give you this five-dollar bill. I’m not going to do it this morning. Too bad. Too bad, Tim, I’d give it to you otherwise. But you know if the young person came up here and literally I gave him this $5 bill, would it still be a gift? Now he’s done some action. He had to come up and he’d get the bill.

3. A Faith That Saves Is a Faith That Obeys

But we still say, well, that is by grace. Through faith. He had to trust that I wouldn’t embarrass him. He had to trust that I really had a gift for him. But the means by which he’s going to have access to that gift is to obey what I’ve asked him to do. That’s really what God has done. By the means of grace, and that means undeserved favor, that God has made the provision by which we can have forgiveness of sins undeserved, but it’s accessed by faith. And access by faith says, I have something to do about it. If you have your Bible, look at Hebrews. In Hebrews chapter eleven, great chapter of faith, here is illustrated, you might say, proven and good, great examples of what faith really is all about.

A faith that saves is a faith that obeys. And so in this great chapter about faith, it describes several characters. Verse 7, for example, by faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not seen yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Now was Noah saved by grace? Yes. Was he saved by faith only? Mental ascent only. No. Here is by grace through faith. He heard the word of God. He was delivered up from the flood. In fact, though he prepared an ark, he moved with fear, he obeyed what God asked of him to do. But continuing, the very next verse, chapter 11, verse 8, by faith.

Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwellth in the land of promise, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Again, what is faith on Abraham’s part? Mental agreement only? No. Abraham obeyed what God said. And then you come to chapter 11, verse 29. By faith, talking about the children of Israel when they came out of Egyptian bondage. By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned.

You know the story, how that indeed, as they came to the Red Sea and the Egyptians, the army of Pharaoh came chasing after them. And then as Moses held out his rod, the water separated them. They walked through on dry land. It took some faith, some trust in God, with a wall on either side, can you imagine? Well, the Egyptians tried the same, but they hadn’t been promised the same as the children of Israel. And as they went into that, the waters then drowned all. It was the children of Israel, who by faith were obeying God and received the promise of deliverance. In verse 30, by faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled. What did they do? For seven days they marched around.

On the seventh day, seven times. And they blew the ram’s horns at the people shouted. The walls of Jericho fell. Each of those are stories of faith, but faith in action. Even in 2 Kings chapter 5, a great story. Where are Gentile? And then a man who’s not part of the family of God, the Israelites, he was struck with leprosy. And he had heard, or maiden at least, had told his king how that there was a prophet in Israel that could heal one with leprosy. Long story made short, Nahim, and then went to Syria, and there found the prophet Elisha, who simply told him, You go and dip in the river Jordan seven times. It made Naaman angry. And Naaman was like a general. He was quite a man of authority.

And his reaction was, are not the rivers of Damascus far better, abandoned far prior. They’re far better than old dirty Jordan. You want me to go dip in Jordan seven times? Can you reason that? You know, sometimes we as men like to try to reason with God that what you say is that’s just not reasonable. Why should I have to do that? Rather than simply trusting that if God said it, I’ll do it. There are those who, like Naaman, will turn away in a rage. But Naaman had a servant kind of reasoned with him, you know. Had Elisha asked you to do some great thing, you would have done it. This is pretty simple. Just do what God said. What Elisha the prophet of God said.

And he turned and went back and he dipped seven times, and his leprosy was cleansed. Each of those are stories that are great, profitable for us today that says, Look, if I’m going to be saved by the grace of God, it’ll be by grace through faith, not by grace only, and not by faith only, meaning mental agreement only. But by faith that obeys the will of God. Faith that obeys the works. Back in passage that we started with in Ephesians chapter 2, in fact, where verses 8 and 9 says, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that none of yourselves, it’s the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Listen to verse 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.

4. Good Works That God Ordained

Notice, for good works. What kind are good works? It finishes, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That simply says, the good works that God wants us to walk in are works God ordained. God is the one who selected them and commanded them. And therefore, that’s what we need to do. Well, what is God commanded? In fact, Jesus Himself, after his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, and shortly before he ascended into heaven, he told his apostles, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. He who believes not shall be condemned. That’s not hard to understand. It’s not hard to do. It’s rather a simple commandment. However, it does command on our part, an attitude of total commitment.

But as the disciples went and preached that message, so it is that those who would believe in the Lord submit their lives to be baptized. In fact, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles on that day, and they began to preach about the Christ, how he fulfilled the prophecies, how that even that Jesus would be raised from the scriptures was proven. And as he came to the climax of his sermon, they they asked, What shall we do? Fifty days earlier they might have been of the crowd who were saying, Crucify Him, crucify him. But now they understand Jesus really is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. What should we do? That evidence, belief on their part already, doesn’t it?

