查理·卫斯理（Charles Wesley）. Explore “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”: song information and official sources.
Redeeming grace · Freely given grace
Wesley is said to have written this hymn soon after his conversion. One astonished question sustains the poem: how can the one whom I pursued to death have died for me? The surprise is real, voiced by someone who has just discovered that he stood on the wrong side. The original's fourth stanza is the turning point: prison doors open and chains fall, but the prisoner has not freed himself. The Lord's gaze shines life-giving light; the action belongs entirely to God. The last stanza moves directly from prison to the throne with boldness, echoing Hebrews 4. Sing it after teaching on justification: having heard the explanation, the congregation needs a way to own it in response.
A response after teaching on justification by faith or the forgiveness of sins; Reformation Sunday; personal testimony to grace.