John Newton’s OTHER Famous Quote, and Why It Should Matter to You
By Michael Kelley
Most people are familiar with John Newton, even if they don’t know they are. The reason they know him is because he penned one of the most sung and most treasured songs of all time: “Amazing Grace.” Even though you’re likely singing the lyrics in your head right now, here’s a refresher:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see.
Born in 1725, Newton’s God-fearing mother died when he was six. Without her influence, Newton turned to a life of debauchery and became a sailor. Many of his ships participated in the English slave trade. It was on one such trip that a great storm came upon the ship, and for the first time in many years, Newton cried out to God for mercy. God answered his prayer, and yet Newton persisted in his work as a sailor, even becoming the captain of his own slave-trading vessel, and yet God was at work in his heart.
It was not until several years later that Newton was converted to Christ, rejected his former profession, and became a minister in the Church of England. He also became a staunch abolitionist and his work in that area greatly influenced William Wilberforce who played a mighty role in bringing slavery to a halt.
Yes, this slave-trader turned preacher wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. And though that song is probably Newton’s most remembered contribution, there is another set of words he wrote that is also worth remembering. In summarising his own testimony, Newton said:
“Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was. By the grace of God I am what I am.”
Equally simple. Equally beautiful. And those two sentences should matter to us today for at least two reasons.
First of all, they remind us that each one of us is in process. If you are a Christian, you are a child of God, and yet God is forming you into something new. Something different. Something that resembles the character of Christ. He has made you new, and He is making you new. This is encouraging for us because it can feel like that progress towards Christlikeness is painfully slow.
Why do we still struggle with sin? Why do we still have to fight for joy in the right places? Why can we not let go of our old tendencies and struggles? We know what we ought to want, to feel, and to do - and yet so often we don’t want or feel or do the right thing. But Newton reminds us that even if the progress is slow, we are, by God’s grace, headed in the right direction.
We aren’t there yet, but we are a long way from where we started.
Secondly, Newton’s words remind us that there is not a single person alive that is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Who, in his captain days, would have looked at John Newton and said, “Now there is a likely candidate for Christian service.” Not one person. And yet God is not put off by our sin. He is not intimidated by our seeming objections. His grace is more than powerful enough to turn the heart of stone to flesh.
He did it with Newton. And He can do it with that person in your life right now that seems most unlikely to believe. So take heart today, Christian. Be encouraged. Be encouraged not only for your own progress toward Jesus, but that anyone else is a moment away from knowing what it means to believe the gospel.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.