{"id":10630,"date":"2025-03-26T06:52:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T13:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=10630"},"modified":"2025-03-26T06:54:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T13:54:24","slug":"amazing-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=10630","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAmazing Grace\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Select here for a pdf version.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 1:14; Romans 3:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sermon for the Season of Lent<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmazing Grace\u201d is today the best-known Gospel song around the world. As you may remember, it was sung at the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral back in December 2024. We talked about it then. Because it is the best-known Gospel song, it\u2019s important that we remember why it\u2019s a mixed blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a hymn that has not been in our Lutheran hymnals, that is, in the old Lutheran hymnals before the LBW. It is in both the Baptist and Methodist hymnals although they sometimes include the fifth verse: \u201cWhen we\u2019ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we\u2019ve no less days to sing God\u2019s praise than when we first begun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d is relatively new among us, it\u2019s useful to ask ourselves: Why didn\u2019t we have it before?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not the only hymn with a problem. Other more traditional hymns have problems, too. For example, \u201cImmortal, Invisible, God Only Wise,\u201d says in the third verse: \u201cWe wither and perish but naught changeth thee.\u201d It states that God never changes. But that\u2019s not true. God became a human being and died and rose among us. That\u2019s the biggest event in all of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about God never changing, we use that verse from Hebrews 13:8: \u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.\u201d That\u2019s something quite different. That is that which never changes, and that\u2019s because God changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we say about \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d? John 1:14 states: \u201cThe Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.\u201d We have here \u201cgrace.\u201d God became the Word to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Romans 3:24: We \u201care justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words are tricky. They can change their meaning over time. The word \u201cbully\u201d dates back to the 1530\u2019s, Luther\u2019s time. It used to mean \u201csweetheart\u201d or \u201cdarling,\u201d but over the course of 500 years, it\u2019s changed considerably, now meaning someone who is threatening or cruel to others. Words have a way of slipping in their meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grammar changes, too. Think of the verb \u201csneak.\u201d That\u2019s the present tense, and what\u2019s the past tense? We say: \u201cHe snuck around the house.\u201d The traditional past tense of sneak is sneaked, but the language is shifting and now \u201csnuck\u201d is acceptable. That\u2019s what happens to language. It changes over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we do with the word \u201cgrace\u201d? It has many similar meanings. It means goodness, gracious, as in: She\u2019s a gracious host. He is grateful. \u201cGrace\u201d is a good name for a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these variations come out of the same Latin word group or word family. When we ask what grace is, we\u2019re not just playing with words. What we\u2019re really asking: What is salvation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salvation is the only question for all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in this hymn, we have the first verse which sounds a lot like Paul. It has these contrasts: I was a wretch and I was saved. I was lost; I was found. I was blind, now I see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like the Gospel of John about the man born blind and Jesus says: \u201cFor judgment I came into the world that those who do not see may see . . .\u201d (John 9:39).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is this \u201cgrace\u201d business because the word is used 5-7 times in the hymn?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s precious. It has a sweet sound. It\u2019s good. They are all adjectives with an evocative, abstract way about them. What are we saying when we say this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A teacher once told her class: Each of your make a list of the seven wonders of the world. The kids came up many things: the Great Wall of China, the pyramids in Egypt, the Eifel tower, St. Peter\u2019s Cathedral in Rome, the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, the Panama Canal, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there was a girl who didn\u2019t say anything, and the teacher asked her: \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem?\u201d She said: \u201cI\u2019ve got too many on the list: \u201cI see, I hear, I taste, I touch, I feel, I think, I hope, I love, I laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That changes the whole picture. What are the wonders of the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the problems with the kind of thinking about grace we find in this Gospel song?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some evangelical churches which teach: No matter what happens, you should say: \u201cThank the Lord!\u201d If your car breaks down, thank the Lord! If you win the lottery, thank the Lord! If you break your leg, thank the Lord! But that\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trouble is that we forget how to sort it out because if everything is grace, nothing is grace. Everything is the same thing. We ended up thinking grace is \u201csloppy agape.\u201d That\u2019s what happens. Everything is grace. There is no distinction between nature and grace, between good and evil, all is grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings us to the second thing we need to think about. We tend to end up in blurry abstractions. In the third verse it says: \u201cGrace taught my heart to fear,\u201d and then \u201cgrace will lead me home.\u201d What is it talking about? What is this grace? What happens is that we end up in a big abstraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we look at the great tradition of Catholic theology in the Middle Ages, we see that they talked about many kinds of grace: Supernatural grace and natural grace, created grace and uncreated grace, condign grace and congruous grace, prevenient grace and grace that is here now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens in this thinking is that nature and grace blur together into all kinds of grace because then you can manipulate it in any way you want. That\u2019s what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We end up saying: \u201cIt\u2019s grace.