God's Love in 1 John 4 Seen in the Life of John Newton

    We each have a story to tell of how God’s love won in our lives.  John Newton’s biography on how God saved him testifies of the overwhelming power of God’s love. John’s  father was a sea captain, and after his mother’s death at 7, he started getting into trouble.  Before her death she taught John Bible verses and songs and prayed that he would become a minister.  At eleven, his father started taking him on voyages to keep him out of trouble.  Later when John got captured by some sailors to work on a war ship, it made him even more rebellious and angry at God. 

      Eventually John got into slave trading and experienced a number of narrow escapes. During his time at sea, John’s profanity and behavior shocked even the most seasoned sailors of that day. He was even nicknamed “The Great Blasphemer.”  

        But God never forgot his mother’s prayers, and so one day a violent storm came up at sea.  It lasted over a week, and when the ship started breaking up and water began surging in, John remembered things his mother had told him. Because he couldn’t swim, he prayed that God would have mercy on him and deliver him.  He started to tell God that he was sorry for turning away from him.  God answered his cry.

      When he was 39, he became a minister and preached the gospel for 43 years. As a minister, he wrote hundreds of hymns, but his famous is Amazing Grace.  I was thinking about the story of John Newton when I was reflecting on what I read about God's love in chapters 26-29 and 34-35 of the Life-Study of 1 John.  The man who had sold hundreds into slavery was moved by God's love to preach the gospel of salvation to free man from the bondage of sin!  On page 238-239 Witness Lee speaks about how salvation produces this change in our lives:   

"If you consider your salvation experience, you will realize that when you were saved and regenerated, you passed out of death into life. Because we all passed out of death into life when we believed in the Lord Jesus and received Him as our Savior, a great change in life followed. We began to live another life, a life of righteousness and love. It became our desire to be righteous and to love the children of God. This is not merely an outward change; it is the passing out of death into life. Therefore, when we love the brothers in the Lord, this love is evidence that we have passed out of death into life.…Love is the nature of the divine life we have received" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of 1 John.  Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1983, Print).

  Another song that Newton wrote that has touched me is  called  Lord, Thou Hast Won, At Length I Yield.  This line has come back to me many times from this song: "But who can stand against Thy love?  Love conquers even me."  We need to pray that this love will continue to conquer ours and other people's hearts and win.    

I enjoy listening to live excerpts and the commentary on these Life-Studies on the  Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee while I'm cooking, cleaning, and typing.   

Other Posts on 1, 2, 3 John and Jude:

What Does the Greek Word for Fellowship Mean in 1 John 1:3?
What Does 1 John 1:8 Show Us About Sin?
The Promise in 1 John 1:9
What is the Anointing in 1 John 2:27?
Taking a Closer Look at Abiding in 1 John 2:26
God's Love in 1 John 4 Seen in the Life of John Newton
What is the Key to Overcoming in 1 John 5:4?
Touching Account From Church History on the Apostle John