Today, Thursday January 21 – Romans 4:1-5 – “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…” These are the first words of a song written in 1772 by a former slave trader named John Newton. After living a terrible life of sin and degradation, full of wicked and vile deeds, during a storm while on a ship just off the coast of Ireland, John Newton cried out to the Lord for mercy and his life was forever changed. And he never got over it. He later became a pastor, hymn writer and a crusader in England against the slave trade. Today the song Amazing Grace is estimated to be performed over ten million times annually. It is featured in over eleven thousand albums. It is one of the most well-known songs ever written. This is probably because most of us can relate to the words and message found in it.
Well that’s what Romans 4:1-5 is about! The Amazing Grace of God that Abraham discovered! In Genesis 15, God made a promise to Abraham that He was going to give him a son and through this son a nation would be born. This son would be a miracle son because both Abraham and his wife Sarah were past the age to have children and Sarah had never been able to conceive a child anyway. But Abraham believed God anyway and because of his faith God declared him to be righteous! All because of God’s great grace!
My friend, God promised another Son, His own Son, that would be miraculously born of a virgin, Who alone could bring salvation to all mankind! Like Abraham, we need to by faith, simply believe God and His promise, and we will personally experience His Amazing Grace too! And then God will receive all the glory, because this grace and salvation is a gift that we can never merit or work to obtain. Today if you have never received this free gift of God’s grace, please right now, accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior! And if you have already done this, be grateful and forever praise the Lord for His Amazing Grace like John Newton! God bless!