God’s amazing grace and two great men

The greatest, most gracious gift from God, and the one that opens the door for us to receive all the rest of God’s gifts, is the forgiveness of our sins made possible by the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. This removal of our guilt and its penalty of death is also referred to as justification and redemption (Romans 3:24).

The New Testament book that most profoundly speaks of grace is Ephesians. “In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (1:7). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (2:8).

Following is a brief summary of the lives of two men who were deeply grateful for God’s grace.

John Newton

John Newton wrote the words to approximately 300 hymns, including “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” and “Amazing Grace” (first published in 1779). He was born in London July 24, 1725.

During his nautical career, he served on a merchant ship, then a military ship and then on slave ships. He ultimately became the captain of his own ship, and continued to ply the slave trade. Then on March 10, 1748, when he thought his ship was going to be destroyed by a violent storm, he prayed to God, begging God to have mercy and save them. He survived, and always looked back to that day as the beginning of his path to Christianity. Newton continued in the slave trade, but from that day on he made sure the slaves on his ship were treated humanely.

When he retired from seafaring in 1755 he began an intense study of the Bible, learning Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and eventually became a minister in the Church of England, first serving at Olney, Buckinghamshire. In 1767 the poet William Cowper and he became friends and they collaborated in writing many hymns.

For a long while, Newton was so ashamed of the “20,000 ghosts” of the slaves he had transported, he avoided thinking about his grisly past. Then he began to record his memories in letters and journals, and historians today credit them for most of what is known about the 18th-century slave trade.

In 1780 Newton became the rector of a church in London, where he drew large congregations and served until his death on Dec. 21, 1807. John Newton’s attitude was similar to the Apostle Paul’s, who regarded himself as “the least of all the saints” and “chief” among sinners (Ephesians 3:8; 1 Timothy 1:15). Newton said, “I remember two things: I’m a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” He influenced many people, including a young member of Parliament, William Wilberforce.

William Wilberforce

The movie Amazing Grace is based on a book by the same title, which is a biography of William Wilberforce, the pioneering British abolitionist who labored for almost 20 years to end the British slave trade. The movie was released on Feb. 23, 2007, exactly 200 years from initial passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807.

Wilberforce’s turn toward Christianity began in 1784 and was partly the result of the influence of John Newton. He considered becoming a minister, but Newton advised him to stay in Parliament where he could have a greater impact by influencing reforms in British law.

Then after attending an abolitionist meeting in 1787 the young member of Parliament was transformed into a crusader to end the slave trade throughout the British Empire. For years, only a few friends shared his conviction and gave him moral support, but Wilberforce was inspired by his knowledge of the Bible and strengthened by his faith in God, and stood out as a lonely voice against great opposition. He was not only determined, but also an eloquent and powerful speaker.

After speaking out for 20 stressful years, the British Parliament finally outlawed slave trading. After passage of the Slave Trade Act, Wilberforce continued to be an effective force in bringing about other reforms in British society.

Sadly, although slave trading has been officially outlawed in virtually every nation on earth, there is an incredible amount of illegal slave trading and human trafficking, mostly of women and children, going on all over the world. The world will continue in the darkness of sin until Jesus Christ returns to “preach deliverance to the captives…to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).

William Wilberforce also set an example as a devoted father, spending lots of time with his six children in spite of his busy schedule. He was spiritually devout, humble and self-disciplined, as well as regularly studying the Bible, praying and fasting. For example, he memorized all of Psalm 119.

The author of the book Amazing Grace, Eric Metaxas, said, 

“Wilberforce knew that he was as wicked a sinner as the worst slave trader, without that sense of one’s own sinfulness, it’s very easy to become a moralizing Pharisee” (World Magazine, Feb. 24, 2007).

Since we are saved by God’s grace, which is the greatest gift imaginable, we cannot claim any credit or boast we are saved by our own works? (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is a wonderful story in Luke 7:36-50 contrasting the woman who came to worship Jesus because she realized she had been forgiven of much and the smug Pharisee who didn’t think he needed forgiveness.

Jesus also told a story of a king who forgave his servant of a huge debt, but that servant later would not forgive a fellow servant of a minor debt (Matthew 18:21-35). The first debt was 600,000 times as large as the second debt, illustrating how much sin God forgives us compared to how little the hurt is we have to forgive others of. Perhaps the number one reason for an unforgiving attitude is the lack of understanding of the enormity of sin for which God has forgiven us.

The Hymn “Amazing Grace”

The lyrics and melody of “Amazing Grace” have made it one of the best-loved hymns. Once one knows the story of John Newton, it’s clear the words are partly autobiographical. The words remind us of the gift of grace God will someday extend to all mankind—both slave and free.

The lyrics of the six stanzas below are those most commonly sung today:

Listen to Celtic Thunder singing the hymn Amazing Grace