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Hymn History: Jesus Paid It All · Traveler’s Tales

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  Some songs are born in recording studios. Some are written for applause. But every
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  once in a while, a hymn is born in the presence of God. On an ordinary Sunday
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  morning, while a preacher spoke about the crucifixion of Christ, a woman sitting
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  quietly in a church choir loft became so overwhelmed by the message of Calvary
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  that she began writing words in the margin of her hymnal. Before that service
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  ended, God had already begun weaving together a melody, a message, and a
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  testimony that would echo through churches for generations to come.
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  Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Welcome to Traveler's Tales, produced by
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  Enjoying the Journey. I'm your host, Greg Dowdy. Today, let's travel back to 1865 to
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  rediscover the powerful story behind one of the most beloved hymns of the
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  Christian faith. It's 1865 in the city of Baltimore. The Civil War has just ended.
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  Hearts are heavy. Families are grieving. Churches are filled with people
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  searching for hope, peace, and assurance. On one Sunday morning in Monument Street
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  Methodist Church, a faithful choir member named Elvina Hall sat listening as
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  Pastor George Schrick preached on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As the
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  preacher spoke about Calvary, Elvina became overwhelmed with the wonder of
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  what Christ had done for sinners. She could not seem to contain the truth
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  stirring in her soul. There in the flyleaf of her hymnal, while the sermon
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  continued, she began writing words that seemed to flow directly from a grateful
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  heart. Later, she timidly approached her pastor and admitted,
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  Pastor, I did not hear your entire sermon this morning. The pastor joked, That's
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  all right, Elvina. I put a lot of people to sleep on Sunday mornings. But she
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  replied, Oh no, Pastor. I wasn't asleep. I was thinking about the crucifixion and
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  all that Jesus did for us. What a beautiful interruption. She had become so
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  captivated by Christ that earthly distractions faded into the background.
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  Her heart was fixed on Jesus. And may I say, that is still the secret of true
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  worship today. Worship is not merely singing songs with our lips. It is
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  becoming so absorbed with Jesus Christ that our hearts overflow in gratitude,
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  humility, and praise. The pastor took her words to his office and remembered that
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  the church organist and choir director, John Grape, had recently written a melody
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  but had no lyrics. John was not a famous musician. In fact, he was a coal merchant
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  who simply loved the Lord and served faithfully in his local church. He had
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  titled the tune, All to Christ I Owe. When the pastor placed Elvina's words beside
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  John's melody, something remarkable happened. The words and music fit together
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  perfectly. Not one note had to be changed. Not one line altered. And on that
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  ordinary Sunday in 1865, God brought together a faithful pastor, a surrendered
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  church member, a servant-hearted musician, to give the world one of the
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  greatest hymns ever written. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. What a message.
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  Not that Jesus paid some. Not that Jesus helped us pay the rest. Not that our
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  goodness, religion, morality, or effort could somehow contribute to salvation. No.
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  Jesus paid it all. Every stain. Every sin. Every debt. Every failure. At Calvary, the
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  spotless Son of God took upon Himself a full penalty for our sin. The price we
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  could never pay, Christ paid completely with His own blood. That is why the hymn
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  says, Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Friend, sin
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  stains everything it touches. It stains the conscience. It stains the mind. It
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  stains homes, relationships, and lives. Humanity has spent centuries trying to
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  wash away guilt through religion, philosophy, good works, self-improvement,
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  but there is only one cleansing powerful enough to remove sin, the blood of Jesus
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  Christ. And notice how personal the hymn becomes. Thy strength indeed is small.
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  That is where many people struggle. We don't like to admit our weakness. We like
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  to appear strong, capable, self-sufficient, yet the gospel begins when a person
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  finally recognizes, I cannot save myself. Salvation is not achieved by human
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  effort. It is received by humble faith. The hymn writer reminds us, find in me
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  thine all in all. Jesus is not merely part of the answer. He is the answer. He
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  is enough for the guilty sinner, enough for the weary Christian, enough for the
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  broken heart, enough for the struggling family. He is enough for the anxious soul.
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  And one day, every believer will stand before the throne of God, not clothed in
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  personal righteousness, but complete in Him. We will not sing about our
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  achievements in heaven. We will not boast of our works, talents, or
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  accomplishments. Our song will still be, Jesus paid it all. What an amazing thought
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  that two relatively unknown servants in a local church could leave behind a
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  testimony that has strengthened millions of believers for generations. It
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  reminds us that God delights in using ordinary people who are yielded to Him.
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  You may feel unnoticed. You may think that your service is small, but a
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  surrendered life in the hands of God can echo far beyond your lifetime. So today,
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  do not get over the cross. Do not lose the wonder of redemption. Do not move
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  past the truth that Jesus Christ paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a
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  debt we could not pay. And if you know Him, then live every day in grateful
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  surrender. Because when someone realizes what Christ has done for them, the only
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  reasonable response is this, all to Him I owe. Thank you for traveling with me
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  today through this beautiful reminder of the cross. May we never lose the wonder
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  that Jesus paid our debt in full, and may our lives daily declare, all to Him I owe.
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  A special word of gratitude goes to Jerry Vargo, not only for his excellent
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  research on this hymn's history, but also for graciously allowing us to share it
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  with you. For more Bible study resources, and to find our full archive of episodes
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  and devotional content, please visit us at ETJ.Bible.