Sharpening the Truth of Amazing Grace

Sixteen Scriptural Passages of Concise Theology  

“Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I am found;
Was blind, but now I see.”

Amazing Grace is undoubtedly the most popular hymn in America and arguably one of the most popular hymns worldwide. It was written in 1772 by John Newton, an ordained Anglican  minister in England, who had previously been captain of a British ship involved in the brutal slave trade. Along with British Parliament Member William Wilberforce, he worked to outlaw British slave trading, which was accomplished in 1807, nine months before Newton’s death.

So with the goal of providing a concise Scriptural understanding of salvation by Grace—and Grace Alone—I have chosen 16 Scriptural passages to sharpen our understanding of this enormously important truth.  

Matthew 16:13-17

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am? “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

“Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

Notice that Jesus did not congratulate Peter on how smart he was or what a pious person he was for figuring this out. Peter would never have gotten it on his own. Jesus told him it was revealed to him by their Father in heaven. As we shall see, this salvific revelation was not based on any merit in Peter, but on Grace alone. Grace as conveyed by Scripture is unmerited love that is given out of God’s goodness and love, and it is not about our merit or something we think we deserve or have earned. So Jesus says that Peter is blessed by God. God saves those He chooses to save. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation is a work of God according to His grace and mercy.

The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture

2 Timoty 3:16

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching , correcting, and training in righteousness.”

2 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 

God reveals himself to us both in Scripture and nature, but the infallible and clearest way of knowing God is through Scripture. Therefore, to understand God, we must know and study Scripture. There are many things that are commendable and necessary to study, but Scripture should have the highest priority. It also prevents us from being easily deceived.

God Created Man In His Own Image

Genesis 1:27

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

But man was deceived into trusting in his own wisdom and his own standard of righteousness and lifting up his own status rather than glorifying God.

The Fallen State and Condition of Mankind

Romans 1:18-21

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Jeremiah 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”

Psalm 51:5

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

1 Corinthians 2:24

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Amazing Grace

Ephesians 2:8-10

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance for us to do.”

Romans 9:15-16

“What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses, “ I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on man’s effort, but on God’s mercy.”

Righteousness through Faith

Genesis 15:6

“Abraham believed God, and He credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 3:21-25

“But now a righteousness from God apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through Faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by Grace, the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through Faith in his blood.”

Galatians 2:16-17

“Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by Faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our Faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by Faith in Christ, not by observing the law, for by observing the law no one will be justified.”

The ONLY Way to Salvation.

John 14: 6

“Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Acts 4:12

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name in haven given to men by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

“The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures”.

“Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.”

Summary

This is what Divinely Inspired Scripture teaches: Man cannot save himself. Salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.