Lyrics
Naught have I gotten but what I received;
Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed;
Boasting excluded, pride I abase;
I'm only a sinner, saved by grace!
Only a sinner saved by grace!
Only a sinner saved by grace!
This is my story, to God be the glory—
I'm only a sinner saved by grace!
Once I was foolish, and sin ruled my heart,
Causing my footsteps from God to depart;
Jesus hath found me, happy my case;
I now am a sinner, saved by grace!
Tears unavailing, no merit had I;
Mercy had saved me, or else I must die;
Sin had alarmed me, fearing God's face;
But now I'm a sinner saved by grace!
Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows,
Loving his Savior to tell what he knows;
Once more to tell it would I embrace—
I'm only a sinner saved by grace!
Public domain hymn text (1905). Words by James M. Gray; music by Daniel B. Towner.
The Story Behind the Hymn
James M. Gray, later a well-known Bible teacher and, for many years, president of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, wrote 'Only a Sinner, Saved by Grace' in 1905, setting it to a tune composed by Daniel B. Towner, the Institute's longtime director of music.
The hymn's central claim rests almost entirely on refusal, refusing any title grander than 'sinner,' and refusing any explanation for that sinner's rescue other than grace received, not earned, echoing Paul's insistence in Ephesians 2 that salvation comes 'by grace… through faith… not of works.'
That deliberate plainness of self-description ran against a broader cultural instinct to describe converted believers in more elevated, triumphant terms, and the hymn's insistence on staying with the word 'sinner' even after grace has been received gives it an unusually humble, grounded tone.
Gray became one of the most prominent conservative Bible teachers of his generation, known for his radio broadcasts and his defense of traditional, literal readings of Scripture, and this hymn's plain doctrinal clarity about grace and merit reflects the same theological convictions that shaped his broader teaching career.
Its chorus phrase, 'this is my story, to God be the glory,' closely echoes language found in other well-known gospel hymns of the same era, particularly Fanny Crosby's 'Blessed Assurance,' reflecting a shared vocabulary of testimony common across late nineteenth-century revival hymnody.
Daniel B. Towner, who composed the tune, worked closely with D. L. Moody's revival campaigns before settling into his long tenure at Moody Bible Institute, where he trained generations of church musicians and composed music for dozens of gospel hymn texts throughout his career.
The hymn remained a staple of Bible institute and conservative evangelical hymnals through the twentieth century, valued for stating the doctrine of grace in terms simple enough to be sung by a congregation without any theological training required to understand it fully.
