By Christopher Wall
Few stories of transformation are as staggering and undeniable as that of John Newton. Born in 1725, Newton lived a life marked by rebellion, profanity and cruelty.
Chris Wall
As a young man, he abandoned every semblance of decency—even earning the reputation among sailors as “the great blasphemer.” He mocked religion, scoffed at Scripture, and immersed himself in the wickedness of the slave trade, profiting from the sale and suffering of human beings. He was, by his own admission, a wretch.
But everything began to change on a storm-tossed ship in 1748. When the vessel seemed certain to sink, Newton cried out to God for mercy. That desperate plea, born out of fear, became the first spark of a sovereign and saving grace.
Though his transformation wasn’t instantaneous, God began a deep and radical work in him. Newton would later go on to become a pastor, mentor to William Wilberforce, a key voice in the abolitionist movement, and the author of the world’s most well-known hymn: Amazing Grace.
He never forgot who he had been. On his tombstone are these words:
“Once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
That story could also describe one of the most famous figures in the Bible—the apostle Paul. Before Paul, there was Saul: a man who hated the church with a level of vehemence that’s hard to fathom. He carried an almost petty vendetta against believers. He would go out of his way to find Christians and bring them before the Sanhedrin in order to have them killed or persecuted in some fashion.
But we read in Acts 9 how everything changed. Then, in Galatians 2, we see how the church in Judea heard that the very man who had once made it his life’s mission to destroy the church was now in full service of it. In other words, he was not the same.
One of the most beautiful things about the gospel is that it does not leave us the same. We come broken and sinful, and the gospel makes us new and restored. God transforms our hearts to make us more like the image of His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
May I encourage you today: if you desire a change of life, a new direction, seriously investigate the claims of the Christian faith. Place your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
I assure you—you will not be the same!
Chris Wall is the Pastor of Mesquite Baptist Church (750 W. Pioneer Blvd., Mesquite, NV, 89027)–Additional resources can be found at “mesquitebaptistchurchnv.com” and on YouTube and Instagram at “mesquitebaptistchurchnv”
