The biblical study of grace is not too hard to grasp.
Are these definitions correct? Absolutely! But is that all there is to the subject of grace? These are actually only a small part of the entire spectrum of all that is grace. Others may see it as God’s unmerited pardon, the forgiveness of one’s sins. How would you define grace? If we asked different people, we would see different focuses put on the subject, different nuances from one person to another.įor some, the definition may be God’s goodness to an undeserving person. Yet it is often misunderstood and at times even controversial because of the way grace has been abused, leading to permissiveness and lawlessness. The subject of grace is vital to our spiritual well-being. John Newton’s story could apply to many of us. Newton lived to see Britain abolish slavery shortly before his death in 1807. Later in life he wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”as a reflection on his prior life and how God in His mercy and grace had delivered him from a life of evil to something far better. In time he became a minister and devoted his life to abolishing the slave trade. Newton surrendered his life to God and began seriously studying the Bible. The ship stopped taking on water and drifted to safety. When it seemed he would drown with the ship, he cried out to God for deliverance. In 1748 his ship was caught in a violent storm and began filling with water. John Newton had been a captain of slave ships and had transported cargoes of slaves from Africa to the Americas. While its words are known to many, far fewer know anything about the man who penned them and how they came to be written. Many are familiar with the famous hymn Amazing Grace.
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:3).
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