John Newton, author of the well-known hymn Amazing Grace, was a miserable man at the age of 23. He had been involved in an immoral lifestyle and was engaged in the heartlessly cruel African slave trade. But he was fed up with his sinful way of life.

A crisis came on March 10, 1748, on board a ship that was caught in a violent storm. Thinking all was lost, Newton cried out in terror, “Lord, have mercy on us!” Suddenly the word mercy struck him with great force. If anybody needed it, he did. At that moment he believed on Jesus Christ as his Savior. God forgave his sins and broke the power of his wicked lifestyle.

The apostle Paul referred to both the mercy and the grace of God in salvation. He declared that it is by God’s grace we are justified and delivered from the guilt of our sins (Ti. 3:7). But he also said it is God’s mercy that delivers us from a lifestyle which he described as “foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (v.3).

Let’s thank God daily for His grace and His mercy. Together they provide for us a complete salvation.

  — Herbert Vander Lugt