\u201d There was a preacher, a large man with long limbs, who loved to stand in front of his congregation, open wide his arms and bellow: \u201cEverything is grace!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then the question: \u201cWhat is grace?\u201d In that sense Hindus say: \u201cEverything is grace.\u201d The same is often true for spirituality movements that pop up from time to time. They often set up grace against evil, but it\u2019s really spirit against matter where everything is grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to be fair to the hymn \u201cAmazing Grace.\u201d It does say: \u201c\u2018Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved,\u201d but still: \u201cWhat is it talking about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s very much like the modern parable, \u201cFootprints in the Sand,\u201d that you might see on a plaque in a Christian bookstore. You know how it goes. The author says that he knows God had been with him, and he could see evidence like footprints in the sand. Sometimes there are two sets of footprints, but at other times there are only one set of footprints, and he asks the Lord: \u201cWhat\u2019s that about?\u201d The answer comes: \u201cWhen things was bad, I carried you.\u201d People have the idea that that\u2019s what it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a good example of why we need to talk about this hymn, \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d and why we need to talk about salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Lutherans have traditionally summarized who we are by the Reformation solas<\/em>, the alones: \u201cChrist alone, grace alone, faith alone, word alone, cross alone.\u201d These are the basic ways we describe who we are and what we are about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no question that that modern parable, \u201cFootprints in the Sand,\u201d is a way of saying: \u201cGrace alone.\u201d It\u2019s clear that God is doing something. He does it all. It\u2019s not our work, not our merit. Fine. It\u2019s also clear that it\u2019s \u201cby faith alone.\u201d It\u2019s not anything we do. Not our merit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But look at what happens in the hymn in the second verse: \u201cHow precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!\u201d That\u2019s where this gospel song really becomes a problem because it says: \u201cI did it!\u201d \u201cI believed!\u201d It tends to be Baptist. In that tradition \u201cfaith\u201d is my response, my \u201cYes\u201d to God. In other words, to be saved, we have to do something to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not right. The cross shows us that sin is so serious and deep in us that God has to reach down and rescue us in spite of ourselves\u2014apart from anything we are, think, say, or do (Smalcald III\/III\/36).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why infant baptism is the perfect example of faith and salvation. As Luther writes: \u201cThe Lord rescues us from the jaws of the devil\u201d (LC 4\/83). The Lord gives faith and salvation in Baptism, at whatever age we are baptized. Adult Baptism is just delayed infant Baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Small Catechism we say: \u201cI believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in truth faith.\u201d He gives me faith, and he does it. It\u2019s a basic point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not the real problem with \u201cAmazing Grace.\u201d It\u2019s also not the real problem with the modern parable, \u201cFootprints in the Sand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real problem has to do with the fact that the cross isn\u2019t mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the cross, there is no Christianity. When you look at this hymn, \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d the cross is not mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a real problem because the cross is really what grace is about. It is something God does. It is not an abstraction, not an idea about loving and God showing us he is loving. No, this is what God does. On the cross, he defeats sin, death, and evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solas <\/em>or the alones, taken individually are each a kind of heresy or error. But working together they show what salvation is about. Here\u2019s what we mean:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say \u201cChrist alone\u201d by itself, that\u2019s heresy because \u201cChrist alone\u201d is in itself an empty vessel, ready to be filled with whatever someone says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say \u201cgrace alone\u201d by itself, that\u2019s heresy. Even the Hindus say that. Grace alone, whatever it is, is a fuzzy abstraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say \u201cfaith alone,\u201d by itself, that\u2019s heresy, because then you have faith in faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say \u201cthe cross alone\u201d by itself, that\u2019s heresy, because the cross by itself it\u2019s a tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you say \u201cthe word alone,\u201d or \u201cby preaching alone,\u201d that\u2019s the error of thinking that a sermon is mechanical and magical and that any Bible-based preaching will do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But working together, the solas <\/em>show what salvation is about. Think of them this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture the head of Christ with a corona or crown of the solas<\/em> over his head. They all work together as one dynamic, pointing to Christ alone. That is what salvation is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We end as we began: \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d for better and for worse, is the most popular Gospel song of our time. There\u2019s really nothing we can do about that. But we can remember and point out to others that grace is only grace because of what God does on the cross. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 1:14; Romans 3:24<\/p>\n

A Sermon for the Season of Lent<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing Grace\u201d is today the best-known Gospel song around the world. As you may remember, it was sung at the re-opening of Notre Dame Cathedral back in December 2024. We talked about it then. Because it is the best-known Gospel song, it\u2019s important that we remember why it\u2019s a mixed blessing.<\/p>\n

Select here<\/a> to read more or here <\/a>for a pdf document.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10630"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10630\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10640,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10630\/revisions\/10640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}