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CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
THE WORD OF THE LORD
Romans 4:18–25 NIV
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
CONSIDER THIS . . .
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Not long ago, as I drove to church on a Sunday, Chris Tomlin came on the radio singing “Amazing Grace.” Interestingly, at church one of the pastors, Doc Holiday, sang “Amazing Grace” as an anthem during Communion. Did you know it’s the most popular hymn ever written about Jesus that never mentions his name? But I digress. Here’s my point:
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I’m comfortable with saying, “a wretch like you,” but me? Though I always sang it, I’m not sure I ever really meant it . . . until now.
And no, it isn’t because I recently did something really bad or wretched.
It is because I am in the midst of having my mind renewed by the truth of God’s Word. You know how you can know something but not really know it yet? That’s what’s happening with me. I’m knowing something I’ve known before but at a much deeper level.
I thought of the problem with the world and the human race to be one of bad or sinful behavior. And to be sure, this is the presenting problem. But the problem is that the presenting problem is only symptomatic of the much bigger problem. (Okay, read that one again.) I promise I’m not talking in circles. I am and have been well familiar with the symptoms, and yet I have lived in a kind of denial of the real and much deeper sickness. The symptoms seem to destroy us from the outside in. The sickness, however, decimates us from the inside out. While it may present itself in all sorts of devastating outward symptoms, it may just as well be silently destroying us without any external symptoms at all—not so much as a fever.
I am not a wretch because of my behavior, though my behavior to a greater or lesser degree might indicate such. I am a wretch because of my diabolically corrupted nature as a fallen human being. This is why the cross of Jesus Christ cuts to the core issue—my Sinful nature. The cross is not a topical ointment meant to deal only with the forgiveness of my little-s sins. The cross is an arrow from heaven shot through the heart of the sin-sick human race, crucifying sin’s power, literally burying us in the grave, resurrecting us in power, and restoring our glory. And all of this is perfectly embodied in and imparted through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Messiah, Savior of the world, Lord of heaven and earth.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
As long as we assess our wretchedness according to our symptomatic behavior, we will miss the crux of the matter and fail to appropriate salvation by grace through faith. Our wretchedness is the very condition of our corrupted human nature and consequently the launchpad of amazing grace. This is not a matter of feeling but of fact. Can you reckon with the fact? Do you own the fact? Will you accept the diagnosis? Until we do, there will be no cure, only the attempted management of the symptoms, the futile cycle of repeated failure and rededicated effort. Until we face the fact of our hopeless condition, we don’t know grace as amazing—only as optimism.
One final bit in this already lengthy entry. Many push back and say, “All that you are saying is not who I am now but who I used to be. As a saved follower of Jesus Christ, I cannot continue to claim the label of sinner and wretch and so forth.” Note, the song does not say, “that saved a wretch like I used to be.” I find many who equally refuse the other term by which Scripture identifies us: saint. We don’t want to claim sainthood for we don’t think we are there yet.
Herein lies the dilemma of our stickiness. We don’t want to own a former condition or a future one. All the while grace encompasses, infuses, and transforms it all. To the extent I can own who I used to be, I can also own who I am coming to be. Right here and right now, I am sinner and saint, dust and breath, dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.
That’s where this train is headed. Romans 5 to 8 hold some of the richest and most revolutionary revelations in all of Scripture. Buckle up.
PRAYER
Yes, Father, my chains are gone. I’ve been set free. This is amazing grace. Awaken me to the depths of Sin that I may be awakened to the even deeper depths of grace. I am ready for salvation to deepen in me, to press into the width, breadth, height, and length of the love of Jesus Christ. Teach me the mystery of being a sinner and a saint, of remembering who I used to be in such a way that I am freed to run in the path of who I am becoming. Yes, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me—even me. Praying in Jesus’s name. Amen.
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Do you struggle to understand and own the nature of your own wretchedness as a sinner who is saved and being saved by grace? Are you grasping better how this is not about bad behavior as much as it is about a corrupted nature?
SING
Today, we will sing “Amazing Grace” (hymn 572) from our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
P.S. Check Out the Revival Town Podcast
Some months back I was graced to be a guest on one of my favorite podcasts—The Revival Town Podcast hosted by Chuck Tate and Andy King. We talked about Romans. As a hat tip, I wore the hat Chuck recently sent me with the number 41. I speak in the podcast today of what that is all about. I’d encourage you to subscribe as these are two wonderful (and hilarious) men of God. Here are the links—watch on YouTube, listen to the podcast on Apple, or listen on Spotify.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
John David (J. D.) Walt Jr. is the Sower-in-Chief for Seedbed and the pastor of the Gillett Methodist Church in Gillett, Arkansas.
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One Response
While being in “the field” on Tuesday I was at the West Virginia Dept of Motor Vehicles ( DMV). I had just listened to this devotion before being called up to the window to address my antique license plate renewal for our classic car. While standing at the window I noticed the gentleman behind me was whistling Amazing Grace. This struck up a conversation about the song and the various remakes such as Chris Tomblim’s and Phil Wickham’s more recent offerings. Turns out he is a worship minister who has just moved here from Ohio to participate in a new church plant in our area. To my surprise the agent behind the counter began smiling and said that he loved hearing about Bible believing churches! All of this at the Local DMV. The three of us were able to share a warm moment of God’s Amazing Grace.