Quotes from John Newton

We have no Scriptural evidence that we serve the Lord at all, any farther than we find a habitual desire and aim to serve him wholly. He is gracious to our imperfections and weakness; yet he requires all the heart, and will not be served by halves, nor accept what is performed by a divided heart.

When we are duly apprized of our absolute dependence upon him and of our obligations to him as our Creator, Benefactor, and Lawgiver, sin will appear exceedingly sinful, and will bring a burden upon the conscience, which can only be removed by faith in the Redeemer.

Another lawful use of the law is, to consult it as a rule and pattern by which to regulate our spirit and conversation. The grace of God, received by faith, will dispose us to obedience in general, but through remaining darkness and ignorance we are much at a loss as to particulars. We are therefore sent to the law, that we may learn how to walk worthy of God, who has called us to his kingdom and glory; and every precept has its proper place and use.

They had experienced a variety of God's providential actions, but they did not yet understand God's ultimate goals.

Because of our own ignorance and unbelief, we often fail to understand the Lord's dealings with us, and we are all too ready to complain. If we knew everything from God's perspective, we would rejoice.

We shall see that what we once mistakenly called afflictions and misfortune were in reality blessings without which we would not have grown in faith. Nothing happened to us without a reason. No problem came upon us sooner, pressed on us more heavily, or continued longer than our situation required. God, in divine grace and wisdom, used our many afflictions, each as needed, that we might ultimately possess an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, prepared by the Lord for His people.

We very often fail to see our present circumstances in right perspective. Look back over the past, however, and compare what you have been brought through with your frame of mind during each successive period. Consider how wonderfully one thing has been connected with another so that what we now count as our greatest benefits are

If God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the gospel. You were both equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, and not his.

When this happens, it demonstrates a divine power equal to the same divine power seen in the creation of a world. It is without question the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous to all those who are not blinded by prejudice and unbelief.

I am not the man I ought to be, I am not the man I wish to be and I am not the man I hope to be, but, by the grace of God, I am not the man I used to be.

I did everything that might be expected from a person entirely ignorant of God's righteousness who works to build his own self-righteousness.

It is the complete system of divine truth to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken with impunity. Every attempt to disguise or soften any branch of this truth in order to accommodate it to the prevailing taste around us either to avoid the displeasure or court the favor of our fellow mortals must be an affront to the majesty of God and an act of treachery to men.