ON THE VANGUARD

AMAZING GRACE
“From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
John 1:16

If I was to say the name ‘John Newton’, what could you tell me about him? No, he is not the guy that founded the basis for gravity’s equation, nor the guy who invented Fig Newtons (although I love his cookies). John Newton was the author of what is termed as the most sung hymn of the Christian church, Amazing Grace. His story of knowing God’s grace is rich, however, and it is what I would like to share with you today.
I think that before we dive into his life we first must understand what grace really is. In John 1:16, John explains to us that from God’s fullness of grace we have received one blessing after another. This word ‘grace’ is the Greek word CHARIS, meaning of the merciful kindness by which God turns them to Christ, keeps them, strengthens them, and increases them in faith. It means quite a bit more than just unmerited favor or the cheap understanding we sometimes hold. And yet, God extends this grace to us in an effort to draw us near to Him and keep us near as well. It is not His desire that we go astray, so in grace He continues to reach His hands out to us even when we turn our backs on Him.
This truth can be seen in the life of John Newton. In 1743, Newton was captured by force and placed into the Royal Navy’s service, becoming a midshipman aboard the HMS Harwich. While trying to escape the vessel without permission for leave, he was caught and flogged in addition to being reduced in rank to that of a seaman. It is said that his betrothed at the time was a Christian and would pray daily for the Lord the make Himself real to John who wanted nothing to do with religion. Could this force and flogging be part of God’s plan?
John was later transferred to the Pegasus, a slave ship bound for West Africa. With repeated behavior problems, Newton was eventually left in West Africa under the supervision of a violate slave trader. The continued floggings and ill treatment worked to break John, but still not draw him any closer to God. In fact, it wasn’t until being taken off the island and placed aboard the Greyhound in 1748 that John finally broke down completely. On a return to England, the boat passed through a rough storm that threatened to overtake it. Newton awoke in the night and called out to God as he watched the ship fill with water. Doing all he could along with his crewmen to help the ship through the storm, the ship eventually drifted to safety. It was from this moment of God’s rescue in the storm that John began to read the Bible and other religious writings he was able to obtain. By the time the coast of Britain was reached, he had accepted Christ as his Savior.
Old habits die hard, though, and being in the slave trade for so long had taken its toll. Although he had made a confession on March 10, 1748, to stop using profanity, gambling, and drinking, he was not opposed to trading slaves. Three additional slave deliveries were made before Newton suffered a severe stroke in 1754. God continued to work on John Newton, which led to John coming to a realization that his business was wrong in God’s sight. With this realization, John began to understand the depth of God’s grace on his life, penning the words for a poem titled Amazing Grace in 1779. Later Newton was used in the abolishment of slavery before passing in 1804.
So what does all this mean for us? Amazing Grace was written to illustrate the forgiveness and redemption offered to all people regardless of the sins committed. God offers this same amazing grace to us all, no matter what despair we know. We may never have traded slaves, but have we not traded the statutes of God for moments of sin? It is for these moments that we can sing the words of John Newton and thank our Heavenly Father God that His amazing grace has saved a wretch like us. If not for His merciful turning us to Christ, keeping us, strengthening us, and building us in faith, we may still be lost in sin.