“Grace Alone”
Lyrics and music by Dustin Kensrue

I was an orphan lost at the fall
Running away when I’d hear you call
But Father, you worked your will
I had no righteousness of my own
I had no right to draw near your throne
But Father, you loved me still

And in love before you laid the world’s foundation
You predestined to adopt me as your own
You have raised me up so high above my station
I’m a child of God by grace and grace alone

You left your home to seek out the lost
You knew the great and terrible cost
But Jesus, your face was set
I worked my fingers down to the bone
Nothing I did could ever atone
But Jesus, you paid my debt

By your blood I have redemption and salvation
Lord, you died that I might reap what you have sown
And you rose that I might be a new creation
I am born again by grace and grace alone

I was in darkness all of my life
I never knew the day from the night
But Spirit, you made me see
I swore I knew the way on my own
Head full of rocks, a heart made of stone
But Spirit, you moved in me

At your touch my sleeping spirit was awakened
On my darkened heart, the light of Christ has shone
Called into a kingdom that cannot be shaken
Heaven’s citizen by grace and grace alone

So I stand in faith by grace and grace alone
I will run the race by grace and grace alone
I will slay my sin by grace and grace alone
I will reach the end by grace and grace alone

Theological Emphasis:

“Grace Alone” is filled with the substance of the reformation: salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Through a Trinitarian lens, this text walks us through how God the Father has adopted us, God the Son has purchased us, and God the Spirit has awakened us to life eternal. One of the things artistically that I really like is the use of the line, “head full of rocks, a heart made of stone.” It is difficult to write a lyric that is extremely conversational and still gripping. This line accomplishes both. From a theological lens, I appreciate how Kensrue fit the word “predestination” into the text without seeming to lift a finger.