Amazing Grace...that saved a pretty good guy like me

From Daniel Propson in Touchstone, a little story about his laughter at hearing the words of a classic hymn changed...

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a soul like me!

Some good fellow, some years ago, flipped his dictionary to the word "wretch" and found that it meant something unpleasant. Not only that, it wasn't a pretty-sounding word at all. Strange that such a talented poet would choose such an ugly word. No matter: our good fellow could just blot out the word and put a little potpourri in its place.

You see why I was laughing. Placing the word "soul" into the song indicates that the sound of grace is in harmony (and not discordance) with the sound of the sinner...

The logical gymnastic [is] this: If (a) heaven is for good people, and (b) I'm a pretty good guy, then (c) I'm going to heaven. Replace (b) with Jesus' statement, "Only God is good", and you'll see the problem.

Romans 6:23 tells us "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus". Key words: wages (earned), death, gift (to be accepted-- hopefully), and in Christ Jesus.

Praise be to God for offering to save bozos like us!