And so when Peter answered, as quoted in Acts 3.37, he answered two believers, people who were cut to the heart, who were asking what’s left to do to be saved, he says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Is that hard to understand? It’s really not that difficult. If we simply take the scriptures for what they’re saying. But indeed, one may ask, well, why is baptism necessary? And I think that’s a good question. I think people need to understand that the Bible also gives us the answer to that question. That we ought to be baptized. Now, first of all, because God said it, that’s enough.

5. Baptized Into His Death

If God commanded it, whether I understand the why or not. But I believe the scriptures have given us an explanation. In passages like Romans chapter 6, in Romans chapter 6, verses 3 and 4, there the apostle raises the question, don’t you know? Don’t you know that so many of us as have been baptized into Jesus Christ have been baptized into his death. Therefore, he says, we were buried with him through baptism into death. That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Do you get the point? People who say that you can be saved without baptism are actually saved and be saved without the blood of Jesus Christ. Now I want to say that again.

Our friends in the Baptist, they hear Baptist preachers say, you don’t have to be baptized to be saved, just accept Christ in your heart. Just believe. And that very point in time, you’re saved. Now you want to be baptized, but it’s to show you have been saved. That’s in the wrong order. If the scriptures teach that we’re baptized into the death of Jesus Christ, that’s when his blood was shed. And if you believe that we’re redeemed by his blood, then we need to reach his blood and apply his blood for our sins to be forgiven. And if time of reaching his death or his blood is in baptism, that’s why we need to be baptized. And the scripture is pretty clear about that. In fact, as we’ve just been saying, baptism is for the revision of sins.

The example of the Apostle Paul, when he was yet known as Saul of Tarsus, persecuting Christians, and after he’d seen the vision of the Lord, and there the Lord told him to go into the city, and it shall be told him what he must do. He went in for three days, prayed and fasted. Now today we hear preachers say, Oh, just say the sinner’s prayer and you’ll be saved. Can’t read that in the Bible. Not any place. But I’ll tell you, Saul is an example of someone who prayed the sinner’s prayer. Was there ever anyone who knew at that time, Lord, I’ve been opposing you, persecuting Christians, putting some in jail because they’re Christians. Now I realize I was wrong. That Jesus really is the Son of God.

What should I do? You go into the city and pray. Ananias will come. When Ananias, the preacher of the Lord came, you know what he said to Saul? Acts 22, verse 16. And now why tarest thou? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins. Calling on the name of the Lord. Why would he call it his washing away sins? It isn’t the water that washes away the sins, although water is the element by which we are immersed. But as in Revelation 1 and verse 5, through his blood, our sins are washed away. That’s the scripture. Revelation 1. So in that sense, it was Saul of Tarsus, who we better know as the Apostle Paul, who turned his heart at obedience to the Lord. And we was told to rise and be baptized and wash away sins, that’s exactly the action that he took.

And therefore, even later the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3, 26 and 27, when he said, You’re all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. We’re children of God by faith. But again, it didn’t say by faith only. If you notice in that verse Galatians 3, verse 27 that follows, for as many of us as we’re baptized into Jesus Christ, have put on Christ. It is an act of faith. God said, Do it, this is his will. But as we’re baptized into Christ, it’s at that time we put on Christ. We don’t have a problem understanding the language. If I took this coat off, and you’d say, well, why don’t you get into your coat? I’d put arms into it, I’d get into it, but at the same time I’m putting it on.

Conclusion

And that’s the language in Galatians 3.27. As many of us have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That’s the time at which our sins are washed away by his life. What a marvelous thought. That even when we obey by faith, God’s will, it is still by grace that we’re saved. Not that we deserve it, we don’t. The means of salvation, God had provided solely by grace. But if we’re going to reach that grace, have access to that grace, our part is faith. And that simply means an obedient faith. Am I talking to someone this morning who realizes that really you are a wretch with sin? That you once been blind, not knowing the truth, but you’ve come to the understanding of the Word of God, and now you see, and that therefore it’s time for you to obey the gospel.

If you’ve never been immersed into the death of Christ, that his blood may wash away your sins. We offer to you the invitation to come. Our Baptistry is ready. All it takes on your part is that act of faith to say, I’m ready, Lord, forgive me my sins. As you confess his name before these of your friends, you can be immersed into the death of Christ. If you’re subject to that invitation, we bid you come even now, as together we stand while we sing.